Bankok ~ Back in Asia and on the Move!

Caroline flew back to Langkawi in Malaysia last week and rejoined Jimmy and the boat after almost three months back in the UK. Jimmy's been working really hard to get lots of jobs done in preparation for crossing to the Med in January and Blue Moon is looking in fantastic shape. So to combine a much needed break for Jimmy and also to renew his Malaysian visa we Jumped on the overnight train to Bankok and are now enjoying the comforts of a great hotel and exploring this hectic city! Tomorrow we are catching a Coach to Siem Reap in Cambodia to see the Temples of Angkor Wat and then decide where to head to next.....?

Back in the UK

I'm back in Hampshire in England enjoying the fantastic weather we've been getting and catching up with family and friends. My eldest brother's wedding was last friday and it was a beautiful day, great to catch up with so many family members I haven't seen for almost ten years. The last time I was home was almost four years ago and it's amazing how very few things have changed but still a huge culture shock from life on the boat...have to admit i'm enjoying the creature comforts!

Jimmy is back in Rebak marina after a quick trip with his mum down to Penang island to do a quick restock. Pat flew home to Florida on the 5th and Jimmy's now working hard on all the annual boat jobs that need to be addressed including Varnishing, rewiring and waterproofing. Blue Moon is scheduled for a haul out on the 30th of July for 5 days and with me still here in England Jimmy has a lot of work to do sanding & painting the hull single handed!

I want to wish our friends Eli and Jorn on the boat 'Silene' Congratulations on returning home to Norway after three years at sea! And an even bigger Congratulations as Eli is pregnant for their first child ...Good luck guys and hope you enjoy your new adventure!!!

Rebak marina, Langkawi

Blue Moon is happily tied up to the docks in the marina of Rebak island resort in Langkawi and is even more happy at finally being plugged into shore power. Caroline has flown back to England for a two month visit with family and friends and Jim's mum 'Pat' has arrived for a three week vacation on the boat.

Jimmy managed to pick up a step down transformer that takes the local 240 volt power supply and converts it down to the boats American 110 volts. So the air conditioner is happily buzzing away and the battery bank is purring nicely...something tells me they're going to find it very difficult to drop the lines and go back out cruising after all this comfort!

The Hole in the wall, Langkawi.

Current Position: North 06*25'171 East 99*51'993 - Kilim River, Langkawi Geopark.

We've moved around to the East coast of Langkawi's main island and are now anchored in the Kilim River, known locally as the 'Hole in the Wall', in Langkawi's Geopark. It's quite literally a hole in the wall as the entrance to the river is flanked by two towering cliff faces just twenty meters wide. Inside there's a labyrinth of mangrove rivers and creeks that we've spent hours exploring alongside huge limestone pinnacles filled with crevices and caves and home to hordes of Bats!

The Geopark is also home to hundreds of Eagles and from the boat we've able to watch them dive down and feed on fish from the murky river. The numerous tour boats stop to throw pieces of chicken out that they grind up in their engine propellers and create a feeding frenzy often with over twenty eagles swooping down to join the feast...quite an impressive sight.

Today took the dingy up the river to the main boat dock and from there walked up to the 'Galeria Perdana', a gallery showcasing over 2,500 Gifts that Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister received while in office. Apparently it's the only one in the world and I have to admit it's pretty interesting to see what kind of things other countries give...everything from a tiny ceramic cup from Jordan to ornate Chinese vases and a carriage coach from Pakistan. Jimmy on the other hand found the air conditioning to be the most impressive thing and with temperatures outside now up in the high 30*C/90*F range it was a god send to have a break for a couple of hours!!

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Back in Langkawi!

Current Position: North 06*21'721 East 099*40'716 - Anchored off Telaga Marina.

We made it back to Langkawi a couple of days ago and are comfortably anchored off Telaga Marina on the main island. Checking in went very smoothly except for immigration taking a very long and detailed look at our passports to see if we'd been in Mexico recently...I guess Swine flu is effecting everyone. No complaints though as Malaysia don't charge anything to check in or out.

There's not a lot here in Telaga except for the marina but it's a great place to rent a cheap car and run around into town and the surrounding shops to restock on lots of cheap goodies! We're back in the land of plenty (booze and chocolate) all duty free so we're going to make the most of it!! Our plan now is to start work on Blue Moon cleaning and re-varnishing before I fly home for a visit and Jimmy's mum flies out in about four weeks time.

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The Butang Group.

Current Position anchored off Koh Lipe Island: North 06*29'083 East 099*18'083

We've slowly been making our way south and are now anchored in the Butang Island Group just a few miles north of Langkawi and the Malaysian border. Along the way we stopped at the islands of Koh Lanta, Koh Kraden and Koh Bulon Le all of which are extremely beautiful with some great snorkeling and even better beaches.

Today we had our first taste of the South West monsoon weather after being hit by a storm with over 30 knot winds, torrential rain and rough seas, all coming from the way we were headed. Apparently we've become lazy with preparing the boat before a passage as just about everything that wasn't tied down decided to fly around becoming lethal weapons and creating a huge mess. We slowly beat our way up into the island group and finally found a free mooring in nice looking bay with lots of touristy restaurants ashore. It's a little rolly but now that we've managed to dry ourselves off and eaten a warm meal we should sleep just fine!

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Heading back South.

Current Position at Koh Phi Phi Don Island: North 07*43'514 East 098*46'239

After a hectic few weeks of exploring Phuket island in more detail on our 'Pink' rented moped and a sail up to James Bond island in Phang Nga Bay we finally checked out of Thailand in Ao Chalong bay on Monday (also Jimmy's Birthday) and are heading back south to Langkawi in Malaysia. We've been in Thailand for over two months now and instead of spending over $100 to renew our visa for another month we decided to slowly make our way back south stopping at our favorite islands on the way and some that we missed on our trip up.

Jimmy was very unhappy with the fact that it appears the whole Thai fishing fleet is here in Ton Sai Bay sheltering from the rough seas and have taken up all the best anchor spots. We had no choice but to drop ours out the back of the bay in 70ft of water as getting close to 14 huge wooden boats rafted together, a record so far, wasn't a good option ... (an electric anchor winch becomes more appealing every day!!)

April marks the change of the seasons here and we're starting to get some squally weather and a lot more wind and swell from the West. The temperature has continued to increase which has been unbearable at times, especially when trying to sleep at night with just a tiny fan moving the warm air around - making breathing a little easier. With highs around 40*C we break out in a heavy sweat doing the simplest of things and have to lather up in sunscreen before heading ashore so as not to get completely fried. It's not all bad though and on our trip from Phuket to here we were able to sail down wind the whole way which is a first for us here in Thailand and great to save on some fuel...finally the wind seems to be in our favour!

We plan to spend a couple more days here enjoying our last really touristy anchorage with all the back packer bars and restaurants and what could be the last of the clear water that we'll see until we're back up this way in October.

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