Bangkok, Thailand

February 11, 2011—Yesterday we started fairly early in the morning by leaving the hotel in search of donuts. Believe it or not they sell Dunkin Donuts here in Bangkok. Good coffee, however, is a little harder to find. We bought our donuts and sat while we enjoyed eating them, and then we took the sky train and then the subway to the Central Pier.

At the pier we boarded a local water taxi to head up the canal to the Grand Palace. The current in the river was truly amazing—even more amazing was the skill of the driver in maneuvering up to each dock in order to allow passengers to get on and off. The docks were moving up and down with the waves, and it made for a thrilling departure from the boat.

We walked to the Grand Palace, and after having a local try to scam us, we decided to go on to the National Museum first. On the way we found the Amulet market area where collectors, monks, taxi drivers, and people in dangerous professions buy small talismans for protection from evil. We also saw dentures for sale along with the amulets.

We found the museum without too much difficulty and paid our fee to go in. The first exhibit was the history of Thailand, which we found very interesting. The other exhibits included examples of textiles, wood carvings, gold treasures, and weapons; and they were all very well presented. The gold, combined with small pieces of glass, gave many of the items an amazing sparkle.

After leaving the museum we walked back to the Grand Palace but stopped to enjoy lunch at a nice sandwich shop just across the street. We crossed the street and entered the Grand Palace, and grand it was. The entrance fee was 700 baht or about $24 for both of us. We were required to wear long pants, and my blouse had to cover my shoulders.

The grounds include Wat Phra Kaew Temple and the Grand Palace, which is the former residence of the Thai monarch. The grounds were consecrated in 1782, the first year of Bangkok rule. The 94.5-hectare grounds encompass more than 100 buildings that represent 200 years of royal history and architectural experimentation. There are no less than 394 gilded Buddha images, and the mosaic glass and tile work on the exteriors of the buildings was impressive.

We enjoyed walking around the grounds for about two hours. There was so much to see—so many buildings and temples. There were tourists everywhere, and it was difficult to take any pictures because someone would usually walk in front of the camera. Unfortunately, our camera just can't capture the beauty of the site. By the time we were done, we had had enough of being around so many people for awhile.

We left the palace and walked across the street to find a taxi or a tuk-tuk to get to the Golden Mount. We asked a taxi driver, but he quoted a fixed price and would not use the meter; therefore, we moved on to a tuk-tuk driver. We found one that agreed to take us for 120 baht so we got in the tuk-tuk and left. After five minutes, he pulled over and tried to pawn us off to another driver, so we started to get out. He stopped us and said everything was okay so we continued on. The drive was not fun as he was driving very fast, and the traffic was very heavy. I think that he was a bit frustrated.

There is a program here that allows you to borrow a bike and take the green path to see the downtown area. Unfortunately, the motor scooters and the tuk-tuks use the designated lane. You could not pay me enough money to get on these streets on a bike. Talk about a death wish.

Finally the driver dropped us off at a temple. We saw that it was not the one we wanted, but we were more than happy to exit the tuk-tuk. As Steve handed him the money, he said that we owed 150, but Steve just said, “You agreed to 120, and we are not even at the right temple.” We walked off and did not look back.

We were at Wat Traimit so we entered the grounds, paid our fee, and then walked up several flights of steps to the top. Inside was an amazing golden Buddha, which is 3 meters tall, weighs 5.5 tons, and is said to be solid gold. This image was “discovered” some 40 years ago beneath a stucco or plaster exterior, when it fell from a crane while being moved to a new building within the temple compound. It was worth the trouble of getting here to see it.

When we were done, we left and walked back across the canal to the train station where we took the subway and then the sky train to get back to the hotel. After resting up a bit, we left to have a nice meal out. We found a nice restaurant with good food, but the prices were a bit high.

This morning we left a little later in the morning, and we decided to try riding a local bus for a “real experience.” We walked about 10 blocks and then picked up the #79 bus. When we paid our fare of 24 baht, the conductor asked us where we were going so we told him. He informed us that we were on the wrong bus—again—and needed bus #59. We thanked him and got off at the next stop where we did finally get on the right bus.

