George Town, Pulau Penang, Malaysia

Carol sampling food at a street vendor

Retail outlets on the Chew clan jetty

The non-commercial Lim clan jetty

A Buddhist temple in one of the clan houses

An Indian Temple in the Little India section of George Town

George Town, Pulau Penang, Malaysia

Feb.26, 2016

On Mon, the 22nd, we took the ferry from Langkawi to the island of Penang and its capital, George Town. We left Maggie at anchor and arranged for a dinghy repair person to meet us at the dock and work on the dinghy leak while we were gone. The dinghy is fixed and the bill didn't set us back much. A seam was opening. We were happy to see Maggie where we left her. We had a real gale blowing last night and didn't move although it was tiring listening to all that wind. And not much fun in the dinghy.

Our main purpose for the trip was to get our application in for the Indonesian visa for April. We took a cab ride out to the Indonesian consulate each of the 3 days we were there and did all the waiting involved. But we now have the visa in hand. You can visit up to 30 days just flying in to the country and getting a visa when you land. It is just more involved to stay longer.

We also were looking forward to visiting the city of George Town. It is sometimes referred to as "The Pearl of the Orient". In 2008 it and Malacca were designated as world heritage sites by Unesco for their historic significance along the Malacca Straits. For 500 years East has met West in these trading centres building a real multicultural community. It was the first city established when the British arrived so many colonial buildings are preserved from that period. The old temples, docks and clan houses of the Chinese are also being protected. And Little Indian has its' temples of worship, craftsmen and eateries. They offer free "on and off" bus transit in the core downtown area so we could see a lot in the short time we had.

The island of Penang is famous as the food capital of Malaysia, especially for local street food. The blending of many cultures, low wages, and a love of eating out have combined for some delicious feasting. We combined picking up snacks, with a few restaurant meals-all good although spicy. Tourism is, therefore, a main industry. But medical tourism is obviously part of that. There is a huge private hospital for foreigners. And you see many clinics offering fertility treatments or cosmetic surgery.

We decided to visit the marina just to see what it was like and whether you could buy any boat supplies. To our surprise we saw Bluewind in a slip. Checking with the office we learned that they had arrived the day before. Then we bumped in to Daphne and Ruy in the grocery store. It was such a treat to see them. Fortunately we could spend an evening together over dinner. They have made plans to ship their boat to the Med in April from Phuket. We may see them again there in March.

Today, Friday, we have moved to another anchorage off the island of Dayang Bunting. We are the only boat anchored here, although many tour boats have dropped off tourists on land. There is a freshwater lake very close to the shore that people like to hike around. We'll do that in the morning before the crowds, and then head to another harbour. We are hoping we can catch Tahawas at Telega Harbour if they are still there.

Bass Harbour off the capital town of Kuah

Islands on the south entrance to Langkawi

Interesting map of Langkawi archipelago on rock face

Streetscape Kuah

Sunset over Royal Langkawi Marina

Food stall at the night market

Great dinner for little money!

Langkawi, Malaysia

Bass Harbour off the capital town of Kuah

Feb.21 2016

Langkawi is a group of islands off the northwest coast of Malaysia. There are between 77 and 104 islands depending on which guide book you read and what you call an island. The largest island is called Langkawi, also. The name means "reddish brown eagle" and there is a park with a huge statue of one along the waterfront. Three large areas of the archipelago have been designated as geoparks by Unesco for their geological features and flora and fauna. The large limestone and marble mountains and steep cliffs are from very ancient earth history (500 million yrs). With beaches and rainforest and diving it is a popular tourist destination.

So far we are still anchored off the main town of Kuah. There is good holding and lots of room in the shallow bay. It is good to see some sailboats again after a lonely trip up the coast. I don't see many  with flags so don't know where they are from. We have walked around most of the town exploring. As it is duty free we have been filling up the cupboards with what we can carry. Luc arranged for us to get our visas for reentering Indonesia from the consulate in Penang, which is an island a daysail's further south of here. We didn't get that email before sailing past the island. We have decided to take the ferry to Penang from here instead of Maggie. It runs 3 times a day in 3 hours inexpensively. We'll stay in a hotel and sightsee there until the process is complete-not supposed to take too long. In the meantime we have arranged for someone to (hopefully) fix the slow leak in our dinghy. It was new in Papeete but has been losing air in one pontoon since Aug.

