Cruising Phang Nga Bay with Dave and Ben

Visiting the site of of The Big Buddha above Ao Chalong

View looking west from The Big Buddha

The Big Buddha!

Ben feeding the baby elephant - the elephant trecking tour didn't look too comfortble!

An afternoon on the well populated Kata Beach

Captain Ben at the helm

Didn't take Ben long to master the paddleboard

Monkeys looking for handouts at the exit of a cave leading to a hong

Spectacular island formations

Maggie at anchor - James Bond Island is on the right

Limestone erosion

Great swimming at Ko Hong

Dave getting the hang of the paddleboard

Cruising Phang Nga Bay with Dave and Ben

Mar 14 to 19, 2016

Ben was also keeping a diary of this trip so we could check notes on the highlights. For our limited time we had to choose between going up the west or east coast. The west coast has all the famous, large beaches, surfing and some snorkeling. The east coast offers offshore islands with caves, hongs, and beautiful anchorages. On the Monday we took a cab to the closest beach for a few hours, along with hundreds of tourists, and decided to go the east coast route, which we all enjoyed. That same day we went up the highest point above the harbour to see the "Big Buddha". He is so large that you can follow him into the harbour from miles out. The location offers great views over the island. We stopped to see some elephants kept for trekking on the way back to town. A trip to the grocery store for provisions for the week was the last errand.

All week we travelld in the mornings and anchored at a different island for the rest of the day. At Rang Yei, we had the beach and harbour to ourselves for a few hours before tourist boats started to drop people off. We got the paddleboard inflated and relaxed with that, swimming, hiking and reading. There was even a bar, lawn chairs and showers!  It was nice to be in a small place where you didn't have to leave someone guarding your possessions.

Wed we entered the Phang Nga marine park area of 40 islands. First stop was at Phanak, known for its caves and hongs. A hong is like a small lake inside an island reached through a cave. At the entrance we had a family of monkeys visiting. After getting partway through paddling in the dinghy, we lost all the light and had to return for flashlights. It was worth having a spotlight to see the rock formations on the walls and ceiling. We could also see colonies of bats sleeping on the walls. It was good that we had towed the paddleboard behind us because the entrance to the hong was too small for the dinghy. One at a time we lay down on the paddleboard and ducked under the rock to enter a fairly large area of water open to the sky. Some hongs can only be entered at certain stages of the tide- or you wait inside for up to 6 hours to get out.

Despite knowing that it would be crowded with tourists, we wanted to see "James Bond Island" on Thurs. It was there that some of the 40 year old movie, "The Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed. We watched the movie ahead of time on the boat. In the movie they are portraying the location as part of China-to fit the plot. The movie also had scenes from Bangkok that were fun to see-cars racing in the streets and boats racing through the canals. We found a beautiful, quiet anchorage not far away to enjoy during the day. After the tour boats left for the evening, we visited the setting for the movie by dinghy. Well worth the visit!

Fri we motored to Ko Hong to visit another hong. It was an easier one to access and had way too many tourists in inflatable kayaks to even fit into the hong. Out in the anchorage Rob rigged up the boom over the side so that Ben could swing out into the water from a rope. He also climbed to the end of the raised boom to jump in. We each had some paddleboard practise. Ben certainly had the best balance. It must help to have your center of gravity lower.

 Later in the afternoon we sailed back to the north end of Phuket. This was the first sail of the week. We have had to motor most of the time in the light winds. It is nice to not have storms but without the wind it has been very hot on the boat. Sat we motored up the channel separating Phuket from the mainland to anchor near Yacht Haven Marina. At the beginning of the channel we were dodging many long tail boats from which the fishermen were catching jellyfish. We certainly saw a lot of jellyfish in the water all week, each about a foot across. It is a short cab ride from here to the airport, and we will be near supplies to get some boat chores done during the upcoming week. Dave and Ben left here about 4pm. It sure was a fun week for us and I'm sure a memorable one for them.

This morning we had 2 emails about the BPO trip. No Regrets received a reply from Chagos saying they will not be given permission to stop there on the trip across the Indian Ocean. We are assuming we will get the same response. And Tahawas has decided not to continue traveling in the rally. They are going to stay in this area for a few years longer. Lots to think about today!

Bangkok, Thailand Visit with Dave and Ben

Why have only one Buddha when you can have a hundred!

Monks worshiping at Wat Pho Buddha Temple

Another Buddha at Wat Pho

Horned building (for keeping away evil spirits)

Bangkok longtail boat - the motors keep getting bigger - this one looks like a truck motor!