We were looking for our stop but were not sure which one it was. Steve asked the conductor, but she did not speak English. We came to a stop and all of a sudden the monk beside me, the conductor, and the driver were all telling us to get off, so we thanked them and left.

We walked just down the street and came to the Golden Mount. The Mount part of the name comes from the fact that you must climb many steps in order to reach the temple at the top, but the good news is that you have a 360-degree view of Bangkok. The dome at the top is gold in color, but I don’t know if it is actually gold, and there was a wonderful breeze at the top, which helped to cool us off. The temple was beautiful, and the view was excellent.

After descending all the stairs, we walked to Ban Baht or the Monk’s Bowl Village. We just happened to look down an alley and saw what we thought was the village so we entered. A woman asked if we were looking for a bowl. When we said yes, she led us to Mr. Somak Buppachart, who is master in the craft. The bowls are used by the monks to receive alms from the people. The craft has been carried on for a long time, but it almost died out several years ago. The tourist business has helped to revive it, and Mr. Buppachart hoped that it would continue.

After leaving with a beautiful bowl, we walked over the canal and found a local shop for lunch. The food was good, although a bit spicy. After lunch we went to the Wat Suthat, which is another temple. This one has very large grounds, and the priests were performing what we believe to be prayers while we were in the temple. The ashes of Rama VIII, the current king’s deceased older brother, are contained in the base of the main Buddha.

We have now had our fill of Wats or temples, at least here in Bangkok. We left and walked back to our bus stop. On the way we stopped to enjoy a cold beer just across from the Golden Mount. It turned out to be a very warm day, and the beer tasted great. We were just about at the bus stop when we came upon the King Prajadhipok Museum so we went in to look. There was no fee, and it was air-conditioned, so we decided to walk through.

The museum was actually focused more on his wife, Queen Rambhai Barni. It discussed their life together in Thailand and then in England after his abdication of the throne. It was beautifully done with many personal items belonging to both of them. There were many wonderful photographs, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

By now we were pretty tired so we found the #59 bus that took us all the way back to the Victory Monument. We got off and headed to the mall for an ice cream before returning to the room. Two hours later we left to have dinner. On our way we stopped and bought some pork on a stick for 5 baht each. They were so good that we ended up buying several more, some rice, some corn, and some papaya from the street vendors. We returned to our room where we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner, which cost us 300 baht or $3.

Tomorrow we leave round 6:30 on the train for Chiang Mai. We will have some time in the morning to walk around China Town before we leave Bangkok. We have enjoyed seeing the sights, but this is a very large, very crowded, and very busy city. There are many scammers ready to take advantage of tourists; but, luckily, we had read about it in a guide book, and that helped us to avoid any problems. There were also many wonderful and helpful locals here who are honest, hard-working people.

Langkawi to Hat Yai and Bangkok

February 9, 2011—The morning of the seventh we got an early start by catching the 7:15 morning ferry across to Langkawi where a taxi driver quickly drove us to the Langkawi Ferry Terminal about 30 minutes away. We checked in with the ferry company and then went to enjoy a Starbuck’s coffee and donut. At 8:30 we cleared Immigrations and then boarded our ferry boat, which was a nice, high-speed craft.

The trip took just one hour, and then we were in Thailand where we filled out our Immigration cards, walked by Customs, and went to find our transportation. The tour company led us to a small pickup with very narrow seats in the rear. We piled in, along with 14 other people (three of whom were standing on the back bumper), and headed in to Satun. In Satun we transferred to an air-conditioned van and left for Hat Yai. I nicknamed our driver Parnelli Jones because he was driving between 80 to 85 miles per hour and weaving in and out of traffic. I closed my eyes so that I wouldn’t see the end coming; however, Steve was very interested in the situation.

