Home Sweet Home

It was a tossup, do we exit Thailand the quick way by plane or do the long scenic trip back to Malaysia by train. The cheaper option prevailed and saved us a couple of hundred dollars but boy oh boy was it long. The first class sleeper to Bangkok was very comfy with 2 adjoining single cabins and 1^st class service. We arrived in Bangkok 2hrs late which was OK as our next train didn’t leave for another 6 hrs. We didn’t bother venturing beyond the station as was our intention to have another browse through Chinatown and hopefully pick-up some bargains but we think all the bargains were left behind in Vietnam. Vietnam was definitely the best place to buy the cheap stuff like clothes etc.

All aboard and ready to go.

The trip to Hat Yai was comfy but uneventful and despite arriving on time we still couldn’t make our ferry connection at Satun due to our first bus breakdown of the trip and a change to the ferry timetable due to Ramadan (Muslim fasting month). The next ferry had us waiting for 4hrs and after the 1.5hr trip to Kuah Langkawi a hasty rush through Custom’s clearance, a speedy taxi ride to the Rebak ferry terminal we found that their timetable had changed as well and a further 1hr wait. Eventually we made it 2 days after leaving Chiang Mai. The plane would have taken 6hrs but hey where’s the adventure.

Bangkok Station

Back on board we found that all was OK as we had left it; all the water absorbers were full, the covers were still well fixed, the dingy was covered and well protected, BUT we noticed a bad fuel smell and upon closer inspection found that we had a leaking tank. NOT GOOD!!!! So much for some well -earned R&R, this was not to be.

Back to REALITY!! by the way if your curious its just a chisel handle.

Our intended short stay on board before heading off again has now been extended to sort out this problem which involves replacing not only 1 but 2 fuel tanks as the leaking tank could not be removed without the other. To make things worse the other tank could not be removed intact and had to be cut in two. 1000 curses from each of us to the builder who should have known better. The only saving grace is that by not staying in China for the 2 months as planned we now have time to spend doing the work on the hardstand and in an acceptable timeframe despite the frustrations of Ramadan!!



The offending tank about to be NBO'd

 

With the intended work ahead of us we decided to buy an air conditioner despite already possessing one which is obviously living a very lazy comfortable life back home in our shed. The heat and humidity here are unbelievable and you break out in a sweat just thinking of what’s ahead for the day. The only relief was a cold beer but after much relieving not much work got done, so the AC was a must, despite the unwanted cost.

This one had to be cut to extract it from the cabin

All the businesses in Langkawi and most probably Malaysia are owned by Chinese expats from several generations ago and it’s no wonder they are called the Jews of Asia. They are very difficult to deal with and are unscrupulous businessmen especially with the foreign yachties. They expect payment up front and the lack of competition and closed shop behaviour generally means negotiation is fruitless and they have the advantage. There are ways however to deal with these people and it’s a matter of getting them to potentially “loose face” by demanding they provide proof or evidence of something that you know they can’t, this is the only way to get them to back down and swings the pendulum the other way. You must always be prepared to walk away from the deal and bluff plays a big part of the negotiation. It can be fun and entertaining but it’s a real bitch when you get snookered. The new tanks are currently involved in such negotiations and the outcome hopefully will be to our advantage.



Rebak Hardstand awash after a recent heavy down pour

 We are still hoping to head off and travel through Central and Eastern Malaysia for a couple of weeks before heading back to Oz in October for a month so will try to keep the blog active throughout and hopefully get all the remedial works completed beforehand. We still have all our planned works to complete before splashing again in November.

By the way a few stats from our trip through Asia if you’re interested:

Duration:  101 days

Accommodation: 45 different places, average probably 3 star, prices ranged from AU$15 -$75 per night excluding the boat trips

Total Cost: AU$84 per day, an absolute bargain including everything from start to finish.

Photos Taken: 3,867

Our new Malaysian phone number is +601119631431

Bye for now.

Beers and Cheers from back onboard with our Skol again

J&J