Night market at Gelang Patah

Gala Dinner - Danga Bay, Johor, Malaysia

Our hosts, the state of Johor, were extremely generous when it came to the Gala Dinner. We had food fit for a King, plenty of refreshments including beer and a live band and singers that made your feet tap involuntarily. The traditional dancers were sensational and joined all the rally participants toward the end of the evening - dancing to the sounds of Santana!! What a fabulous night. Next stop will be Deseru where we will be anchored off a resort on the East Coast of Malaysia. We leave here on the 28th May and should be there on the 30th May, after heading south and rounding Singapore.

The Republic of Singapore

Singapore is one place you can feel entirely safe walking alone on the streets. It is very clean and very, very organised. It is certainly not the "cheap" shopping mecca of years ago but it is wonderful to visit for a more "western" feel. However -- shoes and handbags are always on the agenda when in Singapore. Not to disappoint anyone -- two pairs of shoes were purchased this trip!! Sorry, no photos of the shoes.

Malacca, Malaysia

We were here three years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it then and Melaka did not disappoint us this time. It is rich in history from the Chinese, Portugese, Dutch, British and Japanese and the old town of Melaka is a world heritage site. One could easily spend a couple of weeks here. Hope you enjoy some of the photos. Next port of call will be Danga Bay, Johor, Malaysia just over the border from Singapore. We should arrive there Friday, 21 May 2010.

Melaka, Malaysia

Lumut to Port Dickson, Malaysia

The trip from Lumut to Port Dickson was wonderful. The first three nights we stayed in a delightful anchorage on the southern tip of Pangkor Island with “Truest Passion” (AUS), “Sea Bunny” (GBR), “Out of the Bag” (AUS), “Devon Gypsy” (AUS), “BeenAlong” (AUS), “Fast Forward” (RSA), “Reflections” (GBR), “Wave Runner” (NZ), “This Way Up” (AUS), “Cool Bananas” (NZ). The smaller island just south of the anchorage has a very exclusive resort where Pavarotti chose to stay for his holidays.



Next stop was behind two extremely small islands called Pulau (this means island in Malay) Angsa along with local fishermen. Unfortunately we were anchored down wind of them – and OH – let me describe the smell.


First light next morning on to Port Dickson wherein we encountered a bit of “bad management”. Ian had his route plotted, however, decided to follow “Truest Passion”. Rule number one – never, ever follow someone else especially when they are a Catamaran!! China Grove was high and dry for four hours, through a storm including lightning and thunder (surprise, surprise – it is near Port Klang after all!!!) First mate Chris got so frightened when China Grove groaned and laid on her side – she jumped ship and spent an hour or so sitting in the dinghy!! No damage was done (except to Ian’s ego)!

We are now happily in the marina at Port Dickson.

Port Dickson Marina

The next rally function is on the 16th and 17th of May in Malacca. Ian and I will take a taxi from here and spend two nights in a hotel (Hotel Puri) as the marina at Malacca is in very shallow water – don’t want to be high and dry again anytime soon!

Lumut, Malaysia

Lumut, Malaysia

This was the first "official" stop in our rally. The marina is built on a man made island between the mainland at Lumut and Pangkor Island and is not complete at this time. There is no electricity, water, nor cleats to tie up to as yet. Once the facility is complete, they will be able to haul boats out of the water and will also have a fuel dock. The whole island is quite indescribable -- way "over the top". James is the manager and is one of the most helpful people we have come across. He organised fuel for us. We had a wonderful dinner last night hosted by the owner of the island -- so much food and the beer seemed to flow endlessly. The owner also brought a truck full of the local fruit in season and insisted we all take some. We are now anchored in a bay in the south of Pangkor Island.

Sights from Langkawi to Penang, Malaysia

COCKTAIL PARTY ROYAL LANGKAWI YACHT CLUB