The Rally continues......

21 June 2008

We are four weeks in to the Passage to the East rally, and things are going well! Ten boats eventually started in the rally. Although there were early stops at Penang and Port Dickson, the rally ‘proper’ started in Sebana Cove.

Our day trip in to Kuala Lumpur (with Sazli, our rally host) was interesting. We went to the Batu Caves, a special area to followers of the Hindu faith. A flight of 272 steps leads up to Temple Cave, which has Hindu shrines in it. Each year during the Thaipusan festival in January or February, up to a million Hindus come to the area near the caves. Some of the truly faithful devotees subject themselves to body piercings; they have spikes, skewers and other piercings through their skin, attached to which are offerings such as milk pots, feathers and flowers. Although it looks very painful, a trance-like state aapparently stops the followers from feeling pain. We were actually in KL during Thaipusan, but didn’t really fancy either the crowds, or seeing people with numerous body piercings with hooks from them, dragging things along the road!

We arrived at Sebana Cove early, and got the ferry over to Singapore for three days. We had to buy a few boat spares, and it meant we could also spend some time with my cousin Jo-Ann and her husband Terry again. Each Thursday evening they go to Scottish dancing, so off we went too! Shane’s and my ceroc and salsa dancing in Wellington must have stood us in good stead, as for rank amateurs on the Scottish dancing front, we didn’t do too bad!

While we were in Singapore, the Great Singapore Sale was on. I was very well restrained though, and didn’t buy anything! We also went to the movies and saw “Sex and the City” which we really enjoyed.
For our rally gala dinner at Sebana Cove, we were all presented with the traditional Malay dress to wear for the evening. It was lovely woven cotton, and very cool to wear. In the heat here, it makes a lot more sense than the tight-fitting clothing we are used to wearing.

Our day trip the following day took us to the Desaru fruit farm. We had a tour around the orchard, and then got to sample lots of the different fruits, some of which we had never had before. We had the chance to sample all the different fruit; we took it easy as we still had to visit the homestay village where we were having lunch! And that proved to be another feast…….

A friend has commented to me that these rallies seem to involve a lot of gala dinners and eating – she would be right! Fortunately I am keeping up with my running, otherwise I’m sure I would be not far off signing up for Jenny Craig!


Our next rally stop was Tioman Island. A lovely little island, with white sandy beaches and clear blue water. Let’s hope commercialism doesn’t move in and spoil the great atmosphere the island has……… While we were there, we went to the local school’s karnival, a bit like the school sports day we all participated in when we were at school years ago. Just before prizegiving they marched around the field in their house colours.

Another rally stopover, another gala dinner……. At least we did have a bit of a walk before dinner this time. A big squall blew through a couple of hours before we were due to be picked up, and a tree was blown over, blocking the main road on the island. Tioman only has a relatively short stretch of road; transport to most of the bays and villages is by water taxi. Tioman has become very popular because of its lovely clear water (great for diving and snorkelling). It’s duty free status hasn’t harmed it either – all the yachties stocked up on liquid refreshments.

After Tioman we went to Kuantan, the capital of Pahang state. Our anchorage there was in front of the very flash Hyatt Hotel. It was just a pity that it was quite a rolly anchorage, as most of us only stayed two nights. The Hyatt put on a wonderful night for our gala dinner – a great meal and some wonderful traditional dancing. Plus we all got a lovely woven carry bag each.

Our day tour took us to a batik factory, where we saw the intricate work being done. It is very labour intensive. The wax is put on by hand; after that most of the painting is hand-done by small paintbrush, rather than the whole piece of cloth being dyed. We also visited a traditional village where fish are dried, and rubber and palm oil tree plantations.

After Kuantan we stopped at two islands on our way north. The islands on the way north had lovely clear blue water, great for swimming and snorkelling. Not so great was the view that greeted us this morning – off Pulau Kapas the water is thick with jellyfish. Some of them have long tentacles at least 2-3 metres long. Shane is not looking forward to what is hanging off the anchor chain when we pull it up……

Later on this morning, we will head in to Terengganu marina. Our first mission is to find somewhere to watch the second All Blacks vs England rugby game. We missed watching the game last week, but the marina manager (an Aussie) assures us the game is on. We should be kept busy for the week we are going to be in the marina, as Shane has a few things to do on the boat, and there is a bit of work to be done by both of us before we do our five day passage over to Kuching, where we will spend 2-3 months over in Borneo Malaysia.