After a delay because of traffic, we arrived in Hat Yai an hour later and had the driver drop us off at the train station, happy to still be in one piece. We found the Advanced Ticket Sales office and purchased our tickets to Bangkok and also Chiang Mai from a very friendly ticket agent. We were able to get first-class tickets for the train to Bangkok, but we had to buy second-class tickets for Chiang Mai.

After the train station we walked to the New Season Hotel and checked in. We needed to relax for a short time, and then we decided to go for a walk. We walked quite a ways because we were fascinated by all the shops and stalls along the streets. The most interesting thing was that a block would have large buildings on it, but then every so many feet a walkway through the building would go clear through from that street to the next parallel street. On either side of the walkway were stalls selling everything imaginable, and every walkway seemed to be selling the same stuff. It was amazing.

We found a good local restaurant where we enjoyed dinner and a cold beer. Afterward we walked a little more in order to work off the meal, and then we returned to our hotel and called it a night.

We checked out at noon the next day and walked back to the train station where we stored our bags. We needed to find an Internet store where we could print out our hotel voucher for Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We also wanted to look for a new backpack, a hair brush, and some food for the train. We took care of the first two items and then stopped to have some lunch at the Sizzler, but unfortunately, the food was not that good. After lunch we found some good local food and fruit for our trip.

At 4:30 we went back to the station to wait for our 6:05 train. I was pretty tired and was grateful for a place to sit. This afternoon I decided that my cold had gone into a sinus infection because I had not been feeling any better for several days and had other symptoms so I decided to start an antibiotic.

Our 6:05 train ended up being late, which created some stress for us because the announcements over the speaker were mainly in Thai so we were not sure when our train would arrive. Steve asked a local lady sitting close by about our train and after that she listened to the announcements for us and told us when ours was arriving.
We boarded the train and found our berth, which was fine, but I am not sure I would classify it as “first class.” Our train did not leave the station until after seven o’clock so now we would not arrive in Bangkok until noon on the ninth.

The train left the station, and we spent the last of daylight looking at the scenery going by. At nine o’clock we asked the porter to make up our bunks and, and we went to sleep. Sleep was difficult because of the movement of the train and the noise, but we did manage to sleep a bit.

On February 9 we woke up fairly early and had the porter take down the bunks. It was a lovely day, and the scenery was interesting so we just sat an enjoyed the morning. We arrived in Bangkok after noon and were able to exit the train station without being accosted by too many taxi drivers. I wanted a picture of the station, but we decided to skip it for the time being.

We found that the MRT or subway was very close and clearly marked, so we bought our tickets and headed for the River View Resort--resort is another loosely used term. We had to transfer from the MRT to the sky train, but again we found everything clearly marked and very easy. We got off a few blocks from our hotel, exited the platform, and then stopped in a mall where we had a very nice lunch and a beer for $3 each.

After lunch we walked to our hotel and checked in. A few hours later we left to just walk around the neighborhood. We found a beautiful park where many locals were relaxing, and some were eating a meal. The main street was very busy with traffic and people so we could hardly walk along the sidewalk.

We found the Victory Monument that commemorates a Thai victory over the French in 1941. It stands in the middle of a roundabout, and the six lanes of traffic were so busy that we decided not to try to cross the street but to just take a picture from the opposite curb. All along these sidewalks there were stalls selling merchandise or food and some were giving manicures. We just cannot get over the huge number of people in this country.

We ended the evening by enjoying a light dinner at a small local restaurant. After a quick stop at the Seven to Eleven we returned to the hotel and watched some TV before calling it a night. It was time to catch up on our sleep before heading out for a big day tomorrow.

Traveling to Southeast Asia

February 6, 2011—Tomorrow morning we leave for a month-long tour of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. We had planned to leave a week ago; however, Steve came down with some virus just after we returned from Kuala Lumpur, and three days later I was sick. By the time we felt well enough to leave, we were into celebrations of the Chinese New Year when accommodations and transportation were either booked or cost three times as much. Since I wasn’t completely well, we decided to just wait until the seventh when things slow down.
The two weeks that we have been back on the boat have been spent emptying, cleaning, and removing unnecessary items from the interior lockers. I can’t decide if I am glad, or sad, to say that we found very little to get rid of. So far, we must be storing only items that we feel are important. When we return, there are storage compartments under our berth that need to be cleaned out as well.

