Wow..James Khoo and his staff at Pangkor Marina are an incredible bunch of people. For many fleet members, Pangkor marina was where they were leaving their boat for the season to return home, or get some work done. Some we had already been here a few weeks getting bottom paint done and other small projects done. The berthing prices are excellent, knowledgeable workmanship, there is a Navy base near by so if you needed engineering done as well, it could happen here. Honestly, if we knew of all the problems we were going t have in the future..we would of brought Slow Flight here…but…as you know…you can’t predict all the boat work.
James and his team worked hard to get everyone in and personally helped to get parts ordered and through customs. Additionally, he would just take you to where ever you needed to go in his own car when he couldn’t find a ride for you. His team is service oriented..seriously! And Because James knows us cruisers so well, there is frozen fresh baked bread, croissants, and goddess in the office…..all that was missing was a POOL (LOL).
The anchorage just outside Pangkor Marina…careful….don’t cut the corner around the green buoy…a few boats hit the reef
First thing is first…boat work! There were a few of us who planned on getting our anchor chains re-galvanized after the many hours it sits in the salt water and rugs itself against rocks and coral. The only place was at Penang…a 3 hour drive as the company does not pick up chain this far away. We could of sailed to Penang but had heard of recent challenges trying to get ashore from the anchorages: locked gates, no small docks, or private docks. It seemed like a better idea to rent a TRUCK! 4 boats went in and Trevor and Craig on SV Il Sogno drove all of our chain to Penang…and then picked it up 4 days later. James of course helped us get in touch with who needed to be contacted.
Ekkks… lots of rust….. 
Ohhh…shinny!!!!!
Now for some fun…. The Sail Malaysia Rally took us on a tour of the Island of Pangkor. What was cool about the Island was that it seemed like a vacation spot for locals…we saw very few “white” people but many were tourist…you could tell by their outfits : ) It was a jammed packed day but educational and lots of fun.
Ferry from Pangkor Marina on the mainland to Pulau Pangkor Island…confusing … I was too… 
We all hopped into these little pink buses. We had James in our bus…lucky us. He told us we were in the same little pink bus when we use to own a hotel on the island…and it still runs!
First stop…an old Dutch fort. The ruins are the remnants of an outpost of Dutch attempts to control trade in the Malay peninsula. In the Malay language, the fort is called Kota Belanda.
Second stop: The Fu Lin Kong Temple – The temple, built over 100 years ago, is the center of worship of Taoism on the island, the religion that follows the teachings of Lao Tze, a great Chinese philosopher. The Fu Lin Kong is also one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island.
The mini Great wall of China…. too cute : )
Third stop was a local shrimp and squid “factory”…. 
I was told that the product is sold world wide?!
Stop four and by far the coolest…was the boat building yard. These boats are commissioned for about $1M usd. It was funny how the all of us in the fleet would “complain” about the fishing boats and their nets/lines that we have to dodge…but on land we ALL were in awe at the craftsmanship and extensive process to build these HANDMADE fishing vessels…truly incredible!
Hand pounded bolts 
Wood cut by hand with chainsaws 
Epoxy….
The wood is not teak but still incredibly strong and HEAVY. James told me it comes from Indonesia. 
Steal also done by hand…. 
The boat builders just let us walk all around their job site, stick cameras in their faces and their tools, …probably a little pissed off but didn’t say a word…..
Last stop was lunch at Nipah Deli: an 8 course …yes I said 8 courses…actually Trevor and I sat at the “vegetarian table”…we were served last but we actually had 9 courses…. LOL….
The next night Pangkor Marina hosted a HUGE rally dinner…invited all the cruisers and sailors in the marina, rally or not. It was a great way to share local information, dance out those muscle, and expand our stomachs once again! Again, James and your staff…really outdid yourselves again!!!!
The band was really good!!! 
There must of been 80+ people there
with all kinds of food and beer..sailors paradise!
After all the rally events, it was time to branch out and see a bit more of the main island so a road trip with SV Kenobi sounded great. Donna had found some caves she wanted to check out and the rest was “whatever looked cool”…..perfect!
Trevor doing his Transformer pose…. 
Bumblebee….
So we took a wrong turn..actually Trevor’s navigation took us to a rest stop instead of the caves. We were getting hungry so we stopped… I have no idea where….. still don’t! 
But food (and beer) we found…a little chinese food place…only white people there, no idea what we ate…it’s what Kenobi and Slow Flight does best!
Finally, caves!!!! 
A bit touristy…but still cool to see the formations.
Built by young Scotsman William Kellie around the early 1900’s.
The architecture is so unique…so many different shapes 
Lots of wonderful details still in tack… 
I never understood brick circular staircases…how do they do it?!
I believe this was the “first” mansion he built just behind the big one 
The yellow and the green against the blue and white sky was stunning… 
Boys will be boys…I tried to find Donna to get her into the photo but she was lost in the Castle : )
There was still time to hang out and get a little girl time in…..Donna, Karene, and I took refuge from the heat into a mall about 10 minutes away…
Love you ladies!!!!!
Let’s not forget, when you get a bunch of cruisers together…one of the first things is to find the bar! Hightime bar at the marina was AWESOME…they knew the beers needed to be cold, and always asked if we wanted a refill…the service was fantastic!
Just a random..monday?, tuesday?….oh i don’t know 
If this isn’t a “Bro-mance”…I don’t know what is?!!!!!
Steve, Trevor loves you long time….
Trevor and I left the Pangkor Marina and headed to Pulau Pangkor, the little island around to the west and anchored out where the rally had lunch at Nipah Deli. We stayed a few nights here before we set of for Langkawi…. the last rally stop. A few others were there and we got together for dinner and Hornbill feeding?!
Again at Nipah Deli…because the food was so good…and they sell beer. We had their signature dish…the Steamboat…which was this plate of seafood we would cook in the pot which had 2 kinds of broth in it. Tasty, delicious…i needed more patience though : )
SV Elan (Frank and Dorte from Germany) told us about this hotel that has been feeding Hornbills for years and every night they come around and you can feed them. The owner was very nice…he let his guests go first but them we were allowed to jump in. Strange looking birds…I think these are Oriental Pied Hornbills..maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong.
Well, it had been a busy week…I even got in a few online classes for my CPA license in (horrible to do between midnight and 4 am) but it was time to move on to Langkawi..our last stop for the rally and for us in Malaysia. Next up….emergency room, termites, sailing regattas….. and a few goodbyes!