Dear friends
It has certainly been an interesting passage up the Malacca Straits. A place of contrasts, …everchanging.
To begin with, let me say that we were not really worried about pirates, and we found nothing but friendly fishermen, some perhaps also very curious who came to have a close look at a sailing vessel.
We left Sebana Cove in eastern Malaysia and rounded the island of Singapore and into the Straits, overnighting at a couple of islands on the way. Our first short stop was at the Water Islands, outside Malacca: pretty, huge resort on the island which was totally abandoned, and very much a hallmark of so many resorts throughout Malaysia –even worse than in Indonesia… in fact, after six weeks in these waters, I have to say I have never seen so many ‘
white elephants’ – and costly ones at that – before!We then headed to Port Dickson, and took the local bus to Malacca, as the waters outside are too shallow for anchoring there. This has been our favourite place, the narrow streets of the old town are full of doorways into worlds of old…. We loved the mix of Malay, Indian and Chinese cultures; the cuisine was to die for, and the added mix of Dutch, Portuguese and English history make for an extremely interesting old town. It has also recently been declared a UNESCO world heritage site – deservedly so.
We then sailed up to Port Klang, very industrial but worth the trip around the busy port, and on to the island of Pangkor outside Lumut. It was getting less humid and also the scenery started to change, becoming increasingly prettier. At Pangkor, some friends told us of a brand new abandoned marina (Pulau Mentangor), and we spent two days there among really pretty islands exploring the surrounds, before heading north again towards Penang.
We spent a lovely week at the Tanjung City Marina right in the heart of Georgetown. In the evenings, the Indian quarter becomes a street party with Bollywood music blaring and locals enjoying the cooler evening temperatures eating out at the many local restaurants. Some really interesting architecture around, but slowly being swallowed by the spread of high rises, if they’re not careful.
We headed northwards once again, intending to overnight at the southern islands outside Langkawi before heading there. We stopped over at a place called the Fjord, majestic sheer cliff face in a narrow channel sandwiched between stunning islands. We loved it so much that we ended up staying for 3 days! It was then time to head to Rebak Island, on th
e west of Langkawi to the Marina/resort for some R&R, Laundry, boat maintenance and general repairs in preparation for our Thailand visit and for the start of the Indian Ocean crossings before Xmas.Some reflections to date: the big worry of those ‘sumatras’, the thundersqualls, never eventuated, although we did have a few thunderstorms at the lower end of the Straits, but no really strong winds. Cruising is indeed fixing the boat in exotic locations – the list grows longer daily, and you never seem to catch up! Also, I have never been so familiar with the underpants brand of so many friends around us.. haha, on board we all succumb to the ‘brief’ temptation, which is why one always calls out when visiting another yacht… well, what do you expect, it’s hot, and humid and thank goodness for these lovely pools when we’re in marinas! An incredible mix of cruising nationalities, and some very special people around, ever so helpful, welcoming and warm!!
We get hauled out in the next day, and then it’s waxing the hull and antifouling the bottom, doing minor repairs/ improvements, checking the vitals, and generally preparing for the next legs.
We’re really looking forward to cruising the incredibly majestic and stunning Thai waters, even if our time here is going to be brief and all we’ll get in four week is a taste! We hope to upload the Malaysia photos shortly to the Picasa spot for SV.Mischief: http://picasaweb.google.com/SV.Mischief
We plan to be leaving to do the next Indian Ocean crossing to the Maldives before Xmas, where I hope to get out our last newsletter for the year, with some indications of our itinerary through to Oman, the Red Sea and to the Med.
Here’s wishing you a very happy Xmas and a great new 2009!
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