Just Cruizin On Bluemoon

Log 58

Today turned out to be such a great day!

When you expect rain ... it just doesn't come! LOL We wanted to test our paint job or at least the part I managrd to paint!  We were anchored at Kuah, and the kids had gone to skate, I had done all the washing yet again on water collected from the previous days rain all the while the clouds were gathering.... gathering real fast!

We had anchored right in front this time, to make all our dingy trips to the little jetty quicker and cheaper... so far we had been getting all our repairs and maintenance in order having hired a bike to make the trips and carrying easier. So we have been really busy..

Still on the list is the matter of the tender!!!!! This is getting to be a really big issue now and the decision of replacing or re tubing is on the table yet again!!!

But no worries, we have been putting it off and pumping much, MUCH more often instead!!

The fact that she has not yet sunk does surprise me the most!! So with the kids gone, a full days work completed, the boat sparkling, washing done, John and I notice a 'massive' storm rolling in, and quite quickly too! So I closed all the hatches and kept telling John that we should put our Bimini cover before the wind comes up (it stops the Bimini leaking)!! It has got to the stage now where we could just as well take the Bimini off as there is NO protection from the rain at all anymore! Yet now with the cover being such a big help, and using it very often .... with the rain just over the mountain, we see the storm coming at a speed and so spring into action... just a little too late!!! Keep in mind that I have a splint on my right hand which I cannot put any pressure on and as I am trying to tie the port side on, the wind blows in and catches that string and whips it right out of my hand and OVER the Bimini!! So here is John on one side, me the other in what feels like 50 knots wind - trying to yell at each other which none of us can hear tying on this now ridiculous cover which is acting like a spinnaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man when I tell you we were sailing on the anchor I meant it!! We were dragging big time!!! The swells had gotten rough and very choppy.... Thunder and lightening in its splendor!! So John yells 'we dragging!' after we managed to finally lash her down, so we both step into the cockpit, looking like we've been pulled through the bush backwards! Totally drenched by the pouring rain!! I notice the boat next to us 'flying past us!' Him watching us with big eyes! So I tell John to look at how 'fast he' was dragging past us!!!...when John looks and then tells me it is us not him!! We jump into action again and put the motors on, though now you can hardly see in front of you it is raining so hard!! The lightening and thunder really doing it's thing!! So we decide to pull off our "spinnaker' cover which stops us dragging as fast! ... yet the wind is howling and we have not re-hooked which means we must re anchor...and with the intensity of the storm, and my finger, John prefers we fetch the kids first.... so already having a problem with the starboard engine... John sais he will fetch the kids while I stay at the helm... the motors are now on, so I sms the kids who are already back at the jetty and undercover, then decide I will fetch the kids as there are now a few yachts dragging, all around our side!!! So I jump into the duck which is now as pap as ever and almost fly off the other side!! Not so funny under the circumstances, though John thought it very funny!! The swells have picked up into waves now!! With my one hand not helping me in this little crisis, so here I am trying very hard to stay balanced as you cannot sit on the pontoon as there ain't no air in them while trying to start the motor! John is in hysterics by now while I am hanging on wobbling all over the place!! So John jumps into the duck, trying to pump her up abit, while the petrol dried out as I had clearly flooded the motor!!! Still laughing!! These two fellow yachties who were now right behind us came up to us, very worried for us as they had dragged too and checked if we needed any help!! Clearly they had noticed the trouble I was having trying to start her while John was rolling in laughter!! Yet that is the one thing that just warms any heart... fellow yachties always watching out for one another no matter how bad the weather!!