The weather has been a bit cooler and dryer than when we left in December. The northeast trade winds have filled in, which helps to cool things off. Four or five boats that we know personally have left for Sri Lanka and the Red Sea, and we are keeping in touch with them to see how they are doing.

During our trip, I plan to post regular blogs with pictures provided we can find decent Internet, which we have heard is not always available. We are excited to visit these countries as the history is rich, and the historical sites are numerous. We hope that you will follow us along our land travels during the next month.

Lovely Way to End 2010

January 28, 2011—The morning of December 8 we caught the water ferry over to Langkawi Island and took a taxi to the airport. Everything went just fine as we checked our bags, waited for the plane to arrive, and then boarded Air Asia flight 737. The flight to Kuala Lumpur, or KL as the locals call it, was just one hour, and we landed at the LCC (low cost carrier) terminal.

This is where things got interesting. We were flying EVA Air from KL to LAX via Taipei, Taiwan, so we had to get to Kuala Lumpur International Airport for that flight. You can see KLIA just across the field from the LCC terminal; however, we needed to take a bus or taxi to the international terminal. I waited for the bags while Steve purchased two tickets on the bus. We grabbed our bags and headed out the doors. We spotted the bus, hurriedly pushed our baggage cart up to it, and loaded our bags into the lower compartment. Then we hopped on board and thought we had it made.

The bus left about 15 minutes later, and we were rolling along on a very nice freeway and enjoying the lush scenery. After about 5 minutes I saw a sign that said “terminal,” but the bus just kept going so I thought that there might be more than one entrance. About 15 minutes later I told Steve that I wasn’t sure we were on the right bus. We decided to ask the local passenger in the seat across from us, and he said the bus was headed to KL Sentro—in other words, downtown KL. Panic immediately set in because we had just two hours left to get checked in with EVA Air. Steve ran up to the driver and made sure that we were on the wrong bus—which we were because they had sold us the wrong ticket —so the driver was good enough to pull over and drop us on the side of the road, along with all our baggage. As Steve was unloading the bags, I was madly waving at any passing taxi, hoping that one would pick us up. The bus pulled away, and I am sure that the occupants thought that this was all very entertaining. If we hadn’t been so busy, I would have loved to have taken a picture of the situation.

Finally a taxi pulled over, but when I turned to tell Steve, the driver started to pull away. I again began waving my arms wildly and yelling so he stopped. We loaded up all the bags, hopped into the taxi, and told him to take us to the KLIA International Airport. It took just 10 minutes to get there, and we happily paid the driver, even though our fare was about double what it should have been. Oh well, at least we would make our flight.

Our check-in went fine, security was easy, our wait was minimal, and we boarded the plane and settled in. We decided to book with EVA Air because of the larger, more comfortable seats, and it was worth it. Our flight to Taipei was about 5 hours long, with a four-hour layover, and the flight to LAX was another 15 hours.

We arrived in LA around 8 o’clock in the evening, and after clearing customs and immigration, we headed to the Radisson where we had booked a room. The next morning we walked to Budget to pick up our car, and then we headed south to San Diego. Steve’s license had been lost in Singapore so that meant that I had to drive, and I handled it all quite well, if I do say so myself.

We arrived in San Diego around one o’clock and stopped by quickly to visit with our daughter Drue at her work. We then returned the rental and caught the shuttle to the terminal. Steve was flying on to Albuquerque, but I was staying for a long weekend with the girls. Our daughter Brie, along with our precious granddaughter Riley, picked me up at 3 o’clock so Steve had a chance to see them before he left.

The weekend was great fun. I got to babysit Riley on Friday morning while Brie and her husband Tim were at work, we girls all took a long walk on Saturday afternoon, and I babysat for Riley and Parker (Drue’s dog) on Saturday night while Brie and Tim, and Drue were at office parties. Then it was time for me to leave for Albuquerque on Sunday afternoon.

