BACK TO DANGA BAY

Yes Indonesia beckons again (for one reason or another - watch this blog). 

And so Danga Bay here we come to ‘check-out’ of Malaysia. 

Funny, when we were cruising north the wind was directly on our nose and we discussed how nice it would be if we were cruising south (to have the wind behind us).  Well….now we were discussing how nice it would be if we were northbound.  Can’t win.  Welcome to cruising.

Fresh clean drinking water bubbling up through the sand at our beach BBQ

We motored to Penang after a farewell beach BBQ with friends at Langkawi and again put our anchor down at Junk Anchorage.  Promising ourselves a little more time in Penang we managed to visit Fort Cornwallis - the fort built in 1786, actually served more like an administrative and storage facility for the British and there is not much left, but it's worth an hour walk around.  DYK (that’s ‘did you know’) Penang was actually founded by Captain Francis Light whose son was Surveyor-General for the town of Adelaide?  There is a statue of Capt Francis Light in Fort Cornwallis.  Exciting I hear you say, but wait there's more.

And….we went to Khoo Kongsi.  

The famous Khoo Kongsi is the grandest clan temple in the country. The clan temple has retained its authentic historic setting, which includes a traditional theatre and the late 19th century row-houses for clan members, all clustered around a granite-paved square.  We were there for the ‘Festival of Light’.  Didn’t know what to expect but actually weren’t expecting a talent show from the local dance studio.  Very enjoyable anyway. 

Khoo Kongsi temple

A few other attractions were on the agenda but really if you walk down any street in Penang you can see wonderful architecture and temples amid houses, shops and markets.  Catching a bus to anywhere is a good way to spend a couple of hours and see what there is to see, and you don't have to worry about the traffic.  Penang is very much worth a visit and even better if you are prepared to just wander around the streets.  We spent a delightful hour in a curios shop talking to the owner who had collected bits and bobs from old houses around Penang – fascinating.  We also found a good street market.

Lovely archiecture

What about some cabbage mister?

We stumbled across some cruisers we knew while we were in Penang and were a bit perplexed to hear they were going to the “Line Dancing on Stilts” exhibition the next day, or at least that's what we thought we heard.  A very confused skipper and crew were dumbfounded by the excitement exhibited by these cruisers looking forward to the Line Dancing on stilts.  How the heck do you line dance on stilts?  Silly us.   Finally it dawned on us…..LION dancing on stilts. 

This traditional Chinese dance is often mistakenly referred to as a dragon dance but you can tell the difference as a lion is operated by two people, while a dragon need lots of people. Also, in a lion dance, the performers' faces are covered, since they are inside the lion. In a dragon dance, the performers can be seen as the dragon is held up on poles.   

And, Lion dancing on stilts requires these boys who have their faces covered, to jump and cavort on the top of poles (stilts) which stick up out of the ground at varying heights.  No mean feat when the boy at the rear of the lion often lifts the boy at the front on his shoulders.  This and without missing a beat of the movements of the lion, is all done atop the poles. 

The lions we saw at Belitung

So now clear on the LION dancing we declined joining the fun as we had seen this traditional dance while on the Island of Belitung and wanted to prepare for our departure but not before we visited the Pinang Peranakan Mansion commonly known as 'The Green Mansion'.  This Mansion was once owned by a very wealthy Chinese Politician and for a small fee you can wander around and even enjoy a cup of Penang coffee - takes your head off but good all the same.

Beautiful Bonsai in the 'Green mansion'

Fine embroidery

Beautiful rooms in the 'Green Mansion'

Leaving Penang we head down the Malacca Strait stopping at Rimau Island, Burnum River, Pangkor island, Lumut and Port Klang.  Lumut was where we hoped to catch up with some Australian friends also cruising the Strait, but unfortunately they were both ill and so we banned them from coming aboard.  Sorry, next time.  Here, we had been advised to adhere to strict anchoring procedures in the Dinding River and on advice anchored as close as possible to the starboard channel marker, keeping the way clear for tugs towing small islands (barges filled with sand).  

We did anchor close to the marker and well out of the way but were amused to watch 'Maritime Malaysia' once again.  Could this be the same boat that had trouble anchoring at the island north of Penang?  Seems they have come up with the solution.  Just tie up to the starboard marker.... yeah that will fix it.  Won't drag anchor tonight.

Why didn't we think of that?

