Trip to Malaysia

As I was in Philippines for a short time I decided to go visit my Malaysian friends in Lumut area. The trip started a bit roughly with us spending a day in Singapore and in evening taking the overnight bus to Sitiawan. It was not bad but the AC in the bus was freezing and I hadn't packed any long-sleeved clothes so ended up huddling all night whilst dog-napping. Whilst in Lumut we got taken around all the nice restaurants serving different Chinese cuisine as well other ethnic groups. Always nice to visit Malaysia for food. Below are some pictures from the few days spent there.

911 MB, not Porsche ;)

S/y Fanny revisited

Suddenly a year had gone by since I had done the delivery of Fanny from Thailand to France. Time goes so fast these days. The Owner called me up and asked to help to renew cover and find better berthing as well as think of charters and/ or selling the vessel as he needed funds for his next project to sail single handed around the world on a trimaran.

Fanny at the temporary jetty

Project s/y Fanny Malaysia to Maldives

Having arrived Lumut safely Owner and us had some errands to tend to in Kuala Lumpur so we got a car loaned and drove up there. Turned out my errand was not needed so I got a few days off and a visit to KL. Impressive city but impossible to find a taxi unless you were booking via a dedicated app, so we rather ate from eateries close by the airbnb than taking tax to some other venue. We actually found a very nice Mexican restaurant. After 3 nights we headed back to Lumut and left Owner to tend to his own business. 

KL skyline

Project s/y Fanny - Thailand to Malaysia

 After having done the rounds in Phuket I one evening met a Malaysian chap that had been refurbishing a 10yr old second hand 45' Lagoon catamaran for the purpose of world wide traveling. 

P fwd guest cabin

Project s/y Fanny in Thailand

​In January​​ having arrived with Boadicea to Thailand I was ashore one evening having a few refreshments and was standing on the street near the marina at a local watering hole. 

It literally was a hole in the wall,  a small bar where the waitress handed out drinks and customers stood on the street. 

The extended stern

Happy New year 2022

On 25th Dec we received onboard a couple new crew members we made haste and departed Maldives as instructed late in the evening. The wind and seas was against us all the way and it all seemed to be monsoon wind. At least the Malay peninsula gave us a bit of lee from the bad weather that was raging in Gulf of Thailand and South China sea. As per my charts the seasonal current was also against us so we barely made 9 kts at times. Anyway, our ETA held for the 1st of January albeit several hours later than estimated.

Indian ocean

Johor Baru

Once again it was time to get on the move early morning. I packed my stuff and started towards the metro. It took awhile to find the station but thanks to some helpful denizens I managed to find it pretty easily. I arrived Bandar Tarik Selatan in good time and checked into my bus & got my boarding pass. When it was time to board the staff discovered that the card reader was broken so we got to walk onboard just like that.

Malaysian ladies getting into their car

On the way we stopped for lunch at a highway restaurant where i had some Nasi Ayam, quite delicious Chinese style dish. Then the journey continued and we arrived Johor Baru abt 5pm. I was met by my friend Lena and her son Syafeeq.

I spent the evening in their house in Pasir Gudang and played monopoly with Syafeeq and eventually lost, apparently I am not very business minded or maybe the dice did not favor me. Then I had dinner with Syafeeq and his father Zul. I had Nasi Goreng Kampong, very delicious dish compared to the ordinary "city" Nasi Goreng.

Then it was time to hit the sack as next morning I was going to Singapore.

Kuala Lumpur

Next morning I got up early and moseyed over to the bus station and bought a ticket to Kuala Lumpur. It was just opposite the Chinese temple. Thats the benefit of a small town, no need to take a taxi anywhere, everything is walking distance. After abt 45min waiting the bus arrived to the platform and we rolled towards KL.

Downtown KL

The trip was uneventful and we arrived to the Puduraya bus station. It is huge and organised like an airport. Upon walking out of the station I saw some guesthouses on the opposite side of the street so I just walked over and took a room for 50RM/ night (common shower & toilet). Decided to buy a ticket to Johor Baru for next morning so I got that sorted before doing anything else, discovered that the bus is departing from Bandar Tarik Selatan, quite a distance from Puduraya but the clerk explained it would be easy to reach by metro. Oh well, could have waited before buying the room for the night.

Chinatown

After that I went walkabout in Chinatown on Petaling Jalan and noticed most shops selling fake and copied goods, quite pathetic actually as it is supposed to be a tourist attraction. The area is made up quite nicely and it resembled a bit like Singapore.

