CROSSING THE EQUATOR INDONESIA

CROSSING THE EQUATOR

INDONESIA

There is no indication, across the sea, as to where the Equator line actually crosses. One minute you are in the Northern Hemisphere and the next in the Southern. OK, so it is opposite to some 9 years ago when we crossed from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern. Back then we were day hopping and towing the dinghy behind so it was handy to get to the beach to celebrate Crossing of the Equator for the first time by boat.

Now we are on a passage and sailing against the wind so celebrations are on deck rather than on a beach.

The nine years of cruising the region has been a fabulous experience. It was exploring of different cultures and cuisines, meeting kind and genuinely friendly people, learning some of the languages to help communication.

They were years of learning about nature, wildlife and marine life. Years of fun, beach walking, swimming and snorkeling.

They were years of meeting other sailors, people that understand all the reasons for cruising and think alike.

Crossing of the Equator line does not put an end to our amazing lifestyle. It is just going to continue on the other side of the Equator.

SELAMAT PAGI INDONESIA & its 13 000 ISLANDS

SELAMAT PAGI

INDONESIA

&

its

13 000 ISLANDS

Indonesia, over 13 000 islands and at least 6 000 inhabited, is a maritime nation. Most of the nation is based on the island of Jawa and around the capital Jakarta. Some islands have only small villages where fishing is the main occupation. There are also houses on stilts with fishing nets in the middle of a bay. If the multitude of those was added to the total of inhabited islands the numbers would go drastically up.

There is also one more inhabited island, Pulau Ranoh, next to Abang island which 8 years ago was uninhabited. A resort build on that island opened in November 2017 and now Pulau Ranoh is quite seriously populated for a small island. It is full of resort guest and stuff and also noisy with water sports, jet skies, banana boats and alike.

Indonesia is a cruising Paradise. 

It is joy to see islands lined with coconut palms rather than palm oil industry monotonous landscape so typical of other Asian countries.

Some of the best coral reefs are found here. And there are many, some hazard to cruising yachts, not very well charted but absolute pleasure to snorkel on.

Indonesia and its islands is amazingly scenic and pleasure to visit.

SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE

Singapore is celebrating its 53^rd birthday. The island has almost doubled in size over those 53 years, due to reclaiming. So most of the new residential and industrial Singapore is build on sand. Obviously, the waterways are getting more narrow. Yes, space on the island and its waterways is becoming lesser and lesser while the population is growing.

Sailing through Singapore waterways, shared with Malaysia & actually called Johor Strait, is becoming difficult. Some years ago Singapore was a sailors friendly country. Guess, while space is becoming limited, sailing visitors are not welcome. Not so ships that are money making enterprise. Yachts with much lesser engine power are being send to shipping lanes where speedy 20 000 tonnes ships are creating a wake that rocks yachts gunnel to gunnel.

Unaware of the changes introduced in the last couple of years we managed to get a glimpse of this beautiful city before being escorted by police to roll of the shipping lane.

Luckily, visited many times before, Singapore stays in our memory as stunning, visitor friendly city with delicious cuisine displayed in many restaurants.

It was great to relax in a comfortable anchorage on the Malaysian side after some nautical miles added and not so smooth sailing passage. 

Happy Birthday Singapore!

PULAU REDANG MALAYSIA

PULAU REDANG

MALAYSIA

Many islands decorate the map of the East Coast of Malaysia. Those are best visited between May and November, in the North East Monsoon season, when the weather is sunny and the crystal clear waters are calm and warm.

Pulau Redang, a short hop from KualaTerengannu, is famous as an absolute holiday destination. It is accessible by ferry and by air. International flights from Singapore can land at its airport, as well as domestic flights from Kuala Lumpur.

The island is a Marine Reserve. It is famous for fabulous reefs and fish, snorkeling and diving are the primary interests of visitors. The island is Eco- friendly and it has a Turtle Sanctuary. Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary is a sea turtle conservation and research center, it invites visitors and accepts donations to help with research.

Pulau Redang has walking tracks, white sand beaches, crystal clear waters. It is a paradise for snorkeling, diving, swimming and walking. There are a number of resorts and restaurants offering local and international cuisine.

KUALA TERENGGANU MALAYSIA

KUALA TERENGGANU

MALAYSIA

Kuala Terengganu is the capital of the State of Terengganu in north-eastern part of Malaysia. Roughly translated the name means a bright rainbow, which this city surely is.

It is often called KT for short. These shortened forms are popular in Malaysia, KL for Kuala Lumpur, KK for Kuala Kinabalu. KT is only some 400 kilometers away fro KL by road but well over 400 sea miles since it is necessary to sail around Singapore to get there.

KT is a trasure of the East Coast of Malaysia. It is a gateway to amazing Redang Island, the Perhentians and Kapa Islands.

The Museum Negeri Terengganu is a must to visit. Also the Crystal Mosque and Islamic Park Taman Tamadun Islam are worth visiting. The Crystal Mosque built on reclaimed, man made island is a construction of glass and crystal that glisten in the sunshine. The Park has miniature models of Mosques around the world.

Street Art is ever popular in KT. Murals decorate many walls and streets. A stroll through the streets of KT is a pleasure.

JOHOR BAHRU MALAYSIA

JOHOR BAHRU

MALAYSIA

Johor Bahru is a fast growing and expanding city on the southern tip of Malaysian Peninsula. It is connected to Singapore by a one kilometer long causeway built in 1923. The causeway is a road and train link to Singapore. There is also a bridge, Tuas, which construction was completed in 1998. It is almost two kilometers long.

Traffic between Johor Bahru and Singapore is frequent, actually it never stops. Thus JB is expanding with accommodation priced well below half price of Singapore prices. However, it is not just the new buildings growing fast. The history is also being preserved. Banguan Sultan Ibrahim used during the war as British Army observation tower is a well known landmark in JB.

JB's waterfront is being developed as well. Lido Parkland, Pantai Lido, is coming to life in front of Istana Besar, a royal palace built by Sultan Abu Bakar in mid 1800s and will stretch for some three kilometers along Johor Strait.

The waterfront is an attractive anchorage for yachts with its proximity to the city center.

Johor Bahru is already an attractive city and the work is done to make it even more appealing to its growing population and visitors.

MALACCA MALAYSIA

MALACCA

MALAYSIA

Malacca and its ever changing skyline is an example of the rapid development

and expansion in Malaysia. Reclaming, popular in Singapore for obvious reasons like growing population and need for more space, has reached Malaysia. Now, reclaming is popular in Malaysia as well.

Skyscrapers are rising up to the sky, classic landmarks like the floating Mosque are being dwarfed by building sites nearby. The famous Tower of Melaka 110 meters tall is almost equal in height to the surrounding it buildings.

This historic city dating to the 15^th century Portuguese and 18^th century Dutch influence is becoming a metropolis.

But nature is nearby. Water Islands are only five nautical miles south of the city. Pulau Besar has electricity transmitted to the island through pillons from the mainland and a regular ferry service. The city looks great at sunset from Pulau Besar. The other islands also look awesome.

The islands offer safe anchorages for yachts on a passage through Malacca Strait, the ancient trades route between China and India. Malacca has history, architecture, culture and delicious cuisine to offer.