Songster in the Springtime

It was good to be back on Songster in Marmaris but Mother Nature was not too welcoming.  Our first week back onboard, on the hard, it rained.  Then both Bob and I came down with the flu that just would not resolve for about 2 weeks.  So we sloshed through the puddles and mud, climbed the 4 metre ladder to get onboard and generally huddled down unable to do much and feeling quite sorry for ourselves.

Dreary view from the deck

 

The sun finally came out.  We dragged ourselves out of our sick beds still coughing and low energy to start the usual spring chores of painting antifoul on the hull and giving Songster a good wash and polish.  We also got a new propeller.  Our old propeller was getting very thin and was not quite the right size for the optimum running of our new motor.  Not a major issue but we thought we would get it replaced while we were in Turkey and the Marvelous Marlin Men in Red could do the job.  Finally it was launch day and Songster was looking quite smart.

Shiny new propeller

Getting ready for launching

The next morning, Bob's birthday, the Marlin engineers came to take the boat out into the bay to test the new propeller.  All went well until they wanted to go astern (reverse to you Land Lubbers).  The engineer puts the engine hard astern before Bob had a chance to center the helm (wheel) so the helm spins out of his hand and locks over hard.  The boat was just going round in tight circles.  We fitted the emergency tiller, a sort of long rod and bar that goes through a hole in the aft cabin deck and down onto the rudder quadrant.  This allows us to helm if the wheel falls off or cables break .  But this would not give us steering.  The engineer donned my wet suit (he looked a lot better in it than I do!) and dove in to inspect the problem.  The water is still freezing and he came up quite blue.  He confirmed the rudder was jammed hard to starboard.  Luckily we were away from the nearest shore and drifting slowly back to the marina.  

We were out in the bay for a good three hours trying various ways of fixing the problem.  A small sail boat came by and tried to tow us but did not have the power against our larger boat and a rudder hard to starboard.  Then the engineer called up the cavalry in the shape of a rubber ducky to help tow us back.  So with Bob in our dinghy pulling sideways and the other dinghy nudging the bow and the engineer giving small bursts of the engine we managed to get back onto one of the outer pontoons to await the diver who would don his frogman kit and take a look.  But as fate would have it up comes the wind and no diver in his right mind will go under with the boat bouncing around.  Stuck on a bouncing pontoon, Bob, being the hero, thinks that this situation calls for a mix of thinking and brute strength.  He reinstalled the emergency tiller then put his back against the mizzen mast and feet on the tiller and give a mighty heave ho and sure enough it swung free - All fixed.  We motored around to our usual spot on India pontoon (and on further inspection found that the chain that limits the maximum swing of the rudder had broken.  This was easily fixed with a new bit of chain. 

Bob was not a happy chappy after all this.  He kept thinking what might have happened in bad conditions without the help of several good Samaritans and the engineers on board.  But then we went to his birthday dinner with a small group of friends and it all became a good story over drinks and dinner.  Everyone had similar stories and Bob became much more sanguine about it all.  The birthday dinner was really lovely and a good time had by all.  Our new neighbours, a lovely American couple, had come to the rescue and got a fantastic cake from town for the celebrations.

The Birthday Dinner

Fantastic cake.  Thank you Mary Beth and Karl

Return to Turkey

The weather in Istanbul was a bit of a shock to the system after spending four months in the tropics and summertime in Australia.  But it was so nice to be back in this beautiful city, despite the cold and thick fog.

Our main purpose for staying two nights in Istanbul was to go to the Australian Consulate to replace my passport which had received some water damage in Sumatra.  The Consulate is in a big tower block near the new football stadium and the Dolmanbahce Palace in Kabataş.  We knew the area so it was easy negotiating the excellent public transport to get there from our hotel near the Otogar (bus station).  The consular officials were very helpful and I should have a replacement passport in a week or so.  Our business with the Consulate only took about half an hour so we had all day to explore the city. 

We walked up the hill to Taksim Square and down the famous and wonderful pedestrian street, Istiklal Cadesi.  This is a wide boulevard stretches about 1.5 km from Taksim Square to the Galata Tower.  It is lined with funky upmarket shops, pubs,bars and eateries.  On a weekend nearly 3 million people walk along this street every day.  Sadly in March last year a suicide bomber killed 4 people and injured 36 on this street.  There were no signs of any such horror a year later but the street was not as crowded as when we were last here in the middle of the summer.

Galata Tower

I found myself just smiling as I was walking along.  I had forgotten just how nice Turkey is.  The sights and sounds were bliss.  We stopped for a glass of çay and it was pure pleasure.  It was good to be back in Turkey.

Display of pomegranates and citris

Turkish tea - the best

Bizarre sight of South Americans buskers dressed as North American Indians playing pan pipes in Turkey

When we had stayed in Istanbul in 2014, I had missed going to the Hagia Sophia as I was sick that day.  So here was my opportunity.  What a difference the tourist sites were in chilly early March compared to a few years ago in mid-summer.  There were no queues and no crowds.  The Hagia Sophia is undergoing renovation still so half of the main hall is covered in scaffolding.  This cathedral/mosque/museum is 1400 years old and looking a bit scruffy around the edges (mind you at only 62 years old I’m looking a bit scruffy too).

