Friday 25th April
ANZAC Day
Cautionary tales
for sailors… We gather there is a bit of unrest and disorganisation in
Thailand. Pete and I had an unsettling
encounter with cranky Immigration officials on Ko Lippe* many weeks ago, and he
really doesn’t want to go back there.
This morning Peter (The Slasher) told me that a French boat went in to
Ko Lippe recently on the way from Thailand to Malaysia. As you do, as we did. They were taken to task by government
officials who gave them a thwacking great fine of 65,000 baht (about $2,220)
and threatened them with prison. BIG
communication breakdown…
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| Can't waste a single photo of these lovely langurs |
Last night at the
beach bar, Gavin was very interested and impressed to find himself sitting up
having a drink with…his sons…He didn’t expect this to be happening for a few
years yet.
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| BarBoys - Gavin, Angus, Hamish |
The boys actually
like the beach bar, which I thought would bore them very much. But…there are drinks to be had, a beach to
roam on, hornbills to photograph, and a pool nearby whenever they find
themselves getting too dry. What is not
to like?? The presence of a whole lot of
oldcodgers doesn’t daunt them one bit.
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| Yes there is a big crack in my new protective lens...but it is still a nice photo of BeachBoy Hamish |
The lasers, bought
at the shops near the cable car, have been a great success. The boys have had endless hours of fun,
training the geckos in the Hard Dock Café to chase the little red light.
We got up early
and joined The Slashers on their morning walk.
Cecilie and John (SV Delphian) came as well, and were mightily impressed
with the effort, the track, the beauty.
It was Nicky’s
first post-surgery walk, so we left her sitting on a little plastic chair at
the top of the rope slope. She was very happy, waiting for wildlife to come to
her:**
At the bottom of
the steep, narrow rope slope, there is a lovely little beach, looking towards
Telaga Harbour. Correction - it should
be a lovely little beach… At the moment it is covered with plastic crap, which
made us all very sad.
He took lots of photos
of the rubbish, but he also took one of…a dragonfly!
We parted from
Peter and Misty back at the marina, very happy with our early morning jaunt.
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| Nicky and Peter (Slasher) Fitch |
The rest of today will
be Rebak R & R. Nicky and I thought about
going back to Pantai Cenang to complete our shopping expedition*** but…R &
R is more attractive right now.
* Two
unprepossessing looking older men in a small orange kayak came up to 2XS,
shouting and gesticulating, YOU GO BACK!
At first I thought they were anxious Japanese tourists, lost and about
to drown, but no… I went to the side of the boat and leaned over, trying to be
helpful and sympathetic, but they kept shouting. We had no idea what they wanted; that was
about as much English as they could speak.
We had filled in all of our forms, our visas and passports and boat
papers were stamped – why so angry?? We
didn’t follow them to shore; we just scarpered, very sensibly.
** Actually she
wasn’t alone…Hamish is very kind and considerate and he turned back to wait with
her.
*** We were very
good for the local economy yesterday.
Nicky bought lots of very nice things, for herself and her family, and
was fascinated by the bargaining system.
As in, we didn’t bargain or haggle at all! Everything was very cheap; it didn’t seem
necessary. But when, for example, she
wanted to buy some little floral trousers for Rose and asked how much they
were, the sales assistant said, “29 ringgits, best price 18.” Oh OK, thank you… And in other shops, they would
say the price and then, immediately, “Twenty percent discount.” Everyone was so polite, friendly,
charming. Well nearly everyone… Nicky
was in the tiny changing cubicle, behind a curtain, in our favourite little shop
when three young women came in. One of
them picked up some clothes to try on, marched up to the curtain and whisked it
aside. She barged in as Nicky stepped
back, without even a smile. Nicky said, “Ummm…I’ll
just take my bags out, will I?”
Different cultures, different manners…
I love dragonflies!
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