May 7, 2006
Telaga Harbour Marina
Langkawi , Malaysia  

Kondo Istana, WaveMaster and Back to Bliss
by Lois Joy
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A gentle rain is falling on Pacific Bliss this morning as I write this, sipping the last of our Starbucks stash. We are docked back at the Telaga Harbour Marina in our now familiar spot in the first row. Cozy and protected, sitting at the table inside the cockpit salon, I gaze through the sliding glass door to see the mountaintop of Matchincang, grey and brooding in the clouds.

  I am reminded of one of the many Langkawi Legends : Food is everything on Langkawi, and one of its most famous legends is about a wedding feast gone wrong—terribly wrong: Two giants had begun fighting about an imagined insult. As they struggled, items from the feast were thrown about: the hot water became the hot springs at Air Hangat; the broken pots fell to the ground at Belangah Perak. Before the fight could be stopped, precious gravy was spilled; that area became the main town on the island: Kuah, the river basin where the “gravy” flows into the sea. A local witch was angered by all the commotion and turned the two fighters, known as Raya and Mat Chincang into mountains. To this day, they remain locked in stone, standing guard over the landscape they once brawled over. (See A Day of Bliss in Langkawi , for our trip on the Cable Car up to the top of Gunung Matchincang: this is a must-see here.) This season, we took the winding blacktop drive up to the top of Raya, an area with a supposed 360º view, but a telecommunications company now has private facilities at the top, obstructing that view; the old teahouse in the clouds has long been abandoned, so there are no tourist facilities.

  We loved Kondo Estana in Kuah, our “home away from home and Bliss ” for the past three weeks. As we checked out on Friday, we looked back to discover why that was such a pleasant interlude:

First, we enjoyed “spreading out” in all that space. We had a separate kitchen with a sink, long counter and full-sized fridge; a dining area for four; a living room with two sofas and one large chair—and a credenza covering one entire wall, with a TV (local channels only) in the center; a huge bedroom with a hanging closet, shelves and a sit-down vanity table; and 1 ½ baths.

Second, when things didn't work, we just had to call “maintenance” to repair them—what a luxury for cruisers who are constantly fixing! For example, there was a little heater to supply hot water for the master bath, but we discovered after we moved in that it was on the blink. After 2 ½ days, a brand new heater was installed for us. Light bulbs burned out? Call maintenance. Need ice? Call reception.

Third, the condo building has a large, partially shaded lap pool. Except for holidays and week-ends, it was little used. We purchased goggles and made swimming our daily exercise, since there are no sidewalks for traffic-free walking or jogging. Although it rained almost every day, sometimes VERY hard—like pellets—we were usually able to find some time during the day to swim.

Fourth, the location is convenient to shopping and restaurants. It makes for an easy life while one's vessel is “on the hard.” We have a rental car, so while Gunter made the 14 km drive to WaveMaster every day to supervise the workers, I could walk to the shops. The Bayview Hotel is close by with a coffee shop, restaurant, and a Spa on the 4 th floor. We used the first-rate spa for pampering: haircuts and coloring, manicures, and massages.

But the fifth and final reason that I enjoyed our “home away from home” so much was that it was just that, e.g., a home that we can love and leave; it was not our home; it was not our boat. There was no cleaning, no making up of beds, no TO DO lists posted on the fridge; so it was a great writing retreat for me, alone there for half days while Gunter supervised at the shipyard. I realized that I gave Indonesia short shrift last year; there seemed to be little time to write while we were there; so now I have written and posted five new stories about Indonesia on the Pacific Bliss website; just follow the Journal link to Voyage 5. Scroll back to find the stories from 2005.

  Oftentimes, friends think that being back on the boat is like a vacation. Not so, unless one charters a boat. Owning one is like having a second home on land, but even more work. Perhaps if you combine the work involved in maintaining a home, plus a motorhome, plus a car, it adds up to the time it takes to maintain a world cruising vessel. The first thing we do when we arrive back from the States every year is maintenance; this always takes two weeks minimum, and can take up to one month, especially if it time to haul her out and have her bottom painted again. Then when we leave, it takes about ten days to get Miss Bliss ready to store again. She is an extremely demanding mistress!

  Our goal for the three weeks of work at WaveMaster this year was to get Pacific Bliss ready for next year's long Voyage 6—all the way across the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, the Suez Canal in Egypt, then to Israel and on to Turkey. We plan to begin that voyage from Thailand next January and to arrive in Turkey in June of 2006. After the mechanical work is done, then I have a week of interior work to get Bliss in shape. If we actually take her anywhere (other than WaveMaster) this summer, it will be just for a tour around the Langkawi island group. Otherwise, Bliss is a great home base for inexpensive Southeast Asia tours.

  Gunter will most likely write about all the repairs and maintenance of the past three weeks in his Messing with Boats section. His list this year encompassed 42 items! Not that Bliss will be perfect when we arrive back this September to sail her to Thailand and ports beyond; just sitting here in the marina, additional things are bound to break down. Don't ask me why; it just happens. Atrophy, I guess. But hopefully, whatever happens will be minor.

  On May 10 th , we leave for China for three weeks, so the anticipation is building. In June, after being back on Bliss for only one week, we leave with our friends Joe and Michele for a ten-day Viet Nam tour. In early July, we'll be returning to San Diego for a few months. The anticipation builds, with more adventures to come. So keep tuned to our website. We'll continue to post our stories there.

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Log and Journal
Langkawi Legends:
Mahsuri's Mausoleum
The Seven Wells
Pantai Tengkorak
Kuah
Eagle Square
Pulau Dayang Bunting
Gua Cerita