Couple engaging Thai dancers to support their prayers at Erewan Shrine

Dave rolling the stone in the statue's mouth for good luck

Massive reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Dave and Ben riding the river ferry - efficient means of transportation in a busy city!

View of Central World - a seven story shopping mall downtown Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

Visit with Dave and Ben

March 10 to 13 2016

They say that Bangkok is the most visited city in the world. You can understand that better when you tour the sites. People are there from many countries, but there are also lots of local tourists. To visit an important temple will bring you good luck, or health, or prosperity. It is like a pilgrimage. At each one (and there are many), Buddhists will be lighting incense sticks, chanting, praying and bringing gifts to the monks to get a blessing. There is so much to see that is unfamiliar to us in Canada.

Rob and I flew to Bangkok from Phuket on Thurs, March 10. There is an elevated train line from the airport into the heart of the city. From there we could walk to our hotel. Within walking distance there were 6 shopping centres and the streets lined with markets also. It was hard to walk along with our luggage through the people and tables. For not too much money we had rooms in a good location with pool and air conditioning. In the evening the modern buildings were lit with video commercials and other lights. On the weekend there was a music festival with a variety of bands outdoors across from the hotel.

Dave and Ben arrived 7:30 am Fri after leaving Ottawa after work Wed and driving to Montreal to catch the first leg of their flight via Qatar. They did a good job touring for 2 days while fighting off the jet lag. There are "sky trains" around the city but they don't go into the historic area. For that we switched to a ferry boat travelling along the river. The transport itself was fun. On Sun we figured out that we could take a canal boat from near the hotel to within walking distance off some of the major sites. It was a fast, wet ride. Later in the day we took a motorized "tuk tuk" back to the boat. Ben wanted to keep his eyes shut the way the driver dodged through traffic.

Fri we visited Wat Pho, the word "wat" meaning temple. I had expected a building like a church but it is usually more like a small community with many buildings. The monks live in some quarters, and various kings have built different worship areas over the centuries. Thailand was Hindu at some point in its past until one king converted. The temples were just reused so retain some architectural features from each religion. They all have many statues of Buddha. In Wat Pho the main statue is of a reclining Buddha covered in gold leaf that fills a whole building. There is a massage school on the premises. (Thai message is popular with tourists and much cheaper than at home.)

We visited a number of smaller wats while walking around. But the large one we toured Sat was Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. It is several city blocks long and wide and took a few hours with an audio guide. The famous Buddha here is small but made of emerald. Much of the art work on the walls depicts the stories of the kings' exploits and the teachings of the Buddha. There are huge concrete statues of famous people, made in China and used as ships' ballast on a trading vessel. The whole place is extravagant in its artistry. There is even a scale model of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Later in the day, we took the river boat to Chinatown. Mostly we walked through the web of tiny alleyways and crowded markets.

On Sun am we visited Jim Thompson House. Although not Thai, he did much to preserve the art and culture of the country. He worked for the CIA in Bangkok in WW2, and then started a silk industry selling Thai silk to high end US companies. With the profits he collected many valuable antiques and works of art. The Thais believe broken Buddhas or any art that is cracked is bad luck so prices were cheap for things that needed repairing. With his mysterious disappearance in 1967, his home and contents were donated as a museum. (Locals would say he got the bad luck. No children, a divorce, and a murdered sister.)

Of course, we made sure we tried lots of Thai food, both from restaurants and from street vendors. A buffet breakfast at the hotel let us try most of the specialties. Sunday we flew back to Phuket. After a cab ride to Ao Chalong, it was into the dinghy and out to Maggie. We were happy to see them right where we left them.

Adventure Sailing Vacation Has No Limits

Adventure sailing vacation has no limits when even the physically disabled are able to achieve such a feat. This is as long as there are charities and clubs around that allow people with mixed abilities to work side by side with an able crew on equal terms.

Currently, such groups can be booked for a sailing vacation that will last from 4 days or 4 weeks. Ships can be charted to go from one point in the US to another. Charters those across the Atlantic might sail south or the west to enjoy the warm waters of the Caribbean.

Tour groups that provide these cruises are suitable for beginners and veterans alike. First timers get learn the basics and at the end of the course get a certificate. To get more experience, they will have to head out to see regularly. Those who don’t have the time can take an online course because although it is not a substitute for certification, it is a good tool in preparation for your continuing sailing education.

