Danga Bay, May 2011

It’s good to be back on board and we take delivery of our new cushion covers which were being made while we were away. We are most pleased with the result too.

 
The Marina owner treated all the cruisers in the marina to a free meal when a new restaurant opened in the precinct. So it’s good to catch up with everyone at once and hear all about their travels too. Cruisers love a freebie and the night was very enjoyable. Thank you, sir.  The sun has passed over the equator for the northern summer and so it’s very hot and humid here now.  It takes one a few days to become acclimatized to the heat and we take things easy on our return.  The crew has been out of sorts with yet another flu bug and the skipper broke a tooth.  Uh oh, now we have to find a Dentist.  Thankfully, the marina has kindly listed contacts that may be useful to cruisers and we are lucky to find a good dentist in the city of Johor Bahru.  Skipper was very pleased with her clinic and her methods and emerged half an hour later with a filling and a smile – the smile due to the very affordable bill.   

Ship spares (or the lack thereof) dictated that we take another trip into Singapore – you may remember our story of catching the bus into town, walking through the Customs Immigration and Quarantine building, checking out of Malaysia, catching another bus to cross the river to Singapore, walking through to their Customs, Immigration, Quarantine, getting back on the bus (hopefully the same one) to go into Singapore city.  Well we are old hands at it now but it does not make the distance one has to walk through the building any shorter.  This time in Singapore although we revisited the Chandlery, LED lighting shop and the canvas man (for ship’s stores), we also decided to take a bus into the famous Orchard Road.  This road is wall to wall shopping malls – oh girls, not just your ordinary shops (although these are abundant also) – these shops are THE shops, you know – Tiffany’s, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Paragini…….  Note: these shops sell the real deal, not the Kuala Lumpur look-a-likes.  The crew unfortunately was so taken by all the labels, she forgot to take a photo of the pretty surroundings.  Sorry.  Oh we will just have to go back to get a picture. 

Cool building eh? (Thanks for the photo Peter)

Crew dragged poor Skipper around the malls for several hours until we came across an Irish Pub and had a steak meal and a cold beer (oh joy – no rice in sight) before joining the queues for the train back to the check-out point.  We have tried a few different options travelling into and out of Singapore (as you do) and the train from Orchard Rd was super, the connecting bus from the train station to the check out point runs none to regularly however and we were lucky to catch the last one running frantically as we saw him pull into the bus bay, the driver motioning us just as frantically for us to catch the OUTGOING bus on the other side.   U-turn.

Noticeably, Singapore is devoid of graffiti (because they shoot you), there is no chewing gum or spitting, no jay walking and no bad tempers (they would probably shoot you for that too) it’s an immaculately clean city, efficient and enjoyable and the people are well behaved.  I’m sure they don’t really shoot first and ask questions last, but there are many signs depicting guards shooting trespassers and wrong-doers posted throughout the island.  We have also been told to argue your case if caught doing something less than the correct thing is totally useless – you will not win.  Fact: chewing gum is illegal in Singapore.   

A nice clean kitchen where we had a drink

The old amid the new in Singapore

However, the Singaporean business people we have dealt with, the bus drivers, ticket officers and general populace seem helpful and happy and so we enjoy our visits each time we go.  There is no feeling of being scammed or ripped off either, it’s very civilized.  The security guards even pick you up if you fall down in the middle of the street going into a mall.  Oops, the crew met the tarmac crossing a small road outside the Capital Mall and was helped up by a couple of security guards.  Where was the skipper I hear you ask?  About 10 paces in front leading the way.  Oh well, not too much damage.  Sniff.

Coming home we deduced we had missed the last bus out of JB city realizing only after sitting in the bus stop for half an hour and then a lady stopped in her car and asked us what we were waiting for!  “Oh last bus 11 o’clock, you need get Teksi”.  Done.  The crew’s feet and throbbing knee didn’t care one way or the other, they just wanted to be soaked in some cool water.

This can of Yeo’s Lemon Tea purchased with our lunch in Singapore, caught our eye when we read the can.  It reads -10c Refund at Collection Depots when sold in South Australia!

A ship, because in comparison to the rest of us it is a ship, from America has pulled in to our little marina.  Apparently she comes in each year for a few months respite during the “off season” before cruising off again.  According to the internet she is 150ft long, can be hired for US$155,000 to US$195,000 per week - we offer a slightly better rate for Bluestone if you want to visit (but only if you pay cash), has a crew of eleven (11) - AND is Aussie built.  Very impressive.  Google Catamaran MOECCA if you want to take a look.

  

Now the skipper has had a few hassles with the internet of late.  Our usually, mostly, reliable free marina wifi has suddenly decided to stop working due maybe, to the fact that it’s school holidays here and the cyber-system may be choked.  So….we took a trip to the shops to get out own wifi system and new card to make things easier, reliable and quicker.  HA!  Hours of work to get everything to talk to each other and the new system, then resetting everything because when you introduce something new to the computer it has a coronary, finally resulted in both skipper and crew being able to surf the internet undisrupted for, oh about, two hours before being kicked off.  We were chuffed albeit for a brief time.  But we will persevere and may be back on line soon.  We may also be alone on our jetty if the neighbours can hear what’s being said here on Bluestone.   Woo, make your toes curl! 

June 2011

The crew has been taken to the local Gymnasium by a few of the gals here on the marina.  Yep, good idea.  OW!  Pilates is fun they say.  YAY, OUCH.  But perseverance will pay off I’m told.  The Gym is a good 15 minute walk from the marina, so one can get a cardio workout just getting there, then the exercise room is on the third floor of the building – another cardio workout AND then the classes.  The poor Pilates instructor kept asking the crew if she was OK (think I looked worse than I felt) but we just kept going and then the girls carried me home.  No really, the crew survived the walk home too.  I was going to say I’m too old for this, but in one of my classes there are at least 3 ladies older so I have to keep the pace don’t I?  This week the crew partook of the Pilates, Yoga, Pump, Salsa and Jukari classes.  Pilates, Yoga and Pump are stretching, bending, squeezing exercises sometimes accompanied by hand weights but the Jukari and Salsa introduce dance steps into aerobics.  Fun eh?  No.  Just when you think you have the steps down the svelt, slim instructors in their skin tight leotards introduce hand and arm movements and then everything goes KAPUT!  What happens after 50 that you cannot co-ordinate foot and arm movements together?  The result … Hilarious! 

You think I’m going to put photos in here?   WRONG!        But here are a few local photos....

The main Street in Johor Bahru city

Crossing the main road in Tampoi on way to our local supermarket

Hmm, decisions, decisions..

Have some spices !

And just for the hell of it.....our taxi home from shopping

Oh guess what?  We’re taking a ‘flying trip’ back to Aus again this month.  Pun intended.  The skipper has some work that needs to be attended to and after discussions about how long he would be gone - 1 week, 10 days, 2 weeks, we decided to make it 3 weeks and both go back.  Time to air out the jumpers and sox – did I agree to this?  Then on our return we have made arrangements for a weekend with friends in Singapore before packing madly for our UK trip.  Good thing we haven’t stowed the suitcase and backpacks.  When do I get time to do the essentials?  You know paint toe nails, touch up re-growth, wax, go to gym classes – guess one will just have to be sacrificed.  Yep, I won’t paint my toenails.  Ha ha.  NOT.

So fellow blogsters, I know you will be awaiting the next exciting episode in the life of the Bluestones.  Keep watching this space.  AWAKE, STAY AWAKE!