{"id":3145,"date":"2017-07-12T08:08:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T08:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/?p=3145"},"modified":"2017-07-12T08:24:06","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T08:24:06","slug":"an-anambas-odyssey-continued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/?p=3145","title":{"rendered":"An Anambas Odyssey (continued)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday 6th<\/span>\u00a0June \u2013 Terempa<\/p>\n

Our customs inspection was due this morning, but before we could prepare ourselves for that we were told we would have to move the boat to make room for a ferry to leave the bay. My heart sank at this news, considering all the faffing about it had taken to anchor. It was suggested we could tuck in near an island just outside the main bay but when we motored out there to check the location it proved to be too deep and there was a lot of coral, so back we went to nearer where we\u2019d come from and set the anchor just a little further back from our original spot with not too much bother at all. \u00a0The customs inspection went well. Two guys came on board, had a cursory look around, asked questions and filled in the answers on their form.\u00a0 They were both fasting for Ramadan but we were quite shocked to learn that they are not even allowed to have water when we offered it to them. This means that even during the hottest parts of the day, while visiting a series of hot, stuffy boats they can\u2019t even sip water \u2013 self-denial in the extreme. We had to go back ashore at 2:30 to hand some more paperwork to the customs officers.\u00a0 I was careful to wear trousers this time to avoid causing any more offence.\u00a0 We took a walk on the eastern side of the island, and we attracted more interest in these more rural streets. The children especially, delighted in us and as in Thailand, were keen to try out their English phrases on us.<\/p>\n

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A game of football in the village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I took lots of pictures as we went along in attempt to capture life on the parched, dusty streets. The wailing (and that\u2019s not meant to sound derogatory \u2013 it\u2019s merely the best way to describe it) was once again an apt audio accompaniment to the environment. \u00a0Clearly the town and the way of life is different from that in more modern developed cities. It’s hard to find the right words to describe it without sounding condescending. The pictures below show it how it is anyway. What I can say is that without fail, everyone we met was friendly, looked happy and there was an overall air of dignity and politeness in the village that is sadly lacking in some communities in Britain and Europe.<\/p>\n

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Wednesday 7th June<\/p>\n

Yesterday evening we went for dinner with Deb and Bruce at a restaurant called La Luna, which comes recommended by several yachtsmen who have eaten there.\u00a0 I went along armed with some dishes and phrases I\u2019d looked up online in order to avoid any unwelcome fish or meat additions. Deb had also brought along her Indonesian phrase book so I was able to enjoy a local dish called Cap Cay (pronounced Chop Chai, the waiter smilingly corrected me when I asked for it as it\u2019s written) –\u00a0 a tasty dish of stir fried veg and boiled rice.\u00a0 The intriguing-sounding Gado Gado (veg with spicy peanut sauce) was not available and I later found out it\u2019s only served in the mornings.\u00a0The wailing and chanting and prayer recitals had blasted out full volume all night. I lay awake wondering how many people were in the mosques and whether the loud, angrier-sounding recitals were akin to the fire and brimstone warnings in some Christian sermons.\u00a0 In contrast to that, some of the singing is very mellow and soothing.\u00a0 There was a lot of swell on the water today which always makes me slightly nauseous so I didn\u2019t do much other than read, watch more boats coming in to the anchorage and listen to the various comings and goings of the Sail Malaysia Rally boats on VHF.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Deb and Bruce, we had been invited to a dinner laid on for the Rally participants by the Anambas Tourism Office, so at 5:30 we joined them, along with some of the others at the jetty to wait for the minibus.\u00a0 The venue was at the top of a very steep hill and the sheer drop down on the right hand side of the road seemed perilously close whenever we rounded corners on the twisty road. \u00a0Representatives were waiting to greet us as soon as we stepped out, scuppering my intention to walk over to take pictures of the view.\u00a0 We were ushered into a cavernous sports and leisure complex, passing some striking-looking ladies dressed in colourful national costume on the way. \u00a0Reaching the top of a staircase we found ourselves in a hall where tables and chairs had been set out and two women were ladling bright pink liquid into bowls.\u00a0 Just as we were all sitting down the boom that announced the end of the day\u2019s fasting went off and some of the men went downstairs where prayer mats had been laid out for them on the indoor football pitch.\u00a0 The evening would begin, said the beautiful female compere, once the prayers were done. In the meantime we were served a bowl of the pink \u2018soup\u2019 with fruit floating in it (like an unset blancmange), a plate of rich stodgy cakes and a cup of sweet jasmine tea. I guess this glut of sugar is welcome for anyone who\u2019s been fasting all day.<\/p>\n

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Photographers milled around taking pictures of us all as we tucked in, while the ladies in national dress rehearsed their dance performance under the instruction of a choreographer. I admired the compere, who had the difficult job of translating a speech given by the tourism minister into English at suitable intervals. It can\u2019t have been easy doing this while people were still arriving, food was being served and the photographers were snapping away.\u00a0 It felt a little like a corporate business event with an \u2018Alice in Wonderland\u2019 theme. The Andaman Tourist Office are keen to promote their islands as a paradisaical holiday destination, so welcoming yachtsmen on sailing rallies is all part of that. Obviously no alcohol was available and I\u2019m sure some of the participants would have welcomed beer but when you don\u2019t expect it, it\u2019s not a big issue.\u00a0 After the speech, the girls performed their dance and another dignitary spoke about the plans for developing the area and if anyone had any tips and suggestions they would be very welcome. The Sail Malaysia Rally has been taking place for a few years, so the next speech was from a captain who had taken part and praised the organisers, the tourism authorities and so on and so on.\u00a0 He was presented with a bag of gifts afterwards, which I coveted as it contained some guide books and maps. I needn\u2019t have felt disappointed though.\u00a0 We were all given one and I was delighted to discover the bag also contained a piece of traditional batik cloth and a handmade souvenir (a wooden spinning top).<\/p>\n