The ablution block outside Hagia Sophia - note the Byzantium column, Ottaman rotunda and the fog

Marble doorway into the main hall

Ceiling with Christian and Islamic symbols

Huge candles and ornate doorway

It was a quick visit to Istanbul but I will be back in a few weeks to pick up my new passport.

Sarawak: The Land of Brooke

James Brooke

Ever since I first found out about James Brooke 25 years ago through Bob’s course in Asian Studies and the book Flashman’s Lady, I have been fascinated by the history of Sarawak.  Imagine a young British adventurer sailing into the wilds of Borneo full of head hunters and pirates in 1839, who has the chutzpah to negotiate with the Sultan of Brunei that in exchange for suppressing the warring tribes and pirates in the area, who were causing the Sultan no end of angst, he would be granted the kingdom of Sarawak.  That's what happened and for over 100 years Brooke and his family ruled as the White Rajahs of Sarawak.

By all accounts Brooke was quite a progressive ruler.  He did not follow the usual path of the colonist at the time.  He practiced a collaborative ruling style, brought a market economy, social, civil and education services to the region while steadfastly maintaining local customs and protecting the indigenous people from being exploited by Western interest.  His first principle of rule as the White Rajah was that Sarawak was the heritage of the Sarawak people which as Rajah he held in trust for them.

 

Fort Margarita built by Raja Charles Brooke

Brookes ship: The Royalist, a 142-ton topsail schooner

Today Kuching is a vibrant, modern, multi-cultural city full of funky cafes, street art and a beautiful waterfront.  Kuching means 'cat' in Malay so there are lots of cat themes throughout the city, including a cat museum which we didn't go to.

The state parliament building.  A bit OTT and I wonder it is the best use of tax payers money but the locals seem proud of it.

 

Street art and cafes

Evening view of the Sarawak River

The head hunters are gone.  The only heads now are displayed in museums.  The numerous indigenous people such as the Dayaks, Ibans, Orang Ulu and Melanau, now live 21^st Century lives wearing blue jeans and t-shirts and having mobile phones, satellite TV, and four wheel drive cars.  Many still live in their distinctive style of communal building, the long house, but these houses are no longer of grass and thatch but sturdy brick and concrete with all the mod cons.  Just as the rainforest reminded us of our home in Australia (previous post), the traditional long houses reminded us of our house in Bellingen.

Heads displayed in the traditional way in an Iban house

Traditional long house

Our house in Bellingen

Modern long house

The tribes are known for their textiles, bead work and wood carving.  There were lots of examples in the tourist souvenir shops and in the museums.

Sarawak Museum

Wood carvings

Weaving

Bead work

Iban mask

We realise that next time we visit Sarawak we will need to go up the rivers to the less populated areas to see some of the vestiges of the traditional lifestyle.  The cities are lovely and modern but far removed from the age of Brooke.

Kuching: Orangutans and Orchids

The Semenggoh Nature Reserve is only about a 40 minute drive outside Kuching.  As we approached the area it was surrounded by suburbia and I began to fear inside the nature reserve would be very sad. But the reserve was 650 hectares of a rainforest oasis.  Sadly these oases are really the only places where these magnificent creatures can survive anymore.  We saw 4 of the 21 orangutans living on the  reserve.  They are still basically wild but need supplemental  feeding in between seasons.  21 orangutans require more than 650 hectares (interestingly this area is just double the size of our co-op property in Bellingen - perhaps the co-op should raise a few orangutans.....?)  

Shades of Shamballa and Dorrigo National Park 

The first orangutan we saw was very close to the entrance. The grand old man of the group, Richie, 38 years old, came for a feed and stayed for about 20 minutes, then with a semi-disdainful backward look at us clothed and nosy primates, took a final big piece of fruit and sauntered away.  He was much bigger and hairier than I expected from pictures and even my zoo visits.

Old man Richie

We then were ushered through some lovely but wet and muddy rainforest (it rained every day in Kuching except this one) to another feeding area nestled in thick jungle.  At this feeding area the keepers called to the animals for about a half hour. After waiting patiently and the onlooking crowds growing, an 18 year old male, Annuar, came for a feed.

Annuar

About 15 minutes later, we saw some trees swaying in the distance and 12 year old Salina and her 4 month old baby came through the jungle for some fruit on the platform.  It was amazing to see them swinging through the tree tops and then be able to see them from about 30 - 50 m away.  It was magic.

Mum and Bub

Swinging through the trees

Annuar

4 month old baby

Another day we went to the northern side of the Sarawak River to Fort Margarita (next post) and the Orchid Gardens.  On the map the garden looked to be only 100 metres away from the fort.  We couldn’t see any direct route but decided to walk over some fields to the gardens.  The fields turned out to be squishy swamp and we had to turn back and take the much longer road route.  The walk though was well worth it.  There were acres of orchids of every imaginable colour and shape.  After about 5 minutes Bob had seen enough and sat on a bench while I went all around the pathways taking hundreds of photos.