But if you are just doing this for fun to spend time with friends, you don’t have to work. Given that charters already assign a trained crew, you can just sit back, relax and enjoy the ocean voyage.

Along the way, the ship will dock in different ports. This allows people to go inland and spend some time ashore. They can sleep there as well or go back to the ship to watch the harbor and the stars at night before it is time to set sail to their next destination.

At sea, the crew might encounter dolphins, seals and whales swimming alongside the ship. As they get closer to land, they will most likely encounter cormorants, guillemots, kittiwakes, puffins, shags, skuas and razorbills among other creatures.

Part of the package includes good quality fresh food so you don’t have to bring anything when you come aboard. Crews will do the cooking but you can assist if you want to get into the action.

To make such tours accessible to those who are and are not physically challenged, companies make it a point that the meeting points are easily accessible by plane and at cheap rates. Booking can be made through your travel agent or you can make the reservation online. You can look at their itinerary for the year so you know where the ship is going on a certain date.

There are also sailing clubs for the disabled. Some will require you to pay a membership fee while others hand this out for free.

Perhaps the biggest achievement for those who are disabled is to compete against others that have similar disabilities. Established in 1998, the US Disabling Team competes in various races annually and the biggest one this year happens to be the 2008 Paralympic Games which will be held in Qingdao, China about 430 miles east of the Capital.

So whether it is just for fun or to race for the grand prize, adventure sailing vacation has no limits even to those with physical disabilities. This is because they can be trained to run the ship just as well as an able bodied person so they are able to set out to sea and return back to port.

Adventure Sailing is More Fun When You Own The Yacht

You can charter adventure sailing vacation to almost any destination in the world. The only problem is that it will cost you a lump sum paying for the crew, the meals and the fuel for the trip. You can probably save money on a sailing vacation when you own the yacht but only if you know how to navigate and control it.

The advantage of owning a boat is that you can go on a sailing vacation at anytime. You don’t have to call your travel agent or make any reservation online since the boat is just sitting at the dock waiting for you to come aboard. The only thing you have to do is buy food and fuel which should be enough to get you back to port.

The boat also brings financial benefits because when you are not using it, this can be rented out to those who want to go on their own sailing vacation as long as they are able to pay your rate. This of course means additional revenue for you so the ship stays in good shape.

This makes it also ideal for those who want to conduct business on board because this is a tax deductible once you register your boat as a place of business. To see how this works, get in touch with your tax advisor

Another financial benefit of owning your own yacht is the fact that this is considered to be a second home. This is as long as the boat has at least one berth, a permanent galley and a head which is the requirement of the IRS.

If you can’t buy your own yacht, there is something called fractional boat ownership which means for a certain period during the year, you can do whatever you want with the boat. This will allow you to use it to go on a trip with your family.

The best thing about this is that a group of you share the cost of owning the yacht which already includes its maintenance, insurance, moorage, equipment, fuel and repairs.

This can only happen of course after you have completed a boating safety class and a safety orientation. This will not be a problem for you if you are already certified to sail a boat and know how to use all the equipment like charts, compass and GPS on board.

The other option is to join a boat club. Unlike part time sharing, you don’t get to own a boat. But as a member, you are entitled to up to 4 advanced reservations at any given time and access to powerboats or to sailboats that are up to 30 feet in length. The club for its part will shoulder all  the other expenses such as maintenance, cleaning, storage and insurance.

There are many of then around so you won’t have a hard time choosing one. Some cater to one market while others cater to all. They also offer boating classes for those who want to do this for fun or commit themselves in the sport.

Adventure sailing vacation is truly better when you own the yacht as the only thing you have to do is drive on over to the docks, stow your gear on board and then sail off into the sunset.

Thailand

Thai lettering

Long tail boats on beach - not much room for swimming!

Karst  island formations on way to Ko Phi Phi

Ko Phi Phi main harbour - interesting rock formations

Dramatic rock faces on Ko Phi Phi

Fishing markers of some kind - a challenge to avoid!

Entering Ao Chalong harbour - Phuket

Tour boat negotiating shallow water at low tide

Thailand

March 9 2016

Before leaving Malaysia we heard news of a 7.8 earthquake SW of Pedang. That is the city in Sumatra where we will be leaving from to cross the Indian Ocean. There was a brief tsunami warning that was later cancelled. But the fishermen came in that night and some sailors were considering leaving the harbour. They had so much destruction in this area in 2004.

