1st May - R & R on Rebak Island (Langkawi)

Thursday 1^st May

When we were at the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden there were hundreds of tourists.  They arrived in motorboats, speedy and noisy, and walked across to the lake in large chattering crowds.* 

We spent a long time on the pontoons, diving off into the lake, swimming around, getting in and out of the water.  Some of the local women took a shine to the Wakefields.  They needed to be photographed with Hamish and Angus, who are very polite, and who allowed this to happen before scampering off with much relief to dive back into the safe warm water of the lake. 

Nicky was even more fascinating to them.  They asked how old she was – born the same year as they were, 1973.  Ahhh!  Why are you not fat like us??  They poked at their tummies, and at hers, and sighed wistfully.**  (There is a real obesity crisis in Malaysia.  Malaysian people by birthright are small-boned dainty people, but many of them are extremely fat.  Much food deep-fried in palm oil, the ubiquity of KFC and MacDonalds, their love of sweet and fatty treats – all of this is taking its toll and there is an alarming rise in the incidence of diabetes.)

Today is our last full day with the Wakefields.  (Trying not to think about this…)  It is hotter than ever.  All of the adults on 2XS woke at various times during the night and trotted down, one by one, to the showers in the Hard Dock pavilion for a cold shower.  And most of those on board slept in till 9.30, exhausted from battling the heat.

So today is total R & R – pool, swimming, sitting on deck chairs in the shade.

As a total contrast to the mood and climate of Langkawi…a photo*** taken on Flinders Island by my very talented brother Pete Harmsen last week.

* We were also a chattering crowd, but slightly smaller…

**They didn’t have quite the same comments to make about me, strangely…but they did squeeze my arms and admired my strength and healthiness and advanced age…

*** Nicked from Pete’s facebook page