Port Klang to Lumut to Penang

Leaving Port Klang, our next stop was an overnight anchorage a short way up Sungai Bernam. We spent a very peaceful late afternoon watching the fishing boats coming and going from the villages along the river.

The following day we sailed to the town of Lumut, again a short distance up a river. While passing by the large naval base near the mouth of the river we spotted a visiting navy vessel with a red kangaroo emblem-Australian of course.

While at Lumut, Richard happened to meet a young couple from San Francisco who are travelling around the world on a motorcycle and left one year ago. They told him there are actually quite a few people who do this.`

We stayed only a couple of days at Lumut. We had to use our screens on the boat to ward off the mosquitoes and decided it was time to leave rivers behind. Because it is 80 miles to the island of Penang, our next stop, we left Lumut before dark and did an overnight sail, ensuring a daylight arrival. We must have seen over a hundred fishing boats. They all had lights so we had no problem avoiding them. And the thunderstorms kept their distance so it was a pleasant night.

When we reached Penang and were going up the channel, we passed under the long bridge that connects the large city of Georgetown with the industrial mainland city of Butterworth. (Not very Malaysian sounding names.) We managed to dodge the frequent large ferries that cross back and forth between the cities before pulling into Tanjong City Marina.

Kuala Lumpur

From Port Dickson we day sailed to Port Klang (Kelang) motoring the last few miles up the river. Port Klang is a major port-perhaps Malaysia's largest-so we were watching out for container ships, tugs and wooden Indonesian freighters (60-70 ft).

We tied up at a floating pontoon across from the Royal Selangor Yacht Club, where visiting boats can stay for a small fee. A club motor boat checks out the pontoons hourly and provides a ride for anyone wanting to go ashore. The river, unfortunately, has a bit of trash that cruises up and back with the tide. Richard pulled out a small rusted refrigerator that had wedged itself between the dock and Moonshadow.

The train station is a short walk from the yacht club so two days in a row we took an hour long commuter train ride into Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. KL is a very modern city and easy to get around using the light rail system, monorail, buses, taxis and of course on foot.

The first morning, after finding coffee and a snack, we headed for the Thai embassy to apply for visas. Seems that everyone decided to come to the Thai embassy that day so we took a number and waited. Sitting next to us was a young man from Little Rock, Arkansas who was going to Thailand to teach science.

Wandering through the city center we gazed from many angles at the Petronas Towers, the tallest building in the world. It was too late in the day to get tickets to go up, but it is very impressive from street level. Later we took refuge from a monster thunderstorm in a beautiful new Buddhist temple. For over an hour we sat and watched the rain pour down and chatted with a local fellow in the food service business who had worked in Louisiana and Las Vegas.

The Bird Park in the Lake Gardens district was on the agenda for the afternoon. It is billed as the world's largest covered aviary. We saw storks, egrets, ibis, parrots and several types of hornbills.
We also saw monkeys climbing up the outside of the overhead netting. Trying to get in? The daily afternoon thundershower came as we sat on the covered balcony of the Hornbill Restaurant eating ice cream and looking out over the park.

Melaka (Malacca)

Tuesday we took a bus from Port Dickson to Seremban and then another bus to the city of Melaka. Walking around town checking out inexpensive hotels, we settled on the Hotel Regal. While it definitely did not live up to its name, for U.S. $14 a night we had our own bathroom plus air conditioning.

Melaka became the major trading port in SE Asia in the 15th century, its fortunes and importance rising and falling in the following years. Control of the port passed from the Sultans to the Portuguese, to the Dutch and then the English and in the mid 1900's back to the Malays. Today, instead of sailing ships laden with spices you see ferries carrying people in and out of the harbor.

One hot afternoon we splurged and took a trishaw (a bicycle powered rickshaw) back to our hotel. The many trishaw operators, all vying for tourist dollars, get very creative with their decorations. Most trishaws are topped with an umbrella covered in colorful artificial flowers. Many have polished gold or silver colored ornaments and twinkly lights for after dark. A couple of them even had a sound system!

By accident we came upon the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum, too new to be listed in our Lonely Planet. Anyone who has read 1421: the Year China Discovered the World by Gavin Menzies, would especially appreciate this museum. Admiral Cheng Ho sailed to Melaka in 1405 bearing gifts from Emperor Zhu Di. Chinese settlers followed and today there are still many Chinese people living in Melaka.

Walking around after dinner one evening, passing closed up shops, we heard country-western music. Looking through the open dooorway of what we guess was a Chinese social club, we saw a group of women learning to line dance. Farther down the street was another club, also full of line dancers. We hung about the doorway awhile, hoping to be invited in, but they didn't seem to notice us.

Malacca Strait

A couple of hours before we left Sebana Cove Marina a monkey jumped aboard a cruising boat on the next dock and climbed to the top of the mast. Hannah, the 10 year old girl on the boat, tossed a banana onto the shade canvas. The monkey spotted it and scooted right down. Hannah then threw another banana onto the dock and another on the ramp to lure the monkey off the boat and off the docks.

Pulling out of the marina mid-afternoon, we motored to the mouth of the Santi River and anchored overnight. Leaving at 6am the next morning we started making our way around Singapore. For most of the day we were both on deck keeping a close watch on shipping and ferry traffic. We passed through several ship anchorages and crossed fairways. We have never seen so many ships! Hailing ports from Liberia, Korea, Panama...all over the world. It was all interesting but a big relief when we finally crossed the Johor Strait and left Singapore behind.

Motorsailing into a headwind, we dropped anchor at Pisang Island at 7pm. We left at 6:30 the next morning and sailed and motorsailed, dodging small Malaysian fishing boats and their nets.
The shipping traffic is at least 3 miles farther out into the Malacca Strait. A reasonable distance. A small bird lands on the lifelines near our cockpit, resting awhile until I manage to scare him away by taking a flash photo.

Again we squeak into an anchorage, at the Water Islands, just as the sun is setting. Our last day is pretty easy. Good sailing much of the way to Port Dickson. We arrive at Admiral Marina at 2pm and dock across from British friends Clive and Jean on Hannakin.

Sebana Cove Marina

April 4, 2006

We are back aboard Moonshadow after a 4 month visit in the states. Moonshadow is docked at Sebana Golf and Marina Resort in Johor, Malaysia. Singapore is just a 45 minute ferrry ride from here. We pay less than U.S. $200 a month moorage but have nearly the same use of the facilities as resort guests paying $200 for a night or two. And the marina staff treats us like royalty.

Vega, a Baltic Trader built in the 1800's, tied up at the dock a couple of days ago. She is sailed primarily by Shane and Meggi who work with Unicef and other organizations bringing supplies, medical treatment and educational materials to people on remote islands. Their website is www.sailvega.com.

Later today we will be leaving Sebana Cove and will start working our way north, up the Malacca Strait along the west coast of Malaysia. Further postings will be dependent upon availability of internet cafes.