Penang

 We sailed north from the marina and anchored overnight at a small island, we watched the many fishing boats going to work for the night...as the sun went down, it was good to get out to sea again after many weeks ashore. Next day we left early and motored all the way because there wasn't any wind, to arrive in Penang at six pm and anchored next to Velella who had been there a few days. 

Penang is the melting pot of Malaysia, the Chinese make up the majority then the Malay and Indians. Each of these nationalitys have their own celebrations and different cultures and food which makes it very interesting and they all seem to get on together.

Penang is a city of contrasts, it's my favorite city so far there is so much to see walking the streets and you must walk so you can see the many different trades people operating in their shops, in one street alone I saw men making cane furniture, wantons, Chinese lantern and decorations, picture frames, an old printing press working and bakery and other small businesses, walking also makes you hungry so you can try the many different delicious dishes on offer. There are a lot of restored Chinese shop houses and some haven't changed in a hundred years.

If you come here for a holiday you can stay in five star resorts or small heritage listed shop houses operating as boutique hotels, there are many air conditioned malls to escape the heat. Some of the shops in Georgetown still operate the same as fifty years ago, like the old Chinese man selling chemicals, only one person at a time can enter his shop the isle down the middle of his shop is a foot wide, he sells liquids and powders that you can't buy in Australia anymore.

One afternoon Helane and I explored little India.... plenty to see like the Indians making roti, butchers chopping the meats on old wood chopping blocks, we came across the milk man delivering fresh milk to the restaurants from a stainless steel container on the back of his motorbike, the loud Bollywood music playing and the smell of inscence. We stopped to buy a few curry puffs cooked on the side of the street they were yummy and only 30 cents each.

Georgetown hardware shop....only one person can enter and you need a torch to try and find what you need.

One of the many Chinese temples very ornate and spiritual 

Rows of renovated Chinese shop houses

We found a small bar selling cheap beer, a good spot to watch the goings on in Georgetown, the surrounding buildings show the changes taking place in the heritage town.

While we were anchored in Penang Ken spent 4days trying to fix the auto pilot with out success unfortunately, he didn't really enjoy the place as much as I did and he wanted to keep heading north, so after 8 days in Penang we sailed to pulau Bidan to anchor for the night then next day we reached the group of islands just south of Langkawi.

The colour of the water is green blue from the limestone cliffs, the small beaches in between the cliffs are mostly white sand 

There is plenty of activity around the islands from the soaring sea eagles, the small fishing boats catching small fish and squid and a few tourist boats who come to see the fresh water lake. We spent a few days here anchoring at different spots with the cliffs as spectacular backdrops, one afternoon we enjoyed sundowners on the beach with Velella and Jepeda. 

This is Telaga Harbour on Langkawi where we stayed for two very busy days we hired a car for 1 day and started filling the boat with food, fuel and water. As Langkawi is a duty free island Ken bought plenty of beer and I found my favorite chocolate, we were both very happy. Customs Immigration and Harbour Master are all here at the marina so we completed the paper work to clear out of Malaysia and sailed to Thailand early the next day.