Johore to Port Dickson

Malaysia, what a contrast to Singapore!! We arrived at Danga Bay at the marina where we would spend our first few days of the Malaysian Rally with most of the 50 other rally boats. The marina is free and run down—not sure why they do not charge for the berthage and then perhaps could fix the showers and toilets. We enquired about checking in but as it was already noon on Friday were told not to worry about it, they would arrange to check us in and out on Monday—no one seems to worry about such formalities. The first challenge was to get SIM cards for the phones and internet stick. We went to the Maxis store nearby which was doing it’s best to rival Telstra in Mackay, Australia in inefficiency. There were crowds of people and we were told there were no more SIM’s for data. Greg from Lupari 2 and I split the $3 taxi to the mall and finally managed to locate another Maxis store there. We were able to get the SIM’s but the internet one would expire in three days so we asked to have extra credit put on. The response was “cannot do” so the challenge was on to find someone who could “do”. Greg hit the jackpot when he found a man who did not find it a challenge and the task was accomplished and in typical cruising problem style had taken many hours. Back at the marina we dressed in our best clothes to attend the Government dinner. First was beer served in the bar as the Muslim Government would not be serving alcohol at the dinner. The tables in the dining room were covered in white tablecloths with silver cutlery and after we were welcomed the waiters came through holding candlelit trays aloft with our appetisers. What a lovely display and the rest of the meal followed this high standard. We had an 8 course meal with one course after another being served. The food was amazing and as we ate we were entertained by traditional dancing and several lounge singers. This equalled any banquet we had ever had anywhere in the world and surpassed the mass confusion at the dinners in Indonesia where we always had several hundred people lined up to choose from the buffet. The following day I went on the city tour while Ken waited for the refrigeration mechanics to see if once again we could resolve the mysteries of refrigeration. The tour took us into the city of Jahore Baru—JB—which is the capital of Johore state with over a million inhabitants. We had an excellent guide who explained the history and current politics of the region. It is located across the Straits from Singapore so had many centuries of trading. Traders from India bought the Hindu religion but in the 12th Century the Sultan converted to Islam and as was the way of most of the world when the ruler converts so do the people. Portuguese and Dutch both claimed it successively but Britain took sovereignty after the Napoleonic wars and developed the rubber plantations and tin mines. They bought in migrants from Southern India and China to work on these endeavours leaving the Malay people to continue farming and feeding the populace. The Japanese invaded during the Second World War committing many atrocities in the area, particularly against the local Chinese. It was from this city that they plotted the successful invasion of Singapore. The British expected an invasion from the South China Sea but it was by land, over the causeway and took them by surprise. After the war the British tried to reclaim Malaya but the locals rose against them and finally gained independence in 1957. Malaya along with Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah became Malaysia. Two years later Singapore decided to break away and became an independent nation. Today 60% of the population is Malay Muslim, 30% Chinese, mostly Buddhist and 10% Indian Hindus. As in Singapore and Indonesia they pride themselves on their tolerances. Our tour took us to see the building from which the Singapore invasion was plotted as well as the Sultans Palace and the large mosque. Our next visit was to the area which is known as Iskander. This is a huge area north of JB three times the size of Singapore which is being developed in a grandiose fashion. The idea is to decentralise government workers and encourage foreign investment to Malaysia. They hope it will rival Singapore and foreign companies will relocate here as a cheaper option. They are building huge highways and housing developments. They have already built a very impressive “House of Parliament” using local materials and architecture surrounded by beautiful gardens. They have plans for a Legoland to encourage tourism and there is a man made lake around which housing is planned and apparently being already being bought by Singaporeans as weekend places. Near the lake Puteri Marina has been built and some of the yachties were there instead of Danga Bay. Although it is much more modern it is as yet many miles from any stores or services and we were glad we had not chosen to be there. The whole area is meant to be finished by 2025 and they feel that as this is the fastest growing state after Kuala Lumpur---KL---it will all happen. One can only hope the vision will come true or they will have a huge white elephant. Our next stop was the pineapple museum where they are developing a sweeter pineapple and although we were able to sample them they are all being exported and are not available locally. We then went for lunch at the fishermen’s village and arrived as the skies opened for yet one more tropical downpour. We were led to a restaurant with a great view. As we were deciding what to eat Sam from Ramprasad who was sitting beside me gave a long wail and had a seizure. Luckily Bruce from Haven and David from Gavia, both doctors were nearby and quickly attended him. He lay unconscious but breathing for what