Almost finished!

Before

After

 

Three months later and we're still on the hard.  We wouldn't have thought it possible but here we are, still working away fixing things.  In truth, we would usually be rushing in order to get the major work done such as the preparations for the anti-fouling prior to the painting itself, but we are doing all this in a relatively relaxed manner, checking a myriad of other items off the 'job list'.  One by one we're working through them.
 
Paul has worked non-stop at a host of drudgery jobs which aren't really Kodak moments. In other words, they needed to be done but there's not much to show for it.  All in all, the job list included sanding, polishing, ding repairs, new running rigging, galvanising, repainting of the navy side stripes and boot-topping, water heater repair, radar arch repair, signage, Nav lights, radio, SSB ground strap, greasing, oiling, servicing, checking electrics, electronics, plumbing, bilge pumps, gas connections, winch servicing, windlass switches, dinghy davit modifications, antenna - the list goes on and on.  

We started with 20 items on the 'job list' but, each day, it got longer and longer until it reached to over 50 items, each taking an exorbitant amount of time and each with their own idiosyncrasies. Just one example, the replacement of the SSB ground strap took two days and involved completely dismantling the aft berth to get to the inside bottom of the hull, through lockers and bulkheads.  All this in 35°C heat with unbelievably high humidity (heat index of +/-40°C). 

He won't be wanting to do that job again in a hurry - he's several kilos lighter!  Happily, the job list has now been reduced to five non urgent items.

The 'toilet seat'

On the more visible side of things, besides the paintwork, were the manufacture of a new stow pack for the mainsail, a repaired spray dodger and a host of other canvas work in addition to a new fibreglass ring for the spinnaker snubber (aka the 'toilet seat').  

Paul designed and manufactured this from scratch to replace the old stainless ring that jammed up every time we flew the genniker which ultimately caused it to blow out when we rounded the northern tip of Borneo.  Now to try it out!

Ultimately, we hauled out do the bottom paint and improve the appearance of our dear lady.  She was such an embarrassment when we left Jepara due to the black tyre marks and all the damage to the paintwork.

Many weeks were spent buffing and polishing the hull.  The damaged navy stripes were resprayed and the worn patches touched up.  She now looks beautiful again.  We haven't been able to find the right coloured paint for the teal stripe so that will just have to wait until we do but, as it consists of only two small areas, it's not earth shattering.  

The rainy season appears to have passed on but not before one last lightening bolt took out our battery charger.  We sure didn't need that but fortunately nothing else on board was wiped out.  We've come across many boats that have lost all of their electronics so we can be thankful for small mercies.

Time is moving on and we'll shortly have to do a visa run up to the Thai border.  We tried to book our 'splash' for immediately upon our return but there are two strikes against this; the tides are too low and its Chinese New Year.   We still want to stop off in Penang before a quick trip into duty-free Langkawi and then on up to Thailand.  With this in mind, hopefully, we'll be off investigating wonderful new anchorages again very soon.

Experiencing Thaipusam

Each year, the Tamil speaking Hindu people of Malaysia celebrate Thaipusam, a ceremony whereby devotees who have made a vow during the previous year, redeem it by carrying an ornamental structure called a kavadi which is attached to their bodies by hooks and steel spikes that penetrate their flesh.

        One of the larger kavadis.The high back section is bolted to the curved front part which, in turn, is carried on the shoulders

Raising the top section

These devotees coat their bodies with holy ash, wear saffron robes and have all manner of hooks, large and small, inserted into their bodies often along with metal skewers that pierce their cheeks, foreheads and tongues.

We had heard of this ritual from cruising friends who have attended the festivities on the island of Penang on several occasions but hadn't realised that they also take place throughout many regions of Malaysia.  

The main two very large festivals are held in the Batu Caves just outside Kuala Lumpur along with the one in Penang but here they also celebrate, albeit somewhat scaled down.

Not a spot of blood despite all those hooks!

We were so fortunate to be invited to the local celebrations where we witnessed the devotees placing themselves into a trance prior to having their bodies pierced.  Amazingly enough, none of them appeared to be in any sort of discomfort nor did they shed a drop of blood.  Watching one of the girls go into a trance was possibly not the prettiest sight, rather scary actually, but the entire event was fascinating.  

Once each devotee has received his/her piercings, they carry their kavadi down the streets to another temple a couple of kilometres away.  Some of these structures are absolutely enormous, others are pulled by the hooks placed into the skin on their backs.

This is an occasion for the ladies to dress in their finest and the colours were more than incredible.  There is absolutely nothing boring about Indian women's attire; the colours, the fabrics, the beadwork - spectacular!

Beautiful family

And, as though all this wasn't enough, everyone is offered a free lunch to end the day served up by all the restaurants in the region.  We were served (on a huge banana leaf) an outstanding vegetarian meal consisting of rice, dahl, cabbage & bean curry, the most amazing pumpkin curry and another vegetable combination concoction all of which was just ever so tasty.  We ate the traditional way with our fingers, hmmm, I'm afraid I'm a cutlery sort of gal, but I can't deny that it was a wonderful meal.

What a day.

PHOTO GALLERY:

The Temple

A scene from Hitchcocks's Birds?

The temple roof in detail

Temple entrance

Beautiful ceilings and statues

Mohan, our host

The Priest with offerings

Preparing one of the devotees

Getting into a trance

Piercings done and awaiting the top of the kavadi

Hooks and Kavadi in place

Walking on upturned knives

A not so enthusiastic spectator

Hmmm, ouch!

Affixing the hooks and bells

Almost finished

The Year of the Monkey

Christmas and New Year have come and gone.  We celebrated with other cruisers who had nowhere else to be and nothing too exotically exciting to do, but it was all good fun and very sociable, just the way it should be.

I found the ingredients to make a cake!

                   Christmas stockings

A few drinks at a pub before the 'no alcohol' Christmas buffet

It's a strange thing.  International news would have us believe that there is so much dissent amidst the Muslim and the non-Muslim population.  Reports come through from many western or European countries complaining that Muslims are intolerant of our way of life and are deemed 'offended' of our ways.  I'm sure there is some modicum of truth in these reports but likely from the radical minority only.

Here we are in a Muslim dominated country and we have been amazed at the importance placed on Christmas.  Christmas decorations and music abound, it's even a public holiday here.  I don't recall a single shop or office that didn't have some sort of decoration celebrating 'our' holiday.  Even back down in Indonesia which is even more predominantly Islamic, I saw some of the most magnificent specimens of decorated Christmas trees ever.

We were openly wished Merry Christmas wherever we went, restaurants put on special menus for the occasion (turkey included but they passed on the ham) and everything was very festive.  No sooner was our holiday over than this was all taken down and now that it's coming up to Chinese New Year, red lanterns are to be seen everywhere!   Just before Christmas was the Indian festival of Deepavali where appropriate signage and decorations were to be seen all over too.   I'm astounded at their openness, their welcoming nature and the general camaraderie amongst these very different religions which makes me question some of the so-called intolerance we regularly read about in the news.  I sometimes fear that the news media incite situations in order to drum up more readership.  I guess good news and harmony are not exciting enough.

All the shops are being decorated accordingly

The Year of the Monkey