Taxi

Today Randal and I went back into Port Dixon. We waited for the morning’s downpour to end and then walked off the boat, off the dock, through the main marina building, out the front door, down the driveway, along the short private marina road and along the main road stopping at the bus stop not far from the marina exit. It was 11:25 am and I was predicting the local bus would come along within 10 minutes or so. I had seen one go by the bus stop yesterday while I was out for a walk. We’d actually planned to take catch one of the taxies leaving the marina as we had Monday. But we saw none entering the marina so there would be none leaving. That’s why we walked to the bus stop. While we were waiting for the bus a young woman walked out of the apartment complex near the stop. She too came to catch the bus. I asked her what time it usually came but she said she didn’t know and added that it was hard to get a taxi. We started to chat and she told me that she was from the Philippines but worked here because that’s what many Filipinos have to do. They have to leave the Philippines to find jobs overseas. I told her we’d lived in Subic for almost a year. A few minutes later a taxi pulled up to the bus stop and Randal asked if she wanted to ride with us into Port Dixon. She said yes but was getting out at a resort? hotel? condo complex? outside of Port Dixon. As we rode along I thought that we would pay for her too especially since she would be getting out first and we were going further. She, sadly I don’t know her name, asked the driver to pull over and as she got out handed him money and said it was to pay for us too! We said, NO, we would pay for her. But she said no and walked off. Randal and I both felt terrible that she was spending her money on us but just appreciate that there are lots of really nice people in the world. When we got to Port Dixon we asked the driver what we owed and he said that she had paid for us so that was that. I know she gave him at least a 5 ringgit bill and Randal had seen some ones also. The fare from the marina to town is 10 ringgits so I guess that’s what she gave him. We said thanks and walked off for lunch and chores. A stranger had paid our taxi fare and the driver hadn’t tried to get us to pay more. A very positive experience with good feelings we’ll pass along.

We returned to the same Indian “restoran” we’d eaten in Monday so we could have another one of those chicken/onion patties. Still not sure what they’re called but they are good. Randal and I got the last two.

Our bill was 13.30 ringgits. We each had one of those very filling patties along with some dhal dipping sauce. Randal had a piece of chicken too and I had a small dish of cooked curry flavored cabbage. Both of us had a canned drink. We left full and happy and it cost us $4. I was going to say that they also sold penny candy, but it probably cost far less than a penny. A small boy had gotten to pick one out and it was like all kids everywhere doing that same exact thing.

We walked around a bit for the exercise and then headed back to the grocery store for veggies and dessert for dinner. New cruising friends Julia and Horst whom we had met in Puteri and traded books and talk are coming for dinner. Shopping finished, we went back to the taxi stand to the group of drivers who had called out to us earlier as we walked along. We picked one, got in and drove along listening to the news that Jon Bon Jovi wouldn’t act anymore because he hated the audition process and later to Rod Stewart sing Sailing. Randal tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I had told the driver where we were going. No. Neither had Randal but the driver took us to the marina. I guess when westerners walk out of the grocery store there is only one place they could be going and that’s back to their boat. Randal told him that it was the first time we didn’t say where we were going but the driver just knew. I said that he’d read our minds. A second taxi story for the day.

Now we’re back on the boat on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away wasting time!

Ru

DoraMac

Admiral Marina  http://admiralmarina.com.my/

Port Dixon, Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus, Malaysia

Hi Everyone,

  We’ll be here in Port Dixon for one or two more days and then make our way north to Lumut, the next official rally stop.  Many of the rally boats chose to stop in Melaka instead of Port Dixon so there are very few rally boats here with us.  We’ll stop in Melaka later in the year or early next year, after the rainy season ends.  We have decided to remain in SE Asia through 2010.  Originally we had planned to leave Asia and cross the Indian Ocean, go up the Red Sea and then into the Med.  That’s now our plan for 2011.  There just too much that we haven’t seen; too much that we rushed through and once we leave SE Asia we probably won’t be back.  It’s kind of “now or probably not ever.”  We want to do lots more snorkeling, revisit some of our favorite places, like Terrenganu, and also do some land travel.  Beijing, the Tibet railway and India are on my list though we might very well cruise in India.  Anyway, that’s what we’re thinking now.

  Today Randal and I went into Port Dixon.  We’d planned to take the bus but joined another cruising couple who were planning to flag down a taxi.   None of us was sure when the bus would actually come: if we had just missed it we’d have to wait at least 30 minutes or more for the next one.  Because it’s always fun to talk with other cruisers, in Port Dixon we all ate lunch together at one of the many Indian restaurants that line the streets.    We all thought it was very good and it seems as if you really can’t go too far wrong eating Indian unless you think being way too full is too far wrong.  I had yellow flavored rice, some kind of spinach, a cucumber salad and a few bites of what tasted like a very light small onion bagel that had been fried. It was good but I was too full and didn’t need bread with the small mountain of rice. Randal decided to try a chicken onion egg patty along with his meal of rice, chicken and cucumber salad.  It was very good and large enough that all 4 of us has as much of it as we wanted.  By the end, way too full. 

  We’d gone to town to shop for veggies, bread, milk, mail my letter to my cousin Naomi and get a desperately needed haircut for me and a shave for Randal.  At one point I think the barber thought Randal wanted his head shaved and when I asked Randal just now, he said, “No”, but that he had heard the word bald…  Not to worry, it worked out fine.  Except the photo I took of me multiplied by the shop mirrors totally disappeared from my computer photo file.  There’s just a blank space where the photo had been.  It wasn’t deleted, zoomed,  cropped, or erased with the brightness option.  I have no idea where it went.  RATS!

It was only Randal’s beard that got shaved and not his head.  I did make sure my flash was turned off before I took the photo.  I didn’t want to blind the barber while he was using a straight razor on Randal. 

The barber was Indian and the customers was Chinese which seems pretty typical of the population mix that we saw in town. 

We finally bought another little clock so I don’t have to keep moving the only one we have from room to room. 

Originally we had 3, but for some reason really inexpensive little clocks just don’t seem to last forever. 

Of course my overpriced Red Sox watch fell apart even faster and rusted to rediculousness instantly. 

We walked around town for a bit before we headed over to the one grocery store at the end of town.    I couldn’t resist the elephants.

Not exactly Starbucks.  This crow had raided the trash and was flying around with a styrofoam cup.  I don’t know what he thought it was but he just wouldn’t let it go.

Our main chores were done and it looked like we were in for the afternoon downpour so we grabbed a taxi and just made it back into the boat in time.  We hooked up our water catcher and managed to collect about 100 gallons in less than an hour so you can imagine how hard it rained. 

Port Dixon is a beach resort area and also has two big petroleum facilities which seems not a good mix.  

So that’s what we’re up to.  Is it baseball season yet?

Ru

DoraMac