We both agree that the east coast of Malaysia leaves the west coast for dead – we can swim over here, and the water is lovely and clear. There is far less rubbish in the water, and way less fishing boats. The Passage to the East rally will certainly become more popular in years to come.

Heather and Shane

East Coast Rally

Prior to leaving Thailand, we got one last bit of work done on the boat. We came to the conclusion that our fridge was on it’s last legs. At anchor, we needed to have the engine on for about three hours each day, just so there was enough juice in the batteries to keep the fridge running. Of course, that was starting to wear the batteries out…….. So we bit the bullet, and got Siam Cooling on the job, and we now have a wonderful new fridge!

On our last night in Phuket, we went to Nai Yang beach, on the west coast near the airport. Only a few tourists go there, it is nothing like Patong. We found this great little restaurant called Mamma Mias, and sat and had our meal at the bar. There was a poster for the movie Bridget Jones’ Diary on the wall, with a couple of scrawled signatures on it. Yes, Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant had dined there! The second Bridget Jones movie was partly filmed in Thailand, near where we ate at Nai Yang. They stayed there while filming the movie. We just had to watch the movie, and also noticed that Ko Panyi, the Muslim village on stilts that we wrote about in our last blog, also featured in the film.









We stopped at Phi Phi Don on the way south. They got hit hard there by the tsunami, but tourism is totally up and running again. This is what the beachfront looks like during the day – longtails from one end to the other.

Just as we got to our next stop – Ko Lanta - our camera decided it didn’t want to play anymore, so that was the end of photos for a while.


We left Thailand, and arrived in Malaysia six days after having left Phuket. Our port of arrival was Langkawi - a duty free island – so we just had to stock up on beer and wine! There is a large expat community there, and because of this, quite a bit of western food. One of the big local supermarkets sells 2 kg blocks of NZ cheese. It’s amazing what you miss when you can’t buy it for a while! Suffice to say, I stocked up….

While at Langkawi, we stayed at Rebak Marina for a week. It really is a resort, with a marina attached. Yachties are treated just like hotel guests. There is a great pool and other creature comforts; no wonder some yachties stay there for months! We nicknamed it ‘Fantasy Island’, as although it is a great place, it is a little removed from the reality that is Malaysia.

And then it was south to Penang, and the ‘East Coast Passage’ – a rally starting in Penang, down to Singapore, then up the east coast of Malaysia and over to Borneo by early August. This is the first year the East Coast Passage has been run, and there are 14 boats doing it. Most are starting from Sebana Cove near Singapore; only three of us started in Penang. The rally can only get more popular in years to come, as the east coast is where all the great beaches and dive spots are, and the area is largely untapped as far as a yacht cruising destination goes.



The night before the rally started, we enjoyed the customary ‘gala dinner’. Quite a small event this time, given the small number of yachts starting in Penang.












On Monday morning 25 May we were off. We were the first yacht to leave, and managed to get under the Penang bridge without any problems. Although you know that the boat will go under the bridge, without the mast getting knocked off, it is still a little nerve-wracking until you have actually passed underneath! Shane wasn’t obviously too stressed, as he enjoyed his early morning cuppa…..

We arrived at Port Dickson yesterday afternoon, and head off on a day tour in to Kuala Lumpur this morning. We have been there before, but it should be good fun, as the host of the rally, Sazli, is taking us there.

I’ve just checked the date, and realised it is two years ago today that we moved on to Enzwell in Brisbane. Where has that two years gone??!!

For anyone that wants to check where the rally is taking us, go to
http://sailmalaysia.net/rally-info-east.html and if anyone wants to email us, the address is crew.enzwell@gmail.com

Heather and Shane

Phuket

After a great holiday in NZ, it was back to the boat in Phuket. We enjoyed getting back to the warm weather again, as the weather had packed up for our last two days in Wellington. However, I don’t suppose we can complain too much, as Wellington had by all accounts had it’s best summer for years!

We decided to get a couple of things done on the boat when we got back. A new mainsail cover (the old one was falling to bits), and some davits on the back (so that we can lift the tender/dinghy out of the water when we are motoring or sailing). We have always had to drag the tender along behind us, which isn’t that good for it.


