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Mario's All At Sea
Hello from Kuala Lumpur!
Things have moved on pretty quickly since our last update. On the 3rd December we heard that the shipping date had been brought forward and we’d have to have Mario at the port on the 10th, a week earlier than originally planned – cue cleaning frenzy! By that time we had worked on him for 5 days, but still had loads to do to get him ship-shape. We also had to sort our clothes and pack for Oz (including cleaning shoes and anything else for their own quarantine inspection), sort paperwork, hotels, flights, clean Richard & PooChian’s flat and get to Port Klang to meet agents on the 9th, which meant leaving on the 8th.
Our cleaning sessions were interrupted by inquisitive holiday makers who would come over, chat and take photos. One even picked up our electric drill to pose for a photo with Caroline, which was a bit weird! We don’t know how many photos of us covered in sweat, dirt and grease there are out there, but surely they can’t be very interesting to strangers! It was a manic, stressful, tiring and bruising time, but we got there.
The day before we left we met Tony & Doreen from Kent, who have an apartment on the same floor. They have been “wintering” in Penang for the last 10 years, but also travelled extensively elsewhere. They invited us out to dinner that night and we had a lovely evening chatting about travel and life in general, it was a great end to our stay in Batu Ferringhi.
So it was up early on the 8th with a slight hangover, for the last of the packing, cleaning and to make the 6 hour drive to Port Klang, stopping for food and drinks as we dare not spill anything in Mario. We said a fond farewell to the beautiful apartment, friendly security guards and headed out into the bonkers traffic of Georgetown. We made good time off the island, only to get pulled by the police halfway over the bridge back to the mainland - our first “pull” since Kyrgyzstan. Apparently Mario wasn’t showing on their database as being registered when we entered Malaysia. Luckily we had all the right paperwork and were displaying the sticker to show we had the correct permit, so they accepted it was their system at fault and let us on our way. It wasted some valuable time, but at least we got some good views from the bridge.
We got to the hotel in Port Klang, which was a bit of a come down after living the high-life in Penang. It was very tired and well used and didn’t have a lot of the facilities advertised, specifically the restaurant was only open at breakfast (and that’s only after you’ve woken them up from sleeping on the tables or the floor – yes, really!). So after a long day’s drive, we found ourselves walking in the dark along a busy highway to find something to eat. Luckily there was a great little cafe up the road, which we would end up visiting 5 times over the next couple of days.
We met the shipping agents on the 9th, to finalise the paperwork and make payment (ouch) and then took Mario to the port on the 10th for final cleaning. This was a bit of a drama as they didn’t have proper facilities for something so big, but they did bring in contractors to do the job. We had to leave before the cleaning was finished, but from the photos they have since sent, hopefully Mario will be clean enough for Australian customs!
It was quite emotional saying goodbye to Mario, but also a relief to know we had done as much cleaning as we could, the shipping process was underway and that he would finally be sailing to Oz. We will now try to forget about Australian quarantine issues until he gets there, around 7th January. The ship left port on the 13th and from our Marine Tracker app, it’s currently at anchor in the Malacca Straits. Mario will be unloaded in Singapore and then put onto another ship to Australia.
So we’re now in Kuala Lumpur until the 17th, when we fly to Melbourne to see Simon, Danielle and baby Barnaby. After the disappointment of the Port Klang hotel, we decided to upgrade as a Christmas present to each other and booked the Pacific Regency Hotel Suites located between the KL Tower and the Petronas Twin Towers. On arrival, we were upgraded again to an “executive suite”, which was nice – it’s got 5 rooms!
We’ve been doing the usual sight-seeing stuff, going up the towers, seeing the old-town, Chinatown, Little India and exploring the huge shopping malls for a bit of air-conditioned luxury. There’s quite a few Christmas decorations around, some of the malls have carole-singers and we’ve been eating M&S mince pies, so we’re starting to feel a bit Christmassy.
Some of you may remember that the last time Bry was in KL he randomly bumped into an old work colleague while walking through a street market. Well, this time it was Caroline’s turn! As we were wandering through the stalls in Chinatown, she bumped into paramedic she used to work with at home! He too was on his way to Oz to meet family - it is truly a small world!
With Christmas just around the corner and from what we’ve seen on Facebook, we can visualise what our friends and family are up to with the usual preparations, how dare you enjoy yourselves without us! For many reasons we’re both feeling a long way from home right now and often wish we could just pop back. However, we’re REALLY looking forward to being with family at Christmas, we hope Simon & Danielle are prepared for an emotional overload – not to mention the dogs!
If we don’t get the chance to update before, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Watch this space for our special Christmas Message!
TTFN