The Junk Book Store

I also stumbled across a bookshop selling second hand books that was stacked to the rafters with books on 2 floors. The shop was managed by 2 elderly Chinese ladies that had a remarkable sense of where everything was. I only needed to tell the name of the author and 5 minutes later she had a pile of books in front of me to choose from. Later I found they even got a website where they are touted as Malaysia's biggest second hand book shop. I can believe that.

The KL landmark, Petronas towers

Later I met with Angel, a cyber friend and she took me to Amway mall for some more cheap book shopping. Great shop and cheap prices. After that we had seafood dinner in Petaling Jaya at a Chinese food court. I had sting ray. After that it was already time to go back and Angel dropped me off at the guest house and I retired for the night.

Lumut

Next morning I got up and went hunting for cheaper lodging and soon enough I found a room down the road next to the Chinese temple at DJ Palace. I went down from 98RM to 75RM/ night. I have never been keen on spending on a bed as I only sleep in it (mostly).

Then next mission was to get my Malaysian SIM card working as the one I had bought in Ipoh had not activated for some reason. I waltzed over to the Maxi's offcie and got that issue sorted as well. Then it was time for some lunch and strolling around Lumut. It was a fast stroll as Lumut is still a one horse town and nothing much had changed from the last time.

Michelin Star Chinese Restaurant

In the evening I as picked up Steven and taken to Sitiawan Michelin Chinese Restaurant for dinner. As usual Chinese food is always spectacular and plentiful. I also met the rest of the hooligans, Chan, Kong and their better halves. There was no shouting of Cantonese expletives as on the dive boat. I had been a few times before in the same restaurant and the food is superb. After dinner it was time to retire as we had set the dive for the next morning at the Sembilans.

Those interested in the Michelin Star can click here. (Really delicious looking dish photos on the site).

Going to Malaysia

15th I was on the way to Hat Yai as my Thai visa was expiring and I needed to exit the Kingdom of smiles. I had a rendez-vouz with the hooligans in Lumut. I was dropped off in Hat Yai bus station where I bought a ticket to Ipoh as there were no buses to Lumut so I chose the biggest city close-by. I bid my friends goodbye and boarded the bus that soon enough filled up and we were on our way.

News clipping in bus station of how the city was flooded just a few weeks ago

After a couple of hours we arrived to the Thai-Malay border control and we had to get off the bus for immigration procedures. I guess something went wrong as I lost the bus crowd at some point and walked over to the Malaysian side. There is stood waiting for nearly an hour before the bus came. I was lucky I had not missed the bus as my bag was on it.

Border of Thailand - Malaysia

The journey continued and we stopped for a lunch break at a highway restaurant. I got some Nasi Goreng as it is pretty safe to eat and avoid Delhi belly, somehow people tend to get more sick in Malaysia than Thailand, maybe something to do with different bacteria or standards of hygiene. After lunch we continued, the highways in Malaysia are great, smooth, wide and straight and you can put your pedal to the metal and cruise although max speed is set to 120km/h.

Late afternoon we passed through Penang where we stopped and let off many passsengers as well as new ones embarked. It was late evening abt 7pm and we were getting closer to Ipoh and I told the driver to let me off somewhere it would be easy to get into town. He dropped me off at a highway rest station seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Luckily there was a toilet and prayer room complex being attended by municipal cleaners and I managed through them to order a taxi as I did not have a Malaysian SIM card yet. It was notable that the young chap who called the cab for me declined a tip I was offering.

The cab came and I told him to take me to down town Ipoh, while driving he was chatting away and weaseld out of me info that I was actually going to Lumut. Well, he made me an offer I could not refuse so we stopped in Ipoh to buy a SIM and continued to Lumut. It was not really that far, we arrived Lumut in abt 45min and I booked into the Waterhill hotel next to Jook's Joint Bistro. After settling in and washng off the dust I went out for a late dinner at Jook's Joint and I could not believe that I met people from 2 years back when I had drydocked Kalizma there. There were still plenty of Finnish expats working on the floating hotel project that by now I suspect was seriously behind schedule.

After a few relaxing beers and a pizza I headed back to my hotel room and retired for the night.

Captain's blog March 2010

So, once again we were back in Phuket and we had stuff to do as usual. Carpenters were called and works started on our foremast to embed the new radar cable into it. We also had some wood rot that needed taking care of.

Lightning storm in Malacca Strait

Our familiar s/s man, Mr. Chatchai was also called to finish the awning work on the bridge deck as well as a few other minor jobs.

