Just Cruizin On Bluemoon

Log 87

There is somethingabout coming back to Langkawi ... such a burst of wonderful memories... it always felt like home to us, though sadly with our friends not here, and us not being able to attend Zaid's wedding where all our friends were ... it did not feel the same!

We spent a night inTelaga after which we anchored out in Kuah a few days, we went to Royal Langkawi marina where we could fill up the water tanks, do some washing and give the boat a good 'ol clean up. Went shopping for some clothes which was very exciting for all of us! Except …. shopping here in Malaysia is really quite an experience!

Everyone seems much smaller than us … OK – IS much smaller than us, so to get something to fit properly … is quite a challenge all on its own!lol! The size is of course another story all on it's own!!! So thegreat thing about stretch jeans is that you can actually fit into them!!! Yet, the sizes you would normally fit into, a 32/34, is not the same here – you could barely fit your ankle into the jeans!!!Here, being an XL or an XXL is quite normal for a western foreigner like us!!!!! Talk about placing any thought of vanity in the right slot – a massive shock to the system! Yet, we were all happy to have found clothes that actually fitted us.

Thanks to a wonderful friend, George, who borrowed us one of his motor bikes, we were ableto explore and get around which was so much better than walking asJustine and I were still getting over Dengue.... Then when we popped into Mac Donald's for John to have an ice cream as it was so HOThere, then got a nice surprise when we bumped into Brent and Sharyn from Micah which was wonderful!! We all had coffee together and managed to catch up which was also really lovely!!!! Talking the same language was also another delight for us!

I guess I am still not used to calling a waiter … not like we do in SA! You make a kissing sound 'Mwaaah' and that is the signal! You kiss the air and the waiter comes! John has been having a whale of a time enjoying this new pass time! It is truly so amusing to him!

Visiting friends we have met along the way is always such a pleasure when meeting up with them again!!! Seeing George again was great – he is such an amazingguy and has become a really good friend whom we are sadly gonna miss! Nan, whom we love to bits and gonna miss too very much, invited us over for supper - which turned out to be quite a nice and delightful surprise for me as I got to be the chef and Nan the instructor, whichI absolutely just loved!!! Justine was taking notes about everythingI was instructed to do, so now we can make our favourite dishes on our own! It was such fun with us three girls, learning, mixed with laughter, blending delicious smells with bright lovely colours …Ooooh … a memory never to forget! And we all just LOVE Thai food!!!!! And everyone enjoyed the Orange chicken, Nans green curry,beef curry and deep fried prawns. We always have such a memorable time together yet it has been tinged with sadness!! x

Sadly, Bob found his pneumonia was also lung cancer which has shocked all of us! Guess sometimes there are just not enough words …..

We left Royal Langkawimarina and headed for Rebak Marina to say goodbye to friends, and for the kids to say there farewells to Austin, Angie and a few others. We had quite a sail which ended up in a full on down pour as we came into moor up – so we were all drenched, yet felt quite refreshed!

Blue skies showed their colour the moment we were all safely moored up. After a strong good cuppa we headed off to sign in for the night, then headed off to visit Willie, then Micah. The kids had a stunning time! We all wentout for dinner which was really wonderful! Sharing a fantastic evening with great people, and seeing Janice and a few other people we know made the trip really worthwhile!

Before the break in sunrise, we loosened our mooring lines and headed out to deeper water, pointing in the direction of our destination.... Penang, which was over 10 hours away was a very long, yet lovely smooth trip. Lots of people on the dock waiting to help moor us up which is always so kind! I guess I was a little anxious going to see the dermatologist,Dr Lin, who has the road he is in, named after him, which I had seen in April last year and thoroughly felt comfortable with, though I had not covered myself up from the sun on that spot on my back as Ishould have, and John moaned at me continuously about it, even getting me to wear a hat! .. and now it was inflamed and not looking very good! So.... felt way better after seeing him and being reassured that there was nothing to worry about, yet he certainly made sure I would cover up and not make the same mistake again by letting me feel the pain when removing it … again. Had an overall check and was glad to be told “ no more worries” !! Justine also had a sensitive spot removed from her back and is thrilled about it. I will definitely make the trip from anywhere in the world to see him again if any of us need to.

