Kuala Terengganu is the capital of the Malaysian state of Terengganu and being located on the north eastern coastline of the peninsula has always been a bit remote from the rest of the country along with the state of Kalantan, the northern most state south of the Thai border. This has been partly because of the lack of roads into the state. The guide books describe it as more traditional and conservative than other states but this being said it is no less friendly than the other states towards visitors. Sailing along the coastline, it was easy to pick out each village or town with at least one mosque visible, the domes and minarets standing out quite easily.

The Heritage Bay Club Marina is on an island in the estuary of the Terengganu River where a lot of work is being done to make the waterway more navigable. Extensive rock walls are being built either along the banks or within the river itself to create man-made islands, and dredging is going on to pump mud from the shallow water and mud flats to fill in behind the retaining rock walls. As well, two rock groins have been built, extending out beyond the original river heads to create a safe and deep entrance. It would be interesting to return in a year or two to view the results of all this work.

While in the marina we did the usual - check-in procedures, refuelling, reprovisioning, laundry - and managed to find our way across the river in our dinghy to Chinatown where we enjoyed a couple of dinners out and also to the central markets which front the river to buy fresh provisions. The market was one of the bigger ones we have been to and had everything we needed. At both destinations, we were able to tie our dinghy up at local ferry jetties where they were quite safe while unattended.

Our 'day out' the day before we left was a trip up the river to the Crystal Mosque, so called because it is built from steel and glass. It was all part of a riverside complex called Taman Tamadun Islam (Islamic Civilisation Park). We passed the traditional boat building yard where there were two large boats which looked to be almost completed. On our return journey we passed the water police and just beyond that saw some large fishing boats which had been confiscated from illegal Thai, Indonesian and Cambodian fishermen. Some seem to have been there so long they were about to sink or had sunk. In Australia, they just would have burnt them!

Look, no sails!!

East Coast Update

We arrived at Kuala Terengganu yesterday afternoon, 18 May, after four day hops up the coast from Tioman Island. Our first two nights we anchored off the coast, the first being a bit rolly, and the last night at Pulau Kapas. The first two legs were about 60NM each and wind conditions were such that we had to motor or motor sail the whole way. We were able to turn off the engine for four hours on our leg to Kapas and arrived late afternoon. Not long after setting our anchor we had a rain squall come through so were unable to check out the neighbouring coral reefs.

Rain squall approaching Pulau Gumia

The coast along the eastern side of the peninsula has been strikingly different from that along the west in the Malacca Straits. We have had long stretches of beautiful beaches most of the way, not so many fishing boats to contend with, and much clearer waters. We have managed to catch two small tuna and missed two strikes so the fish count continues.

Before leaving for Terengganu, which was only an 11NM leg, we were able to spend a good couple of hours snorkelling the reef on Kapas and the tiny island to the north, Pulau Gumia. We were rewarded with beautiful coral gardens, thousands of beautiful and colourful fish, a couple of black-tipped reef sharks, a turtle and rocks smothered in sea anemones.

We will spend a few days in Terengganu refuelling, reprovisioning and doing some sight-seeing before heading out to the rest of the islands off the state of Terengganu. All promise to have sparkling, clear waters with excellent snorkelling.

Typical local boat design around Terengganu

Where Did That Month Go?

We arrived back on Tweed on Tuesday 5th May after a wonderful trip back to Perth in Western Australia. Although we have a Queensland address we were both born in WA and so that is where our extended families and a lot of our friends live. One of the reasons for us making the trip which was the first since leaving Darwin in July, 2006, was to attend the wedding of Kris and David from the good ship Taipan. The wedding was held at Narrikup, just north of Albany, on a farm in very primitive surroundings. Those guests who didn't live close by all arrived either in camper vans or equipped with camping gear. We chose to camp and thanks to family managed to put together a tent with a swag to sleep in and were very comfortable. We arrived on the Thursday with the wedding on the Saturday and by that time the venue had been well and truly prepared for the celebrations. The wedding went off without a hitch and the partying went on into the night. It was great fun to celebrate an event we had been waiting for ever since our meeting with Kris and David in 2006!

Travelling to Perth and back from the Tioman Islands was a saga in itself. We had a two-hour ferry trip to Mersing on the mainland. Mersing has a shallow bar so our arrival was delayed waiting for the tide to come up but we made it in time to catch the bus for the six-hour ride to Kuala Lumpur. We decided we would leave a day earlier just in case these connections went awry and stayed overnight in a hotel in Chinatown. We then had to fill in time the next day as our flight didn't leave until after midnight. That meant shopping which really wasn't that arduous but we were glad to finally be on the bus for the one and a half hour bus ride to the airport and then more waiting around. We finally took off on the five-hour flight to Perth only to find we couldn't lay back our seats for some sleep. We arrived in Perth at 5.30 a.m. and after clearing through Immigrations and Customs were picked up by Pam's sister Nola and brother-in-law John in the cold dawn. Over the next month we were able to catch up with most of our friends and rellies and really enjoyed the cooler, dryer weather.

It has been very busy in the marina since we arrived back. Last weekend saw the Sultan Ahmad Shah Eco Challenge, with runners doing a half marathon course through jungle trails on Sunday. In the lead up the marina has been crowded with customs boats, police boats, Maritim Malaysia (coast guard) boats, as well as various other visiting boats. Sunday night was the presentation night with everyone invited to attend the festivities in the marina carpark with the Sultan as the guest of honour. It was a very relaxed affair with no obvious security surrounding the Sultan. Food was typically Malaysian curried chicken, curried fish, curried beef and vegetables with rice. Unfortunately the rice ran out before the curries!! Traditional dancing and several singers entertained us and the finale was a fireworks display right on the marina.

All was well on Tweed on our arrival back at Tioman apart from the fridge which seems to have lost gas. Once it has been re-gassed our plans are to move north along the east coast of the Malaysian peninsula as far as Terengganu before coming south again and then crossing the South China Sea to Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo.