Visiting waterfalls in Trang

I had been sitting at home or been doing errands when we then decided to go and see some waterfalls in Trang province for a change.

N. Toen  N. Min

Return to India

After the morning rituals it was time to stuff my luggage in the back of the car and head for the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. I was flying back to India with same Turkish airlines flight I had arrived with. Jari dropped me off at the terminal and we wished to see soon again and not 6 years later on as it had now happened. Well, only time will tell. 

Early morning in front of the Taj

Last dinner

This morning we had time with Mia to open up the attic of the old barn and explore the contents. Everything as covered in dust worth years. There was some really old stuff that some people would pay a fair amount of money to get their hands on. Just to mention there was some old hand blown glass bottles, one officially stamped 100+ year old potato measure, old furniture and so on...

Me in front of the old barn

Laitila

Next day all picked themselves up and spent the morning perusing the empty chicken farms that could house 100.000 free range chicks. There were many other outhouses as well used for various purposes not known to us but nevertheless Mia and Marko had their own plans already for them. Soon enough Niklas and Elina made their way towards Helsinki and Mom for Åbo. 

I was left as the only guest and Marko was driving me around his native town showing different highlights in this chicken growing community. In the morning I got dropped off at another chicken farmers estate where Mia was keeping her horse, Doli, and I got to follow Jessica, my niece, taking a Finnish horse for his daily exercise. Later on I also got to take him for a ride (or rather I was taken for a ride) too and boy was he feisty, he just wanted to go. After 10minutes I was already feeling sore in my thighs so I let him get further exercised by Jessica while Mia was exercising Doli at the end of a girdle.

Riding Simo

Laitila

Today was time for my sister to move to her estate in Laitila with 7 hectares of land. I was enlisted to the moving troupe. We left with my Mom and drove through Turku towards St.karins where my sister Mia lived. On the way we picked up my brother Niklas and his girlfriend Elina who were also chipping in the fun. We arrived soon enough and in the yard there was a big truck already, so all was set to go. Inside was Mia and her recalcitrant kids who had difficulties to understand which part of packing she meant. Nevertheless, the show went on the road and big and heavy items went out the window into the truck. Then smaller things followed and finally Jessica got her stuff packed and that was too loaded into the truck. Mias hubby Marko then loaded as the piece-the-resistance an engine, a grasscutting tractor and a moped and then the truck was full. Doors closed and off it went towards Laitila.

The happy new mistress of Sonkkila estate

Kustavi and Nousiainen

Next day came and me and Mom headed for Kustavi (Gustavs)  to see the summer house there, while Mom was doing shopping in the new Grocery store in the main village I wandered to the church and checked inside. Furthermore, the village had gotten itself an Alko store so there was no need to cook moonshine or drive to Taivassalo to buy booze. In the church there was still the same miniature ships sailing above the congregation heads, nobody was on the premises except a caretaker. 

Church ship

To Åbo

I was up again early morning and went take up the fish net, as it happened I got 3 fishes which I removed and cleaned up the net and then the fishes. Then it was time for breakfast and once finished my Mom drove up to the house to join us for a cup of coffee. After some chatting it was off to Tallberga for lunch and then we started for Åbo.

Uncle Bengt

Going to Nagu

Next morning went we got up and Bengt headed for the health station to get some of his old age problems tended to and once back we went for some shopping and bought the necessary ingredients to make my Thai dish for lunch. After shopping Bengt drove my around the shores of Helsinki and showed some places of interest. Lunch became so much we got a lunchbox saved for my aunt Elisabeth that was going to accompany us to Nagu. In the afternoon we packed us into my Bengt's SUV and off we went westwards. In Klippsta we picked up Elisabeth and we continued our journey. My aunt I hadn't also met in 12years but she looked the same as before except a few more wrinkles. She ate the lunchbox with gusto but I could see the jalapenos was making her mouth burn. The new motorway to Åbo was really smooth and soon enough we found ourselves in Pargas where we stopped to buy some food for the evening. Then the next stop was at the inter-Island ferry (along the now named "archipelagic ring road") and we made the short seavoyage across to Nagu.

Canada geese in Helsinki

In Munksnäs

Next day more or less the same, breakfast and so on. I found out my bro has a Wii game so I got to try out this gadget as well. I packed my stuff and started orientating myself to Munkkiniemi where my uncle Bengt lives. 