The guidebooks all rave about Malaysia's great street food. We haven't been disappointed with the meals we have eaten out. One night we tried "steamboat and grill", popular here and in Thailand. It is like a fondue but with a pot of chicken soup in which you cook vegetables, noodles, and seafood. Around the sides is room to grill the meats or fry an egg. There is a buffet of ingredients to choose from. (cost was about $7). Sat night we went to the night market, where fresh fish and fruits are sold, as well as clothing and toys, etc. Dinner food in hawker stalls is sold for usually less than $1 an item. We snacked our way down the street on spring rolls, satay, samosas, noodles and fried rice. Yum!

Most restaurants do not sell alcohol because it is a Muslim country. Craving a beer yesterday we found a store selling pizza that offered beer. It turned out to be a good stop for us. A couple, Ian and Jam, who are anchored near us also came in for lunch. We had a long visit getting useful info on the area and the trip up to Thailand. Ian has sent us some guide material and charts. They have spent many seasons cruising here as well as living in Thailand.

No Regrets arrived Fri am. Tim, a friend of his with his daughter, and Bob and Barb, have been aboard since Penang. We had a chance for a visit Fri before they moved on to a quieter spot. Bob had a chance to leave a duffel bag of his things to have on Maggie for his return in May. It was good to have a visit and some planning in person.

Passage from Batam Island, Indonesia to Langkawi, Malaysia

Fuzzy picture of our chartplotter screen showing the south and northbound shipping lanes in the Straits of Malacca

Waterspout visible in centre of picture

Pangkor style fishing boats

The Straits of Malacca

Passage from Batam Island, Indonesia to Langkawi, Malaysia

February 17, 2016

After 6 days of traveling we finally had the chance to get off the boat yesterday. After spending extra time at Nongsa Point waiting for weather we decided to get some distance covered without stops. We may go back to some sites by land from here. We covered about 450 miles, with 2 overnight trips. The other 3 nights we pulled over to the side of the channel to anchor and get some sleep. Thankfully the weather was calm enough for that. We were grumbling to ourselves that we had to motor most of the way because of light winds. But now we know that we were lucky to get that. The last night the wind was between 15 and 20 knots on the nose. In the shallow water that gives short steep seas that really slow you down and are uncomfortable. The winds, which are always from the northeast this time of year, have been even stronger ever since we got here, so are glad to  have that passage behind us.

The first day was spent traveling west through the Singapore Straits. Between dodging boats and watching the passing skyline, it was an interesting trip. The only problem was a return  fuel line coming off in the engine compartment, which was spewing diesel around. Rob got it repaired but the engine needed to be off while he worked. Fortunately I could drift into a shallow area between the 2 lanes of boat traffic.

By nightfall we entered the infamous Straits of Malacca (or Melaka locally). There used to be issues with piracy but not considered bad on the Malaysian side now. Boats avoid the Sumatra side. Even though the commercial traffic is heavy, it is well organized with shipping lanes each way that are mandatory. The Japanese donated money to have all the buoys in place and maintained. We traveled just outside the northbound lanes. If you go any further towards shore there are many fishing nets, buoys, and boats that you can't see in the dark. It is also known for having a lot of lightning storms. Two nights we were in squalls with lightning. But the other nights you could see lightning around us in the distance. Also so a water spout which the area is noted for.

Each major port along the route had many freighters anchored outside waiting for their turn to load or unload. It was interesting to look them up on the AIS and find out where they were traveling to and their home port. Lots of worldwide destinations! Nearer Singapore there were many barges with tugs carrying sand. The sand is used to create reclaimed land in Singapore and Malaysia, but it comes from Indonesia. Essentially islands are moved out of Indonesia.

The first night anchored we were near Kuala Lumpur airport and could watch the steady stream of planes in and out. It is a city we would like to get back to. Once closer to shore we had to contend with the volumes of garbage in the water. I don't know if it comes from land or the boats. Someone was telling us how they keep beach resorts clean for tourists. They watched a bulldozer pick all the garbage up along with the top layer of sand and cart it away. Eventually they can buy more sand.

