Harmonie - On the Road Again - Yacht Haven Marina, Phuket, Thailand

On the Road Again - Yacht Haven Marina, Phuket, Thailand

Harmonie

Don and Anne Myers

Fri 13 Jan 2012 07:06

08:10.207N 98:20.502E

November 13, 2011 - November 22, 2011

Well! A few days turned into six weeks and suddenly a new record for the longest lapse between blog entries has been established. Something to be proud of, for sure. Procrastination is a prized gene in my family and I'm happy to say I'm doing my best to put it to good use. However, it would be nice if the delay could be blamed on Christmas preparation, but, we didn't do any Christmas preparation. No tree, no presents, no decorations, no Christmas cards, no cooking. That may sound depressing, but really, this version of Christmas-lite is highly recommended. We did miss family and friends at home, but found a snowless Christmas in the tropics really isn't so bad. And New Year's Eve in the land of over the top Chinese fireworks is something to write home about too (as you'll see in a future entry..hopefully sooner than six weeks from now).

Now, as a boater friend of ours likes to say, 'back to the plot':

On the road again - what exactly does that mean? It means we sailed (motored) a whole 135 miles - from Rebak Marina in Langkawi, Malaysia north to Yacht Haven Marina in Phuket, Thailand. This may sound familiar since we did exactly the same thing nearly a year ago in late January 2011. Never fear though, it's all part of the grand plan for Season 5.

First things first though. Before leaving Langkawi, we did the provisioning scavenger hunt again, but before that (and most importantly), we reunited with Lady Kay. Long, lost Lady Kay. We first met Michael and Jackie in Panama back in January of 2008, when Michael and his friend Hilton kindly offered to act as two of the four 'line handlers' required on Harmonie for the Panama Canal transit. From then until our two boats parted company in New Caledonia in October of 2009, Lady Kay's perky profile was rarely out of our sight. We both dropped out of the World ARC in Vanuatu in August of 2008, sailed to New Zealand in November of 2008, and looped back up through Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia in May through October of 2009. We've seen Michael and Jackie several times over the past two years, but we hadn't seen Lady Kay until she showed up one fine day in the lovely Dayang Bunting anchorage just south of the island of Langkawi. It wasn't a surprise since our reunion had been planned for a while, but it still does a heart good to see the profile of a boat you know very well appear on the horizon for the first time in several years. Lady Kay hasn't really been lost for the past two years, it's just that she (and her owners) simply decided to make a third round of the western South Pacific instead of rushing off around the coast of Australia and up through Indonesia and Malaysia like Harmonie and Storyteller did in 2010. So, while we were admiring Balinese women and orangutans, Lady Kay was basking in the glory of the South Pacific one last time. Once finished with that, Jackie and Michael followed the same path around the coast of Australia and up through Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia - finally landing next to Harmonie in the Dayang Bunting anchorage on November 12. Ahhh, all is now right with our little part of the world.

Lady Kay's perky profile against Dayang Bunting's jungle covered limestone mountains.

The lovely Dayang Bunting anchorage a few miles south of Langkawi, Malaysia - site of the Lady Kay / Harmonie reunion.

We spent a few days lazing around our favorite Langkawi anchorages with Lady Kay before moving on to Langkawi's Telaga Harbor marina to do some serious provisioning. This was our view from Pulau Singa Kecil (Little Singa Island) - a place we've visited many times.

And now the scavenger hunt repeat performance.

This time it was an expanded version. After having spent so much time in and around the island of Langkawi, we know nearly all its secrets. This is usually a sign that it's time for us to leave. Or at least that's always the way it has worked in the past. Once we got to know a place well, it was time to go, skedaddle, beat feet, vamoose. This time, however, we not only got to do the Langkawi scavenger hunt a second time, we plan to do it a third time when we return to Langkawi in late January. By then we should pretty much be able to drive the rickety roller skate rental car on the wrong side of the road (as is required in all these countries influenced by the Brits during their formative road building and driving years), to all fifteen stops on the provisioning circuit in our sleep. Or at least with enough confidence that we don't jump every time a moped or motorcycle comes shooting at us down the shoulder going the wrong way. Of course, this time we had the pleasure of introducing Jackie and Michael to the wonders of Langkawi shopping, so it was twice the fun.

Step 1. Rental car. Yup, same as last year. This time the Telaga Harbor Marina office girl didn't leave her wet toothbrush on the passenger seat, so that was a big plus. Jackie and Michael ended up with a luxury sedan (or at least the Langkawi version of luxury). It was big enough to hold many cases of wine, whereas the back hatch area of our rental car was filled with a gigantic speaker. We didn't cruise the streets of Langkawi blaring rap loud enough to make the sidewalk sewer covers vibrate, but we could have.

Step 2. Billion Supermarket. We are still not certain why this supermarket is called Billion. There are simply some Langkawi secrets that are meant to be kept. We loaded up on paper products and tonic (Sue on Storyteller had forewarned us that Phuket was short on tonic and beer due to factory shutdowns and trucking delays caused by the flooding in Bangkok at the time).

Step 3. One Stop. Funny name for a shop, but in this little Indian gem our favorite bula mix can be found. Bula is a snack mix made with crunchy noodles and Indian spices. Yeah, ok, it's not really called bula mix, but we ate it for the first time in Fiji, and bula in Fijian means 'hello', so the name somehow seems appropriate. Besides, it's fun to say. You must pronounce it loudly with an overabundance of exuberance while smiling (just as the Fijians do). As in, "BOOO-LAAA". Oh, and, shhhh, don't tell anybody, but if there are no Muslim customers in the shop, it's ok to ask the Indian girls if they have any bacon to sell today. The disappointing answer we usually got was, "Not until Monday", but we were always hopeful.