New awning frame being fabricated

And so went the month of March, in the end we were only 6 crew onboard as Saini and Kalpana went for their annual vacation. Vivek left for pursuing his tanker career and Sunil returned from frigid UK where he had been working towards his Y4 ticket.

Other than that we did not do much in way of sightseeing, Richard had his birthday and we celebrated that with cake and all.

Happy Birthday Richard

I also realized one is never too old to learn of new tricks in cheating people. I was having dinner in Kansas Saloon in Krabi and was served "Heineken" and charged for it when it definitely tasted like Leo (el cheapo beer in Thailand). TIT (This is Thailand). The Restaurant Manager swore they only got Heineken on the premises, oh well...

Dawn in Langkawi

On the 14th we watched the opening of the F1 season at the Haven restaurant. Surprisingly Liuzzi brought a point home for the Force India team.

I was also busy renewing my passport and zipping up and down to Bangkok. I also had a lot of Immigration stuff to take care of with all the crewchanges. Paperwork, paperwork...

People on the move

Then 29th check out procedures and on the 30th we left for Langkawi. We went slowly on economic speed, visited Pulau Perak and 1st April made fast in RLYC marina. On our way to Langkawi we had a marvelous nature display of lightning storm that went on the whole night. Huge horizontal lightnings zapped over our heads continuously.

Zap

In Langkawi I'm getting back my serviced ice machine and doing some service to the A/C plant by our trusted  refrigeration man, Michael from IMEAC engineering.

Then at the time of writing this I got orders to sail for India so now I am waiting for Saini to come back so we could leave for our next mission.

Diving Pulau Perak

On our trip to Langkawi I decided to go via Pulau Perak and check out the waters there.

Pulau Perak itself is a small button like Island in the middle of Malacca Strait, some 65' WNW of Langkawi Island. It is quite elevated and could be seen well from 20' away. As we were approaching the Island the day seemed to start as overcast but as we came closer the cloud cover broke and we got a splendid sunshine. The winds were practically nil and we got only a very low Easterly swell. A perfect day for diving.

Pulau Perak

I stopped 1' off and stopped my engines and crew prepared the dinghy to be launched. After that we loaded our dive gear and off we went, me, Dubey and Rajaram. Even close up to shore we got depths of 80+ meters so the Island had sheer drop off's right down to the seabottom. We could also see that there was a large bird population inhabiting the Island.

Pulau Perak

Pulau Perak is very impressive close by with it's imposing cliff walls and scarce vegetation. On top of the Island is a small Malaysian military base. In the south is a small bay with depths around 20m and a small jetty. On the jetty we saw some guys fishing and we asked if it was OK to dive, no problems came the reply.

Pulau Perak

First dive we started in SE corner and went N on the E side. The corals were beautiful and a lot of fish was seen. Eventually we did 3 dives in total and explored the whole E side of the Island. The drop off's are magnificent (straight down 80-90m) with small crevices that one rounds and always come to new vistas.

Pulau Perak

I could see Snappers, Barracuda, Mackerel and the usual coral fish. The visibility was at least 25m, maybe more. Deeper down the water turned very cold, maybe just a few degrees but it felt freezing to us. I could also see that the Island was popular with fishermen as many rocks were covered with nets. A broken anchor line was splayed open like a palm tree and floating alone at 30m depth. The current was less the 0.5kts as I could see from the distance we drifted during the day.

Pulau Perak

We went back to Kalizma for lunch and watched a small reef shark circling the ship, perhaps in the hopes of food. We also saw plenty of dolphins and I think I also saw a Dorado.

Dolphins

All in all a very good site to visit although one can't land ashore and the area is very exposed to the elements when the weather turns sour. Seeing also that the base personnel did not have any boats I assume they must be helicopter lifted ashore.

Pulau Perak

The distance will also keep this Island safe from exploitation as not many tour operators will have people sitting in boats for such a trip and todays fuel prices.

Pulau Perak

I also found an interesting article of the Island.

Captain's blog February 2010

February went fast as usual, Kalizma was looking to be under siege with all the maintenance works going on but she looks better now with the new awnings, new bridge deck teak and fresh varnish work. I also did plenty of carpentry inside as well, fixing here and there.

On the 13th we had to leave Phuket for Langkawi to our monthly visa run. I did a disappointing dive at Ko Ma enroute. We also thought we would end up in Dubai but those plans were cancelled.

