Clearing in and out of customs, pirates, transport, phone and internet, cheap food, shopping, fruit and veg, fuel, hardware, bartering, trading and gifts, as well as some basic Indonesian words to know are covered in this post. It also includes a link to a google map of the anchorages we used which includes information about the holding and the depth of water.
Penang’s streets weave, often oneway, through the eclectic array of new and old buildings, giving Penang a chaotic but charming feel. Beaches, resorts, markets and malls; this place has everything.
…and as we enjoyed a delicious nyonya laksa we watched a family of hornbills. The staff at the Nipah Deli put out some fruit for the hornbills that live in a tree nearby. The hornbill ma and pa cautiously made there way to the table, and the plate of fruit, where they filled their bellies before going back to feed their two chicks.
After leaving Senibong Cove Marina we stopped at the Sebana Cove Marina for a few days. Sebana Cove was in the middle of nowhere but it was a nice break just lazing around the pool. We walked through a oil palm plantation and watched the monkeys and I got to see my first ever hornbill in the wild!!.. Malacca is a very interesting place, with many souvenir shops and art galleries… at night as it is lit up with hundreds of lights. There are many restaurants and bars along the river…
We happily left Pontianak behind – without a backwards glance – as we begun our journey across the South China Sea. We soon arrived at Pulau Pengiki-besar… This trip was delightfully packed full of visits to villages, schools, local restaurants as well as many local visitors to our boat. We barbecued on shore and enjoyed a bit of snorkelling.
A little jewel in the Java Sea! We spent six days exploring this beautiful area. White sandy beaches, uninhabited islands, coral reefs, monkeys and friendly local people. After the big city chaos of Surabaya, Bawean was just what we needed! We left Surabaya and motor-sailed, the Java sea, into head winds as we crossed to Pulau Bawean. The crossing took 13 hours…
… we started the arduous saga of extending our visas. We looked up the address for Kantor Immigrasi (the office of Immigration), caught a ferry to Surabaya and then a taxi a long way out of town (out near the airport) to the Immigration Office. Once there, we waited for about an hour until we were called to the desk, where we were told that we needed to go to another office. A couple of minutes later we were walking in the rain trying to catch another taxi. Wet, and a bit disappointed, we caught a cab to another immigration office…
A few days after our boys left Bali we moved Thorfinn to a mooring at Serangan. Trish came along for a sail, and it was a good thing she did. During a routine check on the engine room, Dwayne found the bilge full of water. We had a leak somewhere… a very fast leak! A semi-controlled panic ensued as Dwayne set up the manual bilge pump. It was my job to pump and Trish steered the boat, as Dwayne searched for, found and fixed the busted hose…
After the relative peacefulness of Gili Air, Kuta during the holiday season appeared pandemonic. The chaotic cacophony was made worse by the heat in the un-air-conditioned van that slowly made its way through the congested convoluted streets. Upon arrival at the hotel we found there had been an error in the booking and three of us did not have a room. Following a long exhausting debate over what we should, could and would do, Dwayne, Alex and I went and found another hotel room for a couple of nights. The disorder at the next hotel would have been comedic had I not been so tired…
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