Then it was off to the dentist which turned out to be cool beans for all of us! We all still sit with surprise that Jessica does not have a single filling or has never had any work done on her teeth besides having braces!!!! Praise the Lord for that! She is 18 and has strong, good teeth!!!! So maybe.. just maybe she sucked all the calcium right out of me! LOL

Penang is the kind ofplace we could easily live. It is Malaysia’s smallest state and is nicknamed the ‘Pearl of the Orient’. Chinese, Indian, and Malay all blend together here though the island is Malaysia’s only Chinese-dominated state. It is also connected by the Penang bridge to the mainland – third longest bridge in the world.

It has a fascinating fusion of the East and West, and embraces modernity while retaining its traditions and old world charm. Penang is long regarded as the food capital of Malaysia, and rightfully so! There is just so much character in this place and we love to stroll the streets with much lovely British architecture. There is just so much history here and so many astounding places to visit and things to do. We will definitely miss Penang …. Malaysia!

Finished our shopping and last minute provisions then left the marina and headed for the last island which was three hours away so we could spend the night before the long stretch to Pankor. We lifted anchor the following morning while it was still dark and headed for Pankor. What a lovely day … listening to my mp3, keeping watch while reading a good book…. so many fishing boats dropping nets right in our path! So we were managing to dodge the lines and cruise over the nets with our motors off … On route, Justine's cold seemed to worsen and her cough was not sounding good – we needed a doctor and were slightly worried about her temperature. The cold was now reaching her chest …and of course I could easily overdose my family with vitamins and isotonic!! And though we have loads of different antibiotics ... which one to give?

It is so peaceful being at the helm … gives you so much time to think … how wonderful looking back and seeing how many things we have done …places we have seen … facing the unknown and coming away with incredible memories!!! Experiences we have shared … Moments thathave taken our breath away and somehow we are stronger, I believe …even our relationships have been tried and tested … proving to be strong and unwavering … coming face to face with yourself with nowhere to run!! There are just not enough words to describe that feeling of personal success and accomplishment … it all actually feels surreal!

Arrived before sun set and were happy to drop anchor and sleep like a baby! We were contemplating on staying a day or two, as I wanted to take Justine tothe doctor, but John decided we move on and wait till PD, so it wasup early again and another looooooooooooong day, thankfully making the Port Klang shipping channel before the sun set. Jonathan had quite a nerving day having to jump into the water twice to cut plastic packets off the props. The water was brown and really dirty with so many jelly fish!!!!!! I still cannot believe seeing so many,continuously for miles!!! We did rock and roll a little from the wakes of all the ships coming in and out … but was fine x

Yet again, we lifted anchor early the next morning in a slight drizzleand headed for Port Dickson. Arriving late that afternoon it was great to moor up and fill the tanks with water and have a nice hot shower!!!!

This small town used to produce charcoal, but was later developed as a small port by the British during the Strait Settlement period. Port Dickson was also known as Tanjung. In Malay language that means "cape". The town holds four of the oldest shop houses. Because there was also a carbon mine at the first mile of the coast road, Port Dickson was also called "Arang" (charcoal) in the Malay language.

Tin ore was plentiful in Lukut, an area within the Port Dickson district, during the 1820s,and it attracted Chinese immigrant miners. The British considered the area to have great potential as a harbour, and so it is said that it was given it's name because the officer in-charge was named Dickson,and there after the town was named Port Dickson. Others claim that Sir John Frederick Dickson founded Port Dickson and Pulau Arang in 1889 which evolved into a busy trading centre. Railways were constructed to facilitate the growth and development of Port Dickson. Although Port Dickson experienced rapid development, the beautiful beaches are fairly well preserved. Now, Port  Dickson has become not only a beautiful tourist destination, but a large municipality with about 89,000 residents.

Nice to know the history of the places we visit so we can learn more.

Jonathan still had his glands bugging him, after just getting over a course of antibiotics for tonsillitis, and Justine really sounding bad and having a nasty temperature, John took them to the doctor the following day in town while I did washing and put the boat back in shape with Jessica. Justine was put on antibiotics just short of getting bronchitis and Jono was cleared from the tonsillitis and was assured  the glands would go down so we were all pleased to have sorted out the medical side of life. John and Jonathan went to play a game of tennis then went to visit Bob and Margaret on this amazing boat while I was cooking up a storm in the galley and keeping an eye on Justine!

Could not get anysignal for the internet which is now becoming a terrible habit and cheezing us off some what!!! So have been catching up on my sixth season of Greys!! Not sure how far you all in SA are with that series but let me tell you things are really getting exciting!!!!!!