Cruising only during daylight hours we avoid the unlit fishing boats which cannot be easily seen at night.  They also have nets out and these you cannot see very well at any time – we often had to make last minute course changes as we approach the small flags or buoys attached to the nets.   Very exciting  NOT.

Next stop Port Klang.   Hmmm Port Klang.  By the time we were entering the Klang River the wind and swell had taken its toll on us and the fact that a small engine oil leak was persistently persevering we decided to take a mechanical sabbatical and put an end to the drip.  Thank goodness for Multimax Engineering in Port Klang.  Oh how we were glad to meet Martin and Ruth at Mulitmax.  This lovely English couple have been in Port Klang for 5 years having sailed from Bristol.  Now swallowing the anchor they have established the mechanical business.  What a find!  The only good thing about the Royal Selangor Yacht Club and the Klang River is Martin and Ruth.  Thanks for everything, we enjoyed meeting you.

The name ‘Royal Selangor YC’ conjures elaborate expectations doesn’t it?   The office staff and one ground staff member in particular were fabulous.  However, don’t go expecting to have a berth with power and water.  Do however, expect to be tied to a floating jetty with NO water or power, a few cleats that are not rusted through and a ‘Jingo’ service every hour (if you are lucky) to take you to the mainland if you want.  Or you can just stand there wave and yell because they forget to do the hourly run.  Works ok. 

Also expect all types of wildlife to approach your boat as islands of rubbish float past up and down river with the tides.  A simple “Skipper can you come here NOW” works well to shoo away unwanted four-legged, forked-tongue MONSTER guests.  For all this and more (like the smell at low tide) you will pay a fee.  How boring life can be for land lubbers eh? 

Skipper keeps an eye on the 'rubbish' island making way upstream

Ah, the engine is back together and sounds wonderful. Blasted oil leak is still there though.  We just couldn’t locate it.  Poor old engine, bound to use a bit of oil I’m told.   Mmmmm.   When the mechanic (Martin) sent the head away for whatever they do to it (I’m a girl OK) it came back with “Martin” boldly painted on it obviously to identify the person who brought it in to the workshop.  Of course now with this name indelibly  emblazoned on the side, we have decided that the engine’s new name just has to be MARTIN.  What do you do?

With Port Klang behind us we continue south anchoring at Port Dickson, the Water Islands, Pisang Island and on the last day with the wind and tide in our favour we continued on up the Singapore Strait directly to Danga Bay and into our old berth. 

Ah, familiar arches seen from our anchorage at Port Dickson

Another familiar sight - storm approaching Danga Bay

Hello everyone, we’re baack!

Nothing much is new at Danga Bay, the Aussie chef has left the restaurant, oh how we will miss him.  Never mind the ‘beach’ will have our usual food.  Uh oh, they weren’t here last time.  Worried look.  Thank goodness the Satay Man is still there and the boss hasn’t changed either.  We are welcomed back with enthusiasm.   Price of beer has gone up though !!!!

And... there's always dinner on board anyway

So it is here we will organize paperwork for Indonesia, and trust me, the paperwork is phenomenal to enter Indonesia, but we will persevere and look forward to the island of Batam and the Riau island group (as soon as we (meaning crew) clean what Port Klang left on the deck, covers, topsides and waterline.  Eeuuw! what is that anyway?  It’s moving!  Skipper come here NOW please.

Just joking. 

Nice clean boat in dirty Danga water

PENANG TO LANGKAWI

Penang is a picturesque island, the city is like a lot of other cities however the lush dense mountains give the main city, Georgetown, a beautiful backdrop no matter from which direction you approach it.  The people we found to be very friendly and we would be happy to spend time there again.  Our visit was short but we wanted to get to Langkawi now that Lupari 2’s crew had returned from Australia.  Congratulations on their new granddaughter.

Around 8am one morning the tide was in our favour so we weighed anchor (silly expression, we know how much the anchor weighs) and headed north once again.  Motoring is the norm up here in the tropical belt as the only good winds accompany sumatras (storms) that whip through briefly bringing rain and thunder.   Sumatras are also the norm.  We are used to it.  However there were no Sumatras today as we head to the island of Bidon (Pulau Bidon) to anchor in calm waters between the mainland and the island for the night.  There was however, a large swell which accompanied us from Penang and we were a bit skeptical that we would not be able to escape it even behind the island.  To our delight the anchorage was calm and although we did roll a bit through the night we managed to stay put until next morning and were even able to stroll on the sandy beach.

