Malaysia
October 17, 2005 
Posted by Belle in : Malaysia , trackback
We arrived in Langkawie, Malaysia October 15th. The first couple of days we stayed at the Telaga Harbour marina. Even though it looks beautiful from the water, we soon realized it was a bit far away from everything. It also had this strange pseudo European vibe going that we were not very interested in. At least when we discovered that the European looking restaurants presented pitted olives from a can. It was nice for a few days, but somehow we did not think this was what Malaysia was about. So we moved to the Royal Langkawie marina, which is closer to everything, but so hot spontaneous combustion seemed like a definite possibility. And though we were close to a mall with great bargains to be made, we made them in one day and then dreamed of sea breezes and shade. Time to leave the marinas and go anchor out.
Our next stop was a place called the Hole in the Wall. I have to admit, my hopes were ironically high for a place with such a name. Up a long, narrow channel, thus very well protected from swell, but also from any whisper of wind, Hole in the Wall was a monohaul’s dream. We found lots of interesting characters growing there amidst the mangroves. An Austrian as tall as a pine tree who had just returned from a visit home, seems like he has been cruising in the Malaysia/ Thailand area for years, his friend a nice, german story teller, and a drunk French bartender. We ate at the Hole in the Wall restaurant where our waitress took our orders and then went out back and snagged our fish from the fish farm surrounding the restaurant. That was kind of cool. And the fish was good. Grouper. A little on the pricey side, though for Malaysia, and for a place called Hole in the Wall. After dinner we were practically ordered to visit the frenchies bar that was just adjacent to the restaurant. He was playing fantastic music and dancing with his wife and twoyear old son. The Austrian giant and the german were the only customers. Other than the frenchie. Seems like he had been drinking for a few hours himself. And chain smoking. He actually fell off a stool onto the floor while we were there. When he asked us what we wanted to drink, Wence asked for a White Russian. The Frenchie took out a hand puppet of a dog and started frowning. No White Russians. Then Wence asked for a mojito. The dog frowned again. When we asked what was available, he said beer or whisky. Perhaps he had drunk everything else. We found out later that he was a little depressed that his business was going under. He had already decided to close his bar and go off with his wife to the Philippines for some tuna fishing business. Apparently months will go by without one customer. That can’t be good for business or moral. He said muslims are quiet, stay at home kind of people and his dream had been to make a special night spot where people could come and dance and drink and have fun. But there was not much interest. We stayed in Hole in the Wall for a few days before heading off to Tan Jun Ru.
Tan Jun Ru was gorgeous. Mountains, monkeys, a nice breeze. It was not surprising to find out that there was a Four Seasons right around the corner from our anchorage. One night Wence took me to a wonderful, special dinner on the beach at their restaurant. They had a beautiful white tent with a view of the sunset over the water, and our own private waiter. The food was very good, fish and lobster in curries, lemon grass, coconut milk, a sancerre. I felt like a princess.
We were able to go water skiing one of the days we were at Tan Jun Ru. I have not had that much fun in a long time.It had been over ten years since I had even tried to water ski. I got up on the first try and stayed up until Wences had dragged me around for what seemed like ages. The next day I felt like my arms were going to fall off. I actually had such strong pains in my chest, at times I thought I might be dying. But I was too embarrassed. How could I have pneumonia and then die in the same two month period. It was just too much. I decided to ignore the chest pains and that would help them go away. Three days later I felt normal again. WOW am I out of shape. More water skiing!
Our last anchorage in Langkawie, Dai Tai, was probably our favorite and yet we had only one day to spend there. Too bad. It was so nice. A perfect breeze, beautiful mountains. But Thailand was calling. Or more accurately, Wences’s business trip back to the Americas was demanding us to move on. Poor wences. It seems like whenever we get somewhere we would like to stay for a while, he has to go. Maybe that’s good though. Maybe if he did not have business trips to push us along we would still be in Bora Bora!
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