Back in Malaysia

We had a short visit to Ko Lipe, our last stop in Thailand, on Monday night. We arrived about 4 PM, and did a last swim in the ultra clear waters there. I spent a few minutes making sure the props were clean of marine growth so we get the maximum speed as we go down the windless Malacca Straight. Shortly after, the winds picked up and we had a very windy night. We even had to roll up our awnings so they didn’t take a beating.

The next morning, the winds gradually eased a bit, and we put the dinghy in the water. Our objective was to go ashore to our favorite restaurant on Sunset Beach (the northwest side of Ko Lipe) called Flour Power (it is also a bakery). What we like about this place is that the view for lunch is awesome! The food is quite good as well, and the prices great. They have this nice big-leafed tree overhanging their open-air seating area. The seats are laid-back wooden chairs, and the tables are beautiful tree-trunk wooden slabs. The beach is white sand just below and the water here is awesome turquoise and dark blue colors with islands in the background.

We left a bit early for lunch and enjoyed the scenery, and had an early lunch. We then had to leave all too soon, and immediately prepped Tahina for departure. Our next stop was Talaga Bay off Langkawi in Malaysia just 27 miles away. The winds were still brisk and we had a nice sail for all but the last few miles when the wind was blocked by the tall mountains of Langkawi. We arrived just 4 hours later, but we lost an hour due to the time change in Malaysia.
When about half way to Malaysia, we got a call from s/v Callisto on the radio. They were just arriving to the area of Ko Lipe after a fast sail from Ko Lanta. We then got a call from our friends on s/v Totem who were glad to hear we were arriving.

We went immediately to the fuel dock at Telaga and first cleared in with customs and immigration. It only took a few minutes, but we weren’t able to complete our process because the harbour master’s office had closed just a few minutes earlier. We also managed to go to an ATM to get Malay money, bought top-ups for our Malaysian SIM cards, and grabbed the fuel boy. A few minutes later we had purchased 560 liters of diesel and 20 liters of gasoline. We then moved the boat to the anchorage.

A few minutes later, Behan on s/v Totem called on the radio to offer us a ride to the marina to have drinks. We had a pleasant evening hanging out with s/v Totem, s/v Utopia, and another boat we met whose name escapes me.

Today, Wedensday, we have a car we will be picking up and will run around buying provisions. Langkawi is a duty-free island so alcohol and other goods are exceptionally inexpensive here. We will buy as much as we can fit in the car.

Tomorrow we will leave to continue south. In the map below, the marker shows where we are anchored in Langkawi. Ko Lipe, Thailand is located to the west about 25 miles away.