Anyways, we now had things in control and off they went back to their dragging boat, John back at the helm to stop us dragging again, now praying that I actually made it to the jetty without being tossed by the waves and wind....pulling me out to sea!!! Drenched, I set off to the jetty! My oh my was it like a bad dream! I was tossed around, surfing the waves man!!! It was really quite a worry yet pushing that motor full throttle I managed to get to shore...while being tossed around by the waves....expecting the kids to come out! They didn't think they needed to come out that shelter!!! So I now had to cleat on, get out the duck, totally drenched from the rain and also now very cold, yelling and hand signaling them to come! Eventually I was having a huge manifestation all the way back to the boat!!!! I was at the driving seat of course!! And we did get back to Bluemoon where the kids themselves were quite surprised considering the waves and wind and rain AND current!!!!!                                                      John cleated us on, while I switched the windlass on and we all went up on deck to lift anchor, problem now was not the starboard motor which wasn't going astern, but the port motor!!!!!!!!!!!!! While battling to lift anchor and relying on the port motor, the alarm goes off which surprised the lot of us as we have never heard it before!!!! So now the motor just stops!!!! And we are also on a lee shore!!!! This was getting to be a little stressful!!! The rain pounding in and the wind not easing off...  Eventually we managed to lift anchor, when the wind abated down to 18 knots.... thankfully, so we managed to pass very close after picking up speed around a buoy and a boat without hitting either!!  If the winds had not abated we would have been in some serious trouble! We decided on anchoring further out near the diesel tank as if we did drag again then we would drift into the channel and not another boat! So just as we getting ready do drop anchor, still pouring with rain, lightening and thunder yet again showing it's wonder, all the yachties on the boats we passed were all waving at us!!! Gee wizz! We were not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing LOL

We anchored!!!! Then had a very strong cuppa after changing into dry clothes! All frozen to the bone! And did it rain!!!!

The following day we were please to see we had not moved! The sun shining bright and it being a glorious day! We decided to paint the Bimini top as we were now totally in favour of a hard top!! So till we got to actually doing the hard top, we had nothing to lose doing what we wanted with the Bimini... So off John and I go to Kuah town, buying the paint, spares and parts required to fix the motors!!!!! Now we can go no-where! So now without motors, we are a little concerned about the strong squalls coming in...... So.... I painted the Bimini top and ran out of paint....so a few areas were not done! Under the solar panel and the boom walk-way. John spent the day fixing the s/b motor ? another broken impeller!!!!!! Yet for some strange, miraculous reason she still ran and surprised us!!! What we found was the plates had too much play, wear and tear, so John sanded it down by hand taking off his skin on his fingertips!!! John put filters on both the port and s/b motors and was really fantastic to see that both motors ran better than ever before!! Wow!! We were real pleased with the outcome and now hopefully won't have so much problems!!! So the following days we spent working very hard slashing the long list... then a wonderful surprise... TY Armor called to say they'd see us around 7pm!!! We never thought anything of it as the line was cracking and a little bad... then not even an hour later everyone was cheering when they came past us!!! It was really great to have them back again!! We continued with our chores and finally got together to catch up!! What wonderful friends we have made!!

Now to get finished with the list so we can go to 'Hole in the Wall' for a few days to chill then off to Penang for a while and maybe off to Singapore! We are looking forward to the change ?

The weather has really been quite a challenge to us ? as to time our trips on land and gauge the t-storms speed has become quite fun...so with a break on the storm, John and I went to get more paint and also some to re-do the galley ? the hardware store's etc, when we notice we are really cutting the timing short as the t-storm is moving quickly!! So off we speed like kamakazi drivers weaving through the traffic back to the jetty... and are racing with our very pap dingy with the rain close on our heels! It was actually very funny as the kids were laughing as John and I ran from the bike with all our parcels without taking our helmets off and so drove back to the boat with them on... Thank the Lord we tied on and got onto the sugar scoop just as the rain poured down!!! lol Sometimes we are not so lucky and get totally sopping wet! We all love the fun and the excitement of it right now, until the novelty wears off I am sure.

Jono and Zaid have had quite a time 'defending' Langkawi with the skating! Jono is quite good I must say and we are real proud of him as they have a new 'sponsored ' 'profession' skater in town who is really good ? so Jono challenged him and had all the spectators clapping and cheering him and Zaid on! Jono was landing moves like a pro which were really quite a challenge before, yet felt like a pro when the day was done!! The following day Jono and John went to buy Jono his new board and skating shoes and sadly Zaid fell wrong and fractured his elbow!!!! A bad fracture! They had to knock him out for four hours!! It was terrible! And extremely painful for him!! Now everyone keeps joking and offering to give him a hand!! We tried the local food out at Kuah jetty which is a new restaurant, with Zaid, Amanda and Fakrees... earlier that day the kids had gone to visit Zaid at home as he could not skate, so John and I decided to go for a bike ride and meet the kids back at the duck at 8pm as planned.... it turned out to be a really fantastic evening where we drove inland which is so pretty and so much cooler too... we stopped for a snack and drinks then returned to the jetty where the kids and Zaid were waiting for us! Johns finger had a cramp as he had to hold the button down to keep the light on!! Zaid was very naughty!! Driving the kids to the jetty!! So we ended up going for supper where Amanda and Fakrees joined us! It was a great evening, except for the migraine I had been getting.. It was also the evening before our 18th anniversary.. The following morning John and I were woken up with breakfast in bed which was really wonderful and we do not usually eat breakfast! Then Bebert and Laurence came over for a visit which was very nice! Then Jono dropped John and I off at the jetty where I dived out the boat and almost went in the other side losing my sunglasses in the water!!!! We then got the bike and hit the road where we just got lost in the inlands of Langkawi.... it was really wonderful! Later that night, John and I bought some DVD'S and headed back to the boat to watch 'Bedtime Story' which was really great! Then another movie ?Zodiac? which is 2 hours 45 mins long, though took us almost 5 hours to watch!!!! Every 7 mins the movie would freeze, so we figured the problem, would open it up, blow the casing to cool it down, stick it back in and watch another 7 mins till the movie finished at 2:30am!! It was an excellent movie!!

