1st January - welcome to 2014!

Wednesday 1^st January

The last day of 2013 was all very pleasant.  We had a late breakfast – eggs, salmon, left-over mashed potatoes: what could be nicer??  I then went down to the resort dining room, where I have a better chance of internet reception.  Some of my rallyfriends stopped by my table to tell me it was time for cooking class…  We have been here a few weeks and I ALWAYS miss cooking class, mainly because I never know what day of the week it is until it is too late, so looking at the timetable is no good.

Meanwhile Pete worked on the net...

Cooking class is more fun when one’s tummy is not FULL of salmon, eggs, potato, but I did enjoy participating in the creation and tasting of Mah Por Tofu.   We stood around for a while afterwards, exchanging mildly horrifying tales of Life At Sea for the benefit, or otherwise, of poor Kate, who is newly arrived in Rebak Resort.  She and her husband are hoping to buy one of the yachts which has been involved in the rally, and she is on a steep learning curve as she really hasn’t been on boats much at all.   (It is a wonderful boat, precision designed, beautifully maintained so fear not; she will be just fine.)

He would have preferred to be in one of his favourite Langkawi shops, full of bargains and treasures

Gina told us about a boat they had followed across the Altantic, and which is now in Rebak, with new owners.  The previous owners had a very tough time.  Way out on the ocean the skipper cut his hand very badly, severing the tendons between thumb and fingers.   His poor wife called for help on the radio and received instructions on how to stitch it up… Not long afterwards their autopilot broke down and once again she had to follow radio-ed instructions.  NOT fun!

I didn’t go straight back to 2XS; it was time for a swim!  I am trying to do lots of laps – easy, free exercise.  So far I am up to 24, not sure if this quite makes it a kilometer but that is what I am aiming for.  It is very pleasant, of course, and reasonably challenging because even when there aren’t many people in the pool, the ones who are in there seem to be totally oblivious of other swimmers.  There is a young Indian man, quite large, who flounders around like a walrus, with much splashing, and he takes up most of the length and breadth of what is in fact a forty metre pool!  Then there are children, with balls, and other children on the other side of the pool who want the balls…an obstacle course, quite challenging.  One of my ex-military rallyfriends gets very cross with noisy cheery children.  She swims up to them and shouts threats and instructions… I mildly say that I REALLY don’t mind, that this is normal behavior, from children in a pool, but she says, They are splashing water everywhere, in horrified tones… (No she doesn’t have children…)