A month since writing our last blog and we find ourselves at the very northern tip of the west coast of Malaysia, in Langkawi.

Whilst awaiting a couple of items of post from the UK in Johor Bahru, we took a trip to Melaka about 200 miles away. The Malaysians seem to shorten their city names to initials and so we shall follow the same format from here on in ... Johor Bahru is JB. Kuala Lumpur is KL. Port Dickson is PD. Kota Kinabalu is KK ... you get the gist. The trip was a mere £8 each and involved a local bus journey to the main terminal followed by a 'VIP' coach journey onto Melaka. The VIP buses have just 28 seats on them so for a 'normal' sized bus, you can imagine the leg room afforded! Hotel Puri, our home for three nights was located in Chinatown and held a preferred address for wealthy Baba (Straits-born Chinese) traders who were most active during the early 20th century.






Private house opposite hotel



Terracota tiles - a common sight in Malaysia


The town itself is small so to tick off the sights doesn't have to take three days. We enjoyed a trip up the river ...








Many walks around the town .....





... much to the annoyance of the riders of gaudy trishaws who would much rather have the business ....











On return to JB from Melaka, we joined a day tour of the area laid on by the Sail Malaysia Rally followed by a dinner in the evening...



Government offices



Southernmost point of Asia






Crews of OD and Footloose


We left Puteri Harbour marina. It had served us very well and we plan to return. Not disimilar in size to the UK (Lands End to John O Groats 837 miles) the 839 miles we have travelled up the west coast of Malaysia have been somewhat different to what we'd expect travelling north along the west coast of the UK. We rounded the southern-most tip of Asia and headed north through the Melaka Straits, experiencing mainly calm seas, zero wind and dodging many, many fishing nets. It's as if the local fishermen have got it in for yachties and lay their nets right across our path.








Almost everyone we know has picked up a net in their propellor and not wanting to be left out, we managed to do the same. In fact, we were slightly more lucky than some, our uninvited guest wrapped itself around the rudder at the very bottom. We weren't immediately aware of dragging anything behind us and thankfully, it didn't mess with the steerage so it was a matter of a quick dip in the Melaka Straits for First Mate to free it up. We hauled it in the 200m nylon line with sadly no fish, just the occasional plastic basket.

We passed under Penang's new (second) bridge some 24km long and joining Penang Island with the west coast of Malaysia. It's due to open anytime soon but there were set-backs earlier in 2013 due to loss of lives.








OD nestled into a berth at the Straits Quay marina for a mere £8 per night. With Tesco only a 5 minute walk away, a regular bus service into town and laundry services on our doorstep, we were wooed immediately. The marina complex is owned by Eastern and Oriental Hotels and with just 40 berths, and only 10 allocated to visitors you really do feel you are receiving a personal service.

Georgetown, Penang's capital has an interesting mix of cultures. At only 350m long, Love Lane is often referred to as the 'Street of Harmony'. It houses a church, three Confucian-Buddhist-Taoist temples, two mosques and a Hindu temple giving you an idea of the multicultural and multilingual environment.






Colourful flowers grown in the cooler climate of Malaysia's Cameron Highlands. Mainly bought as offerings to God.


There's no doubting the streets of Georgetown are chaotic with narrow lanes, a sincere lack of pavements and full of car exhaust fumes but we love it!

The food in Penang is legendary and the streets are lined with stalls or restaurants featuring Indian, Chinese and Malay cuisine. Needless to say, we once again found ourselves in Little India enjoying curries, roti, tandoori and biryani! And managed to avoid this local dish ...





There are signs of the British Raj-era in the architecture as well as many shutter-clad buildings making for perfect photo opportunities ...








A recent addition to Penang's sights, is the street-art created by Lithuanian born artist Ernest Zacharevic. We had a great time tracking down just some of his works.....














Our trip on the funicular railway to the once fashionable retreat of Penang Hill, provided for cooler temperatures and spectacular views ...






Black Monkey, Penang Hill


After 4 nights in Penang, we said our farewells with promises to return and travelled the 60 miles to Langkawi, some 120 miles short of the Thai border. Langkawi is a duty-free island and we're currently anchored at Kuah, the major town and arrival port with plans to stay until the Sail Malaysia Rally arrive on 08 December.