Woke up to a humongous T-Storm!! It was absolutely stunning!! 5:30am and the clouds were thick and dark brown/grey which were very low, like you could reach out and touch them!! These storms like the one we are having right now is just soooooooooooooooooo exciting!! It is always quite beautiful watching lightening at a distance though NEVER when it is right on top of you!!! Shame, another boat dragged, and our dingy was pumped in no time with the new system John has got going now, just in case we needed to go an help... But he re anchored and all looks cool beans...

Now one of the strange things about this family is that they always want their hair cut when the wind is howling!! LOL Believe it or not, Jono's best haircut was done in a 20 knotter while sailing across the ocean!! So Justine has the shaggy look, Jess got short hair like she wanted and Jono looks scary!! hehehe

Well, I finally got out my wonderful and precious hand made gift that Bebert and Laurence gave me for my birthday! It is a sailfish cut out of a shell which has been polished!! It is absolutely beautiful!

And it looks so good on!

We lifted anchor and sailed into RLYC onto the diesel dock to fill the diesel, fill the water ? do LOADS of washing and rinse the boat off.... TY Armor tied up right in front of us! We were in rush mode as there was still sooooo much to do! So after completing all the tasks ? we did a last load ? had a good shower then bid our friends farewell while we loosened the mooring lines off the bow and stern and Bebert pushed us off! He said if he didn't push us off we would never leave!! LOL We have a private joke where we call them the Lorneys and they call us the Larneys!! LOL It is really funny how the joke has just continued! Hehe

So we dropped anchor in Kuah, got ready and set out to Kuah town to finish getting the last of our spares and provisions. John and I set off on the bike while the kids set off to Billions with a list, then we'd meet at the dingy, so w went to Port control and customs to get a pass to go to Panang ? then to pick up Jessica's meds, and, and, and....once we had all our goods, and me now in a taxi we headed off to get the last things we needed while John was on the bike. The following day, cutting a LONG story short, we met with Paul at the jetty with our extra solar panel and LOTS of parcels along with Jono helping to pack everything into the duck. John had dropped the bike off and came back to the jetty in perfect time! We headed back to Bluemoon where we organized and stored the stuff ? lifted anchor and headed for ?Hole in the wall?about four hours sail away. We left just after midday and anchored at 6:30pm! What an unbelievably beautiful place!! Really lovely with big rock faces surrounding a calm bay which reminded us of Sudi River!!

Mangroves line the river way and also has a maze of mangroves everywhere! We all had great hamburgers with it being John's cooking day! Sitting on the sugar scoop in the still of the night we all watched the most astounding site! The mountains reflection on the still calm waters were luminescent with phosphorescent!! Twinkling all over the water ? it was a breathless moment! Sensational! The current was ripping past the boat which lit up the boat.... magnificent!! John fishing while we all twirled rope in the water watching the displays of light gave such a brilliant light! Just stunning! Not enough words to describe that beauty one hardly ever gets to see!!