Step 4. Pastry Pro. This is an old favorite of ours. They supply baking ingredients to all the Langkawi resorts and restaurants, but are happy to sell their bulk products to wayward boaters. You can buy a kilo of pine nuts for $50. If that's too steep for you (as it was for us), go for the two kilo vacuum packed bag of walnuts for a more reasonable $20.

Step 5. The Warehouse. Another old favorite. Rachael, the Chinese wine lady (pictured here, sitting down) who speaks English with an Australian accent is always eager to help us pick out the cheaper good stuff from the maze of wine cases stacked willy-nilly in the special climate-controlled room. Langkawi, which is duty-free, is the best place to purchase all sinful items like liquor and wine, so Micheal, Jackie, Don and I stocked up enough to last through three months in non-duty-free Phuket, Thailand.

Step 6. Pok Brothers. This is a new one for us. Aside from the sign hanging outside announcing Pok Brother's presence, you would never know the place existed. The main entrance looks like the side door to an industrial back alley warehouse. Once inside, it's exactly as pictured here - one narrow walkway lined on one side with walk-in freezers, and on the other, tiny office cubicles. Like Pasty Pro, Pok Brothers supplies the Langkawi resorts and restaurants, but is happy to sell their meat products to boaters at retail prices. Once inside, we were handed a price list. When we said we were interested in a beef tenderloin, one of the smiling workers opened a walk-in freezer and came out wielding a giant beef tenderloin (unsliced). Onto the industrial scale it went and the price tallied. Next up? New Zealand lamb chops. This time, a large cardboard box with plastic liner came out of the freezer and the unwrapped lamb chops were scooped out by hand into a waiting plastic bag. A few other items (including Danish blue cheese for the low, low price of $1.30 - gotta love Langkawi!), and our frozen meat haul was complete.

Step 7. The Chinese supermarket. A surprising variety of western brands sold cheap. It's the best place to buy necessities like tortillas, which are very difficult to find in Southeast Asia, but indispensable on a boat because they can be stored stacked, and they can easily substitute for bread when the bread maker (me) is inoperable.

Step 8. McFees. Known to boaters as McThieves, it's a specialty shop that caters to westerners. They've actually changed the name of the store to….to….can't remember, so obviously the new name isn't as effective as the old one. Anyway, we drove away happy from McThieves with Moroccan black olives and overpriced goat cheese.

Jackie and Michael, happy with their scavenger hunt haul.

Next came the five day motorsail from Langkawi north to Phuket.

In company with Lady Kay, we day sailed the short 135 miles from Langkawi to Phuket, stopping in all the old familiar places. Koh Tarutao (koh means island in Thai), just over the border in Thailand, then Koh Muk with it's fabulous Emerald Cave, then Koh Lanta, Phi Phi Don (Pee Pee Don) and finally, we arrived at Yacht Haven Marina on the north coast of Phuket on November 22. The five day trip was very pleasant, but relatively uneventful with the exception of the Emerald Cave at Koh Muk, and our reunion with Storyteller at Phi Phi Don.

First, the Emerald Cave. We stopped at Koh Muk last year on our way from Langkawi to Phuket, and paddled in through the Emerald Cave (tunnel, really) to Koh Muk's amazing hong in the early morning before the place was inundated with tourist toting Thai long tail boats. This year, we chose to paddle through the Emerald Cave at dusk after the tourists cleared out for the day. We now understand why it's called the Emerald Cave. The mouth of the cave, or tunnel, that connects the sea with the limestone cliff enclosed hong, faces west. As the sun sets, its rays shine directly into the cave and the crystal clear water positively shimmers and sparkles the purest shade of emerald green. Our new Emerald Cave experience was right up there with other 'wow' moments for us.

Second, our reunion with Storyteller. John and Sue decided last year to base Storyteller in Phuket for the foreseeable future. They have now become Phuket aficionados, but that's a story for another time. For now, let's just say it was another one of those moments when all is right with the world as the profile of a boat you know well peeks over the horizon headed your way. The last time we saw John and Sue on Storyteller was last April, and the last time all three boats (Harmonie, Storyteller, Lady Kay) were together was in New Caledonia in October of 2009. Of course, all three boats were in the World ARC together (ok, it was the old sailboat Storyteller and not the new trawler Storyteller, but 'same, same' as they would say around here), so our Phi Phi Don meeting was another one of those mini-World ARC reunions we love so much.

Speaking of the World ARC, the World Cruising Club (owners/managers of the World ARC) now runs a World ARC rally every year instead of every other. So, if any of you are interested, I'm sure the World ARC would love to have you. About 38 boats start off from St. Lucia in January of every year and finish in St. Lucia a fast 15 months later. The rally has improved its route - adding the San Blas and Las Perlas island groups on the east and west sides of Panama respectively, dropping the stop in mainland Ecuador, shortening its stay in Vanuatu (too bad!) and adding the Whitsunday Islands in Australia. Nice. Many of our fondest sailing memories come from the time we spent with the rally. We're still not sorry we dropped out, but we are just as happy we spent those manic seven months racing from St. Lucia to Vanuatu with the group. The 2008/2009 World ARC rally participants hold a reunion every January in London. One of these years, when we aren't on the opposite side of the world, we are going to drop in. Maybe Storyteller's and Lady Kay's crew will go with us. Then all would really feel right with the world.