The guys came to do the davits, and put bamboo poles across the back of the back of the boat. For a while we weren’t sure whether we were getting bamboo davits, rather than the stainless steel ones we had asked for! All was soon revealed; the bamboo poles were simple ‘scaffolding’, to enable the guys to weld the davits on. Poor old Enzwell did get a few funny looks from other yachties though, wondering what the heck was being built on the back of our boat!









We hired a car one day, and did a bit of shopping and had a look around the island of Phuket. We went out in Patong at night, and after dinner went to a bar for a couple of drinks. I had a pina colada, and being in Patong and near all the ‘girlie’ bars, this is the glass it came in!












We were in the marina for two weeks, and then it was off to explore Phang Nga Bay. The bay is lovely and sheltered, so we didn’t get to sail at all, but the water was lovely and warm, so swimming was on the agenda each day. There are also a long of islands with hongs “rooms”, that are great for exploring. Teems of tourists come in each day, so we tried to do our exploring either first thing in the morning, or late in the afternoon after they had all gone.



We went to the first hong at Ko Phanak during the day. We followed in a bunch of tourists who had come on one of the tour boats. You can see them kayaking towards the hole in the cliff. It is totally dark inside, so we needed to wear a headlamp. We paddled in on the tender. There are bats in the cave, hanging from the roof, and the cave itself smells a bit. But once we paddled to the other end, it was worth it, as we came out into a huge big lagoon.




We also visited a Muslim village, which is built on stilts next to an island. Heaps of tourists visited during the day (you can see all the longtails – boats – in the photo) but we waited until the end of the day before we went ashore. We hired one of the locals to take us for a bit of a tour in his longtail.










We went through this cave, with huge limestone formations hanging from it. The scenery in Thailand is certainly quite spectacular, huge limestone cliffs and rocks everywhere.

Our Thai visa runs out this coming Wednesday, so we will be checking out and heading back down to Langkawi, primarily for a bit of R and R at one of the resort marinas there, but also to stock up on duty free wine! Our plans are to hang around Langkawi for a bit, and then to get down to Penang by the end of May, to start in a rally that goes down the west coast of Malaysia and then up the east coast, where all the great beaches are. Some of the yachties that we met in last year’s rally are doing the Malaysia too, so it will be good to catch up with people we haven’t seen for a while.

Till next time.
Heather and Shane

PART TWO - Thailand and home to NZ

(see Part 1 of this blog below)

Our next stop was at Phi Phi Le – famous as the location where the movie “The Beach” – starring Leonardo di Caprio - was filmed.

Tourist boats go there in their droves each day, so we got there late afternoon and had a lovely peaceful night with about five other yachts, and left before the tourist onslaught the following morning.






We checked in with Customs at Ao Chalong in Phuket, had a couple of great nights catching up with fellow Kiwi yachtie friends, and then headed up to the top of Phuket to Yacht Haven Marina. We were having about five nights there before heading to NZ.

We hired a motorbike one day, and did a tour of Phuket. We went to Patong Beach, which was really hard hit in the tsunami. The place has been totally rebuilt; there is no evidence of the tsunami at all. The beach was amazing – about two miles long, the entire length of the beach was about eight deep with deckchairs and beach umbrellas! The place was full of East Europeans and Russians – planes come in direct from there each day. We hardly heard another English voice the whole time we were at Patong.

So after spending a week in Thailand, it was time to jump on the big bird and head home to New Zealand…….

Our time in NZ has been great. We were initially booked to be here for three weeks, but business matters mean that we have had to extend that time by two weeks, so we are now back in Phuket on 1 April.

We got home to find Wellington having the best summer in over ten years, so we were pretty happy with that! It was great to be back, to get to ‘The Cake-tin’ to see the Hurricanes beat the Chiefs (the Super 14 rugby competition for the non-rugby followers out there!), and generally just hang out spending time with family and friends.


After ten days in Wellington we had the weekend in Hastings, and then went to Auckland to see Shane’s brothers. One of his brothers, Kim, was getting married at Tapuaetahi – near Kerikeri.

An idyllic spot. As soon as we arrived, that was it. Shane took one look at Kim surfing the waves, he was off to join him using a borrowed board and wetsuit, and I was left unloading the car.


Not a bad spot, with the surf right at the front door.

Kim and Diana’s wedding was the day after we arrived. With it being held at a beach batch, over 100 people coming, and a hangi to set down, there was plenty of work to be done, but everything was well in hand when we arrived.