The following morning we pumped the duck then set off meandering through the mangrove d winding streams... felt just like going down the sudi river man!Except this time we never had strong winds, high seas or rain!! It was perfect!! Being a soft duck we were all a little concerned going over a stray mangrove in the middle of a narrow channel! It was so nice going down the winding river ways as it was covered by trees and shrub so you never knew what was up ahead which had us all anticipating! Soooooooo exciting.... with floating shops to one side, and boats anchored all the way down the main channel! Some boats have been there for quite a long time while the owners go home for a while, then it was back to bluemoon ? where we lifted anchor and headed for the famous diving spot ? Paulu Payer which was about another 4 hours sail... we lifted anchor about 11:20am and landed up going through an amazing squall!! We lashed everything down on deck with the dark long horizon line showing this was a biggie!! It was! 8.4 knots was great going for a while!!!!! It rained and the thunder rolled ? the clouds were very low ? quite lovely actually! Bluemoon was made for weather like this!! Quite lovely actually!! This kind of sailing seems to spark everyone into a mood that is so adrenaline pumping!! Seems like we are adrenaline junkies as someone once commented to me! LOL

When arriving at P.P it was sooooo pretty!! We picked up a buoy quite close to the drop off... it is a marine park so the diving and snorkelling has been said to be really fantastic! So after picking up the buoy, no one wanted to go snorkelling, except Jono who had been talking about this place permanently so Jono pulled out our gear - We dropped the kayak off the side ? got on and headed for clearly laid out diving area ? or so I thought!!!!!!!!!! We pulled the kayak onto the beach in a little cove, then headed for the clear, warm turquoise water where we put our gear on then headed out exploring! It was magnificent!! The amount of fish was truly unbelievable!! There were all kinds of fish! Parrot, Angel fish, Kingies, Triggers, Rubber lips,Zebra, Pampanoes, Bat fish, Rockcards and so many more colourful fish I do not know the names for... Jono does though we haven't got that far just yet!! The numerous amount of sea cucumbers lining the ocean floor was incredible! There were some big crocodile needle fish! Crayfish, and Baracuda!!!! The amount of fish had us so stoked!! All colours too and they were not afraid of us!!The smaller ones came in big schools and surrounded Jono and I checking us out!! It was totally noo-noo!! I could have grabbed on and kissed him!! These yellow and black stripped fish came swimming up and googling right into my eyes!!! WOW!!!! I was wide eyes in total astonishment and amazement while Jono was looking like he was breakdancing!! He doesn't like it too much if the fish nibble at you...LOL There are no words to express that feeling being so close to God's creations ? what a memory!! Jono was not enjoying the moment as much as me so we moved on with our entourage close behind us!! hehehe Then my first shock! A long barracuda lurking in the darkness... I touch Jono and show him then touch my rings to show him it could be dangerous, next thing he goes up to the surface ? jumps out the water holding his watch!! 'It's shiny' he says... 'yea I know that is why I showed you'! LOL 'but you should be doingthat under the water not on top'!! We had a good giggle then went back under covering the shiny things with our hands... barracuda go for shiny things!!!! So back down we go sucking our bellies in when going over the spiky urchin ? SCARY!!!! I really do not like them as they are a black ball with long spikes all over them and one red dot like an eye!! OOOoohhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We continue rounding and going over the live coral which was brilliant as little fish were swimming in and out the coral! Eels also living in the coral... There were big colourful fish all the while we were moving in closer to the drop off... Jono and I felt like we were in our own Nemo movie seeing Dori's everywhere!!!! (No turtles Sue:( ) When we got close to the drop off I was looking at the little buoys afloat, half in the water and half out thinking what a great pic this would be...(we were charging the water camera!) when all of a sudden we were now over the drop off! It was really dark and I was taking in my second shock, with having a lot of reef sharks that there were NO nets!!!! So when I move my eyes now back in the water taking this all in my eyes focus on this humungous 'fish' !!!! What a massive fright I got! My heart literally stopped and next thing this 'fish' turns and faces me!!!!!!!!! It was only then that I realized I was holding my rings cover with my hands but my belly ring was not covered!!!!! By now Jono was infront of me looking at me with his back towards this fish while I was wided eyed!! So I point and shout ?Behind You!? Jono went white man!! (Yea, it is soooooo funny now!!!) As he turns and sees the hugest fish we both have ever seen ? Jono's eyes open wide and that was me GONE!!! I was moving 'on' water!! Turns out to be a predator ? a great Barracuda!!! Like 2 metres with marking of him and amazing eyes that scared the living daylights out of us!! I am amazed we never had a moment of 'brown' water around us!! LOL Wow!! Our hearts were pounding and Jono's legs were like jelly he said ? yet what got to him the most was when he turned around I was 'gone'!!! And he could not catch me!! LOL Then another huge, round and fat fish! Not anything like that Barracude, but with teeth everywhere!! It was amazing!! We finally decided we needed a really, REALLY STRONG cuppa!!!! So fetched the kayak and went back to Bluemoon! Just to think I wanted to snorkel that 60 metres to the area!!! OOOOOooooohhh!!! Well what a wonderful and memorable experience! We had our cuppa then Jono went to the reef and saw a good few sharks.... well need I say more... he was back at the boat for another good cuppa after one bumped the kayak!!! We had prepared John and the girls of what to expect, though it is never the same as the real thing is it? Lol NOTHING really prepares you! Hehehe

