THE BEACHSIDE VILLAGE OF ROMPIN

Although the beach side village of Rompin was not initially an organised Rally stop, with an invitation from one of the officials who had attended the Tioman Island celebrations, all that changed. Suddenly we had another stopover which coincided with the annual Rompin Festival. There was all the usual fun of the fair with marquees & tents set up along the foreshores, offering everything from food, drinks, beer, clothing, shoes & souvenirs, to entertainment. The local radio station was broadcasting live, there were karaoke contests, musical bands & anything else that you could possibly think of that is usually connected with a fair. The photo above is of a motorised kite surfer taking off on the beach & although it looked fun, it also looked quite dangerous as he hovered above crowds of people who were all gazing skyward.

The display of kick boxing held the crowd's attention as these older guys moved around the ring in their mesmerising way. The younger guy with the bright t-shirt on, moved like a dancer, easily skipping out of the way of his opponent as he kicked & punched forward but they both tired fairly quickly, obviously out of shape.

Mastura & her family were invited on board "Windy Spirit" the afternoon before we left Rompin. We first met Mastura when she was manning the tourist information booth along the beach. We'd asked her if there was a service station nearby & if there was a taxi service that would take us into the main town as we needed to stock up with more fuel. Apparently the town was about 7 kms away & NO, there wasn't a taxi service but she would be happy to take us the following day when she wasn't working. She was just so kind, & true to her word, she was at the beach the following morning to pick up Kay, Jim, Rees & I. Besides fuel, we also needed fruit & vegies so Mastura drove us to the local Sunday Market where she was really helpful in describing how to cook a lot of the local vegetables as well as negotiating prices for us. She didn't want anything in return so because she had never been on a yacht before, we invited her to visit us for afternoon tea, which she was extremely excited about. Of course, she didn't come empty handed either & brought freshly cooked fish that she'd purchased at the markets during the morning. Her brother & 3 children really enjoyed their time on the boat but as the afternnon wore on & the winds began to freshen, it was soon time for us to sail away as we were heading further north that afternoon. It was a shame that we couldn't have spent longer with this lovely family but I'm sure we'll stay in touch as time goes by. Thank you once again Mastura for your kindness & hospitality.

These frisky little monkeys were everywhere & seemed particularly fond of crossing the busy streets via the overhead electrical wires. From there they had the choice of squatting & fighting in the jungle on one side of the road, or frolicking across the roof tops of the shops on the opposite side. They were certainly a treat for the tourists but I think they were probably a pest to the locals who showed no interest in them what so ever.