Penang to Langkawi.
23 December 2012
Photo: Us at top of Mount Mat Cincang, Langkawi
What an amazing place Georgetown, Penang is. The city is a mix of cultures, Malaysian, Indian, Chinese, European, a mix of religions; Hindu, Buddhism, Christian, Islam and they all co-exist side by side with no signs of friction to the tourist; in one street there is a mosque, Buddhist temple, Hindu temple and Anglican Church. It was not easy to reconcile walking through a mall with Christmas decorations, Christmas music and Santa's grotto while women are walking around with their heads covered or in full burkhas. The old part of Georgetown is a living world heritage site and we spent many hours wandering through narrow streets with old houses, shops, street hawkers and food hawkers enjoying the sights, sounds and smells. Everyone, especially the taxi drivers have been really friendly. We visited one small shop that sold every chemical known to man, stacked side by side and on top of each other, there was barely enough room to walk to the counter, we dreaded to think what would happen if there was an explosion or a fire. Penang also has numerous shopping malls, a feature of Asia from what we have observed. Whilst in Penang, we organised our visas for Thailand, our next country to visit early in the New Year.
Walking around the Heritage trail we visited the blue mansion of Cheung Fatt Tze that has been used in many movies. From there we went to a chocolate factory, free tastings and then onto several temples. For light relief and air conditioning we went to the cinema on Saturday and saw the James Bond movie, Skyfall, a typical Bond movie. On Sunday 2nd December, we had an organised tour of Penang and visited Penn Marine Shipyards, a Health clinic (interesting for Gail but not so much for Brian), two more temples, they are all starting to look very much the same, Straits Quay marina and finished with dinner at an Indian food bazaar. Tuesday we took a taxi to Air Hitam and went to the top of Penang Hill and Kek Lok Si Temple, the largest temple in Malaysia.
The dock we tied up to with the dinghy is made up of 100 litre, black plastic containers joined together, not bad when the tide is out but if the tide is in and a gently swell is present, it makes getting to and from the dinghy very interesting and tests the balancing skills. Tuesday morning the fleet was due to depart the anchorage at 08:00 to congregate by the old Penang Bridge for a sail past and photo shoot. Zen Again, one of the yachts, motored through the fleet at 07:45 playing a reveille on the bugle to ensure everyone was up and ready. Penny, Persian Sands, standing on the top spreader, kept us all entertained during the photo shoot. Following the photo shoot we motor sailed 25nm to Bidan Island. A lovely quiet bay ensured a pleasant afternoon, however the breeze got up during the night and whilst not unpleasant as it came from directly in front, we left at 08:30 the following morning and sailed to Pulau Dayang Bunting, a small island in south Langkawi. The area reminds us of the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. A quiet night followed in the most picturesque anchorage for a while, then a short motor into Rebak Island Marina, Langkawi, which will be our home for the next month, including Christmas day.
Rebak Marina, Langkawi is home to many overseas cruisers who use this as a base to explore Asia. It is conveniently located to the airport, a free ferry ride, is totally enclosed and has a good hard stand area. The marina has a resort with restaurant and pool, where we all congregate in the afternoons for a swim and a catch up on the day's events. We have caught up with friends we made sailing through the Pacific in 2012. We had the final Sail Malaysia rally dinner at a nearby resort followed by a day tour of Langkawi. The trip to the top of Mount Mat Cincang in a cable car was spectacular. It offered 360 degree views of Langkawi and on a clear day you can see Thailand. We had lunch in Pantai Cenang, the main tourist town on the island. It has many Duty Free shopping malls; Langkawi is a duty free island, tourist shops, cafes, restaurants and bars, a lively place. The following day saw the first of the yachts leaving to start going their own way, some heading home for Christmas, others going to Thailand and some remaining in Rebak. It is sad saying goodbye to friends we have travelled with since leaving Darwin in July, but we are sure we will meet them again somewhere.
It's now time to do some jobs on the Dol. Brian is checking the bottom of the fuel tanks to see if there is any sludge that needs cleaning out, the dinghy is getting a good clean, Wet and Forget is going on the decks, interior varnishing to be done, general cleaning and maintenance, new VHF radios to be installed, winches and engines to be serviced and anything else we find, luckily at this point nothing major. Gail will do the Friday vege run, a trip on the free ferry to the Langkawi wharf where the vege man brings a van load of vegetables and other basic provisions, good quality and fresh, then back on the ferry to Rebak. We tend to spend the day working and doing jobs around the boat or going into Langkawi, then about 4pm we head off to the resort pool for a swim and cool down, sometimes followed by Happy Hour at the bar. Late one evening walking back along the dock, I, Gail, stopped abruptly and Brian walked into the back of me wanting to know why I had stopped. I had gone to curl a rope that was trailing across the dock only for it to move, it was a snake. As it turned out, a harmless tree snake that was caught the following morning and put back in the bush. Langkawi is also known for its sea eagles and we can see many of them playing in the thermals around the marina or in the bays.
For day trips into Langkawi Island, there's no public transport e.g. bus service, so getting off the free ferry from Rebak Island Resort; we hire a car for the equivalent of NZD $16 for the day. This works out cheaper than a local taxi and gives us more freedom. The cars would probably not get a warrant of fitness in NZ and you hoped it wouldn't break down, but somehow they manage to keep going and were a cheap way to travel the island from Kuah, the main town, to Pantai Cenang and anywhere in between, for the day. The evenings often include sundowners on one of the boats and or dinner at the Hard Dock Café, where an impromptu party can occur, as happened for Grant's, Obsession 2, 60th birthday.
We wish all our friends and family a very merry Christmas and happy and prosperous 2013.