So the following day the whole fam paddled to the jetty, by the drop off - this time without any shiny stuff! Got our gear on, and jumped in with the water camera which is shiny!!!!!! Ridiculous I know!! The water was brilliant, so crystal clear and warm! The amount of fish with all colours and sizes brought back the reality tha we serve a Mighty, Awesome God!!

The coral was fascinating and the family thouroughly enjoyed it, sticking close together while Justine and myself.swam around hand in hand.... now like I said, is anyone really prepared after 'preparing them'.... lol ... next thing Jono jumps up and shouts 'Look'! Aahhh it was sooooo funny to see the reaction of John , Jess and Justine! Everyone was expecting the surprise till it actually came.. A different and much smaller barracuda just hanging in the water was quite a mighty site!! John flinched when he saw it... the reality of actually seeing such an amazing creature so close is completely different to hearing about it and that was now confirmed! LOL It was still the biggest John or the girls had ever seen, though for Jono and I it was small in comparrison to the previous days siting! After the shock and Jono trying to take pics, we moved on back to the floating jetty and saw many eels which really looked scary yet were quite harmless... this place sure is amazing and so delightful! It was a wonderful treat for us all then headed on back to bluem,oon for a good cuppa. We managed to throw off the buoy line which had caused quite a problem for us earlier.. the buoy was made for a cat with the bridle clearing showing that yet not for our size! For these huge ferries that bring all the people to the island.. and so we landed up with the current being sooooooo strong it pulled the lines under the keels with the buoy chaffing badly on the bow... we managed with a lot of strength to manoevre the lines out and taking in slack retied so there was little play... but did we rock and roll the whole night!! It was terrible! We had slapping which we have not had in ages!! The line to the block was even longer making our swing angle huge, which set the alam off a good few times through out the night ? Quite nasty is roughish weather! Yet we did finally get some sleep and a very good snorkel so we were off to P Bidan ? another little island just before Panang.. So with the music on, everyone amped we sailed off with the bunjies and rods out ? we continue to remain hopeful...enjoying the excitement of our new surroundings..

Zaid would be in Panang and so had to work fast in getting our gifts together for him! (His birthday) After a good sail, we dropped anchor on the SW side of the island ? first assessing the clouds gathering around and over the horizon... Panang just on the other side of the bay... we were all hot, suntanned and needed to chill... so we first tidied up, then kept an eye on the wind changing directions and the weather...good thing in the end as if we had not anchored there we would have been blown onto a lee shore in very shallow water!!!!!! I had been putting a video slide show together for Zaid which we were all helping with deciding which pics etc... and managed to cut the cd, but it got stuck near the end, so back to the project and so it went..... Justine had made a very pretty collage pic with a frame made in driftwood which was beautiful!! John assisted in constructing the frame... so the whole family were working while Jess made coffee and food...

The sky was getting to be a mass of ominous clouds that gave us all a nervous feel.... there were huge cauliflowers bursting with such amazing display of pastel colours! It was brilliant! We were in the change of monsoons.... without a doubt..... We also were signed up by Zaid for the '60 earth hour' which meant our lights would go out for the hour (except for our anchor lights which are LED's) so we switched off the lights and all listened and watched this amazing, incredible storm roll in... the thunder rolled long and deep!! Wow! The saloon floor rumbled which was awesome!! So we all moved onto the trampoline's and watched the most incredible electrical storm ever!! The wind was howling and warm then cold fuelling the storm which was incredible to watch!! The whole sky lit up so brightly which seemed completely against the ? lights off ? hour as in that hour we had light permanently and so bright!! When the sky lit up it sent fork lightening 'tick in size' down to the ocean like we were watching a star wars movie!! Jono was taking pics while we all soaked in the beauty of the scene! We had taken out the solar panel fuse just incase as the lightening was arching over us from one side of the horizon to the other with us in the middle! It was just brilliant! The sky flashing the thunder rolling... just fabulous! The seas picked up to being extremely rought and we felt like we were sailing at high speed in maybe 45 knots of wind with 5 ? 6 foot swells, which we were actually, over the anchor till it pulled taut then back again and so it went !! We could not believe how much slamming there was!!! We have not had this much slamming since our ?Cape St Andre fiasco? LOL

We felt very happy to not be dragging ? that was our only concern so the slamming and bumping and rocking and rolling we could all with with!

