Penang Langkawi Pinball

---

Geo: 5.36904, 100.264

Once in Kuah Drew got round to installing the day tank, losing power in the narrow channel in Telaga was pretty stressful to say the least.

We keep on eye on the weather and finally start the journey out to Penang but first time round it wasn't meant to be. We didn't even get out past the islands in Langkawi before Drew made the decision to turn back, it was way to rough.

My plan at this stage was to get my Indonesian visa sorted out in Penang and get back over to my bike in Sumatra before Christmas, but that didn't quite go as planned. Because of the weather I took the ferry over to Penang and didn't know if Drew would make it over or not. Unfortunately I ended up with a problem with my bank card and had to order a new one but thankfully one of my friends Neil from the Yacht Club was over in Scotland at the time and my new card arrived before he returned to Langkawi. I can't thank Neil enough for bringing it out to me which was really kind, typical having a drama at Christmas time being stuck with little money.

Drew arrived at Queensbay in Penang on Christmas Eve, the sail from Langkawi took him 11 hours which was a great run at it, he loved it and I'm so proud of him. Although I tried to meet him at Monkey Beach, the maps we had were really off and we were in two totally different locations and out of reach by telephone which left me not knowing if he was OK.

Once he got going next morning he managed to get a signal and called which I was relieved about, and we arranged to meet at Queensbay that evening. He had a great sail round Penang and I watched him coming under the new bridge and finally anchoring off the jetty. There are another few boats anchored here and it really is best anchor in Penang with the jetty nearby which is a safe place to leave the dinghy, plus right on a main bus route which easily takes us into Georgetown.

Christmas Eve we spent in a local bar, all the staff were dressed up in Santa outfits, all the girls were very cutsie! There was karaoke and games being played and it was a really fun night, we went back to the boat, had another couple of beers and celebrated Christmas on board. With the time differences Drew started calling his family at night whereas I waited til Christmas night to catch up with my lot, it was great speaking to everyone on Christmas, sure that's what it's all about.

We had nice food on board and a really relaxed time and ended up staying in Penang until after new year. We would head into Georgetown, have a wander round, do some shopping etc. and normally we ended up at the Reggae Bar which is a great place to relax and people watch. At New Year we celebrated with a big crowd here and made some great new friends, Ali (Mr King Cobra) and his wife Nita (fire dancer) were fascinating people and we ended up spending a few days hanging out with them. Also Ross and Kate who are traveling ended up sailing back to Langkawi with us.

Mr King Cobra, Ali has hundreds and I mean hundreds of snakes and he is the genuine Mr King Cobra in Malaysia. Ali and Nita came out to the boat one afternoon which they loved and then took us to their home and to meet some of the snakes. In the front garden he has a cage with an 8 meter cobra in it which takes 6 men to lift... also outside is a huge iguana and poisonous fish! Inside he has boxes full of them and takes out big yellow to show us. He also showed us a documentary which he stared in, I'll try to add the link, it was shot mainly in Indonesia and shows you them hunting through the jungle to find the largest cobra.

So I decided to head back to Langkawi with Drew on the boat to collect my new bank card from Neil, we picked up a couple of friends Ross a fellow Aussie and a lovely Irish girl Kate. We brought them out to the dinghy in the evening so we could get an early start in the morning, we were expecting it to be a long day but long wasn't the word for it.

We sailed south round Pulau Jerejak coming up the other side, under Penang Bridge and north towards Langkawi. The trip round the island cost us a lot of time and it was almost lunch time before we were leaving Penang waters. The sea got rougher and the swell picked up and it became fairly uncomfortable for me, but Drew was loving it, he was having fun with the sails up pounding into the waves. At one point the engine cut out and we had to heave to, releasing the sails which I had never done before, thankfully Drew was really calm, no problems and managed to get her started again... phew.

It was a real short chop and despite sailing all day, we realised that we wouldn't make Langkawi. We managed to make it to Payar Islands to hide out of the wind overnight but this is a protected area full of reefs so we couldn't drop anchor, Drew ended up setting a perimeter round the boat and stayed in the cockpit all night maneuvering us back and forward, keeping us safe. At sunrise we set off again, this time there was no wind and calm seas and it was a really relaxing onward journey, we arrived in Langkawi at lunch time making our trip 30 hours long!

We were exhausted, but we took Ross and Kate ashore and headed to Charlie's Bar at Royal Langkawi Yacht Club for a few chill out beers, relieved that we made it back OK, and to swish everyone a Happy New Year.

So after a fun Christmas and New Year in Penang we settled into Kuah once more, I really love Langkawi and enjoy being back again.

---