Penang to Singapore

We left Penang and motored our way down the coast making our way to Pangkor Marina to join up with many old friends, some of whom were going to participate in the rally and others intending to sail north or leave their boats as they travelled home to the northern hemisphere for the summer. James at Pangkor once again put on a lovely meal for the rally and it was fun to feel a part of the cruising community once again. We then travelled south to Port Dickson taking advantage of favourable currents and travelling 90 miles our first day. Port Dickson offers a lovely pool so many hours were spent floating along with a number of cruisers who were also cooling off in the never ending heat. It is the closest anchorage to Kuala Lumpur so we did a quick trip to enjoy this great city once again. It was time to move on again as my friend Debra from Calgary was meeting us in Singapore for a few days and we wanted to ensure we were there in time for her. As we neared Singapore the radio traffic increased and we were barraged once again with constant radio chatter as well as avoiding the multitudes of tankers. This time we were travelling parallel to the traffic which was much more comfortable than crossing it as we had from Indonesia. The tankers yelling at each other on the radio when one was too close was disconcerting once again as we are reminded that they may not be as professional and capable as we always assume they are. We were unable to get space in One 15 Marina where we had been before so booked into the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club which was the closest marina to the city available. As we came in we realised why most yachts do not come into this marina. It is located right beside the terminal for the little ferries which come and go with regularity carrying crew to and from the tankers anchored nearby. This means constant noise and turbulence where the docks wave up and down as the ferries dock continuously. It makes for a rocky noisy anchorage and we felt as though we were in the Wal-Mart parking lot as opposed to a marina. The saving grace was the lovely pool and gym was set back in the resort and we did enjoy swimming there and using the restaurant and great showers. The steam room was tempting but as I sat there sweating I had to question why I was doing this as my life generally right now is one continuous sweat. Debra and her niece Corrine arrived on time from Hong Kong where they had been after Debra’s business trip to China. It was great to see her again. We spent the next couple of days exploring Singapore—the largest shopping mall in the world—one feels as though you are walking from mall to mall and once you go underground for the MRT you come up to find yourself in yet another!! Singaporeans live in high rise buildings so there are many parks and green spaces which humanise the city and there is a lot of art spread around the city, a relief from the mega malls. Debra had fun in Little India buying tops for $6 and we enjoyedDim Sum in Chinatown. The ethnic areas contrast with the extremely high end Orchard Street and the malls around the river. My favourite watch had stopped working so I went to the Watch Klinik to see if they could repair it. The store was near Orchard Street, one of the richest shopping streets in the world and while we waited we watched a video of Europeans setting diamonds in “one of a kind” watches. The movement for my watch would have been $90 if they had it but they did not. I asked if there would be anyone who may be able to fix it and they referred me to another watchmaker. The contrast was startling, his shop was in a very small backstreet area with old clocks on the wall and bags and containers of many, many parts. He was an old man who asked if I wanted my watch fixed. When I said I did his answer was $18. I assured him that would be OK and he rummaged through bags to locate the correct new movement which he proceeded to put into the watch after spending some time cleaning the watch up. As he was doing this many locals were coming in and he would rummage through more bags and repair their watches also. I fear that there are fewer and fewer of these old tradesmen as life gets more hi tech—it will be a sad loss!! My watch continues to work with the $18 repair!! Sadly Debra’s visit was short so we packed in as much as we had energy for before they left to go back to Canada. Ken and I then restocked with items which will be hard to find once we are back in Malaysia—bacon, pork, camembert--before checking out and leaving for Danga Bay in Jahore Bahru in Malaysia where the rally will officially begin. A note to any cruisers who will be coming into Singapore in the future, unless you are booked into Raffles Marina which does not allow you to do your own check in it is very simple and free to do it yourself. You sail into the Western Anchorage and they will take your passports and crew list and do the immigration procedures, the same when you exit. Once berthed in the marina you can catch the MRT to Tanjong Pagar and walk 10 minutes to the One Stop office in the PSA (port authority) and do the customs clearance and then come back again to clear out when you leave. This will save you about $300 which the marinas will charge. We are now in Danga Bay at the south end of Malaysia where the rally participants are gathering. Due to the pirates in the Suez canal there are fewer cruisers coming here and the rally will only have 25 boats which should make for a more intimate cruise. I am now realising what I did not get in Singapore---tonic and soda water!!! This area being strongly Muslim drink mixes are not in high demand---it is hard to remember what will be the “hard to find” items in the future!!!! We stocked up on liquor in Langkawi which has to be the cheapest place in the world—gin at $12, it is only a bargain if you have something to mix it with!!!!!!