Tuesday 17 December We got wheels

Duty free Langkawi has some amazing bargains. One is the availability of a hire car for £8 / $12 for a day! The compact car we were alloted had doors that locked, brakes which worked and air conditioning. There wasn't a badge to indicate manufacturer and it almost certainly didn't have any insurance but you don't ask to many questions when the renter takes no personal details of the hiree beyond first name and a request for a £12 / $20 deposit.
Our first item of the day was to get petrol because the fuel gauge was showing empty. Small car wouldn't need much so we put in 5 litres, or Rm10 (£2) and also filled the four diesel jerry jugs we had in the boot. They were ferried back out to Jackster and David came back with the petrol can to fill up later in the day. It also had a few litres in just in case 5 litres and fumes weren't enough for the day. It was. 
So onwards into the hills to find the dinghy repair shop where our poor dinghy was having major surgery. The glue holding the fabric to the aluminium floor has been quickly coming unstuck. No mater how often we've re-glued water still comes in. Time for a professional to pull it apart, clean and restick with better adhesive. Dinghy had been promised for delivery tomorrow but when we saw the tube in one location and the floor outside it was apparent it was going to be late. Still it looked like Farid was doing a thorough job.
From Farid's it was back to town to find a 'super' supplier of filters. A long time cruiser in Johor had recommended this shop as having everything and at great prices. He'd given us a sketch map which turned out to be too sketchy. I called the shop to get directions and we found him in a back street. Alas he had only one filter which would fit our engine but he was a nice man.
The rest of the day was spent driving in circles looking for an elusive warehouse near the airport and s visit to an art gallery. The elusive warehouse is reported to have best prices on wine and stocks of western foods as they supply many of the hotels. A chance meeting with cruising friends in a hardware shop put us back in the right direction and we found our goodies.

and above this wonderful ceiling

two of cars on display

Perdana art gallery is a collection of gifts given to the President of Malaysia over the thirty year period he was in power. All is housed in a building which is a piece of art in itself. When you see what this statesman was given over the years you realise a house would never hold it all. In one hall there were cars from Mercedes and BMW to a formula one race car, motorbikes and horse drawn buggies. In other halls china, glass objet d'art, gold tea caddies, sculptures, paintings, wood carvings from African countries, commemorative plates from Japan. From countries all over the world and states within Malaysia.  
And that was our day in a bargain hire car which ran on less than 5 litres of fuel for all day; from boat needs to a bit of culture. Nice.