Sunday night, Valentine's day, we were anchored in a beautiful protected spot along Pangkor Island. On the opposite shore was an exclusive all island resort, Pangkor Laut. We could pretend to be staying there-the view was the same. There were a lot of the local fishing vessels working near us. We had seen the type many times along the way, about 50 ft long and brightly painted. A few motored around us. We're not sure if that was for good luck, or curiosity, or to tell us to move. We left for the last passage Mon am. In the evening we were traveling along the west coast of the island Penang. If we had known at the time that No Regrets was anchored there we would have done an overnight for a daytime arrival and stopover. There were at least a dozen locations along the island with fireworks at midnight. We don't know the occasion unless they are still for the Chinese New Year or a typical resort happening. The rest of the night was coping with rain, wind, and dodging fishing boats with no AIS.

Last Day in Indonesia

Nongsa Point Marina and Resort

Rally boats leaving in a gale!

Batam/Singapore ferry aground!

Dinner out with cruisers and marina manager

Seaweed and garbage washed in with high swell

Last Day in Indonesia

Feb.10 2016

I hate to say that we are still in the marina, but we are going tomorrow morning regardless. We feel much better prepared than if we had left quickly. We have done a lot of much needed work and talked to quite a few sailors about what to expect as we travel north. Last week as we went through checking all the systems, we found out that the autopilot was no longer working. Rob spent several days taking it all apart and talking to the service department in the US. Considering the time change some calls were done at 3 am. In the end there was a faulty wire that needed replacing. We bought a new remote control for it on ebay over Christmas and that works as well, fortunately.

By the time all that was done it was the weekend of Chinese New Year. And a bad weather system had blown down from Siberia- very unusual for here. Winds were well into the thirty some knot range for days and lots of rain. We have sailed in those conditions if need be but want to enjoy the trip up the Singapore and Malacca Straights. The exit from the marina is right into the wind and the surf. Didn't look very pleasant watching the  few boats that left. We will likely do a few overnights now to make up the time

We have been enjoying our time here and getting some work done as well as finishing a few books. While tidying I have found four things that I wanted to take home in Dec but couldn't find. You wouldn't think the boat was that big. It has been fun to see the marina and resort very busy compared to the first week and early Dec. There is a week's holiday for the Chinese New Year so many families are here on holiday. Also the marina is sponsoring a week long regatta heading south into Indonesia. We got a chance to meet some of them before they left. There have also been cruisers passing through whom we have visited with. It is really helpful for us as we are not familiar with Malaysia and Thailand except from what we have read.

There was entertainment and fireworks for the celebrations on Mon. Also each time we were at the mall provisioning there had been entertainment for the holidays. The Chinese New Year's Eve is a reunion dinner, where all families get together for traditional foods and visiting. (The women go to their husbands families.)

 The date of the holiday coincides with a new moon so the tides are always higher than usual. On top of the winds, the tides have been even more extreme. We were out to dinner Sunday at a seafood  restaurant that was perched out over the water. Near the end of the meal the waves were crashing into the structure and water was splashing up fairly high between the floor boards. Time to leave! Back at the marina parts of the breakwater gave way with the waves riding over it. Piles of seaweed and garbage have been coming over it onto the beach. We watched one of the buoys marking the entrance channel fall over. We also watched the ferry on the other side of the breakwater run aground. (Third time in three months!)

We just received an email from Bluewind this morning saying they have decided to ship their boat to the Med instead of crossing the Indian Ocean with the rally. We will miss them! That leaves us with 3 boats now. We hope to see the other two somewhere in Malaysia or Thailand in Feb or March. We meet at the north end of Sumatra, Indonesia, near the end of March. Then it is cruising down that coast to Pedang until a May 9 start across towards Africa. We have sent in our application for permission to stop in Chagos for two weeks enroute. It is a military base so permission needs to be given for a stop. The only other stops are at Reunion and Mauritius, both of which are close to Madagascar.

Traveling back to Maggie

Orchard Road Shopping Centre - with Monkeys!

Chinatown

Even the plants at the Garden Conservatory had a Monkey theme!

Spectacular setting for the Singapore Open - The Serapong course at the Sendosa Golf Club

Sunday Service at a Bhudist Temple

Singapore skyline

Traveling back to Maggie

February 2, 2016

We are now back on board Maggie in the marina at Nongsa Point, in Batam, Indonesia. It seems strange to be writing a blog when we haven't gone anywhere. But we have seen many interesting things on the way here and have started the necessary preparations. Right now it is raining and the wind has been fairly strong from the northeast. This is a different season from when we left in early Dec. At that time it was calm and hot. For the next few months we will be in the northeast monsoon season. We are happy to be getting some breeze into the boat as we adjust to the heat.