As for crew matters I got a new stewardess on the 6th, Ms. Asen, to replace Martula. Asen is also from Nagaland.

Jyothi got married on Valentine's day and has been confirmed to be located to South of France, she is now taking French lessons. Best of luck to her new posting and marriage.

In Langkawi Saini, Rajaram and Dubey was cleaning the ship up after all the works, all decks were scrubbed clean. 

Then I got Chan onboard from Lumut to install new CCTV system and radar. Our old Pelco CCTV had not only proved unreliable but also very expensive so I got a more stronger Chinese made system that does not disintegrate in the camerahousings like the Pelco had done. This system also provides spares, so if a small part breaks I don't need to buy the whole camera.

For radar I installed a Raymarine to replace the old Nobeltec that is very unreliable and have given me so many grey hairs during my 2 years on Kalizma. The Raymarine is working very well and I do not miss the old Nobeltec for a second. I still have one Nobeltec as my 2nd radar though but maybe after some time I will have the budget to replace that one as well.

I was also invited for dinner to Mangoes by Vanessa and TC and was positively surprised by the food and service there. Mangoes is run by an Australian lady and her German husband. I recommend the chocolate mudcake with ice cream, yummy.

Chan took me to Teo's for a couple of dInners, the food was delicious as usual. I also dined Chan at Luck Luck restaurant in little Hat Yai, the Thai food there is also worth a try for anybody wanting some change.

By the 27th we were leaving Langkawi for Phuket and we dived Ko Rawi, Ko A Yam and Hin Daeng enroute. The weather was phenomenally great.

On the 1st I disembarked at Phuket Town to do our check in in Ao Chalong while Saini was sailing Kalizma to Yacht Haven. I had to hurry to the marina and they had a dinghy standing by for me to get back onboard. This time we moored inside the marina and managed it easily after getting the current from the right side.

Wonder if this guy was out shopping during low water

So, once again we were safely back in Phuket and I called carpenters onbard to finish the radar installation and to replace some wooden railings that had gotten rotten. The same maintenance rally continues...

Voyage Phuket - Langkawi

So, our time was again up in the Kingdom of Smiles and we were leaving for Langkawi once more. This time it could be for a longer time as there has been some talks that we might end up in Dubai.

My contractors and dayworkers had been paid off and jobs wrapped up for this period. Saini was getting the last supplies in preparation for his next maintenance round. I got a new stewardess onboard, Ms. Imtisenla Amur a.k.a. Asen, also from Nagaland in India.

Asen with her new curls

Kalpu making curls night before departure

On the 12th I went to Ao Chalong one-stop-shop and checked out the ship without any hassles and on 13th around 1pm we let go and started for Langkawi.

Since it was Lunar New Year and many of the boats with Thai, ethnic Chinese, Owners had been making offerings and attracting the Gods with fire crackers all morning I decided not be any worse and rigged a length of crackers from my bowsprit. Once we had our lines cast off we lighted the line and let it rip, every yacht in the marina that did not see us, at least heard us departing.



Weather was terrific, a bit of NE monsoon was blowing. As the weather was fine we decided to dive at Ko Ma. Ko Ma is a small Island with a crescent shaped reef on it's northern side. We planned to dive at the southern side where the Island apparently does a steep drop to 20 meters. Once in the water with Saini (we jumped off the aft deck) we started to descend and the water got very murky, at abt 15m it got also cold. Somekind of undercurrent pushed very cold water from somewhere.

I did some photography but it was not much use as I did not have my flash yet and the lighting was too low to get any decent pics. The bottom was bare with some odd coral growth and a multitude of crab holes, one could see them lurking for prey with their one claw out of the hole. After some 19minutes my air was gone and it was time to ascend. All in all a disappointing experience but in hindsight we could have gone a bit closer to the Island but as prudent navigators it is better to be safe than sorry.

Some sea creatures...eggs?

Once back onboard Kalizma the sun was setting and we continued our voyage to Langkawi. The waves were getting a bit higher and we developed a permanent starboard list from the monsoon wind that was blowing. Asen was saying she is getting seasick and she was going our for fresh air frequently.

Kalizma in front of Ko Ma

On the morning 14th we entered the channel to Kuah and winds were blowing there quite freshly. Once arrived to the marina we made fast to the N-S pier, the marina is protected from the wind so I did not have any problems going alongside.

I was met by our agent Mr. John Orr and after changing latest gossip and news we walked to the immigration office at the ferry terminal. Check in was a breeze here too and soon enough I was back onboard with stamped passports...