Left early from Port Dickson while it was still dark careful not to hit the reef as the current was off and it was very low tide!! Springs … major highs and major lows … anyways, we managed to slip quietly into the dark morning and have a great egg and bacon breakfast. We got to the water islands with the intention of dropping anchor for a short period having done a good distance so to clean the props then head off to the next little island, but what a laugh!!! I was not actually allowed to get in the water, but had forgotten about my laser treatment on my back and was sitting on the sugar scoop with my fins dangling in the water noticing how incredibly fast the current was!! John and Jono jumped in but could not hold themselves against thecurrent … so they came flying back to the ladder on the sugar scoop only to try again and be propelled back … so they had to climb out which made me very happy to not have jumped in!

We continued on till the sun had set and there was just a touch of colour left to drop anchor at Tanjang Tohor which had lots of fishing stakes all around.The wind was up, and we had dropped double anchor yet again and were secure, so were not too bothered, and were actually too tired to really care! We could have done a few overnighters if we really wanted but thought better of it because of all the fishing nets that can stretch out for miles and with all these fishing stakes, one does not easily see them along with the fishing buoys or flags, and let us not forget about the rubbish in the water which still astounds us! Logs, huge ones, packets, bottles containers etc... and loose rope and cord which so easily gets stuck on the props. Sometimes we are totally baffled by these fishing boats who normally drag nets behind them and work in two's … as they sometimes cut in front of us which is fine except that we cannot pass them because of their lines outback which can be up to 5 miles long!! And the one in front of us was only about 500m, so …. Often you will see the fishing boats full revs ahead trying to cross your bow as they believe they can steal your luck! Some of them don't even slow down when they can see they are going to hit you!!! So you have to be alert when you see them bearing down on you!

We stopped at Pisang island and did manage to jump in and clean the props which worked out perfectly and shortly after John and Jono got on board, the current came in almost seconds afterwards so that it would have been impossible to do, so we were all happy the job had been done and our luck was running strong.Lifted anchor again and headed for our last evening anchored out and sailing together at Koh Muk. With Justine not feeling so good and me fighting off this cold, John made a delicious Pork Roast which we all enjoyed and reminisced about our four year sailing adventure. The realization of it all … being something truly incredible … having something to hold on to … something to savour and to remember …. has truly been a blessing which I will forever be thankful for!

John and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary this month, March, and cannot believe how much stronger our unity is … our love, for each other, our children, and for others... we have been on some incredible adventures, have done things that still surprise us.... The travels we have experienced and the changes that have taken place among all of us have changed us for life! Kind of puts your priorities in order and you get to realize what is real and what is not … the true value of life which is ultimately family and the ones you love … there is just so much beauty out there that you just cannot deny that we serve a Mighty God!!!  Rare moments of divine beauty … a butterfly fluttering past you in the middle of the ocean where there is no land … a white feather falling out of the sky with no birds around … also in the middle of the ocean … somethings are just unexplainable, but you know you have been blessed!

Up early for our last stretch to Danga. Lots of ships near Singapore! Cannot even count there are so many! Passing Indonesia, along the Malaysian coast and seeing Singapore still catches my breath! The sun rising and waking the day up is always awesome to see. Up till now I have never seen a bad sunset or sunrise! Each one is unique and really stunning! A beauty that cannot be truly captured on canvas.

Mountain ranges going from clear to misty rolling one onto another is just astounding! John spotted some birthday balloons in the water and so with the boat hook I lifted them up on board and was delighted! Heart shaped pink girlie ones, red and blue ones – all so pretty yet slightly deflated, but pretty non the less.

We were escorted yet again by theSingapore custom boats checking we did not come to their side, and hearing the shooting going on at the shooting range made us more determined not to stray to their side, praying there were no stray bullets coming our way! Coming out the channel and onto the straight heading for Danga, we notice Laurence jumping up and down with both hands waving wildly at us which in turn got all the other people on their boats looking at us and probably wondering who the heck we were, yet still waving at us as though they knew us! We felt like we were celebrities!!!! LOL What a wonderful welcome back!! We moored up with lots of help on the same dock as before and in the same spot which we were very happy about so we still can imagine being on our own little island!!!  How wonderful to be greeted by lovely, goodfriends! The skies decided they had given us such great weather for way to long and had to make up for the shortage of rain we have experienced and so welcomed us with a short but strong storm to welcome us back to this part of the world.

We left Danga on the4th November 2010 and arrived back here on the 4th March 2011.