Helsingfors Domkyrka/ Helsingin Tuomiokirkko (church)

Getting Indian visa

Next morning went as usual and after the morning feed we went off on foot towards Katajanokka where the Indian embassy is located. I found that my phone with in built GPS and maps very helpful in orientating in Helsinki as I have never had to do that. Mostly having visited Helsinki with ships it was easiest to find the way around with taxi as is customary by sailors on evening leave. 

The Havis Amanda fountain

In Helsinki

Next morning I woke up to the noise from Olga and dishes being put out on the table. I met Minna and was offered some breakfast while chatting about this and that. After breakfast we went out for a walk to see the surroundings, the house is in an secluded area with a lot of forest and greenery around. Olga had just learned to pedal her bicycle without supports so she shot off like a rocket ahead of us while we walked and I admired the spring flowers emerging after the long winter. Although it according to the calendar it should have been full summer it was still quite chilly with something of 16 degrees in the air. The beginning of the summer can always be a bit iffy.

Next morning in front of the house

In Espoo

My friend Jari I have known back when we used to work in Bore Lines as deckhands both on Bore Queen. Some years later he worked as 1st Officer for me on Columbus Caravelle in Singapore and Malaysia. 

m/s Bore Queen

Vacation in Finland

Having seen the troubles in Bangkok I suggested that I will go to Finland to sort out my Indian visa and vacation. The office agreed to it and on a short notice I arranged tickets and guarantee letters to get my visa sorted out.

Captain's blog May 2010

So, May went at anchorage in front of Gateway to India. By the time of writing this the skies have cleared and the swell has started to roll in the port area. It seems the monsoon rains are imminent.

1st of May I completed two years employment onboard Kalizma. Wow, times run fast the older you get.

The noise of the IPL scandal has since then died down and nothing is being heard of Modi either - yesterdays news...

4th May I signed a years contract to continue on Kalizma as Captain as well as to assist in relief work on other yachts and maintaining the local fleet.

On the 7th I met Avnish and Eddy Powis Jr from Phuket at the Mumbai yacht club. We had a nice dinner at Aashim's flat. His daughters were entertaining us with Bollywood dancing.

The Mumbai yacht club

Cdr Dilip Donde arrives Mumbai

S/y Mhadei

Lawrence Watch Co

Lawrence watch Co

Vardenchi motorcycles

After having gone to our meeting at RINA offices with Mr. Mishra, Mr Devadas and Bob Pinto re: our commercial yacht certification for Kalizma. Bob asked if I would be interested to do a small detour before going back to Gateway. He promised it would make both me and Mishra to feel young again. I replied "why not" and off we went towards Jogeshwar.

Mumbai - New Delhi - Mumbai by train

As we were stationary and due to move into the docks for the rainseason I planned to go and visit Saini on his vacation in Hariyana during the weekend. I bought the train ticket easily as a foreigner but had to pay hard foreign currency, one way it became abt 1500 INR, not bad for a 16h train journey on 3rd tier A/C.

Mumbai train station

Sights in Hariyana

Next day I was in Hariyana, a bustling state between Delhi and Punjab. This time very brown and dry as the rains had not yet started but almost everywhere we went there was cultivation taking place.

 

Rohtak

Rohtak side roads 

Sights in Delhi

Jantar Mantar

After getting our car and driver hired we set the route and out first point of call was Jantar Mantar. It is a compound with huge observation instruments (yantras) for celestial movements, azimuth & altitude and also time. Originally built by the Maharaj Sawai Jai Singhji of Jaipur in 1710 it is still standing (restored 1910) and it is also listed as a UNESCO preservation site. One could still see the carefully carved measuring scales on the stones and each instrument had a plaque explaining for what celestial body was being measured (declination, time, etc). I did not linger long and left for our next stop.

One of the Yantras

Captain's blog April 2010

As you may have read we have been traveling for most of April and are now relocated from Thailand to India.

 

Gateway of India

Chaitra Navratri celebration in Mumbai

Goddess Durga

Voyage Langkawi - Colombo - Mumbai

1st April we arrived Langkawi and made fast to RLYC. By then I had already got sailing orders for Goa. I was picking up some stuff for the yacht, new fenders and fresh medicines. Lest we forget to get some bunkers onboard as well as fresh provisions. Saini was called back from vacation and on 9th we cast off RLYC and moved alongside the bunker barge. After bunkering I bid our agent, Nick Coombes, goodbye and headed west.