Sojourn to Penang

When the port clearance was done I left with Jira for Penang (or Georgetown) with all passports to apply Thai visas for everyone. The ferry took 3 hrs to arrive. The trip was uneventful as the weather was fine. The ferry stopped by Pulau Payar to drop or pick up passengers and then we continued. Last time I had been to Penang was in 1998 with Superstar Sagittarius and boy had the place changed. The terminal was new and gone was all the shabby colonial buildings (well, most of them or they had been restored).

We checked in the Malaysia Hotel at Jalan Penang and after settling in went for search of some dinner. I found a local Thai restaurant and there we got our chili fix for the day. For rest of evening we walked around Jalan Penang to the shopping centres in Komtar and did not see anything worth mentioning except they had an excellent bookstore in there. Jira found herself a dress that she was very happy to buy. After awhile we took a rickshaw back to the hotel and retired for the night.

The Penang Clocktower

Next morning I took a taxi to the Thai embassy and of course I discovered that I'd left all my photocopies onboard so I had to go via the photocopier. Once arrived to the embassy I filled in my form and tried to submit all my passports and was informed they do not process Indian passports. I was perplexed and asked for more information why they could not issue visas for my crew that were all legitimate? I even had my Thai bankbook with me to show that I could provide for them all. After some time they produced me a circular from the Thai Foreign Ministry that stated that for so and so nationalities they cannot apply for visas in Malaysia unless they got permanent resident status in Malaysia. Well, that explained it all so I just applied for a visa for myself that I could come and pick up the same afternoon.

The reclining Buddha at the Wat Chaiya Mangalaram temple (built 1845)

So for the rest of the morning and early afternoon I spent sightseeing going first to a Coffeeshop and Batik shop that were next to each other. Not being a great fan of coffee since I stopped smoking I sampled the coffees that were on sale and must say that their coconut coffee was excellent so I bought a bag of it for Jira. They also sold different kind of chocolate candies and I settled for a sugarfree chocolate candy (only the fat was left, he-he). Next door I was given a short demonstration of how batik is done and yet again Jira found a wraparound pants to buy. I could not buy anything that was so colorful that every time I would wear it I would get a headache seeing myself in the mirror.

Entrance to Burmese temple

Next stop was the Thai and Burmese temple. They both semed very prosperous with so many decorations and gold leaf that they would put some of their counterparts in respective country to shame. We made our offerings and donations and admired the premises. Especially the Burmese temple had similar kind of wood carvings as the Shwedagon in Yangon. Just amazing woodwork.

Cannonball tree at Botanical Gardens

After this we headed for the Botanical Gardens that were somewhat a disapponting affair. Well kept lawns and walkways were there but the botanical aspect was a bit less if you compare to the Botanical Garden in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Entrance was lined with cannonball trees and some monkeys were around. Other than that there was not much to mention as most of the special plant houses were closed. The most interesting was the house were they sold plants, a nice selection of green plants, cactuses and orchids was on display. I liked most the orchid that smelled like chocolate. Around the garden and surrounding estates there were signs of trespassers will be shot...

Guan Yin at Kek Lok Si temple

Then as a last piece the resistance we headed for the Kek Lok Si Chinese temple. It was perched on a hill facing the sea and from the top you could see all of Gerogetown. The path started with steps up and up to different halls with Chinese God's and Goddesses displayed, in between there were souvenir stalls that sold religious paraphernalia like amulets, semi-precious stones protecting for all sort of stuff and music CD's for Chinese New Year, roof tiles with your name on it (for the temple) and so on. The highlight of the temple is to take the horizontal elevator up the platform where a huge bronze statue of Avalokiteshvara (or Kuan Yin) is erected. Kuan Yin is the Bodhisattva of compassion or "The Lord that looks down", she sure looks down at Kek Lok Si. Those who wants to know more about this deity can click this link . In addition there was yet another souvenir shop and a hall housing a Buddha with entrance lined with all the animals in the Chinese horoscope. After having enough of religion for the day we headed back down and headed for the Thai embassy to pick up my passport.

Kek Lok Si in the distance

Sri Tirupati temple in Mumbai, same deity as Kuan Yin, different name.


After having my passport well in hand it was time for a late lunch, the driver took us to the seaside and we lunched at the Ocean Green seafood restaurant. The place was empty as all the lunch people had left and the dinner guests were yet to arrive. Food was delicious and soon after we headed to the ferry terminal to buy tickets for next morning to go back to Langkawi.