The days until Christmas were filled with taking care of our annual appointments and catching up with family and friends. It was great to be home with Zelda, James, and Tim. We finished our Christmas shopping and helped Zelda decorate the house and put up the tree.

By December 24 all the kids had arrived from San Diego, and they joined Zelda, the boys, and us for candlelight service. Before the service James and Tim helped us set up the luminarias and light the candles, which is a New Mexican tradition.

Christmas morning everyone gathered at Zelda’s for breakfast and to open gifts. It was really fun to watch Riley opening her gifts, although she found the wrapping paper and bows or anything with buttons more interesting. The girls, Tim, and Riley had to leave around noon, but James and Tim stayed for dinner later in the afternoon. It was a great Christmas!

Over the next few days, we spent time with the kids and Riley, and Steve and I took Riley to the Aquarium one afternoon. By December 30 they had all headed back to San Diego, so now our attention turned to all the parts we had ordered for the boat. The boxes had been coming in on a regular basis, and we had to figure out how to pack it all in our suitcases. Our goodies included 12 yards of canvas material, a jig saw, new wiring, a sink faucet, books, a percolator, four jars of green chili sauce, and six jars of Zelda’s homemade grape jelly, four of which were for the kids in San Diego, as well as our clothes, shoes, and sundries. We were able to get it all into two large rolling suitcases and our two backpacking packs, all of which were quite heavy.

We spent the last two weeks in Albuquerque enjoying lunches and dinners with friends, and we were able to spend time with the Zelda and the boys.

We ate out way too often as the scales would show, and before we knew it, it was time to catch our plane back to San Diego on January 15 to spend our last three days with Riley and the kids. Monday was a holiday for Drue, so she joined us in taking Riley to the San Diego Zoo for an afternoon of fun. Tuesday afternoon Brie picked us up and drove us up to LAX to catch our late-night flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

The return trip was a little longer with the same stop in Taipei. We arrived in KL at 2:30 in the afternoon and spent an hour in line to clear in with Immigrations and Customs. We then found our driver who had come to take us to the Hotel Maya in KL. Before we left Malaysia, we booked an online special of a deluxe suite for three nights for the price of two. The hotel was lovely and the room was grand. From the 18th floor we had an excellent view of the Petronas Towers just two blocks away.

We spent the first afternoon and evening just recovering from 30 hours of travel time, and Steve took advantage of the oversized bath tub and hot running water. The next day we walked to the Towers and spent quite a bit of time taking pictures of this amazing structure. We walked all around the square enjoying the lovely grounds, and then it was time to go inside to walk through the four-story mall. We enjoyed lunch at a Thai restaurant and then returned to the hotel for a quick stop.

We wanted to get some exercise so we decided to walk to the KL Tower. On the way we stopped at the visitors’ welcome center where we found a shop that sold nothing but chocolates—all types. After a decent walk we arrived at the Tower, which is 1370 feet high and has a 360-degree view of Kuala Lumpur. We purchased our tickets and rode the elevator to the observation level, which is about two-thirds of the way up. The view was spectacular, and at each of the eleven stations there was a picture of the view that labeled the major buildings. After returning to the first floor, we walked through the adjoining reptile and bird exhibit that had more snakes than I care to see. The exhibit was really quite extensive and each cage gave information about the species and its natural habitat.

On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped in at the Hard Rock Café to enjoy a cold beer and an apple cobbler. Thank goodness we split it because it was huge. We arrived back at the hotel late in the afternoon and a bit tired, but overall we really enjoyed the day.

Our last full day in KL we decided to take the KTM train to see Little India. When we got to the station, we walked a short distance to the Masjid Jamek Mosque, where we were welcomed and invited in. I was given a gown and a head scarf to wear while we walked around the lovely structure.