We travelled for 4 days through the first Thai islands to Phuket and have been here since the 7th. The first half day's sail took us to our first island in Thailand, Ko Lipe. It is a small island that is a part of the larger Butang group of islands, similar to Langkawi. But we could tell that it was a different country. The Thais are more oriental looking. The language on the signs uses an alphabet closer to the Chinese characters. Although many locals try to learn English it is very difficult to understand them. Tourism is a much bigger business than in Malaysia or Indonesia. We have been disappointed by how crowded it is most places. The unit of currency is the Baht. We tried the 3 ATMs to get cash but none were working. Fortunately the second money changer we tried converted a bit of our leftover Malaysian $ to baht. It was a treat to be able to have a beer ashore.

We cleared in to immigration there but still needed to do customs and harbour master in Phuket. It was coincidental that Blue Wind pulled in while we were doing that chore. They had been out at some other anchorages in Langkawi for a few days. Ko Lipe looked to me like a backpackers vacation spot. Lots of interesting low key spots and accommodations, and nice beaches. We rowed the dinghy in from a quiet bay to a beach on the opposite side to town and walked across. The surrounding islands are marine parks with good diving and hiking. The second night we took a mooring ball at another national park island, Ko Rok Nok, but didn't go ashore.

The third night we decided to take a bit of a detour to see the Phi Phi islands, pronounced "pee pee". (As Phuket is called "puket'). They are considered one of the most beautiful islands in the world. The movie "The Beach' was filmed there. It was very dramatic, but it seemed like everyone in the world was visiting. It is a day trip outing from Phuket so all sizes of tour boats were coming and going. What was called an anchorage in our guide book is now filled with private mooring balls. We found another anchorage along with a handful of other sailboats. But the shoreline was shallow with coral so no way to take a dinghy to shore. Lots of loud music from different venues until 2 am.

It was only a morning's sail to Ao Chalong Bay where you need to check in to Phuket. Again the bay is quite full with sailboats and many mooring balls. We got that job done as well as a new sim card for the phone and local cash. It is interesting to just walk around and get your bearings. We found a small yacht club as well as a chandlery. There are lots of diving operations on this side of the island, where you take a boat out to a good location from the pier in the bay. The beaches are on the west coast. The bays on this side get shallow for a long way from shore at low tide. Being a new moon today the tide is particularly low. Some tour boats are struggling through the mud to the dock and dinghies are left high and dry.

We have switched from reading the Malaysian guide book to Lonely Planet's Thailand. I thought it was interesting in the religion chapter about Malaysia that Islam is a state religion with its tenets part of the law. The government says it wants to protect the "moral fabric" of the country. But it is Sunni-no Shia's allowed. Thailand is 80% Buddhist.

Yesterday was spent getting the arrangements made for our trip to Bangkok. We are going to leave the boat at anchor and pull the dinghy up onto the dock and lock it. There are others doing that here. The weather forecast is identical for every day this week, 10 to 20 km/hr, ENE and sunny. We are going to fly as we are short of time to take a train or bus the 500 miles. We fly out Thurs and Dave and Ben arrive there Fri. We have bought tickets to return on Sunday afternoon. It will be a busy but fun week.

Telaga Harbour, Langkawi

Maggie alone at anchor

Princess Lake - freshwater lake among the hills

Lots of monkeys!

View of Telaga harbour from cable car

Skybridge from top of cable car - suspended from a single support!

New high end golf course - The Els Club

View of the 18th hole with the most southerly Thailand island in the background.

Telaga Harbour, Langkawi

March 2, 2016

After returning to Langkawi, we sailed to another bay on another island, Pulau Dayang Bunting. The scenery was beautiful with the steep rock walls exposed. We are on a line of islands formed when, in ancient earth history earth plates collided and pushed up old sedimentary rocks. There are a number of marble quarries as well with the marble formed from years of pressure on the sediments. We wanted to visit this particular bay as there is a small fresh water lake just over one of the hills. It was formed when the roof of a large cave collapsed and is now kept filled with rain water. Some books call it Princess Lake, but it depends on how you translate the legend of the "pregnant maiden". There were many tourists swimming and paddle boating there, although they have to come by boat as it is part of the national park with no accommodation. We had the whole bay to ourselves for the evening and overnight. It would have been perfect except for a strong, gusty, katabatic wind blowing down the hills.