Next morning was again an early rise and we had our breakfast at the hotel and from there we went to the ferry. This time it was a monohull as we had come with a catamaran. The weather was getting choppy and beside us was a French girl that was ululating as a stuck pig as she was feeling nauseous. At times she was breathing in a plastic bag and at times she was whining her seasickness. I must say she managed to keep her guts in control as she never heaved up. When an hour from arrival the boat suddenly stopped engines and after awhile they started going again, at slow speed, I suspect they lost one engine for some reason. Nevertheless, we arrived safely and were glad to be onboard.

Footnote on the Lumut drydocking

After having voiced my and my offices dissatisfaction of what went down in Lumut I was approached by the Manager, Mr. Nick Coombes, of APS Langkawi to meet on the 16th to sort out some issues at hand.

Fortunately Cmde S.K.Mongia was also visiting Phuket at this time so I could coordinate to have a mutual meeting and saving a lot of emailing afterwards.

We met on the 16th at 10am onboard and went through the events of the DD and came to our grievances that eventualy boiled down to a discount of the final DD invoice.

To cut the story short I have the deepest respect for Nick by assuming responsibility of his bad business decision and granted us a considerable discount on his Company's expense.

The only party coming out of this mess "unscathed" is the main culprit "Grade One Marine Shipyard", they must've been laughing all the way to the bank.

Oh well, I'm sure they will now be missing many Yacht repair contracts as I'm sure APS Langkawi won't be promoting them as the place to haul out in SE Asia.

In case anyone asks me for a reference I'll give one too - a negative one. I have no positive thoughts whatsoever for this "run-by-night" establishment. In fact I have reported their disgusting antics to the Malaysian yacht and Shipyard associations.

Rainbow just off Yacht Haven

Drydocking Lumut

Years ago on m/v Columbus Caravelle where we once spent an annual docking in Guangzhou for 2 humid weeks I thought that was bad. Then in 2003 when I was working on Project m/y Turama I thought I’d seen it all. Last year in Langkawi Wavemaster I thought I had hit rock bottom but I was once again proven wrong this year in Lumut by Grade One Marine Shipyard that set records in shafting the Client.

Lifted up after more than 24hrs of wrangling

As you may have glimpsed in my previous blogs that our drydocking has not gone quite as smoothly as anticipated I am not exaggerating this. It is usual that there are always some squabbles that are then solved by giving a bit and taking a bit after some discussions. Not so with Grade One Marine Shipyard.

Weight dials on the shiplift put us on abt 350mt displacement

Asia Pacific Superyachts of Langkawi had recommended this yard as they had successfully lifted there abt 10 boats. I visited the facility in May and they visited us in Langkawi in order to work out a quote. The facility is new and seemed promising in my eyes. Once I left Langkawi again there was not much movement on the quote despite emails back and forth. It seemed yard only moved for us when John Orr went down to Lumut to chase them.

Furthermore, APS put themselves as a go between as agents and so in effect we were the client of APS and APS the client of the yard. My management expressed their dismay to such an arrangement and warned APS that they are putting themselves in a precarious position in case problems arise. We were told this is the only way yard wants to deal with yachts, via APS Langkawi, so we digressed. APS assured that there will not be any problems and floating will go smoothly. Well, as it happened all went to hell and relationship between vessel and APS Langkawi is discontinued indefinitely.

Yard has following muppets to show: Operations Manager Fuad bin Rasol, slick prick that promises even the moon from the sky in order to get you to his yard. Seems to have poor conception of reality and hence does not know what his labor is doing or perhaps just pretends to be that way. Haji Nasir, senior costing officer, promises that anything can be done in a blink of an eye, next day goes back on his word. Costing stooge Mahat, Nasirs right hand man, hopeless blabber and interrupts anyone who starts to give him facts or question his facts. Project Manager Azlan is as useless as tits on a donkey, unfortunately he was appointed to us. Shiplift supervisor Captain Ahmad, formerly known in Rebak, Langkawi as Mr. 10%, proud person, cannot take advice.

View through our rudder pintles

The only persons that really earned recognition for good work and ability to problem solve was Mr. Saeran and Mr. Teoh, the first is in charge of mechanical issues and did our rudder and props, the latter is underwater hull supervisor from cleaning to painting. Especially Mr. Teoh never vacillated on any job at hand, he just did it.

Project Manager Yin was the only PM that seemed to know what he was doing, he was appointed to do all the other government ships that was being overhauled, when at times PM Azlan lost his only marble the yard sent Yin over for few days and this kept on going during whole yard stay.

