Firefly - Penang Island

Today is Thursday 3rd December and Firefly departed the Straits Quay anchorage off Penang at 0700 bound for Langkawi Island. As expected there was little wind at first, about 5 knots and for the first few hours it was motor sailing to the north west with just the jib set. However, for the first time in a good while there is wind! We have over 10 knots and its a beam reach to Langkawi so Firefly is clipping along at over 6 knots. The wind direction is as it should be in the 'North East Monsoon' so perhaps we will cover the remaining 30 miles under sail?

Prior to arriving at the Straits we had a night anchored in the passage between Penang Island and Jerejak Island. Jerejak was once the location of a colonial prison and at a later stage a leper colony. Once nicknamed 'Alcatraz of the East', the island is now only home to a run down holiday resort called the 'Rainforest Retreat'. The trip from Pangkor had not been particularly exciting and having been aboard for several days we were very keen to go ashore. The choice was either taking the dinghy across to Penang Island and having the afternoon at the 'Queensferry Shopping Mall' or going to have a walk around Jerejak.

Choosing Jerejak, we were at first pleased about our decision. At the hotel lobby we picked up an island map describing walks through the secondary rain forest. Setting off along the old road to the prison we gradually climbed a couple of hundred meters to the ridge. The road was crumbling away and it became a narrow path as the undergrowth was encroaching all around. It was great to be in the forest and although there was no wildlife to be seen at ground level there were monkeys in the canopy. Unfortunately the invisible wildlife at our level was biting away at us and having neglected to bring any repellent, an hour long walk equated to about 20 bites each. Heading back to Firefly as the afternoon thunderstorm started and the rain started falling - we agreed that next time we would go shopping!

The electric storm that evening was terrific - thunder and lightning all night but nothing close enough to make us concerned for our electronics on board. Despite this the radio antennas were unplugged and all the moveable stuff was in the oven. Acting as a 'Faraday Cage' the oven should give some protection to I phones, I pads and Laptops in the event of a hit - although you must remember to take them out if you decide to bake a cake! There was so much rain that night that the dinghy was literally fully of water in the morning.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Sail Malaysia Rally a procession for the yachts had been arranged and at 0730 the radio came alive and almost 40 yachts gathered at the south of Jerejak Island. The Rally Co Ordinator, Sazli was aboard Gemini Lady who led the fleet under the first Penang Bridge and onto the Straits Quay anchorage some 5 miles away on the north east of the Island. The relatively small Straits Quay Marina, as usual in these parts was surrounded with large, new, up market appartment blocks with the lower 2 floors containing the obligatory air conditioned shopping mall. Some yachting ex pats from Australia who are based there had teamed up with the marina staff to look after us very well and arrange several events' despite the fact that due to the size of the marina most boats anchored outside.

That evening, after a short reception at the marina we were bused to a busy night market for dinner. Very similar to what we had experienced in Indonesia, these predominantly Chinese food attractions consist of a large seating area surrounded by numerous small canteens all cooking up some speciality or other. Your order what you fancy, sit down and they find you with the food and you pay there and then. We chose 4 dishes, 2 of which (Satay Chicken kebabs and fried Noodles) were great while the others were not so good - the Laksa was a local dish with nice vegetables cooked in a 'tinned' fish flavoured stew. Worse still was the duck porridge - the vegetables and duck were immersed in a transparent porridge of split rice.

The following day we took a bus to the north of the island, catching it opposite Tesco, one of several UK brands that are prominent in Malaysia. More so than all of the other former 'Empire' countries we have visited on our round the world trip so far, the people in Malaysia seem to be happy about their spell under the British. Although the other passengers did not seem to notice, it was hard to stay put on the vinyl seats as the bus driver raced along the winding coast road. Relieved to alight, we had arrived at the beautifully laid out 'Tropical Spice Gardens'. This is one of Penang's top tourist attractions, celebrating the fact that for a stage in history, Penang became the eastern center of the spice trade in the late 1800's as the British managed to take away the original Dutch monopoly.

Traffic jams delayed the evening buses into the capital, Georgetown, where the rally participants were having dinner at Fort Cornwallis - as guests of the local Minister of Tourism. Being on the second bus we missed both the Minister and having a look around the heritage area before it was both dark and pouring with rain. The following day we taxied back into Georgetown and spent the day wandering around the old colonial streets. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site the city buildings are protected and it is a vibrant hub of all kinds of commerce as well as catering for tourists. An unexpected highlight was a visit to the Museum of Batik Painting - the only one in the world - showcasing this form of art that emerged here in the 1950's. On display over 3 floors are many stunning batik paintings on cloth, most originating from artists from Penang, wider Malaysia and Indonesia.

Langkawi will be Firefly's final destination for 2015. By coincidence the Sail Malaysia Rally finishes at the Reebak Marina on the day we fly back to the UK. Conveniently Reebak is the place we had chosen to leave Firefly well before we decided to join the Rally. Langkawi is Malaysia's yachting hub and from here its a short hop across the Thai boarder. We will make the 100 mile trip north to the Phuket area in January 2016 after Christmas and New Year in Blighty.

Paul and Susie