We left Toronto last Monday and flew via Brussels and Abu Dhabi. We can at least say that we have circumnavigated by plane as we flew home eastbound via Shanghai. We were lucky to land in Abu Dhabi at sunset on a clear day with a window seat. It was interesting to see all the sand dunes dotted with oil rigs across the Arabian peninsula. And then to see the city areas much more lit up than other cities. It was a 6 hour flight overnight to Singapore. We lost 13 hours over the 3 flights.

The plan had been to stay in Singapore for 2 days to pick up some more marine supplies and do some more sightseeing. But we noticed banners advertising the golf tournament, The Singapore Open, was starting Thursday with Jordan Spieth as one of the players. Too good an opportunity to miss!  It felt good to be in "cruising mode" and just change plans to stay 2 more days. It was good to have a few more days with air conditioning as we recovered from the jet lag.

The tournament must make its money on TV coverage as it only cost $15 to watch on Fri. (The beer was $12) And the crowds were very light except for a group following Spieth. They were not strict about how close you could be to the players so it was fun to be there. We got rained out for the rest of the day at 3 pm so they were playing catch up every day since. More rain Sunday has meant the finals won't be completed until Mon-haven't heard results yet. We enjoyed watching the coverage in the hotel but it in not on TV in Indonesia.

Next weekend, Feb 8, is Chinese New Year and the city is well into celebration mode. I have never seen so many versions of a monkey, as it will be the Year of the Monkey. Everything from carved wood, flowers and plants covering a frame, plastic inflatables, and kids toys-by the hundreds. On Sunday we revisited Chinatown just to see the decor. By the afternoon you could hardly walk with the crowds. In the morning there was a service in the Buddhist Temple that you were welcome to watch. The temple is also a museum with its many relics and outstanding architecture.

We treated ourselves to a day on the "hop on hop off" bus. The included audio tour gave some good background to the city and its highlights. You could walk most places downtown but it felt good to have a break. The population is mostly Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian, and they each have an ethnic area that is preserved. In colonial times they were not allowed into the city business center. It was interesting to hear how the government tries to keep a crowded city functioning. They invest a lot on public transit and make it very costly to operate a car. Only a set number of private vehicles can be driven and it costs $50,000 for the permit after you wait for a spot. The price of the cars is heavily taxed. Almost everyone lives in an apartment, $250,000 for public housing if you qualify, or starting about a million for a private one. The few private homes are many million each. I was surprised to see everyone waiting for a green light to cross a street. And no food or drink is taken on the trains and buses. When new projects are built they bring in all the sand and soil and use the reclaimed land. The city has physically grown by 25%. The island with the golf course, also has a complex like Disneyland and Universal Studios with hotels and beaches.

We stopped for an afternoon at "Gardens by the Bay", a huge garden park with 2 conservatories, one with a rain forest climate, and the other Mediterranean. Spectacular! The interspersed art and sculpture was worth seeing on its own. The entire project also includes a shopping mall and the Marina Bay Sands hotel built on the man made island for about $5 billion. The room rates start at $750, then $1500 and up per night.

We managed to get our 4 bags of luggage each weighing just under 50 lb all the way to Singapore without any extra charge. But they cost us $47 to go the last 20 miles on the ferry. They have a 20kg limit per bag. Now we are working trying to find a home for all those things. We hired a marina worker, Acok,  to watch the boat and he had washed it all for us and opened it up for a few hours before our arrival. Things look and smell ok. Usually when we return to the boat something has stopped working. So far the only issue has been the zippers on the dodger and bimini. Some are broken and most will not open or close. We should have taken them off. Some food was in ziplocs and in a Rubbermaid bin, but there are still weevils inside. We are eating out of cans as the closest grocery store is a 3/4 hr taxi drive away. That trip is scheduled for this afternoon. In the meantime we are at a resort and can take a break at the pool or in the air conditioned bar.

Next stop, Malaysia. We just need to do some planning on when to start, where to stop, and check out of the country. Hopefully, sometime this week.