seemed like forever before the ambulance came and David went with him to the hospital. It certainly put a damper on our lunch which arrived and we took most of it with us to eat later—it reminded us how fragile life is and how fortunate in this part of the world Sam was to have both doctors nearby. For those of you who know Sam—he stayed overnight in hospital where they did various tests and the results were normal. They recommended he have a CAT scan within a week and he the last I heard he intended doing that as an out patient. We hope it will all be resolved happily and wish him well. The climate here is torrid—30degrees every day and 80% humidity—and we are all talking air conditioners—here in the land of abbreviations—air cons. We started investigating buying one but as our boat is 110V and everything here is 240V we will only be able to use it when we are alongside at a marina. The power draw would prohibit the use at anchor anyway. Our refrigeration was still being worked on—we had 3 people who seem to sit around as one worked on the problem but they seemed to know what was wrong and it would be finished the next morning. The young man Dillon having finished schooling as a mechanical engineer is starting to work in his fathers business and is learning as he goes. They also sold reconditioned air cons for $150, as we were sweating just lifting the tea cup to our lips let alone drinking the hot liquid we decided to get one. Dillon and his wife invited us to the best Thai restaurant in JB for dinner and we had a lovely evening with them reminding us of the intimate moments which come along in our travels. Next morning I went in to the city for a $40 haircut and highlights and did the customs check in and check out. With the air conditioner and working refrigerator we were ready to head north for the three day passage to Port Dickson. They would be long days as there is no wind here at all—if there is any it is a headwind as the Northwest Monsoons have set in. The first day as we left late we only intended clearing the area to anchor for an early start the next day for the first of two 65 mile passages. Current was with us the first day but after anchoring and setting off the next morning it was against us. We kept expecting it to change but it never did so we were forced to burn fuel with both engines on full. We arrived at the fancy marina at Port Dickson just before dark and were happy to be alongside. Most of the rally boats had arrived and we joined a lot of them at the $9 buffet dinner. The bar served $3 beers and the swimming pool was lovely. We got our air con working and enjoyed the luxury of having no plans for several cool days—a rare treat this season!! Catherine who has been crewing on Gavia was leaving to go back to Canada and we enjoyed a farewell dinner on their boat along with Cats Paw. The following morning was an early start for the bus tour to go to Kuala Lumpur—KL—we would go on the tour but stay in the city for two nights rather than come back on the bus. We had an excellent guide and learned more of this multicultural society. As the economy flourishes with oil finds many migrants are coming. It is an obvious destination for Arabic Muslims and although they come with their radical beliefs the locals feel they can control this and will continue to be moderate and tolerant. I sincerely hope they are able to find the balance. Seeing the women totally covered in their chadors in this otherwise open happy society was quite a shock and one hopes assimilation over the next generations will allow the advancement of their female children. Our first stop was at the Batu Caves which is a huge limestone cave formation and is the local Mecca for Hindus. They have built the largest golden statue in the world and you walk up the steps past this into the cave. As seems normal with these Asian religious practices there are various stations and areas of worship. There is lots of colour with many golden idols and brightly coloured flower garlands for sale. We went to the war memorial which commemorated all of the wars the Malays have been involved in. Next was the best viewpoint to see the twin towers which were the tallest in the world but now have been surpassed by one in Dubai and one in Korea—how high can one go?? The Sultans palace with ceremonial guards on horses and on foot and then the old cricket club were reminiscent of the colonial past. We also went to the huge Buddhist temple and found the animals of our birth year. Ken is the year of the tiger—with a Leo in our astrological calendar how can he not be aggressive!!—my dog was a particularly ugly dog which was sad as I had been happy to be a spaniel or lab. The bus tour now deposited everyone to one mall amongst eight other malls where we could have lunch. We left the rally here and along with Cats Paw got a taxi to the Classic Inn which turned out to be a great choice at $45 a night and was close to everything. With Barry and Ann we caught the train to Chinatown for the evening—as in all big Asian cities the metro train system is fast cheap and efficient. We wandered through the night market being bombarded with offers to buy knock off watches and designer purses and bags. Ann and I were tempted with a Prada bag which we felt we could get for about $30 each and discussed getting one after we had eaten. Ken of course was looking at watches, how many can you have? The vendors were not as high pressure salesmen as we had had in other countries and all had a smile on their faces—perhaps they are better off financially than elsewhere? As we were looking for somewhere to eat a smiley young man was trying to sell us DVD’s. When we said we were looking for a restaurant he pointed out one and he said he would be waiting for us afterwards. As