Anchored at Pulau Bidon

Always wondered how palm trees grew on the beach

Unfortunately the Maritime Malaysia craft that also attempted to anchor near us just could not get their anchor to hold try as they did.  We watched with some trepidation as they attempted several times to set the anchor and eventually after a couple of hours, gave up and departed.  By then the wind had picked up and the calm anchorage became a roly one. After their 3rd or 4th attempt at anchoring the skipper wanted to go and give them a brochure on the SARCA anchor. Truly, if you have boat, use a SARCA. We could write volumes on the people we speak to who have anchoring problems.  We have spent most of the last 5 years on anchor, in mud, sand, weed, reef, rock and lord knows what else, and we have come to love our SARCA. Put it down, pull it in, go to sleep.

Our plans were to anchor a couple more times before reaching Langkawi but it was only a day’s motoring away and with fair weather we kept going to reach Kuah harbour around mid afternoon and anchor with several other boats already there.  

The Brahminy Kite is Langkawi's mascot

Langkawi is actually a group of 99 islands off the very northern tip of the Malaysian/Thailand border.  Absolutely beautiful, steep, dense green islands greet you as you arrive and naturally it is a tourist haven.  It is also a Duty Free haven – YAY cheap alcohol.  A heavy duty is put on alcohol throughout Malaysia as they frown on the consumption of any form of alcohol. 

So Langkawi is the place to restock the lockers with beer, spirits, wine and champers YES champers again.  Oh lovely.  We soon find an enterprising woman who will deliver to our dinghy jetty any number of cartons of beer and fill our diesel jerry cans too, all for just a small personal profit.  Worth it for her and for us as it is very convenient.  We take a walk to the night market and visit many duty free shops and also another good Chinese restaurant.  The skipper cannot believe the price of beer here is around a ¼ of what we were paying in Johor.

After a couple of days in the main harbour we leave to explore quieter anchorages.  There are any number of idyllic places to anchor and we really feel like we are cruising again.  Our first anchorage is behind the island of Bumbon and a good place to escape windy storms in Kuah harbour as Kuah is quite open and exposed.  We find a handful of cruisers already anchored at Bumbon and join them to enjoy our surrounds for a few days.  Now the wind I was telling you that is quite elusive here in the tropics somehow found its way to Langkawi all at once and we are glad we anchored in Bumbon as a few days were spent rocking about during strong gusts coming in from the north west, so much so that our shade covers were lashed to the masts for a few days.  We console ourselves with visits for morning tea to our new found friends and also a bbq on the beach one calm evening.  

Meeting our neighbours

Large fishing vessel with heavy nets

Our next major port on Langkawi is Telaga harbour and we book into the marina for a short while to top up our water tanks and explore the area.  The marina staff are very willing to assist us, happy and helpful, making our stay extremely pleasant.  We were informed we could hire a car at the marina office and as we were a little isolated at this end of the island we decide a sight-seeing and shopping trip is in order.  Our car, a Black Proton (why black in this climate?) with no air conditioning, only two windows that wind down, no fuel and a huge scrape down the passenger side takes us on a circumnavigation of the island – after we stop laughing that is.  Such is life in Langkawi.  The car is legal though as it does have ‘P’ plates, lots of registration AND seat belts.  More laughing.  It is obviously a staff member’s car who is trying to gain a little extra cash on-the-side.

Telaga Harbour Marina - this marina suffered severely in the 2004 Tsunami but is shipshape now

Devastation during the Tsunami.

The beautiful Oriental Village on Langkawi

Atop Mt Gunung Raya

We drive through typical Malaysian countryside dodging monkeys at the roadside (they have no fear of vehicles), and villages, stop at the Kraf Shop (craft shop) to view Batic painting and lots of typical and non-typical Malaysian crafts.  Some ‘kraf” was 'made in China'.  Go figure, they must be too busy here.  They did have quite a good museum however.   Then it’s on to PL Soon Huat supermarket for some groceries.  Surprisingly, there is a very good variety of US and UK tinned goods.  We just love the laid-back lifestyle – we get to the counter with our basket of goodies only to find we are a little embarrassingly short of cash (they don’t do credit/debit cards).  “No problem, ATM just across road at petrol station – you take shopping, come back, pay.”  No problemo. Well actually, the crew stayed put with the shopping while the skipper nipped across to top up the wallet situation. 

