October 2011 – March 2012
I can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I updated the website. Time certainly has a tendency to fly by of late! Anyway, not too much has been happening in our lives, but I thought I’d better do an update anyway!
8 August to 5 November was spent in Phuket, Thailand – we had a few medical issues to sort out and by the time we left we felt rather at home at the Bangkok Hospital!
I celebrated my 40th with our friends David, Juliet, Charles and Maureen at a fabulous restaurant in Phuket Town called Suay. Highly recommend this place!
Ken’s cousin Maggie and her husband Steve popped over from the UK for a short visit on board Fast Forward. They joined us in Phuket, we took them to the Simon Cabaret (a must do!!), and on a quick whistle-stop tour of Phang Nga Bay before heading off down to Langkawi, Malaysia where they boarded a plane headed for Singapore.
Mid November found Ken and I separated for 2 weeks – he flew to Sydney to help his son Russel finalise the last of the shop-fitting for his new Patagonia store in Manly (he worked long hard hours, but it was right up his alley!); and I flew to Cape Town. I was still struggling with gastritis, and after a chance meeting, a few appointments, and a bag of herbal muti from an iridologist in Hout Bay I now seem to be on my way to recovery. Finally.
Ken flew in on 25 November and we were on the go most of the time. At least we weren’t having to take back tons of boat bits, but did take full advantage of the 30kgs (excluding hand luggage) on Emirates! The weather was surprisingly cool and we found ourselves in jeans and fleeces most of the time! We had a lovely time catching up with old sailing friends as well as our land-based friends. One always seems to slot back in so easily!! Ken and I cooked a delicious Christmas feast which we tucked into on Christmas Eve with my Mother and Walter. A very relaxing Christmas day was spent with friends in Stellenbosch. We flew back to Malaysia on the 26th.
We did an overnighter from Langkawi to Phuket on the 29th… great wind and great sailing… but it’s exhausting as we have keep a constant watch for all the fishing boats and fish traps. We had to hotfoot it as we were meeting Ken’s daughter and her fiancé on the 30th in Ao Chalong. They spent 7 days with us and after seeing in the New Year in Patong Beach, all they wanted was time out from the world – so we took them to the Similans and they loved it!
We meandered up and down the coast, going as far north as Ko Phayam on the Burmese border. What a treat this island is – the water is not clear and blue, but there’s no noisy fireworks, jet-ski’s, tuk-tuk’s, or offers of massages or suits! What bliss! It was whilst we were up there that we decided to spend 3 months in Sumatra, more specifically, in the islands off the west coast.
Ken’s birthday in February was celebrated with our good friends David and Juliet at a lovely restaurant in Ao Chalong, and again in Patong Beach, but this time it was just the two of us!
After doing the last of the stocking up we cleared out of Thailand on the 27th and made our way over to Langkawi.
It’s 4 March today and we’re currently about an hour away from Penang, Malaysia. Our CAIT (cruising permit for Indonesia) and Sponsor Letter will appear in our Inbox on Tuesday, and then all we have to do is apply for our tourist visas at the Indonesian Embassy here in Penang… then we’re off to explore new territory!
Sumatra is well known for surfing and we’re hoping to meet up with Russel and Ben who are going to be on a surfing safari in the Mentawai’s in May. No, we’re not surfers, but we’ve heard it’s beautiful, but as long as the water is lovely and clear we’re easy to please… it sure beats sitting in Phuket!