The wedding day dawned lovely and fine, and everyone had a great time. Here’s the Hegan clan, with Kim and Diana on the far right.

After the wedding we had an overnight stop in Auckland, and then we drove back down to Wellington. Shane was kept busy for three days doing some repairs and decorating at our commercial rental property. I busied myself doing coffees and lunches with friends – so I think I got the good end of the deal!

We had a good Easter, spending it with Shane’s kids, and this last week in Wellington has been spent enjoying the still-fantastic weather here, and fitting a few more lunches and coffees in with friends. Only five more days to go, and we will be back on Enzwell, ready to continue to see more of Thailand before heading south.

Till next time.
Heather and Shane

PART ONE - Penang and Langkawi

Early February saw us in Penang. We were lucky enough to be there for Chinese New Year, which was spectacular.

There were lots of celebrations on during the two weeks we were in Penang. Two events were quite memorable – visiting the Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple, also known as the Temple of Supreme Bliss. It was an amazing sight during the day, but even more so at night as it was beautifully lit up for the Chinese New Year period.




We also went with other yachties to a celebration being held near the marina.



It was like an ‘open home’ – there would have been over a thousand visitors; everyone was fed and provided with soft drink/coffee; there was entertainment all afternoon and evening, including a dragon dance and children doing a drum display; and the evening culminated in magnificent fireworks. It was pretty amazing that we could get to something like this, be a part of the local festivities, and it was all provided at no charge. Certainly a fantastic way for Penang to promote itself to visitors.

From Penang we travelled to Langkawi, stopping for two nights at beautiful anchorages just south of the main part of the island. We only had two days at Langkawi town itself, so hired a motorbike to have a look around the island. Langkawi is duty-free, and fairly laid-back, so has become a popular place for expats (particularly Brits) to settle.


We started to notice the change in the landscape – whereas Malaysia is fairly non-descript and low-lying near the coast, Langkawi has the limestone cliffs that Thailand is famous for.
We checked out of Malaysia at Langkawi, and had about a week to get up to Phuket and check in there.



On the way north up Thailand we stopped at Ko Muk, a beautiful anchorage with lovely clear aquamarine water.

Lots of tourist boats come to Ko Muk each day to visit Tham Morakot (Emerald Cave). It is a beautiful limestone tunnel that can be entered by boat at low tide, or by swimming through the cave.

It is named Emerald Cave for a reason; the tunnel stretches 80 metres in darkness before finally emerging into an open pool of emerald hue! It is truly an awesome sight.





Our first experience at Emerald Cave was somewhat spoilt by the people on a tourist boat who screamed the whole way through the tunnel; we went back to the cave again at the end of the day when all the tourists had gone and experienced the peace and tranquillity.



With spots like this we knew we were going to like Thailand!

Our adventures in Singapore!

Our last update ended as we arrived in Singapore and were enjoying everything that we had missed in a while – good coffee (and I actually managed to get Shane to enjoy a
Starbucks coffee – sacrilege I know!), good food, and a nice clean environment. We really enjoyed our time at One Degree 15 marina; it is very modern and new, and had a great gym and infinity pool. A membership there cost $35,000 so it was pretty swish.

The gym had great facilities – treadmills with a screen built in to the front that showed cable TV (headphones provided) and a view over the marina and pool – just the sort of inspiration I needed to start running again after a 13-month break.

As you can see, the marina wasn't a bad place to 'slum it' for a few weeks!





While we were there we met a cruising couple from Aussie who have been around these parts for a couple of years. Ley and Neil are a lovely couple, and have a wealth of knowledge on where to go to get things in Singapore. We spent one whole day walking around the streets near Little India, getting the low-down from Neil and Ley as to where to buy gas regulators, stainless steel items, and get our canopy repaired.

We also found out that Neil is a bit of a music buff and enjoys his jazz, as does Shane. The four of us went out one night to a jazz bar and had a few drinks. To give you an idea of booze prices in Singapore – we had two bottles of a cheap Aussie chardonnay that we would pick up at New World at home for about $10 each – at the jazz bar they were $60 a bottle! We just had to have a cocktail first though!










Given Singapore doesn’t have a lot of natural attractions, a lot of the entertainment and sights are man-made. One night we went to the ‘Songs of the Sea’ at Sentosa Island, a laser-light, water and music show. The accompanying narration and dance was more suited to young kids, but the light and water show was well done.







