Firefly - A week at Pangkor Island

Today is Thursday 26th November and at 0800 this morning Firefly departed Pangkor Island Marina after 7 enjoyable days. We did not go far, only about 6 miles to an anchorage on the west side of Pangkor Island that we are now sharing with about 10 other rally yachts. So far Malaysian cruising has not really been about the sailing. Since Singapore the route north up the Malacca Straits has not been very picturesque nor has there been much wind. Therefore, having chosen to do the trip from Indonesia in order to reach Thailand we are very pleased we decided to join the Sail Malaysia Rally as the events we have attended have been great so far.

Pangkor is the longest stop on the Rally and we have been looked after exceptionally well here. The Rally fee (which is minimal anyway at $65 Aus for almost 4 weeks) includes 5 nights free in the marina, 2 day long tours and a big dinner party last night complete with band. The rally is subsidised by the Malaysian Government in order to promote yachting in Malaysia, hence the minimal cost. In addition there is a 50% discounts on long term wet or dry storage offered at Pangkor Marina. That works too - Firefly is booked at Pangkor for a haul out from April to September 2016. She will probably get some TLC from the experienced paint contractors here too. Firefly has not been re painted since new and although the paint on the topsides is still in reasonably good condition, the cost of getting work done in SE Asia is considerably lower than most places worldwide so it makes sense to do it here.

We were off the boat 6 days out of the 7 with a combination of our own touring in a hire car and the rally tours. Our hire car was one of the ubiquitous 'hot hatches' that do not seem to have a brand name on them - Daihatsu, we presumed. With low spoilers all around it was not ideal for dealing with the some of the serious bumps and pot holes we encountered but we did get it back in one piece. Our destination was the Cameron Highlands, an area up to 2000 meters high with much cooler temperatures. In Colonial days this attracted the European settlers. For us, the combination of air con in the hire car and hotels and the elevation meant we actually felt cool for a period of three days.

Arriving at the Cameron Highlands was somewhat of a shock - highland areas in the west are normally remote and uninhabited - not here in SE Asia. The towns strewn along the main road were large and densely populated and intermingled with the extensive agriculture. In every case, these agricultural places were also offered as a tourist attraction, some charging for visits and some not. The most well known are the tea plantations owned by large tea Companies, BOH and Bharat. We visited 2 of the plantations - the hillsides were absolutely beautiful, the tea plants being a verdant green and the patterns they create captivating to look at. Although free to visit, being English, we drank plenty of tea and even left with tea leaves, pot and strainer - afternoon tea on Firefly will be considerably more sophisticated from now on.

Visits to the Strawberry Farm, Lavender Garden, Rose Valley, Orchid Farm, Bee Farm and Butterfly Farm were all memorable too. This was mainly for being very compact, the various plants being in very good condition and by the addition of very brightly coloured statues and ornaments. We saw all kinds or religious artifacts plus garden gnomes and even 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'. One of the organised coach tours we took was to Ipoh, the state capital of the Perak region and here the first stop was at the impressive Buddhist Cave Temple at Kek Lok Tong. A huge limestone cave exiting onto a 'zen' garden surrounded by towering cliffs. Ipoh was interesting with a heritage trail visiting many of the well maintained colonial buildings followed by a great lunch in China Town.

The day trip to Pangkor Island was excellent too, the island being very pretty despite being very populated. It started with an 0900 rendezvous at the ferry terminal and on arrival at the Island we were divided into groups of ten and squeezed into a fleet of pink 'bemos' (taxi buses). Stops to see an old Dutch Fort and wooden fishing boats under construction was followed by another great lunch on the beach under the shade of some huge tropical trees. Chilling on the beach after lunch we decided that this would be a great place to come and anchor when we leave the marina.

However, things have not turned out quite as well as expected. The bay and surrounding islands are lovely but the water is full of rubbish. We donned fins and masks and tried snorkeling for the first time since leaving Indonesia but the water is very murky. So we reverted to a walk on the beach which is steep and has thick vegetation. we have even spotted Hornbills on occasions and there are Sea Eagles soaring overhead. The problem was there was so much rubbish we could hardly pick our way along the waters edge. The other issue is that we are anchored in a 'watersports' area and its holiday time in Malaysia at present. Ringos towed by speed boats and jet ski tours have been running continuously since we arrived so it has ended up being noisy and choppy.

Our next destination is Penang, another island well known for its colonial heritage. Its about 65 miles to the north and there a a couple of anchorages we can use en route to keep the daily distances shorter. There is a Rally rendezvous there in a few days time, starting with a sailing procession under the bridge and up to the Straits Quay Anchorage. The procession is a celebration of this being the 10th edition of this rally.


Paul and Susie