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Loved this traditional island dance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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View over Terempa Bay from our table<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Rehearsals for the dance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dinner was announced shortly after this. It was a hot buffet, consisting of chicken, fish and rice. I\u2019d expected that, but the starter was watermelon, jackfruit and mango so I made do with that as an accompaniment to my rice.<\/p>\n

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While everyone was tucking in the girls performed another traditional dance and a singer\/pianist sang some love and power ballads consisting variously of contemporary songs, songs from Disney movies, or 80s classics. Next it was time for a \u2018turn\u2019- in the form of karaoke or personal party pieces – from some of the participants. I thought they were very brave to go up without the help of an alcoholic tot or two. Looking around me I could tell some people were getting restless but there was more to come before we could politely take our leave. Another present-giving ceremony was in operation. This bag contained a sailing cap, a T-shirt and a drybag all bearing the ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ logo, and we all got one.\u00a0 A thoughtful and generous gesture and I was really touched by it (especially as we’re not part of the Rally). It had been a good evening and great to chat with other crew members and captains, some of whom we\u2019d met before on our travels.\u00a0 Back on the boat I wasted no time in checking out the guide books. They are both useful and entertaining, in that they have great photos but the translation looks as though it\u2019s been done through a copy and paste procedure straight from Google translate. Nevertheless, I was impressed with the effort they had gone to and grateful for making us so welcome.<\/p>\n

Thursday 8th<\/span>\u00a0June \u2013 To Pidi Island (with coral grief)<\/p>\n

The internet in Terempa is much more reliable early in the morning so we\u2019ve been getting up early to make the most of it. Some of the boats on the rally began to leave and we would be joining them on their next stop for an evening barbecue at Pidi. First, we went ashore for a few provisions and another bit of officialdom.\u00a0 A young lad took our tender for us when we arrived and he also took our rubbish from us to take to the bins. Paul gave him a tip but I think he was more interested in interacting with us than the money so we chatted with him as best we could given the language barrier.\u00a0 Our first stop was the quarantine office which never seems to be manned, but this was our third try and we wanted to get our clearance. Knocks and repeated \u2018hellos\u2019 produced no one and the empty desk looked as if someone had stepped away from it in 1946 and never returned.\u00a0 A nearby military officer noticed us leaving so Paul went up to him and explained what we wanted. The guy nodded and marched into the room and down a corridor where we heard his raised voice say something before he returned and signalled for us to wait before leaving with a smile. A bleary-eyed guy emerged from the corridor gruffly asked us a few questions and produced a form to record the answers on. It was all done very quickly. He dismissed us with our clearance form and presumably went back to bed.<\/p>\n

It was searingly, almost unbearably hot as we shopped. With no \u2018all under one roof\u2019 supermarkets around it\u2019s a bit like going back to the old days of grocery shopping when produce was sold separately in butchers and bakers and grocers. We decided against the bread from the bakery however because the last sugary loaf we\u2019d bought had contained added protein in the form of weevils. Armed with drinks and lots of fruit and vegetables we walked back to the dinghy where the same young lad was on hand to help us load it.<\/p>\n

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We chose the larger eggs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The narrow lanes in the fruit and veg market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More boats had left by the time we got back and we weighed anchor at 1 o’clock to follow them.\u00a0 The route took in a notorious coral reef in shallow water but we would be following the waypoints of a previous captain, which is what SV Matilda had done and Deb had emailed Paul to say it was a doddle. As we approached the reef I wanted to double check the method of how to spot any hazardously close or shallow coral spots. Unfortunately we had a different perception of the exact meaning of \u2018keeping the sun behind you\u2019 and it turned into such a debate that it made us lose focus of the coral itself. Paul was horrified to look up and see we were almost upon it and guys on a passing fishing boat were warning us with gestures of alarm. We soon got back on course but the guys on the boat very kindly led us through the whole channel.\u00a0 Paul had no luck catching a fish again but there\u2019s always a good reason for this \ud83d\ude09 . Drama over, I could concentrate on the lovely scenes before us as we got nearer to Pidi.\u00a0 Deb had been spot on with her description of it as gorgeous.\u00a0 We joined the other yachts at anchor in the bay at 4 o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n

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Pulau Pidi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Fish sticks among the reefs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The coral, marked and clearly visible<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The barbecue was at 6 o’clock just across from our anchorage and we were greeted at the jetty by one of the team. It was a lovely location: the jetty was lit up and a long table was laid on the platform at the end of it. Cool boxes held beer and soft drinks which we could help ourselves to and pay for later, and the food was being kept hot in the kitchen area. I hadn\u2019t expected to have any food because it was advertised as a fish and chicken barbecue but Paul, having spotted some veggie accompaniments with the rice, paid for me to eat too.\u00a0 He tucked in to copious amounts of the chicken and fish (which was served having already been barbecued) to make the most of the rare treat of freshly-cooked meat. There were about twenty of us altogether, some of whom we\u2019d met at the dinner. It was a nice evening in a glorious setting with good company.\u00a0 Couldn\u2019t ask for more than that really.<\/p>\n

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With Deb and Bruce from SV Matilda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Paul and Bruce at the barbecue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kathy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday 6th\u00a0June \u2013 Terempa Our customs inspection was due this morning, but before we could prepare ourselves for that we were told we would have to move the boat to make room for a ferry to leave the bay. My heart sank at this news, considering all the faffing about it had taken to anchor. … Continue reading “An Anambas Odyssey (continued)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3145"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3171,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions\/3171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}