Singapore also dresses up quite spectacularly with Christmas lights. The display along Orchard Road (the main shopping street) apparently rivals that of Oxford Street in London. There was a free tour at night put on for tourists, to see the Christmas lights from the top of a double decker bus. I enjoyed it so much we did it twice! I have never managed to see the Christmas lights in London, so I suppose given Singapore’s reputation, seeing the lights in Orchard Road was the next best thing.




We spent three weeks in Singapore. We saw quite a few of the sights; I saw a lot of the shopping malls (until all the people at them in the week before Christmas almost drove me to distraction!); and I caught up with some friends I hadn’t seen for a while – Jo-Ann and Terry, and Chris and Svenja, along with an old work contact Tony. It was great meeting up with friends from home who were now living in Singapore. But after three weeks of giving the credit card a hiding it was time to move on to Sebana Cove Marina in Malaysia for Christmas.

So on December 19th we arrived at Sebana Cove. A few of the rally boats were there so it was good to catch up with them again.

Fairly soon after our arrival we met a cruising couple from Iceland – Aslaug and Kari - who I learnt were fairly keen runners. I went for a run with them and passed the test (i.e. I wasn’t too slow!). After that, a run first thing became my daily ritual!

On our third day at Sebana, as we were about to head off for our run, one of the other runners wished Aslaug a Happy Birthday. I didn’t know if I had heard right as it was my birthday that day too! We went out for dinner at the resort that night, along with Patrick and Elizabeth of Labarque. Luckily the cake didn’t get weighed down with too many candles!

Continue reading below as we move on to Sebana Cove and travel in Malaysia.

Our time at Sebana Cove marina

My birthday was just the start of a very social week at Sebana.

On December 24 we had our big Christmas dinner. The resort put on a veritable feast with all the Christmas extras – little goody bags for us all, party hats and crackers, and of course, the big guy himself (although being of slight Malay build, he needed a little padding out with cushions!).

Here we are with Father Christmas, Sebana style.











Christmas Day itself was a far more sedate affair. I went for a run first thing in the morning, and then mid morning Patrick and Elizabeth decided to teach the rest of us that very English of games, cricket. Being Kiwis, and keen sports fans, we knew the rules, but it was all double dutch to the Icelandics and Americans present. We had a second session in the afternoon, so everyone was well worn out by the end of the day.

That evening we avoided another huge meal. We had brought some tinned duck back with us from Paris, so had the crew of Labarque over for dinner to enjoy it with us. It was as good as we remembered Campbell (Shane’s brother) cooking it for us two months earlier in our little apartment in Paris!

On the rally we met Duncan and Irene, from the yacht Moose. They were now with us at Sebana. Irene is Dutch, and a tradition in Holland is to have a big Christmas celebration, where everyone makes a present for someone else, and also makes up a poem or game for that person.



We had this celebration on December 26th. It was a 3 pm start, with much eating, drinking, opening of presents, and reading of poems and games. Shane took this photo of us all from above Labarque’s pilothouse, of us all squished in to their cockpit! That’s Irene with the reindeer antlers on!






Sebana Cove was a much more relaxed affair than Singapore. The resort was a weekend type escape for Singaporeans, but has got a little rundown over the last few years. Despite that, the staff were great, and the resort/marina had a good pool. The resort was a few miles away from the nearest town, so everyone looked forward to visits into Sungai Rengit. It was hardly a roaring metropolis, but it had a supermarket, and the ‘meat-man’ came three days a week. There was also a good Indian restaurant, where we went to enjoy a roti chanai and teh tarik (Indian version of tea – sweet and milky, but very yummy) after doing the shopping.

The meat-man provided chicken and pork, and chopped it up to our individual requirements in the back of his station wagon. Here is Maddy from the yacht Tico-Tico getting her chicken; I was next in line ….The meat-man provided chicken and pork, and chopped it up to our individual requirements in the back of his station wagon. Here is Maddy from the yacht Tico-Tico getting her chicken; I was next in line ….






Before we left Sebana Cove, I made a quick overnighter trip back to Singapore to do some shopping.

I stayed with Jo-Ann and Terry; they had other friends staying while I was there so at night J and T took us to the Tanglin Club where they are members and we all enjoyed a Singapore Sling. Not quite Raffles, but I could tick the Singapore sling box this trip!






