2016 the year of the monkey!
We decided to do further exploring and go up the Din Ding river to Lumut and visit the lumut International Yacht Club which, the guide book said, has great facilities & a lovely pool. We passed many ships waiting to come in to the busy port and a large bulk loading facility away from the main town. Big ferries raced up & down but we didn't need to do any dodging & weaving. Just a couple of hours and we dropped anchor off the marina dock intending to go ashore to obtain permission to do so. What we found was a deserted derelict clubhouse and a (algae) green pool. The marina docks had signs declaring 'closed for repair' and 'trespassers will be prosecuted' but the hole cut in the fence seemed to be there for a reason!
Anchoring off and dinghying in was easy so we stayed put. We met Massimo, an Italian man, who owns two of the lovely big buildings there. He has tried to establish restaurants & coffee shops but because of the difficulty of finding staff and his unwillingness to work every day, they have failed to flourish.
The area comes alive at night as hundreds of locals flock to the area where skateboards, roller blades, electric bikes & scooters are hired. All are brightly lit and it is a carnival atmosphere nightly. An enterprising family business pops up each night and sells delicious chicken and beef kebabs. We dined on these a couple of times. Five for six ringit ($2)
Took a taxi ride to Marina Island to see the Pangkor marina where many of our friends have stayed & lifted out. Had lunch there with a large group of yachties who were taking a break from working on their boats. Speaking of which, Nick managed to repair the lining that had been removed to repair the steaming lights!
Massimo had told us about his boat that he was refurbishing and had also talked about his many businesses...finger in many pies. He asked if we would like to see the boat and on the way he showed us where he is building a slipway & boatyard. He pointed out where he & Judy live....in the two penthouses on "that building". And then the boat! It is 100feet long, sleeps 18, carries 6 crew etc etc and just over here is my yacht! A lovely and helpful, most modest man who then told us that his business was Intel Marine! Wow, google it! In Australia he had started the Latina Fresh Pasta company that was very successful for him.