Asen and Rajaram on night before departure

Sri Jinaratana Bhikku Abhyasa Vidyalaya temple

As Sri Lanka is 80% Buddhist as were our driver he took me to visit a temple, Sri Jinaratana Bhikku Abhyasa Vidyalaya. The temple had surprisingly many Chinese style deities there, I assume donated by various benefactors. 

This Chinese general had his spear missing

Markets of Colombo

We went in the morning to Colombo fish market which was actually quite close to the main port. As soon as I stepped out of the car I could smell the pungent fish aroma coming strong into my nostrils. Richard mumbled "Oh my God, this is worse than Crawford market". maybe so but fish had to be bought.

The fish vendor

Colombo stopover

15th April early morning we approached Colombo and the day dawned to a yellow cloud of pollution over the capital of Sri Lanka. Reminded me of the same view when I was sailing into Hong Kong years ago on a casino ship. Every morning we saw what we were going to breathe during the day.

A new day in Colombo

Captain's blog March 2010

So, once again we were back in Phuket and we had stuff to do as usual. Carpenters were called and works started on our foremast to embed the new radar cable into it. We also had some wood rot that needed taking care of.

Lightning storm in Malacca Strait

Hashing with LBHHH (run 433)

As we were again in Langkawi we were asked to join the hash once again to which we replied positively. Friday went working in expecting the fun in the evening and at 5pm we loaded ourselves in the car and left for the laager.

All fresh to run

Diving Pulau Perak

On our trip to Langkawi I decided to go via Pulau Perak and check out the waters there.

Pulau Perak itself is a small button like Island in the middle of Malacca Strait, some 65' WNW of Langkawi Island. It is quite elevated and could be seen well from 20' away. As we were approaching the Island the day seemed to start as overcast but as we came closer the cloud cover broke and we got a splendid sunshine. The winds were practically nil and we got only a very low Easterly swell. A perfect day for diving.

Pulau Perak

Visiting Phraya Rasda's house

As some friends were going to do a photo shoot in Kantang I was asked to tag along to see the local spot. Little did I know that I was going to see a piece of history. After some driving we came to a seemingly dilapidated house in a huge estate.

Phraya Rasda's house

Huai Yod talent contest

While in Trang I was given opportunity to come and watch a talent contest at Huai Yod school. These kind of events are very common in Thailand and are often arranged by schools, monasteries & other entities in order to raise funds for various causes. The contestants are sponsored by various means as well and the event usually has also a wide variety of stalls selling food and other knick knacks. It always gives a feeling of being in a sort of mini Carnival and people are lining up from everywhere.

Ningnong Show

Road tripping to Bangkok, part II

2 weeks later the red shirts were wreaking havoc in Bangkok and I prepared to go north to pick up my newly arrived passport. This time I could not get a ticket in Phuket as it seemed government had cut bus rides up north in order to stem the flow of people to the ongoing demonstrations. Anyway, I got a ride in Krabi and was once again on my way. Same routine repeated itself with dinner in Chumphon. I bought for dessert a bag of "mak" from an old lady selling them outside the rest stop. It was so strong it made my head spin.

The Lion of Finland

Fossil beach Krabi

Having been driving to Trang a few times I have been seeing signs of the "fossil beach" when I've been passing through Krabi, so this time I decided to go and check it out.

At the "T" junction towards Krabi airport and town I went towards the town and after a couple of k's I came to a right turn which said "Fossil beach 8km". After following a meandering road with spectacular lime stone vistas I came to another junction after 9k's, no signs there.

Krabi road vistas

Road tripping to Bangkok part I

As my passport was running out of pages despite only 4 years in use I needed to get a new one before the bureaucrats started bitching about it. For those who do not know, one is required to have at least 2 blank pages and more than 6 months validity (as I recall) left in order to be admitted to any country.

Bangkok Southern Bus terminal

Captain's blog February 2010

February went fast as usual, Kalizma was looking to be under siege with all the maintenance works going on but she looks better now with the new awnings, new bridge deck teak and fresh varnish work. I also did plenty of carpentry inside as well, fixing here and there.

Wonder if this guy was out shopping during low water

Diving Ko A Yam & Hin Daeng

Next day (28th Feb) came sunny and calm, we heaved up anchor early morning and started towards Phuket again. At abt 10am we were passing Ko A Yam and Ko Bulon and decided to try out the waters there as well.