Our next stop was Merdeka Square, which is an open cricket field. On August 31, 1957, Malaysia’s independence was proclaimed here. Across the street were some wonderful colonial buildings, which are a mix of Victorian, Moorish, and Mogul architecture, and include the National History Museum and the Memorial Library.

We left the area and headed to Little India where we walked around looking at all the goods in the shops. The number of fabric stores was amazing; one store had four floors just for fabric. We stopped at the Sabar Café to enjoy a lunch of chicken tikka masala and curry butter chicken, both of which were excellent.

We decided to walk back to the hotel to rest for a few hours, and then we returned to the light rail and headed to China Town late in the afternoon. Red lanterns strung overhead made it easy for us to find the right area. One street, named Petaling Street, was completely closed off and filled with hawker stalls. There was barely enough room to walk between the stalls, and people were everywhere. We never knew that one could cram so much stuff—watches, purses, cell phone cases, shoes, shirts, jewelry, etc.—into such a small area. It was quite interesting to see Rolex watches, Tiffany jewelry, Gucci handbags, and other name brand items, which really weren’t authentic, for sale.

Next we walked a few blocks away to see the Sri Mahamariamman Temple with its beautiful and ornate façade and then decided that we had seen enough for one afternoon. It was a wonderful experience of sights, sounds, and smells, but it was time for us to catch the train back to the Petronas Towers and return to the hotel.

On Sunday we checked out of our hotel and were driven to the LCC airport to catch our flight to Langkawi on Air Asia. The airport was busy but well organized so we quickly checked our bags and enjoyed a bite to eat. The flight was short, and we arrived in Langkawi at 3 p.m., collected our baggage, and then took a taxi to the ferry dock where we caught the water ferry back to Rebak Marina. We got to the boat and found that she was in fine shape. We hoisted our baggage on board and began unloading most of our “stuff,” but we left some of it in the cockpit until the next day. The boat was a mess for about three days until we got everything stored in its proper place, but it felt good to be home.

Arrival at Langkawi Island, Malaysia

December 6, 2010—We left Penang on November 26 at 6:45 in the morning because we had about 58 miles to cover during daylight. We began to pull our anchor, but half way through the process our anchor windless quit so Steve had to pull in the last 100 feet of chain up by hand—not a fun job. As soon as he got the anchor up, we headed north toward Langkawi.

The shipping lane created some concern for a few miles, but soon we were clear of it and only had a few fishing boats along the way. We enjoyed some wind along the way and that helped us to motor sail at a good speed. The seas were calm, but it was unusually hot. It was amazing how many jelly fish we saw along this route. At first they actually looked like plastic trash bags, but when you took a closer look, you could see the body with the long tentacles floating by.

We arrived at the “Fjord” anchorage around mid afternoon and dropped our anchor in 40 feet of water. There was just one other sailboat in the anchorage, so it was perfect. The landscape reminded us of the Pacific Northwest, only warmer. We decided to take a quick swim, so we checked for jellyfish and then went in for a cool dip. That evening we just enjoyed the quiet surroundings and the stunning landscape.

We had planned to spend four days in this group of islands; however, the next morning Steve suggested that we just go ahead and call Rebak Resort to see if we could get our slip a few days early. I called on the cell phone, and Rebak said that we could come in early. Finding the entrance to the marina was another story. We had the coordinates; however, it was hard to see until we were right at the entrance.

We entered at low tide so we had just 8.5 feet of water under the boat. We were assigned to slip B-26, but the B dock was hard to see, and the dock worker had not come down to meet us just yet. We ended up going around a very wide catamaran and then pulling into our slip with “no fuss, no muss.” It felt good to tie up to a good, solid marina and park the boat. We immediately got our lines tied and made sure that they were secure. We also put up our shade awning to keep the temperature in the boat down. We did have electricity and water, which was a treat after so long without it. In the late afternoon I looked down in the water by the boat, and I saw a huge jellyfish. It was beautiful so I took a picture. I have since found out that the jellyfish in these waters can be fatal so we will be more careful in the future.

