We welcome your e-mails and would love to hear from you. If you would like to write, please e-mail us at [email protected] If you want to track us, use the following link. http://www.winlink.org/dotnet/maps/PositionReportsDetail.aspx?callsign=WA6CZL Greetings from Malaysia: Our last update left off as we crossed the Singapore Straits, arriving at Danga Bay Marina in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, our starting point for the Sail Malaysia rally. Moving from Indonesia, a truly third world country, to Malaysia is startling. Malaysia is a fast- developing nation working very hard to become a “developed nation” within the next ten years. There is major construction almost everywhere, a GNP of 5%, and almost zero unemployment, where ten years ago it was almost 50%. A term promoted by the Malaysian government and adopted by the country is “One Malaysia”. They pride themselves on the diversity and integration of so many cultures living side by side—the Malays, Chinese, Indians, and the indigenous Orang Asli. “One Malaysia” is promoted everywhere--in their dance, music, television, billboards, etc. Our trip to Danga Bay was not without excitement, as we had to pass under a 25 meter bridge. That gave us only a few feet between the top of our mast and the bridge. As we approached the bridge, it sure looked as if we would not make it. We closed our eyes and squeezed under, much to our relief. We arrived at Danga Bay Marina in Johor Bahru (called JB by the locals) at the southern tip of Malaysia, which is only one degree north of the equator. It is adjacent to the island of Singapore and is connected by several causeways. We settled in at the marina, turned on the A/C, and enjoyed the cool relief from the sweltering heat. We also enjoyed a nice dinner with friends at our first Malaysian restaurant, complete with a cold Tiger beer. The next day we took a taxi to Singapore with another couple. Our taxi driver told us that more than 100,000 people cross the causeway every day between JB and Singapore to work and to shop. Over 40,000 are on motorbikes, weaving in and out of traffic, so you can imagine how congested and dangerous it seemed to us. Because we crossed the border between Malaysia and Singapore, we had to change taxis, fill out customs forms, present our passports, and check into Singapore, all done via our taxi driver and the immigration officials in a drive-through fashion. Singapore prides itself on being a clean city. It is modern, organized, and immaculate, with beautiful parks and lushly landscaped freeways. It is densely populated--4.7 million people on an island of 600 square kilometers. We made several stops on our way to have lunch at the famous Raffles Marina and Resort, named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who transformed the swampy island in 1819 into a free-trade port. We toured Singapore, did some shopping, and had dinner in Chinatown. We arrived back in JB late in the evening, wishing we had booked a hotel for a few nights to truly enjoy all the culture, history, and cuisine of this tiny country. If and when time permits, we may go back to spend more time in Singapore. Danga Bay Marina is in the process of being developed, and they had just finished the final touches on the Convention Center minutes before the Sail Malaysia rally events were scheduled to start. There are three nice restaurants at the marina, with a small zoo, more restaurants, and shops within walking distance. We toured JB by bus as part of the rally events, which was our first glimpse into the quickly growing Malaysia. We visited the state mosque and the new administration complex for JB, which was monumental in size and adjacent to yet another new marina complex being built called Puteri. New construction was evident everywhere we went. We attended a technical briefing on places of interest to visit along our way up the coast of Malaysia, accompanied by dozens of colorful brochures written by the tourism bureau. They are doing their best to attract tourists to all parts of Malaysia, not just the capital, Kuala Lumpur. We also met with many sponsors and boatyards who wanted our business. We enjoyed three nights of wonderful dinners, entertainment, and fireworks sponsored by the rally. Again, we saw the obvious promotion of “One Malaysia”. The dancing and singing represented at least ten different cultures. The dancers were highly energetic and wore very colorful changes of costumes, and the music was equally lively. The grand finale on the last evening was truly a grand event. A synchronized team of twelve yoyo-whirling dancers captivated our attention after a night of feasting, dancing, and singing. Using two sticks with a string, the yoyos, which were also luminescent, were spun as the sticks were moved back and forth. The yoyos would be thrown into the air and caught again to continue the spinning. Then to the background of fireworks, the team of twelve would throw the yoyos up in the air and across to each other, catching them in flight. The yoyos were flying, the fireworks were bursting, and the music was playing in sinc with it all. It was truly an amazing and entertaining evening. From Danga Bay we made our way to the new Puteri Marina only six miles away. All yachties were invited to bring their instruments and play music with the local band, which was a lot of fun. We also enjoyed a nice barbeque dinner sponsored by the marina. After a week of entertainment in the marinas, we started our journey up the west coast of Malaysia, via the infamous Strait of Malacca. This narrow channel between Indonesian Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula used to be called “Pirate Alley”. Fortunately piracy is pretty much a thing of the past now, though it is advisable to hug the Malaysian coast. All shipping between the Far East and the Mediterranean/Middle East has to pass thru this channel, so you can imagine how busy this corridor is. We made a few short stops on our way to the town of Melaka, one of our favorite spots in Malaysia. We stayed at the new marina that is still under construction and isn’t officially open yet. From the marina we could see the gigantic “Eye on Malaysia”, a 180 ft. tall viewing wheel (like a ferris wheel) with 42 gondolas, very similar to the Eye of London. Melaka is famous for being one of the trading ports that began hundreds of years ago between the various island groups and even as far away as China. There is a nice canal system weaving its way beside the cobble streets. It is delightful to walk around the town, stopping to visit all the historical churches, temples, and museums. The maritime museum, housed in a huge replica of a trading ship, was quite interesting, with displays and information about the trade industry in the early days of Melaka. At night we walked down the famous Jonkers Street, lined with antique stores, karaoke houses, and hundreds of night market vendors selling all kinds of cheap trinkets. Brightly-lit trishaws (three-wheel bicycles), lavishly decorated with colorful artificial flowers, offered tours of the town, complete with the history of the Portuguese and Dutch heritage. From Melaka we made our way through the usual myriad of fishing boats, nets, and flags to Port Dickson and the Admiral Marina, where many superyachts visit. The marina was nice with its pool and restaurant, but there wasn’t much else to see outside the gate except for a few local eateries down the road. Leaving Port Dickson, our next stop was Lumut, the second rally stop for Sail Malaysia. We got a berth at the Lumut International Yacht Club, a very small marina with a nice pool and restaurant. Lumut is a very small town, but had some good restaurants and a nice seaside walk. We toured the Kuala Lumpur Marine University, where boat building is being taught. They have the most modern equipment and machine tools for stainless, aluminum, and wood. Part of our mission along our route north was to look for a boatyard where we could get work done to Lazy Bones later on in the year. Their new boatyard was not quite ready for much more than bottom painting at the time. That night we had a magnificent dinner followed by lively Malaysian dancing. The next few days were free of activities, so we asked Sazli, our rally host, if he could organize a bus trip to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and the nearby elephant sanctuary. Within 24 hours we were on our way to KL in a nice, air-conditioned bus with a very friendly tour guide. The visit to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary was definitely one of the highlights of our experiences in Malaysia. The sanctuary has been operating for twenty years, rescuing elephants that have been displaced by the rampant decimation of the rain forests for the planting of palm oil trees. Palm oil has become a huge business. Because Malaysia is growing so fast, both China and Russia loaned vast sums of money to help Malaysia build the infrastructure for palm oil in exchange for the first fifteen years of oil produced. This move has helped lead to almost zero unemployment, but has created an industry that is wiping out the rainforests and that produces oil that isn’t very good for you.