Ko A Yam

Diving Ko Rawi

Our time was up once again and Saini's visa expired so we had to leave Malaysia for Phuket. We left late on the 27th in the afternoon as Chan was tweaking our new CCTV and radar installation and we still had some stuff to pick up before departure. Once on our way we steamed towards the Butangs for night anchorage. We arrived just with the last rays of the sun and anchored just south of Ko Rawi.

Morning in Ko Rawi

Hashing with LBHHH

19th Feb Hashing with Langkawi Beach Hash House Harriers

Having arrived to Langkawi it naturally reached the hashing community and we were asked to join the LBHHH for their next run and so we did. From the crew we went me. Saini, Dubey, Richard and Asen. The run was close to the hindu temple towards the golf course. As hares acted Brendan & Co and as usual he had laid an easy trail.

Hashers on the trail

Voyage Phuket - Langkawi

So, our time was again up in the Kingdom of Smiles and we were leaving for Langkawi once more. This time it could be for a longer time as there has been some talks that we might end up in Dubai.

My contractors and dayworkers had been paid off and jobs wrapped up for this period. Saini was getting the last supplies in preparation for his next maintenance round. I got a new stewardess onboard, Ms. Imtisenla Amur a.k.a. Asen, also from Nagaland in India.

Asen with her new curls

Ekachai Srivichai concert

On the 7th Jira took me to see Ekachai Srivichai, a local talent from southern Thailand. He has been a staple "luk thung" artist for years in the Kingdom.

The entry ticket

At the Muslim Butcher

This guy met his maker Dec 2008 in the Port Blair Market

Captain's Blog January 2010

After settling down after the cruise we started on our pending works: awnings, teak dk, interior, engine, MCA, stability, interior carpentry, bridge equipment service (again, sic!), the list just went on and on.

The good news for the month was that crew got a salary raise from the Owner and Richard and Jyothi has been shortlisted to be transferred to France to take care of Owner's properties there.

Jira & Kalpu being purified by the Holy Man

Good bye APS Phuket

Gordon Fernandes

Khuan Kaeng Hot springs in Trang

On this sunday I decided to explore the hot water spring of Trang in Khuan Keang. To get there you drive to the Pak Meng beach and continue along the beach southwards towards Kantang. The road is narrow but beautifully lined by tropical pines. A few resorts line the road and after 10k's or so you will reach the Chao Mai beach nature reserve. After another 24km you will reach the hot water spring. The area is like any other Thai tourist attraction and first you come to a large parking lot.

The 70deg C pond

Voyage Phuket - Langkawi - Phuket

Departed Phuket on monday afternoon. The day before I did the immigration, Customs and Harbor Master clearance at Ao Chalong. It is an hours drive by car and maybe another hour to jump through all the hoops in the one stop shop. All and all the officials were very friendly and gave good advice of how to go about moving in the Kingdom and about their rules. For Rajaram that was signing off to go and attend to a death in the family I had to process at the Phuket town Immigration Bureau a so called "bonding out" of crew. It has to be followed or the crew in question can be barred entry from Thailand in the future. The Officer will type out a form that is stapled to the passport and at the airport must be presented on exit to the immigration officer and then signed in his presence.

One of Yacht Havens charter boats in the Channel

Sojourn to Penang

When the port clearance was done I left with Jira for Penang (or Georgetown) with all passports to apply Thai visas for everyone. The ferry took 3 hrs to arrive. The trip was uneventful as the weather was fine. The ferry stopped by Pulau Payar to drop or pick up passengers and then we continued. Last time I had been to Penang was in 1998 with Superstar Sagittarius and boy had the place changed. The terminal was new and gone was all the shabby colonial buildings (well, most of them or they had been restored).

We checked in the Malaysia Hotel at Jalan Penang and after settling in went for search of some dinner. I found a local Thai restaurant and there we got our chili fix for the day. For rest of evening we walked around Jalan Penang to the shopping centers in Komtar and did not see anything worth mentioning except they had an excellent bookstore in there. Jira found herself a dress that she was very happy to buy. After awhile we took a rickshaw back to the hotel and retired for the night.

The Penang Clocktower

Diving Ko Ha Yai

As I had learned that Ko Ha Yai had some marvelous underwater caves to discover I stopped enroute to Langkawi and did 2 dives at the group to experience these sights so much touted.

Dubey

Captain's Blog December 2009

As December has gone and we have ushered in the New Year of 2010 I would like to take the opportunity and wish all readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year. I hope your year will be full of positive development and happenings.

First sunset of the Year