Rebak Marina Resort was hit by the 2004 tsunami. The wave came in the entrance and created a toilet bowl effect. Two docks were taken out and all boats were pushed around. Luckily, none were sunk and no one was seriously injured. Unfortunately, it has not quite returned to its former state.

Two days after we arrived, I saw an ad posted at the laundry for an air-conditioner. Brian and Jackie on board Songster are leaving for the Red Sea in order to complete their circumnavigation. They are both in their seventies and are wonderful Brits. About four days later we received the AC, and we spent a few hours modifying the hatch opening for our boat. We have found “heaven.” The AC keeps us cooler and lowers the humidity as well. While we are gone to the states for Christmas, it will help to keep the humidity down and thus reduce the mold growth inside the boat. It was well worth the money that we paid for it.

One day we took the ferry across to the main island of Langkawi, where we rented a car (if we dared to call it that) for only 40 RM or about $13 USD. We drove about 30 miles to the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club to see sv September and sv Black Pearl, both of whom are from Austria and to enjoy lunch before heading off for duty-free shopping in town. We were also amazed to find some excellent hardware stores and one boat chandlery.

We have spent the past 10 days working on the boat, but at a more relaxed pace. We have enjoyed sitting by the swimming pool and spending time with of some of the many cruisers that we met during the Indonesia and Malaysia Rallies. Some boats will go on this year, and others will spend a year in Malaysia and then leave the next year.

We logged 6, 385 miles since leaving Fiji at the end of April. We have traveled to Vanuatu, the Louisiades and Port Moresby on Papua New Guinea, the Torres Straits, the north coast of Australia from Thursday Island to Darwin, then Indonesia, which included Banda (Spice Islands), Wakatobi, Bau-Bau City on Buton, Bone Raté, Flores Island, Gili Islands including Komodo Island, Lombok and Bali Islands, Kumi on Kalamintan (Borneo), Belitung, Batam, Singapore, and finally the entire west coast of Malaysia to Langkawi, which is on the border between Malaysia and Thailand.

It has been an amazing season, and we have been exposed to so many wonderful experiences and friendly people. Our best experiences were in Indonesia. The people, the culture, and the landscape were all so exceptional that we were saddened to leave. Now we are anxious to go home to visit family and friends and to enjoy Christmas in New Mexico. I will post my next blog on the first of February after we return from the states. We would like to wish all our friends and followers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Palau Penang

November 25, 2010—Today is Thanksgiving Day for us here in Penang. On November 21 we left the marina on Marina Island at Pangkor and went 12 miles to Monkey Island to spend the night. There was not much protection at this island; however, we had a very pleasant and calm night. At 6:30 the next morning we got underway for Palau Penang. It was dawn, and a full moon was out, which helped our visibility, so we began to dodge the numerous fishing boats in our path. Luckily, about half of them went back to port for the day, so the numbers were easier to deal with. The boats that we encountered were going the same direction as we were, so it was just a matter of passing them without interfering with their nets.

We found ourselves, once again, motoring along, but this time the seas were almost like glass. Unfortunately, that meant no wind, and it was very hot. We thought about stopping for a swim but decided against it because we saw so many jelly fish in the water.

We arrived at Palau Penang (Palau meaning island) around 3:30 p.m. and began making our way up the channel. We found ourselves dodging the usual fishing lines, but at one point it was just too difficult so we simply motored up between the buoys marking the lines, put the engine in neutral, and coasted over the lines, which were just below the water. We would then watch the buoys to see if we were dragging them. We made it through all of them without any problems, although we did stress a few fishermen who were wildly waving at us to stop.

A new bridge is being built just south of Penang, and there were quite a few construction barges and tugs at work. We ended up going between two floating concrete platforms on which they were making the concrete for the bridge, and as we passed, we had smiles and waves from the workers on the platforms. A pile driver was also hard at work setting pilings for the bridge.