We stayed at Sebana Cove to celebrate Shane’s birthday, and the following day – January 13th – we headed off, Port Dickson bound.





Carry on below to read about our travels up the Malaysian west coast.

Kuala Lumpur

Admiral Marina at Port Dickson was another good stop. Once again, good staff, and a great pool! A lot of yachties use PD as a base to leave their yacht for a few days, and go inland to visit Kuala Lumpur and Melaka. We were no different, and so after two days at PD we set off. Public transport is VERY cheap in Malaysia, so we used the bus for the 2 ½ hr trip to KL. The trip to KL – for both of us – cost 16 ringitts, about $NZ6.

Kuala Lumpur means ‘muddy confluence’, and the city began at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers in the mid-19th century. It is now a bustling city, with many diverse cultures and distinct areas. We booked in to a hotel right in the middle of Chinatown, in Jalan Pentaling. At night the street is full of stalls selling pirated DVDs, handbags, shoes, and all the other stuff that you find in markets in Asia.


At dusk on the first day in KL, we went to the Petronas Towers. When first built in 1998, they were the tallest buildings in the world. (Although they are no longer the tallest individual buildings, they are still the tallest ‘twin towers’.) They are two mirror-image towers, and each has 88 stories in its 1482 feet of elevation. The towers are connected by a ‘sky-bridge’ at the 41st and 42nd floors 558 feet above ground.

The towers were a sight to behold. Given their exterior construction is stainless steel and glass, the towers looked like two crystal columns reaching high in to the sky. Shane was mightily impressed, and that takes a bit these days!









KL has some other fantastic architecture – one building that we both thought was spectacular is the Moorish styled Sultan Abdul Samad building. It was built in 1887, and now houses the Malaysian Supreme and High courts.











We also took the time while in KL to visit a couple of mosques – the National Mosque and Masjid Jamek (the oldest mosque).

Given our dress – we were both wearing shorts and to go within a mosque area ones legs need to be covered – we had to don lovely lilac capes at the National Mosque. We weren’t allowed in to the actual mosque itself. We all look like a swarm of ghosts floating around!!




On our first full day we got up early to go and stand in line for tickets to go up the sky-bridge at the Petronas Towers. The tickets are free, but they only let a certain number of people go up every day, so you have to get there early. We booked to go up late in the afternoon. The views from the sky-bridge were nowhere near as great as we thought they would be. Maybe it was because although KL has a population of 1.4 million the city isn’t as spread out as say Auckland or Sydney, or maybe it was the lack of a harbour, but after seeing the towers lit up the night before, it was a little underwhelming.

That night we ate in Chinatown; great food from a street stall. Good for people watching too!


We left KL the following morning, but not before we visited one last mosque, and went past Merdeka Square. It was there that the Malaysian flag was raised for the first time on August 31 1957, replacing the Union Jack, signifying the end of British rule over Malaya. The flagpole in the square is the tallest one in the world, according to something I read while in KL.

After two days in KL it was time to jump on another bus. We headed for Melaka, the port city on the Mellaca Straits (we still aren’t too sure about the two variations on the spelling!!)

Melaka

Melaka has had an interesting past. The Portuguese came in 1511 and colonized the town. The reason being that Melaka was seen as a very strategic location in terms of trade between Europe and China. Just over a hundred years later, the Dutch took over after defeating the Portuguese. In the early 1800s, the English defeated the Dutch, and had their turn at ruling in Melaka. They stayed until Malaya got independence, apart from a brief period during WW2 when the Japanese invaded and ruled.
There are more Malays than Chinese in Melaka, but the most apparent ethnicity has been and remains Chinese. The Chinese are highly visible in Melaka. The Chinese influence on Melaka’s past is readily apparent, and today there is still an active and vibrant China town.



This is a photo looking up Jonker Street (the main tourist street) during the day. At the weekend the street gets closed for traffic, as it is a hive of activity with tourists. While we were in Melaka, the streets were decorated with Chinese lanterns, and at night the buildings were all lit up with red lights. We suspected this is because Chinese New Year is in two weeks. We were staying in a guesthouse just one street over from Jonker St. The guesthouse was very long and narrow, as in earlier times the owners paid rates based on the street frontage of their premises. For this reason, most of the buildings in the original part of Melaka are built like this.




The only relic of the Portuguese era is the main gate to A’Famosa, a fortress built in 1511. The maritime museum includes the Portuguese galleon – Flor De La Mar – that sank in the Straits of Melaka on its way to Portugal; however, the one at the museum is a replica.