The next day we moved north to Telaga Harbour where we are still anchored. There is a marina here as well. It was built in 2004 and later that year was completely destroyed by the tsunami. But it has been rebuilt, but they added 2 small offshore islands to block the seas in the southwest monsoon season. There are a number of shops and restaurants, gas station, immigration, etc, and a ferry to Thailand. We have seen 3 Canadian flags while here which has not been very common.

Four of our three BPO boats have been here for a few days. It has been fun to catch up with everyone and compare notes for visiting Thailand next. Tahawas has been there already as they didn't go home for Xmas. We enjoyed a dinner out Sunday along the tourist  beach strip which is a cab drive away. All the boats are here because of repairs that need to be done. No Regrets arrived for a short visit but their engine was overheating on arrival and a motor mount was broken. The anchor windlass motor burned out on Tahawas when they arrived. Blue Wind is installing a new watermaker and freezer. Rob has  repaired the wind generator switch, the steaming light, and installed some new cockpit lights for when we are anchored. They say "sailing is repairing your boat in exotic locations", or is it "add money and stir". Bob and Barb took the ferry from here to Penang, and then a flight to Singapore, Vancouver and then home. The guests on No Regrets also started home the same way. Zeke and the new crew for No Regrets are arriving in Penang the same day. Tim is also there getting the Indonesian visa.

We are taking the time to be tourists as well. The most famous attraction within walking distance of here is a cable car to the top of Mt Machinchang.  The 15 minute, 2.2km ride is considered the world's steepest. When you get off that one there is still another to a higher peak, as well as a 410 ft suspension bridge to walk across to another peak. All of this is in rainforest. Spectacular views all around- even the first islands in Thailand. There are many monkeys in this whole area, even along the road from the marina. At the cable car base a whole tourist village has been built. The Malaysians are doing a better job than the Indonesians on giving tourists opportunities to spend money.

Today Rob and I rented a car and went to see a new golf course built by Ernie Els in the northwest corner of the island.. The whole bay there is being developed as a high end resort destination with private beaches backed by the mountain range. We had dressed better than our usual and convinced the security staff to let us visit the lobby of one of the resorts. It really is stunning scenery. We had lunch at the golf course and they let us rent a golf cart to drive through the course. It obviously was not very busy. About $200 will give you green fees, cart, and caddie.

Although we don't know the Malaysian language it has been fun to sound out some of the road signs. Some examples: polis, bas kapten,  ekspres,  teksi,  kompleks kraf,  klinic and surgeri,  butik. As you can tell many sound like phoenetic english.

We are waiting until Thursday to check out of Malaysia and Friday to leave for Thailand. We took down our dodger, the canvas and strata glass in the front of the cockpit to take in for repairs. Both zippers are broken and much of the stitching is disintegrating. We should get a call tomorrow to pick it up. We will again rent a car. It is an interesting procedure . The marina staff just let you use their cars for $3 per hour. You donn't have to show them a drivers licence or sign anything-just your boat name on a scrap piece of paper. You can see the first Thai islands from here, one only 4 nm from the north side. One of them that is 25 nm away is a check in location. Our plan is to take 3 day sails to Phuket. We are looking forward to seeing Thailand and especially to get in a visit with Dave and Ben. They leave Ottawa Mar.9 and arrive the morning of Mar. 11 in Bangkok.

George Town, Pulau Penang, Malaysia

Carol sampling food at a street vendor

Retail outlets on the Chew clan jetty

The non-commercial Lim clan jetty

A Buddhist temple in one of the clan houses

An Indian Temple in the Little India section of George Town

George Town, Pulau Penang, Malaysia

Feb.26, 2016

On Mon, the 22nd, we took the ferry from Langkawi to the island of Penang and its capital, George Town. We left Maggie at anchor and arranged for a dinghy repair person to meet us at the dock and work on the dinghy leak while we were gone. The dinghy is fixed and the bill didn't set us back much. A seam was opening. We were happy to see Maggie where we left her. We had a real gale blowing last night and didn't move although it was tiring listening to all that wind. And not much fun in the dinghy.

Our main purpose for the trip was to get our application in for the Indonesian visa for April. We took a cab ride out to the Indonesian consulate each of the 3 days we were there and did all the waiting involved. But we now have the visa in hand. You can visit up to 30 days just flying in to the country and getting a visa when you land. It is just more involved to stay longer.