As a conclusion of our visit I can say that we have been had totally by APS Langkawi and Grade One Marine Shipyard and I am thoroughly disgusted by their antics. It was not probably the brightest idea to come and do a drydocking in a muslim country during their fasting month but we were assured that it would not affect productivity as they also employ staff from other religions. I initially planned arrival 1^st August but it was changed for budgetary reasons. Seeing that the yards clients mostly consists on government vessels from the marine police, coastguard and navy I assume they just do a shoddy job, charge it triple or quadruple and get paid for it, no adjustments are never asked for as it is a government job and bureaucrats just sign whatever is put in front of them.

Finally on the way to be floated

Needless to say we will never ever visit this yard again, one can only take so much of being overcharged, held for ransom and being blackmailed.

Around Lumut

Having spent over a month in Lumut I have gotten to know the area a bit. Obviously the biggest attraction here is the Pangkor Island resorts and Pangkor Laut where movie stars visit. I did not visit there as I am not that keen on such places, seen one beach, seen ‘em all…

Lumut itself is more like a thoroughfare for tourists on their way to Pangkor although there are numerous hotels and restaurants in the area. The town itself has only one main road that passes in front of the ferry terminal for Pangkor. The road is lined with souvenir shops and stalls, at end of the road or edge of the town is a big Nasi Kandar where you can get a cheap Indian or Malay fare.

This restaurant was often frequented by my crew. Behind this Nasi Kandar (you need to go behind the stalls) is a side road that leads to a restaurant called Rockefelle, it has a nice and fairly cheap menu that caters for foreigners, on Sundays they do a BBQ. Staff is friendly, mixed Thai and Malay.

Towards the other direction from the Nasi Kandar you can see Jook’s Joint Bistro that also sports a foreign menu and a very active Malay staff that tends to your needs. I recommend the chili con carne with nachos that is not featured on the menu. Pizzas here are also very tasty.

Behind Jook’s joint is an Italian restaurant called Capri, although the food is excellent (at least the pizzas) it is quite expensive, for this reason I ate there only twice.

North of the International Lumut Marina are 3 restaurants that are managed by an Italian Owner, Massimo, and his Singaporean wife Judy. Only the Italian restaurant is open and staff is from Myanmar. The pizza topping was great but the crust was made of wrong kind of wheat flour and not so tasty compared to Jook’s or Capri.

Front of Lumut International Yacht marina

Coming down south next to Massimo’s is the Marina and after them is Lumut Country Resort where I stayed during the visit. The resort is really basic and a bit run down but the ambience is nice and you get warm shower and aircon as well as a breakfast with the daily paper. Rooms went for 105 RM a night. They also have a swimming pool if you fancy that.

Going further south from the resort is Jook’s Joint Bar, the only place in town where expats go for beers and demi-mondaines. Almost opposite Jook’s is The Green Door.

The Green Door is a Chinese restaurant run by Ah Pau (look for sign that says “Restoran Kepala Kari Ikan”) where you get a delicious fare. Pork is also on the menu, pricing is a bit over the top in my opinion. These are my recollections of any note worthy restaurants in Lumut, I tried a few others too but the food was bad.

Now going out of Lumut towards Sitiawan you will arrive to a crossing with a KFC on your left side (this is the ecenter of Sitiawan), turn right and continue for abt 1km, keep your eyes focused on left side for a restaurant called Bei King (I suppose it means Peking), the food is excellent and reasonably priced.

Near the Grade One yard, at the first light crossing towards Lumut, is a restaurant called Hai Lam Village, we got most of our lunches there, very affordable and good food. Eat inside as outside is a lot of flies coming from neighboring chicken farms.

Furthermore for shopping drive towards Sitiawan or Ipoh and you will many supermarkets where everything is available. For technical stuff you can’t find near Lumut - go to Ipoh (60minutes drive). Same applies for sightseeing more of Perak.

Diving Pulau Pulau Sembilan

Since the yard disaster continued and we were held for ransom until payment in full I was again stuck in Lumut yet another weekend. I was meeting Chan for dinner on Friday and he asked if I would be interested in going diving the next Sunday together with his hooligans, this time at the Sembilan Islands. These Islands are a group of nine (hence the name Sembilan (9)) located south of Pangkor Island.