One of the most picturesque shots in Melaka is around the Town Square. The Dutch influence is obvious in Stadthuys; built in 1650 as the residence of the Dutch Governors and their officers. It shows the Dutch architecture of the time. Christ Church is next to Stadthuys. It was built in 1753, and can be seen near the centre of the photo. Melaka must also have more museums per head of population than anywhere else in the world! There was the Museum of Enduring Beauty, the Stamp Museum, the Education Museum, the Islam Museum, the Literary Museum, just to name a few…….


And to go from one cultural extreme to the other, Melaka is also famous (??!!) for its trishaws – like rickshaws powered by a bicycle. These are throughout town and are used by locals as well as tourists. All of them are decorated with artificial flowers, and most have streamers and umbrellas. We didn’t go on one – Shane refused!- but I just had to take a photo!

So after five full-on days sightseeing, we went back to PD and left to head up the coast. One thing that has astounded us as we travel up the coast is the amount of rubbish in the sea, particularly plastic drink bottles. They are visible, floating on top of the water, from quite a way off. Everyone is concerned about shopping bags taking so long to disappear, plastic drink bottles are going to take forever. However, that won’t worry the fish. Given the number of fishing boats, in five years we don’t think there will be a fish left in the ocean around here. Oh, and by the way, enzwell has turned more in to a motorboat than a yacht. The winds are minimal, with very calm seas, so we aren’t getting too much practice at showing off our sailing expertise.
We have just spent the last five nights anchored off Pulau Pangkor (Pangkor Island).


Lovely white sand and clear water in which to swim. It is the first time we have swum in the sea since our last week in Indonesia. It has been really hot lately, so it has been good to be able to just jump off the boat and cool off! It is really laid-back on the island, and very cheap to eat out, so I have been granted leave from the kitchen!
We will be in Penang in a couple of days, and will stay there to join in the Chinese New Year celebrations. Then it will be a quick trip to Langkawi, before we head up to Phuket to leave the boat there when we fly home on February 25th. See you all soon!


Heather and Shane

Welcome back to civilisation, and it doesn’t get much more civilized than Singapore. We have been here for two weeks now and seen only one bit of graffiti, no tagging, pretty much no rubbish, which after Indonesia is a real treat. Still I suppose a few lashes with the cane will deter most spray-can wielding youths.

Yes it’s been a while since we updated, sorry Doug, nice to see your comments back, we missed you, how’s the Earnslaw?

From Bali we took a wee trip north, to Paris for the Rugby World Cup. Why you ask, good question. By the time we arrived I (Shane) was down with the bot, the weather was freezing and the rugby, well what can you say. The only up part was that the French were so embarrassed with the win and the ref, call the man a ref?, that they bought us drinks and were quite embarrassed by the whole thing. Needless to say we then got behind the Froggies, “Allez Les Bleus”. Alas, they then crashed and burnt. Maybe we should support Aussie???, (with the new coach….who knows) Despite all that it was great to catch up with two of my bros in a tiny apartment in Paris. We also managed to catch up with two of Heather’s old work mates, Geoff and Simon, and brother Kim in a very smoky pub for the final.
















Plus, Heather caught up with a (won’t say old) friend; she had last seen here on a school exchange in Tahiti…..well some years ago (like over 30 years). They were great and took us for a tour of their area including a nice little estate we thought we might buy at a later date, much later.














Thanks again Eric and Dominique. After Indo the budget took a bit of a hammering in Paris, two beers, about $30. Ouch!! Oh, and it was sooooo much fun being there during the first of the metro strikes. Fortunately we could walk to the middle of town from where we were staying in the apartment, but what a mess the traffic was. Now, as most of you would know, I might be accused of tending a shade to the left, but really, those Metro (train) workers, working a 35 hour week and retiring around 50, get real guys.
While the world cup was on NZ must have scored one of the best advertising coups I’ve ever seen. Smack in front of a really big aerial where everyone was visiting (The Eiffel Tower), a huge football shaped pavilion advertising 100% Pure NZ. Very smart

















Aunty Helen was there to open it. I was sick in bed so missed the opening complete with the mandatory Haka and blessing but Heath trouped along with Kim and his new, as in just proposed to in Paris, fiancee Diana. After a few days and some good medication I started to come right just in time for Heath to get crook for a few days. Still we did manage to see all the usual sights, The Louvre, Palace of Versailles, etc. Brother Campbell and wife Ande even got me back to the Picasso Museum to try and awaken my love of modern art. Alas, it still lies dormant. We found good lattes still hard to find …but… if ever in Paris, go to Maccas, Champs Ellysses and you can get very good coffee for about 2.5 euros and sit outside for free. Best deal in Paris.















