We certainly wanted
more time to explore Thailand, we have only scratched the surface and it is such
an interesting country. Needs must however, and we have had to return to
Malaysia where we have had an excellent price for storing the boat out of the
water on the hard whilst we return to dear old Blighty for a few months. We had
to clear in to Malaysia at Langkawi so we hired a car from Mr Din (£8 a day no
questions asked) and combined a visit to the officials with a brief shop and a
tour of some of the scenic highlights. The best of these was a vertiginous ride
in a cable car 700 metres up a mountain to an extraordinary bridge linking 2
peaks.
Not
a good experience for those with vertigo. A few people turned back and there are
numerous health warnings at the start of the descent from the first peak down to
the bridge. Needless to say the views were breath-taking.
There were stunning
views over the rainforest. Malaysia seems to have been very successful in
keeping large tracts of forest from development, although, as throughout
Malaysia, building is going on everywhere. One oddity about this development is
there appears to be a lack of planning or possibly an excess of corruption in
the planning process. Did I say that?
This is especially
true of marina development. There are 3 marinas we know of on the west coast of
Malaysia, built with government money, that have become unusable. One at Penang
that is too shallow, another near Klang has dangerously fast tides and this one
on Pangkor Island is so badly affected by swell in some seasons that the
pontoons have been torn apart.
And
yet the quality of the buildings is high.
On the other hand
there is a lot that is being managed well, as is the marina at Marina Island,
Pangkor, which is not falling apart and is run by the determined and energetic
James Khoo. This will be the home of Gryphon 2 for the next few months while we
return home. Peter has gone a week ahead of us; we fly out of Kuala Lumpur on 17
January. Those of you who follow our blogs will therefore have to wait a while
for a next instalment