We also were looking forward to visiting the city of George Town. It is sometimes referred to as "The Pearl of the Orient". In 2008 it and Malacca were designated as world heritage sites by Unesco for their historic significance along the Malacca Straits. For 500 years East has met West in these trading centres building a real multicultural community. It was the first city established when the British arrived so many colonial buildings are preserved from that period. The old temples, docks and clan houses of the Chinese are also being protected. And Little Indian has its' temples of worship, craftsmen and eateries. They offer free "on and off" bus transit in the core downtown area so we could see a lot in the short time we had.

The island of Penang is famous as the food capital of Malaysia, especially for local street food. The blending of many cultures, low wages, and a love of eating out have combined for some delicious feasting. We combined picking up snacks, with a few restaurant meals-all good although spicy. Tourism is, therefore, a main industry. But medical tourism is obviously part of that. There is a huge private hospital for foreigners. And you see many clinics offering fertility treatments or cosmetic surgery.

We decided to visit the marina just to see what it was like and whether you could buy any boat supplies. To our surprise we saw Bluewind in a slip. Checking with the office we learned that they had arrived the day before. Then we bumped in to Daphne and Ruy in the grocery store. It was such a treat to see them. Fortunately we could spend an evening together over dinner. They have made plans to ship their boat to the Med in April from Phuket. We may see them again there in March.

Today, Friday, we have moved to another anchorage off the island of Dayang Bunting. We are the only boat anchored here, although many tour boats have dropped off tourists on land. There is a freshwater lake very close to the shore that people like to hike around. We'll do that in the morning before the crowds, and then head to another harbour. We are hoping we can catch Tahawas at Telega Harbour if they are still there.

Bass Harbour off the capital town of Kuah

Islands on the south entrance to Langkawi

Interesting map of Langkawi archipelago on rock face

Streetscape Kuah

Sunset over Royal Langkawi Marina

Food stall at the night market

Great dinner for little money!

Langkawi, Malaysia

Bass Harbour off the capital town of Kuah

Feb.21 2016

Langkawi is a group of islands off the northwest coast of Malaysia. There are between 77 and 104 islands depending on which guide book you read and what you call an island. The largest island is called Langkawi, also. The name means "reddish brown eagle" and there is a park with a huge statue of one along the waterfront. Three large areas of the archipelago have been designated as geoparks by Unesco for their geological features and flora and fauna. The large limestone and marble mountains and steep cliffs are from very ancient earth history (500 million yrs). With beaches and rainforest and diving it is a popular tourist destination.

So far we are still anchored off the main town of Kuah. There is good holding and lots of room in the shallow bay. It is good to see some sailboats again after a lonely trip up the coast. I don't see many  with flags so don't know where they are from. We have walked around most of the town exploring. As it is duty free we have been filling up the cupboards with what we can carry. Luc arranged for us to get our visas for reentering Indonesia from the consulate in Penang, which is an island a daysail's further south of here. We didn't get that email before sailing past the island. We have decided to take the ferry to Penang from here instead of Maggie. It runs 3 times a day in 3 hours inexpensively. We'll stay in a hotel and sightsee there until the process is complete-not supposed to take too long. In the meantime we have arranged for someone to (hopefully) fix the slow leak in our dinghy. It was new in Papeete but has been losing air in one pontoon since Aug.

The guidebooks all rave about Malaysia's great street food. We haven't been disappointed with the meals we have eaten out. One night we tried "steamboat and grill", popular here and in Thailand. It is like a fondue but with a pot of chicken soup in which you cook vegetables, noodles, and seafood. Around the sides is room to grill the meats or fry an egg. There is a buffet of ingredients to choose from. (cost was about $7). Sat night we went to the night market, where fresh fish and fruits are sold, as well as clothing and toys, etc. Dinner food in hawker stalls is sold for usually less than $1 an item. We snacked our way down the street on spring rolls, satay, samosas, noodles and fried rice. Yum!

Most restaurants do not sell alcohol because it is a Muslim country. Craving a beer yesterday we found a store selling pizza that offered beer. It turned out to be a good stop for us. A couple, Ian and Jam, who are anchored near us also came in for lunch. We had a long visit getting useful info on the area and the trip up to Thailand. Ian has sent us some guide material and charts. They have spent many seasons cruising here as well as living in Thailand.

No Regrets arrived Fri am. Tim, a friend of his with his daughter, and Bob and Barb, have been aboard since Penang. We had a chance for a visit Fri before they moved on to a quieter spot. Bob had a chance to leave a duffel bag of his things to have on Maggie for his return in May. It was good to have a visit and some planning in person.