Tuesday 27th May
 |
| Local batik |
The marina workers
have tirelessly poured 800 litres of diesel into the thirsty fuel tanks of
2XS. Today we had just one lone worker,
Hisham.* Thirsty work for men as well as
for boats, so I took big glasses of icy blackcurrant juice up for Pete and for
Hisham. Hisham looked at his a bit
nervously, and said, “Not alcohol?” He
was very relieved it was only Ribena…
 |
| Hisham |
Today was a
domestic day. On the boat I washed bed
linen and tea towels, and cooked two lasagnas for our passage across the South
China Sea later this week. And off the
boat we ventured to Giant Supermarket to stock up, for the passage across the
SCS…(Hence the cooking.)
I didn’t want to
leave Terengganu without going to the museum.
Elizabeth (SV Labarque,) who has a very close connection with this
town,** told me it was a wonderful museum, with fabulous gardens full of
restored palaces, and old boats. And
indeed the gardens were wonderful, along the banks of the river.
There are lots of
old houses (palaces?) which have been rescued from locations where they are no
longer wanted.
All very
beautiful, and serene, all that wood.
 |
| This Dutch house was my favourite |
A bamboo thicket
proved to be absolutely heaving with rapid squirrels leaping and
scampering. VERY pleased to capture at least
one of them – a bit middle distance but never mind; it is a squirrel! On my iPhone!
We found a rubber
tree, leaking rubber, and I took a photo of Pete testing it with his fingers.
This photo came in
very handy an hour or so later when I lost Pete in the vast museum complex…
 |
| Just a small section of this massive complex |
He had left me
with the children’s craft organsier, who was very keen for me to make a little
dollything with her.
 |
| Yes! I nailed it! (With help...) |
“I will just be in
the gallery along there,” he said.
Well…he wasn’t…I ended up going back to the foyer and asking for
help. A very kind woman took pity on me
and said she would find him on the close-circuit cameras, once I had shown her
the aforementioned photo of Pete Avec Rubbertree.
And yes she found him;
he had indeed been in Gallery B, but…he had found a small, hidden set of stairs
not immediately obvious to me, and had gone down to gaze in wonder at a very
tatty old collection of stuffed Malaysian animals…
 |
| Black panther, reconstructed! |
Tomorrow we are leaving
Terengganu, heading for another beautiful island (Pulau Bidung) about twenty
miles away. Ah…swimming in clear water! I will be happy!
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| A beautiful bit of silk on display (the museum was full of random items) |
* He was very
tickled when I showed him a photo of Hamish and he worked out that the names
were anagrams…
** She taught here
for two years, more than 35 years ago, when Malaysia was a very different
place.
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