Cooling waters at the waterfall

We had heard of a couple of South African cruisers who have now settled here on Langkawi and import good quality meat products – not surprisingly their brand name is ‘Sailors’.  They make their own pies (PIES YUUUM strange what you miss) and everything is Halal ie. In accordance with Muslim traditions.  Luckily we stumbled on their bakery/factory and stopped for a chat and to buy some fresh beef on the way back to the marina. 

Halal and non-Halal:  In Islam, some forbidden items include: alcohol and food prepared with alcoholic ingredients (whether or not "cooked off"), pork and all products prepared using swine (ex. mashmallows, gelatin); 'animals improperly slaughtered'; carnivorous or omnivorous mammals (only herbivore mammals are allowed); birds of prey; and any food contaminated with any of these.  Limits your choice somewhat, although chicken and fish products are abundant.  Good thing we like chicken and fish.

Anyway, the following day we had the opportunity to catch up with some fellow cruisers we had not seen for some months for a delightful Tapas lunch and a very lazy afternoon chatting. 

From the marina we can dinghy out to the anchorage fondly known as ‘the pond’ to take a swim from one of the man-made islands therein.  This anchorage, at the entrance to the marina channel accommodates around a dozen or more yachts comfortably who can also access the marina facilities and top up with fresh water for a minimal fee.  At the end of our marina stay we also anchored in the pond for a night before we headed off to circumnavigate Langkawi and explore more of the idyllic anchorages.  

The weather had been extremely kind to us over the weeks we were safely tied up in our berth, until............you know it, the day we were due to leave.  A short-lived suspicious wind and low clouds blew softly through during the afternoon and we just had that nagging in the back of our minds, you know how you do?  The evening passed quietly although was a little roly from an equally suspicious swell but we convinced ourselves it would pass.  The morning of our departure dawned still, grey, cooler than usual and with some low cloud hovering around the surrounding hills.  But we would leave as planned as we didn't have far to go and it didn't look too threatening.  By the time the anchor was completely up and we were deciding which way to turn once out of the protection of the pond, the sky was black, it was bucketing, thundering and blowing.  Great!  We need to keep going now as re-anchoring could be filled with mishap.  Great!  The crew was not happy and the skipper was soaking wet.  

A couple of choppy, blindingly wet and miserable hours passed as we reached our new anchorage and shortly after digging in the anchor, would you believe, all the nasty weather cleared and we were able to dry off and decide who was going up the mast to untangle a halyard that had wrapped itself around the headsail preventing us from properly furling it at some stage during the BLASTED BLOW !  Deep breaths.  Isn't this fun? 
(Skipper says: beats 9 to 5 though.  Crew says: thththwvpth!).

So, the weather clears enough for us to cruise around to the Kilim Geoforest Park (affectionately know by cruisers as Hole-In-The-Wall) for a week of quiet calm and very interesting dinghy exploration of the amazing waterways through mangroves, the bat-filled caves and along beside sheer rock cliffs.  

A gorgeous anchorage (the sun did come out eventually)

We are fortunate to be the only occupied anchored vessel there and so we had the place to ourselves at night.  During the day, a different matter.  Lots and lots of tourist boats speed through the waters to see the caves, feed the birds and monkeys and in general sight-see.  Of course, the occupants all wave and call out as they go past enjoying their speed boat experience.  The women in their full black burkha outfits looking like Ninja warriors, or some masked avengers, hanging on for dear life don't look quite as impressed as their husbands but then it's hard to tell with their faces covered.  

Through caves....

and ravines.

The nights, oh the nights were amazing.  Still, quiet (quieter, than quiet) warm, romantic...true...romantic, star-studded nights.  The reflections of the surrounding hills on the still water making us feel like we were floating in space.  Sensational.  A definite highlight of Langkawi, and indeed Malaysia, for us.   

The local restaurant

 

Sensational cliffs

Idyllic hideaways

The intrepid cave explorer

Yep, the dinghy is still where we left it

Caves everywhere

We so wish we could share ALL our photos with you just to show you how wonderful these cruising grounds are.  Mother nature is fantastic and the ocean is a wondrous and sometimes perplexing place and we are grateful for every minute -  well….. maybe not EVERY minute I remember the Gulf of Carpentaria crossing  Aaargh.  But we do consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to see the parts of the world we have seen including the Australian coastline.

All too soon we leave to again cruise to another anchorage and re-stock for our sail back down south.  We have decided to head back down the Malaysian coast to spend some more time in Indonesia. 

All our love