Sailing from Port Dickson to Johor Bahru was a 4 day sail in some pretty nice winds. Enough winds to fill the new sails and try them out, they really make a difference but then one would expect that, after all the old ones had been on the boat since we launched in 1990!
The Malacca Straits was busy with shipping, which we managed to stay out of the way of, mostly, fishing boats and fishing nets everywhere which we didn’t have so much luck with. We woke one night while anchored to find a fishing net had drifted down on the boat and wrapped itself around us. These nets have to be kilometre in length and are left to drift overnight. The fisherman collect them at dawn. Well the fisherman whose net we were tangled in was none too pleased when he headed out and found us waiting for him to untangle us! We thought he would pull the net in and around the boat but instead he just pulled a huge knife out and cut it free then chased off after it in his boat. We were very quick to raise the anchor and move on. No time for pleasantries or photos!
We are now tied up in Senibong Marina which is on the SE Coast of Malaysia. To get there we had to cross the Singapore Straits west to east and all done without any problems. Just a lot of headwind and current to deal with. There is always plenty to look at along the way and no time for relaxing as its very busy, well it was for Jerry.
A week at Senibong to settle in and then we took off to the Cameron Highlands for a few days. We made the mistake of taking the train thinking it would be a scenic ride but after seeing one palm plantation then another and another it gets a little boring. Also 11.5hrs on a rain with very smelly toilets is no fun. It was like reliving my Marrakech Express experience all over again, absolute horror! We arrived at Ipoh late in the evening and found our hotel, tiny room but very clean and comfortable, then we headed out in search for food.
We found a restaurant just starting to pack up for the night but we sat down anyway, the waiter said “wot you want to eat” I said “can we see a menu please” he said “ can have steamed chicken, beansprout and rice”, I said “that sounds wonderful thankyou” I did not want to appear too fussy since they were closing. It was not until the next day we realised that this was the only dish that this restaurant served, it is a speciality of the area and I might add quite delicious too. There are lots of good restaurants in Ipoh and lots of choice too.
The next day we took the bus to Cameron highlands a 2 hour drive up a very windy road. I expected lush green hills, they were there in places but also there were acres and acres of plastic growing tunnels as Cameron Highlands grows all the fruit and vegetable to supply Malaysia and Singapore. Then there was the horrible destruction of the forest to make way for huge apartment dwellings, so sad to see.
Demolishing beautiful old houses and replacing with wall to wall new and high rise too. Who will live here is anyone’s guess, weekenders for the rich folk no doubt.
But it’s not all bad news, there is still some forest left and we explored it both with a guide and on our own. The first day we took a guided tour o the Mossy Forest and the Boh Tea Plantation along with Vicki & Alan fellow cruisers who we met at Senibong.
The mossy forest is amazing and our guide Raju who was born up here was so knowledgeable and passionate about the area. We walked up to the highest peak in Malaysia and on forest ground millions of years old. The peat under our feet was so thick it bounced as you walked. We learnt about the plants and how we need to look after them or else there will be no more. It is the same message wherever you go, unfortunately we are destroying our planet.
Next was the Boh Tea Plantation, acres and acres of tea trees line the steep slopes of the highlands. Indian pickers are employed to pick the leaves and paid by weight. In the old days when leaves were picked by hand women could be seen in the fields, now they use mechanical pickers carried by 2 men or hand shears (one man) on the steeper slopes. It is considered to dangerous for women so they now work in the sorting sheds! The trees are kept at waist height and only the top 3 leaves are picked about every 3 weeks then every few months, I think 3, the bush itself is cut by a third to encourage new growth. Left alone a tea tree will grow very big like any other normal tree. Now Raju told us that all tea is grown from the same bush the Camellia Seninsis, it has how it is processed to achieve varying levels of oxidation that gives it the flavour and colour, black tea, green tea, oolong, white tea etc. Interesting eh? I now appreciate my morning cuppa with a little more respect.
Apart from the beautiful walks the other wonderful thing about being in the highlands was the cool temperature. A welcome change from the heat and humidity of the lowlands, we were able to wear long trousers and shoes, a jacket and even better enjoyed a blanket on the bed at night. Drying the washing was not so easy but Jerry soon found a way.
This sign is showing directions of the different forest walks, it tells us all about the clearing of the forest.
We, or I should say I, chose for us to return by coach to JB, a much shorter and far more pleasant trip than the train.
We are now sat on Peters boat Shadow in Singapore, (air-conditioned) thunder & lightening and torrential rain outside as is normal every afternoon at the moment. We are here while Peter is away on school camp very grateful for a free bed in a very expensive city. A little bit of shopping for the boat and a visit to the Gardens on the Bay which now completes our list of things we want to see in Singapore.
It is a very busy place, very organised and clean. I feel like I am in another world here being transported from one place to another and not seeing the outside world until we walk from the train to get the bus back to Raffles Marina and fall exhausted into bed.
Tomorrow we head back to Tigress Too, Back next week to help Peter with engine work on Shadow then it’s time to stock up and head up the East Coast to Tioman Islands and beyond.