We all came to the conclusion when we first started sailing and were scared of the lightening hitting us ? that when your time is up ? it's up!! You would not even feel it ? so..... we just have a mighty respect for something we have absolutely no control over.... though with the lights off it is always in that time you need them!!! lol Then we heard screaming and yelling in these gale force winds... so we all look and notice a fishing boat we think is in distress ? dragging maybe with no lights! AND right infront of us!!! With a whole ocean to float around in without an engine or anchor it just had to be right in front of us!! LOL (that was the nerves talking again) ? (pap dingy...) you getting the picture! Though no worries, two fishing boats with lights racing to the scene to help and tie on the drifter to the recue! Praise the Lord for His continuous faithfulness!! The reality yet again watching such a storm brings the reality back to what a Mighty God we serve!! I am not too sure how the blood pressure was doing but we sure had a cardiovascular work out!!

When the hour was up the kids were back inside watching a movie while John and I were up front and we were so astounded at the phosphorescent on the anchor chain and bridle!!! It was real beautiful!! We were eventually totally spent so we had a nice shower after checking our faithful anchor that was holding as the storm raged then slept without a worry in the world!!

The following morning was a glorious day as usual! The sun bright and hot! And the island being a military base was a ?no go' zone so we could not go ashore... but no worries as we lifted anchor and sailed across the bay to Gerorge town, Penang, Pinang, Panang!!LOL Now there is a little concern coming in as the tidal current rips past the entrance mouth to the marina... there are no ancorages so you have to moor up in an anchorage... so we have TY Armor on the line telling us we missed the entrance!!!! We are going right by the ferry terminal!! So we turn and find we are pulled quite quickly with the current and so it goes till we go further upstream to get through the entrance safely... then the art of not smaking all the super yachts moored along the entrance channel!! heheh it was no laughing matter! Quite stressful actually!! So with lines in place, everyone in position we find the mooring bays they gave us do not exist!! There are unmoveable poles in the way ? yet Bebert tells us to come onto B dock and there are just so many hands to help us moor on which was really wonderful!!! The only little hitch was we had to go in bow first and the dock is soooooooo short that we cannot climb off the boat!!! So now we have to jump off and this just does not work for Jess!!! My gosh... well we will make a plan one way or the other....

It was great seeing friends again and feeling that yachtie connection again!! One cannot describe that in words....

We signed into the marina and were shown around the club...a aircon TV room with cold water... which the kids have used to watch movies!! Showers and toilets... places to eat the QEII ? and we have the ferry terminal 50 meters away!! So we get to watch the traffic all day and all night!! It is not a bother at all, quite the opposite really... The ferry goes to Butterworth which the kids have gone to twice now with Zaid as they lived on that side... (he now stays in Langkawi) We went to sign in at Port control the next day where the people are real nice and very pleasant!

One evening when the kids went with the ferry to see Zaid, John and I took a walk.... a looooooooooooooooooog walk all the way to china town!!! What a reality shock!! Being back in a city.... so after checking out a place to eat we found the perfect spot ? Mr Pot!! You get coffee with every meal!! hehehehe They made that place for John and me man!! Ended up having a lot of fun!

The curries in this part of the world is fantastic!! So we have also been trying out the local specialities... such as ABC, which is shaved ice with different flavouring also added with beans, corn, and whatever they want to.... then you have cendol.which you pronounce CH-AN-DOLL. It is rice flower gone through certain procedures cut up into a jelly like substance put into your drink with cherry, beans, corn etc... the mixture tastes great yet not all the food in it!!

Now one evening John and I were having our last cuppa before bed, and noticed these otto's which were fighting and squeeling ? the one came past the boat so quietly... with these huge eyes checking us out... So cute!!!!

We spent the following day sorting and cleaning - then John and the girls went to town to find spares as our s/b water pump has stopped working now!! I tried to catch up on the log which is taking me forever as I just have too much information about everything!!!!! (also the kids actually do, do school inbetween all of our activities...)

