Location: Malaysia and Singapore.

Well, we cleared customs from Indonesia to head across one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world to our new temporary home, Sebana Cove Marina. We had been longing for regular showers since leaving Dampier 2 months before… we had only had 3 showers in 2 months, well conventional showers anyway. Our bathing usually consisted of waiting for the tropical deluge, and going at it with flannels and soap then dancing on the deck rinsing in the rain, a very refreshing ritual and one that tends to baffle the indo fishermen who are looking on from a safe distance.

The first hot shower was awesome, it was 35 degrees outside and we were sweating like animals, but I put the hot on as much as I could stand, it was great. The washing away process, scrubbing ourselves till we were red raw.

Nongsa Point marina was a bit of a let down, very expensive for a marina that wasn’t finished, they were working until 11 o’clock at night bashing and crashing, so we lasted 2 nights then made the call to head out.

I was really nervous leaving the marina, the last month of our trip I had conquered my nerves about leaving anchorages, and it was fine until we saw all the shipping traffic, my guts started to churn… We ended up just going, deal with the problems as they come etc. So we cruised out and started motoring to reach the shipping lanes, there was plenty of dodging ships and we went really closely behind a big tanker to miss the one following him, we got hammered in his wake, I had no idea how powerful the turbulence would be behind these things, I thought we were gonners, but Eloise held her own and we overcame it… Mental note; Never do that AGAIN! After a few more dodges and trying to call the ships, to no avail we were across and wondering what all the fuss was about. We then proceeded up the river to the marina, and once moored alongside it was great. Cheap rent and all the facilities you could want: A massive pool, gym, tennis courts, everything. We settled in and started enjoying ourselves, although on our own booze. Malaysia makes up for its cheap food by charging horrendous amounts for beer and spirits.

The next day we caught the shuttle bus into town to get some fresh supplies, we had been told to look out for a butcher working out of the back of a “Bus”, and that he had good meat. We found him, although I think the word “Bus” was a bit of an exaggeration, he was working out of a tiny Suzuki station wagon, in the boot he had a massive chopping block and in the back seats was the meat in some foam esky’s. You ask for a chicken and he grabs it out of the esky, chops the hell out of it in the boot and then bags it for you, we were a bit sceptical, but the meat was great, some of the best chicken we have had.

We have been going up to the "Pirate" bar here at the marina for the last couple of nights to listen to a Philippino 3 piece band. It consists of 3 young girls and they really can sing, so its been quite entertaining and something different getting off the boat for a few hours each night. There was one obstacle to overcome though, and with a bit of "McGiver'ing" it was sorted... The thing is, you sort of have to buy drinks at the bar, drinks which are horrifically expensive, so being a cheap ass Aussie, I knew I could get around it. Solution: Buying glasses of coke and when the waiter turns his back... out comes the hip flask and tops the glass up nicely.

Now the main problem to be over come was that Jas said I always look too guilty and make it too obvious what I am up to. So I steeled my self infront of the mirror in the bathroom, made a cool face and got into it. We drank nice Rum and Cokes for the entire night, no suspicion except when i would go up to order another, I would talk away from the waiter to keep the breathe angle good.

Well, we just came back from 3 days of holiday from a holiday in Singapore. Catching up with Nigel was great, we really had an absolute ball. We stayed in the budget area of town, Geylang, it was a real eye-opener when we first arrived, girls on every inch of the street offering their services. We had never seen anything like it and quickly began to think we had made the wrong choice of area to stay. Nigel re-assured us that Geylang was safe, so we quickly put our things in our room and went out for a meal. The street life was great, we were in a real authentic Chinese area and there were great eateries everywhere. Every meal we had was sensational and cheap for Singapore prices, we tried to stay clear of the many places advertising "Pig organ soup" as we were not really ready for that delicacy. We had a whole different view of Singapore this time, last time we had stayed within the Orchard road area and we were really bored, but this time being in the heart of the local scene, everything was so much fun. Just sitting in the room, looking down at the street, having a few beers and betting which girl would get picked up first was a good pastime. It was strange sleeping on land for our first time in almost a year, the first night I tossed and turned and really couldnt sleep, I longed for the gentle rock of the boat and my comfortable bed. We really needed the break from Eloise, having now lived aboard for almost 2 years, we have not really had a break from living in an area the size of most people's bathrooms. So being able to freely move around was great. We were homesick of course and were very grateful to get back aboard after the trip.

So now we are trying to get motivated to leave this great marina, the internet and pool is so good to have and we spend most of the time relaxing. The daunting part is coming up: the trip up the Malacca straits. Every yachty here has a differing opinion on what tactic should be taken when heading up through this area. The problem seems to be that there is a local weather anomaly called a “Sumatra”, which can blow up in the afternoon as the wind rushes down the mountains on Sumatra and blows across the Malacca strait, at horrifically high speeds. It is not advisable to do any travelling at night due to pirates and fishing nets, as you can get tangled up in some blokes fishing net and then “its on for young and old”.