we sat enjoying our dinner he popped in to see that we had not escaped! The dinner was great and as we left he was waiting for us and we all bought yet more DVD’s to while away our passages. We decided to forgo the handbags as they all had metal fastenings which we suspect in our marine environment would rust, we assume the quality of metal would be poor. A nightcap was had at a nearby hotel finishing our day in style. The next day Ken and I went back to Chinatown where I was offered the same bag at a starting price of $20 from a different vendor—wow, am I glad we didn’t buy last night!! I suspect that the night market attracts more tourists and therefore higher prices. We walked to the Central Market which was more Indian than Chinese with a wonderful array of Pashmina shawls amongst lots of other imported items. We had a great lunch there having our best Laksa yet. That is the Malay answer to the Asian soup meals and is spicy with noodles, tofu, prawns and squid. Ken had Cop Out embroidered on his Sail Indonesia shirt for $2 and we had to join all the tourists dipping our feet in a pool of cleaner fish. This is a common practice here and for $1 50 you get to sit while these fish eat all of the dead cells from your feet for 10 minutes. Initially they tickled badly and everyone would quickly pull their feet out with a squeal but once you got used to it it was quite nice. The lady was very smart to only charge $1 50 as everyone would try for that and she had a constant tourist business going every time we passed by. It was a public holiday and all of the locals were sitting around a small lake surrounded by shopping malls in the Petrona Towers. We did not go up in the tower as you would have to line up at 5am to get a ticket. At that time of morning it did not seem that important. The mall here as would be expected was full of the real Prada, Guess and other brand name products. Guards standing outside the stores attested to the prices inside and some of them were locked only to be unlocked if you looked like a prospective buyer rather than a robber!! I found a great pottery shop where I bought a mug and will keep some of the ideas for my future pottery business. We made our way, walking—Asians do not walk and when we ask directions for anywhere they say it is too far and we should either take a taxi or the metro. We ended up at the fancy tourist information centre which had been a headquarters in the tin mining industry and was a grand old building. Chocolate was sold there—they grow cocoa and have recently decided to enlist the help of the Europeans to make chocolate here with wonderful results—yummmm!!! That evening we had booked a buffet dinner with a traditional dance show which was a little cheesy but had not cost us much. We have the feeling they have left much of their original culture behind and are more into the 21st century than in the past. We made our way back to our hotel and packed for an early start so I could make a dentist appointment on the other side of the city. We got there in time for the appointment only to find the NZ trained dentist I had been referred to had been called to an emergency and we should come back in an hour. The area was very nice and was obviously a centre for expatriates. As we walked a young well dressed Indian mother was taking her daughters to kindy wheeling their Barbie bags—could have been anywhere in our world. The mall which by Asian standards was small had a lot of mid price brand name stores. I got some Rockport shoes at a similar price to that in Calgary. The grocery store was full of imported cheeses, deli products and meats. Unfortunately we were faced with several hours to get back to the boat in the tropical heat so had to forgo most of those luxuries. After the dental appointment we had lunch at a Tapas bar which was very European and then walked back to the station to get the train which would take us out of the city and we would catch a bus to Port Dickson. Our favourable impression of KL transit vanished when 2 trains were cancelled. We waited 30 minutes more and a small train arrived which we were able to push our way onto. It felt like the clips we had seen from Tokyo where they push you in to fit as many on as they could. We had an hour standing on the train—many had not got on so we were thankful for small mercies. When we got off we all herded ourselves the 200 metres to the bus stop to catch our bus. It was trying to cope with the full train and we were not able to get on the first one. Luckily we were at the front for the next one 15 minutes later and were able to get a seat for the hour bus ride. Finally we got a taxi and 3 hours after leaving KL were back at the boat. The cost was amazing---$2 for the first hour train trip, $1 30 for the bus and $3 for the 20minute taxi ride. We arrived back to find a lot of the boats had left and the rest were planning to leave in the morning. We would have to wait until the office opened at 9am so would not get as early a start as we would have liked. We got away shortly after 9 and had a favourable current to do the 60 miles to an anchorage for our first night. Next morning were up and left early with the current for the next 60 miles joining a number of boats anchoring up a river. We would leave from here early in the morning for the 25 mile trip to Pankor Marina. I am writing this on our last day and indeed we have a great current and are doing 8.3 knots with a 2 knot current in our favour. We will arrive by lunch time and be ready for tonight’s Government dinner. We will be happy to finally get there; we have one long day after this to Penang and one long day to Langkawi where we are booked for 2 months. The 450 mile trip up the coast has been a slog with hours of tedious motoring.