We continued on and approached the Penang Bridge, which was opened in 1985 and won an award for engineering excellence in the United States is 1986. The bridge spans 13.5 kilometers and connects Penang with mainland Malaysia. An annual marathon over the bridge was held while we were here, and it began at 12:30 in the morning so that it would be cool enough for the runners. It is always a little stressful going under a bridge, but this bridge was very high so we had room to spare.

We arrived at the Junk Anchorage, which is located right next to the ferry dock and a very short distance from the Tanjong City Marina. A racing rally was in Penang and had taken all the slips, so we just picked a good spot and dropped our hook in the anchorage at 5:30 in the afternoon. At 7 p.m. we joined Tin Soldier, once again, as well as Ruth and Tim on Victory Cat for dinner. We walked into town and through Little India, which is always fascinating. We decided to eat at Sri Ananda Bahwan Indian Restaurant, and, happily, it was air conditioned. We enjoyed a delicious meal of Butter Chicken Marsala, along with some naan or flat bread. After dinner we returned to the boat because we were tired, and the other two boats were leaving early in the morning for Langkawi.

On November 24 we decided to go ashore to look around. We were able to wave down a passing small boat and met Soon, who was happy to take us to shore for a small fee. We decided to first check in with the Port Captain and Customs. After taking care of those formalities, we walked across the street to Fort Cornwallis, which was built in 1786 when Captain Light from Britain stepped foot on the almost uninhabited island.

From there we took a pedicab ride, finally, over to China Town, where we walked down the streets looking in the interesting shops. We stopped for lunch at Restoran Tho Yuen, a favorite with the locals. We were the only anglos in the place, and some of the patrons found it humorous to watch my trying to eat with chopsticks.

After lunch we walked by the Kapitan Keling Mosque and were invited in for a tour. Steve had to wear a robe because he was in shorts, but my crop pants were long enough so I did not have to wear one. A young man was our guide, and he was quite entertaining. He also explained to us the etiquette that is followed when in the mosque. When the tour was finished, he took us to an air-conditioned room and asked us to sit down and have some water. He then gave us more information about Islam, which we found very informative. It seemed to us that this mosque was trying to foster goodwill.

After the mosque we returned to the boat for a few hours to rest during the very hot afternoon. Around 7 p.m. we called Soon to pick us up so that we could go to shore for dinner. On our way we stopped at the Mahamariamman Temple, built in 1883 and the oldest Hindu temple in Penang. A distinctive feature of the temple is its gopuram with 38 carved Hindu deities. A local took us inside the temple and allowed us to take pictures.

After the temple we walked to Restoran Kapitan and enjoyed another delicious Indian meal of Tangori chicken and naan. By now the wind had picked up, and we could see lightning overhead, so we decided to go back to the boat. Soon was not available; however, we happened to arrive just when another boat was taking some men out to a commercial ship, and the driver was happy to drop us off. We arrived just in time as it began to rain and the wind picked up to 20 knots. We spent the next two hours watching the eight boats in the anchorage dance around, some coming pretty close to others. We had a catamaran anchored by us that came close to us a few times. Finally we gave up worrying about it and went to bed figuring that we would survive the evening. Things did soon calm down, and we actually had a pretty decent night’s sleep.

Today we took the "Hop on Hop off" bus, which is free, to visit the Penang State Museum, which had some wonderful items on display. The history of Penang was also presented, and it was very interesting and informative. After that we walked through China Town one more time and found a fabulous bakery with a large variety of wonderful bread, so we, of course, bought several items. We then returned to Little India for one last fix of spicy Indian food. Then it was time to return to the boat to rest up from the heat and get ready for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Our Thanksgiving Dinner this year consisted of pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes with gravy, coleslaw, and fresh bread. We waited until later in the evening so that it would be cooler while I did the cooking. The meal was delicious, and for dessert we enjoyed a sweet role that we also bought at the bakery. Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family in the states.

We have really enjoyed our time here in Penang. It is an interesting and colorful city with friendly people and a wonderful history, and it is a nice mix of old and new.

We will leave early in the morning to go about 58 miles to an island just south of Langkawi, and we plan to stay there until December 1 when we will go into Rebak Marina.