Our plan is to sort through all our stuff again, clean out and repack our boxes etc. Do some maintenance on Bluemoon including repainting the non slip decks.So have been so busy with John sorting through and cleaning up, that I was so shocked to wake and be hit with flue right now, that it has taken the sails right out from under me!!! Hopefully this won't last long! Justine thankfully is much better, so that helps!

Been reminiscing a lot lately … and just thinking about it now … I so desperately want a good cuppa with a coffee bun from Rotiboy!!!!!!! There’s a popular bakery that started in Malaysia called “Rotiboy". Their signature product is the Rotiboy bun which is a sweet Mexican butter bun baked with a crisp, coffee-flavored topping.Really Delish!!! Rotiboy got so popular that they were able to aggressively expand through out Asia. And we, Jono, Justine and myself are totally HOOKED! Now they have closed the ' Festive Centre' where our bakery was and so cannot get any more!!!! You have to go into town if you want!  SOOooooo … I went on a internet search looking for the recipe and decided to share it with any coffee loving, daring and adventurous cook who will be thrilled with a new found treat!!!

“Rotiboy”Mexican Coffee Bun Recipe(makes about 17buns)

Coffee Topping Ingredients

200 g softened butter

160 g icing sugar

3 lightly beaten eggs

2 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp water

a pinch of ground cinnamon

200 g flour

Method

Beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs.Mix in coffee flavouring. Sift flour onto mixture and mix until combined. Refrigerate the mixture.

Sweet BunDough Ingredients

500 g bread flour

20g milk powder

75 g castor sugar

6 g salt

8 g instant yeast

5g bread improver (vital wheat gluten – optional)

1 lightly beaten egg

270 g water

60 g softened butter

Method

1. Mix flour, milkpowder, sugar and salt in mixer on low speed 1 min.

2. Add in yeast, egg and water. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, then medium speed for 8 minutes.

3. Add butter and mix for 5 minutes more on medium speed until a soft, smooth and elastic dough forms.

4. Remove dough from mixing bowl and shape into a ball.

5. Divide the dough into 55 gram portions. Roll each portion in to a ball and then cover and set aside for 10 minutes.

6. Flatten a ball of dough and place a 10 gram cube of butter into the centre of the dough.

7. Gather the edges of the dough and pinch to seal with the butter being in the middle. Pat into shape and place on a greased baking tray. Proof the buns for 45 minutes.

8. Preheat oven to200*C (400*F).

(Notice that we’re using the wrappers from sticks of butter to line the baking sheet. Annie learned this tip from Fine Cooking magazine. The butter wrappers are like pre-greased parchment paper!)

9. Scoop the topping mixture into a piping bag and pipe the topping in a spiral pattern onto the buns.

10. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the buns are lightly brown.

Remove from oven to cool, but not too long. They are best eaten warm!! And you can’teat just one!

Now I can continue with my reminiscing …. These few years have truly been awesome! Growing and learning … expanding my views and realizing how narrow minded we actually were while I thought we were quite open minded! LOL

Every area of my life has been challenged .. I have been stretched and forever changed …and am so happy for those changes that have actually set me free! I have grown in areas I never even knew existed LOL x While sailing, we have met and been surrounded by many amazing, and incredible people,some who have lived their dream, some living it, and some who only talk about it ...many who have exceeded their own expectations and a many who have not. I guess the hardest step is taking the first one! But after that…. life is full of many surprises and adventures and people who go out of their way to help you with whatever they can … almost like a surprise … we all worry about the unknowns … yet one would be thoroughly surprised at how easy it actually all is …

This last week, we cannot believe how much it has rained and so have taken to doing small jobs, while the sun shines, then relax and enjoy some time for each other. Visiting friends and having a few silent and peaceful moments … John filled me up with vitamins and other stuff and thankfully I am well and back on track drinking my apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper every day! We went to the carnival here which is kinda like a flea market, yet they have almost every shop in Johor at the carnival which they have once a year and let me tell you guys – it puts the Highland gathering to shame!! It is so huge and so busy that all you see are hordes of people EVERYWHERE!!!!  It was great feeling a touch of the festivities after feeling so heart broken over Japan's catastrophe!

Anyway, please keep the mail rolling and let me know how the buns tasted!!  xx

We are always thrilled to hear from you x

Till the next blog, keep living life to the fullest!

John Jenny Justine Jessica and Jonathan x