Thence on to Santorini in Greece. We were there about a month after the main holiday season. A lot of stuff had shut down and the following week just about the whole place was due to close for the winter break. Had the odd cruise ship still coming in with the grey brigade, but very quiet. Beautiful town though built on cliff edges.

















Now I still can’t get more than five photos on one blog so carry on reading below!

Stopped in at Athens for a couple of days on the way back, which was probably the best bit of the trip. Both healthy, costs back to a manageable level and a very interesting city with the Acropolis etc and good shopping and cafes. Went to the movies there and there were about six advertisements pre kick off. Very unusual for us to see adds for smoking but they were there with avengence. All the actors looking very youthful, healthy and loving life. Must have worked because just about everyone smoked in Athens. Same in Paris. Bars reeked of smoke. Athens is also home of the world champion of the silly walks competition, and they take it very seriously. Still it is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and they have had a few scraps in their time.

















And that was the end of Europe.


Getting back to the warm weather in Bali was nice and coming around the corner in the cab and seeing “Enzwell” still afloat was very comforting. Home again. We didn’t hang around too long as we still had a few hundred miles to go before our visas ran out so after a couple of stops, headed off to Kumai at the bottom of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. This is one of only a couple of places in the world where you can see the Orangutan wild…ish, in the jungle. We hired a river boat and crew to take us up the river for an overnight trip.















The first day we visited the conservation station which was set up some years ago to study the orangutan in the wild and has since become well established. Each day the ranger puts bananas and milk out to supplement the orangutans’ diet. Here we saw quite a few orangs come down and grab a feed, nearly all with young ones.

















Pretty cool and the babies are always cute.
















Staying on the boat in the river that night was really great. Beautiful food dished up by the cook, sitting out chatting and having a couple of beers with the crew of three serenaded by the cicadas and frogs. Now if anyone tells you about the serenity of the jungle, they have never slept there. What a racket. You could not believe the noise those tiny animals made!!!!! Fortunately they only keep it up until about two hours after sun down. Next day we visited a couple more feeding stations and a river village. At the last station the big alpha male came down. This guy was huge! And very full of himself. When he climbed through the trees quite a few branches broke off. And he knew he was kingpin.



















Another male was in the trees but wouldn’t come near the feeding platform because he knew what would happen. He didn’t appear too happy about this and snorted and bellowed and ripped branches off the trees he was in. Now this was seeing them, as they should be. Very impressive. When the big fella had his full he moved away about 40 meters and then just “hung” around, literally. The other males stayed well clear but one female came down with her young one and munched away quite happily, goes to show who really holds the power eh. All in all a great experience and certainly one of the highlights of Indonesia.
From there it was time to seriously get bailing out of Indo. Had a rotten trip for the first couple of days, bashing into a sharp chop and fighting 2-3 knots of current meant we were only making about 2 knots over ground at times. It was about then while thinking back to the lovely calm river voyage we considered selling the boat flying to Europe buying a canal boat and making it all very easy. Not a bad idea actually and we may consider it. Still after a couple more stops we checked out of Indo and now sit blissfully in a flash marina in Singapore at Sentosa Island with the gym and pool nearby. Fortunately amnesia is a wonderful thing and the horrid trips are just an unpleasant memory.
Singapore is soooooo nice after Indo. Talk about extremes, just 15 or so miles between them but about 50 years apart. Singers is spotless, as I said at the start, no rubbish, no tagging, no graffiti etc. It really is a very rich country with building going on everywhere. Massive housing, shopping and the biggest casino complex going up here at Sentosa. The main occupation here seems to be shopping which we have managed to do quite nicely. We will leave in a couple of days and head about 50 miles to another flash resort, with golf course attached, at Sebana Cove, Malaysia. We will spend Christmas there; and with that all there is to do is wish all and sundry a very Merry Christmas wherever you are and hope to catch up in the new year (we’re planning a trip back home in February/March.

Shane and Heath.