Anyways, we were going to take the kids to China town when Bebert and Laurence suggested we all go together, so Bebert and Laurence with Francois from TY Armor, Jack and Mareeze from Mareja, and all of us on Bluemoon set off and hit undercover while the rain decided to come down just as we left!! Perfect timing I'd say!!

So we see the hip hop bus (meaning it is a free ride) at the stop and so all ran to the bus stop just a short ways away... all wet and now all sitting in in an airconned bus... with lightening flashing!!

We rode along town for a while then got off yet again in the rain and walked around till we found our spot! The red garden which is a huge open area with food shops all around and a 'dance floor' so we all wonder off choosing our meals.... John and I decided on a Bryani which was absolutely delish! On par with a good Bryani made from SA!!! The kids had a lex which is a local dish... everyone had something different which was quite a colourful display ? then came the beer... well with tiny glasses we all ate, drank and got louder and louder!! heheh Here in these parts it is a variety of mixed cultures ? especially chinese, and they are very quiet.... so here is our table among this full and busy place having eveyone looking at us!! Now Bebert is a real tease and my nicknames have grown to ?golden mamma ? Ayla? as he has been reading the engish version of the earth children series which is really fantastic!!!!!! So I lent him some books he never had and now he is hooked LOL!! These girls come on stage with the 'teacher' as the guy is called and each one goes on stage and sings... great voices all of them! Though there is one chinese woman who is very skinny in these high heel shoes with tights and a tight fitting shirt over, with LONG straight hair and funny!! You could see she was full of life and so Bebert and her were teasing each other.. Now Laurence would jump and and dance at the table pulling Jack in and so here we were right next to the stage having the singers down by us while we are all singing with the singer!!!! Photo's clicking kisses given, huggs, what a festive night!! And the beer flowed, and flowed and flowed!! hehehe... Now the girls get given a banner like a princess would which has a money amount written on...RM20 or 50, 100, 500 or 1000... now those banners are given by the boss... and credits are then given to the singers... as they love singing and so get to sing and earn some extra money... as they all have day jobs... so this woman, the fun one which we have called twiggy and who is playfully joking with Bebert and our table, steps over the fountain and walks through the palm trees which Bebert had not noticed at that moment, then she slips while she is still singing!! We roared with laughter while Bebert lifted her up and was doing press ups and, and and... it was soooooo funny!! Yet she made a full comeback so nicely and had the crowd very happy!! Her next song in chinese was about her fall and the actions of hitting her butt on the flower pot was brilliant... only we could not understand by her actions and finger pointing at us was enough to have us laughing permanently!! What our other singer friend said, after we had them all walking off stage to geet us and chat a bit was that the chinese were very shy and quiet.. yet they loved the way we were behaving and wished they could do the same but their culture did not allow it!! So we all felt better about it as it was our table who were all dancing singing and having an absolute blast while the WHOLE place which was pretty big sat ever so quietly just watching!!!!!

So after a brilliant evening we decided to head on home... yet there was no bus, it was early hours and we had to walk!! Now yall know when you drink you get loud, so you can imagine the lot of us singing, making jokes, and greeting EVERYONE along our route home!! It was really such a wonderful memory of the crazy things we were doing.... like the one guy who had laid down on a cement pillar with his legs folded yet sprawled out... while a bus load of locals were standing by and we were taking pics from every angle of this guy... I am amazed he never woke up from all the laughter from everyone witnessing it... sometimes you have to just be there to get the humour!!

Then it was onto TY Armor while the kids went to sleep... neat whiskey and, and, and.... my my my! We could have seen the sun almost rising when we got back to our boat which is only three boats away from each other LOL

This morning we are all just chilling out getting our strength back as maybe we go for a second run tonight!!

Sadly, we will not be joining TY Armor or Mareja on going South right now... we have decided to stay in these parts for the next week or so then move on back to Paulu Payer for a few days then on to Telaga and then off to Thailand again for our visa run..... we are also expecting some visitors so we want to be in the area where we can sail..... So in a few days our precious and wonderful friends will be off... and only around Sep ? Nov will we be heading down.... and this time hopefully with SANYATI!!!! Who have been missed in this sailing side of the world!!!!!!! Magic too!!!

So guys, that is all the news for now.... Take care and keep that mail rolling!!!

We love to hear from you!!

John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan