Anchored in 15 feet of water in silty mud, we were well set for our 4 nights here at Puteri Harbor Marina. Check in was easy peasy as the marina took care of everything for us. Facilities were good and our first few nights we said goodbye to a friend, reunited with a long lost family who crossed the pacific with us, and meet new cruising friends!
First up was the technical briefing for the Sail Malaysia Rally where we meet rally organizer, Sazli, the funniest guy in Malaysia! Accompanying us on the rally was long time cruisers, Patrick and Elizabeth on SV Lebarque, who have been cruising this area since 2007. They provided us with an extensive list of resources including cruising guide with anchor spots and photos and a cool program called TotalTIde that uses the Admiralty Charts and Publications from the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office to assist us in predicting tidal flows while we cruise up the Malacca Straits. The next night was a “formal” Welcome dinner and of course, lots of adult beverages and great food.
Rally organizer, Salzi, speaking to us about the rally…probably making a joke of sorts : ) Sitting to the left is Patrick and Elizabeth who later became great friends and convinced us to help out with a regatta in later months. 
Got to love the children!!!! Funny story….Trevor was missing for a period of time from our table….I asked Steve where he was…apparently (after many beverages) Trevor fell into a “pool” of water and was in the bathroom “drying off”. Opps…maybe a little less beer next time (HAHAHA)
Unfortunately we had to say “sea you later” to our dear friend Linda off SV Mirniy Okean, part of our ‘Kiddos Table’ crew. She was headed back to Noumea, New Caledonia to finish up work she had been continuing to do while cruising. They required her to be “onsite” to compete her contract so off she went…back to re-join Carlos on SV Mirniy Okean sometime at the end of January 2019 in Thailand.
So Linda does not really drink..or if she does…it’s pretty funny. You see the size of that beer she is drinking? We will miss you dearly Linda, until next time : )
Reuniting with SV Pickles was a serious BONUS for me, personally! Meeting new cruisers is always a good time but I can’t express how good it was to see familiar faces from our AWESOME Pacific Crossing fleet! It’s easy to just jump back into old conversation and to exchange stories on places where we all have been. It has been a long time since I have felt this relaxed and comfortable…..especially with these guys who keep me in check and offer incredible perspective…priceless out here!
Having dinner aboard SV Pickles with Joanie, Guy, and their 3 kids – Jullia, William, Henry, (use to be 4 kids but the Christopher, the oldest went off to college last year).
One day, Trevor, Donna, and Steve from SV Kenobi went to LEGO LAND!!! There was also a Hello Kitty Land…I totally wanted to go but instead I stayed on the boat to try to do some blog posts. However, SV Kenobi kindly gifted me a Hello Kitty (Thanks Steve and Donna) ….From the looks of the photos…they had a great time!
I could of put up all the cool Lego structures…but I think you get the point!
Our final night we had the option to go to the night market in Johor…In Indonesia, there were only “day markets” and we heard these Malaysian night markets have great food and sells just about anything you want…Malaysian style…I guess there are “wet” and “dry” markets. Wet meaning where fresh fish and meats are mostly sold, I guess because you can just “rinse” the area off. Dry meaning mostly cooked foods, clothes, trickets, etc. I don’t know if this is really true but it was the only thing that made sense to me (HAHAHA).
The Sail Malaysia Fleet on the bus to the night market…
These noodles were sold in little wrapped papers….perfect servings…unfortunately I ordered so much food this night I could barely fit these yummy noodles in! 
OMG…more yummy “meat on sticks”…… 
I just love this photo!!!! Joanie has been in Malaysia lots so she took me on a personal tour of the night market, describing different foods, drinks, and desserts….. We shared this fried, flattened squid….there were lots of vendors selling this but she knew the best one to go to. Here is Joanie doing her Squid pose!
Fruits and veggies all available…markets are always cheaper than going to the supermarket….time to stock up! 
Got shoes? 
Another favorite of mine…I haven’t seen a keymaker at a market…ever! Totally cool to watch him work.
After a jammed packed 4 days, the Sail Malaysia fleet took off to head up the Malacca Strait to our next destination….the historic town of Melaka.