Map of the Sembilans

As Chan went there already on Saturday for camping I came out with Ah Pok on Tuna II that went fishing with some other guys. At 7am Ah Pok picked me up and we went via the morning market to stockup on food and drink. We left early Sunday morning to one of the bigger Pulau Saga that had a fresh water stream too. On the way I got dejavu experience as we hit a heavy rainstorm but after that the weather turned partly overcast with sunshine.

The camp was rigged up as a big tarp in an inverted “V” to cover a raised dais where people lined up like sardines to sleep. I met Chan and was immediately thrust an Anchor in hand and as people had had breakfast we loaded onto the boat and headed for our divesites.



Beach at Pulau Lalang

Our first site was “Black Rock”, a cliff just barely jutting out of the sea with a rusty marker to warn seafarers of the navigational danger. Chan warned me of getting close to the rocks as the swell would grind me to corned beef against the barnacles and whatnot. Without saying I could see what he meant. We geared up and plopped into the drink and down I went.



The Black Rock

The 1st 10m visibility was no more than 2-3m and when going deeper it improved a bit to perhaps 5-6m, current was zero. I could hear spear guns going off like rapid fire and thought that the fishing must be good. Chan had loaned me an underwater camera so I could entertain myself while diving. Having a visibility of only 5-6m the photography was limited to close up shots only but it kept me busy. At 25m depth everything looked to be only different shades of green but whenever the flash would go off I could see the real color of every plant and organism I shot. The bottom was very rocky and had nice nooks and crannies for the fish to hide in, the corals were not that plentiful but there were loads of oysters the size of palm of my hand. I think Chan had speared the most fish during the 1st round, at least there was a queen fish, a barracuda, a bat fish and a golden grouper.

Link to my underwater pics



Ah Chan and in between dive brew

Our next dive we shifted to “White Rock”, a much bigger rock islet with a white light house on it. Ah Pok was dispatched to go onto the Island to look for birds nest. Chan told me that if they found something it was of very good quality. Unfortunately after a few minutes Ah Pok came back empty handed – somebody had looted the Island before us.



Ah Pok looking for birds nest

We got back to our diving business and geared up, Chan just told me to follow the Island nothing special to look out for. I went down again with same visibility as on White Rock, only addition was that I could feel the swell at times pushing me around even at 20m depth. I glimpsed some big fish swimming around me as well as loads of smaller tropical fish. Here was same amount of soft corals and sea urchins as well as the rope like grass thingies growing up from the seabed. I was shooting away on my camera and admiring the steep cliff walls and crevices that was present here too. Sadly, the visibility did not allow for any large scale pictures.



The White Rock

When coming up it was again Anchor time and soon enough the guys were gearing up for the 3rd and last dive, same venue. As our decompression had been so short I stayed at abt 12m depth and prowled the cliffs for something to look at. After awhile I stumbled upon a small ray-fish sleeping under a rock. It was the 1st to see in these waters although I had seen plenty of them in the Maldives before. Other than that I can’t say that the dive was that eventful, same poor visibility and swell pushing me around. In good visibility I bet the view would be marvelous. I came up and it was time for late lunch at the base camp.



Lunch at camp

At the camp I took advantage of the freshwater spring and showered the salt off. It was time for another Anchor and some roasted duck on rice. As usual food always tastes great in the great outdoors and with good company. The conversation was going in rapid fire Cantonese and I could not understand a thing, but it did not matter, Chan translated the best bits.

After the meal people started packing up the camp and I went for a stroll along the beach. The sand was clear but at the HW mark there was the usual human debris, old peieces of rope, empty bottles, slippers and so on. Abt 100m along the beach I came to a shrine that fishermen use to make offerings for a good catch. There was 9 chinese Gods in the shrine so it ought to make a strong case for a good catch. A bit further along the beach I stumbled upon a 1m long monitor lizard running into the thicket, probably as surprised by me as I of it.

The fishermens shrine

Finally the beach ended into a small rock formation that I did not want to scale as it was soon time to go back. I noticed at the water edge was sem submerged rocks that was covered in 15cm long sea limpets, they looked like armored sponges and they sure stuck to the stone like superglue. Anyway, it was time and I turned back walking along the beach to the boat just in time. We headed back to Lumut and everybody was sort of nodding off after such a heavy weekend.

The superglued organism

On the way back, Pa Ling Tau in front

Once arrived to Lumut I discovered I had forgotten my footwear on Tuna II so I was going barefeet. The boat was hauled up, emptied of gear and washed with fresh water, the loot was cleaned out and divvied up. Finally Ah Pok gave me a ride back to my hotel where I collapsed onto my bed until John called me to join him for dinner.

The loot