first overland journey with julian 1977-9

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We arrived in Darwin after 19 days. If felt an incredibly long time although less than 3 weeks. We saw so many different people and places and so many scenes with hippies, rockers etc. It felt so strange that the long awaited time had finally arrived - like an anti-climax. It didn’t really feel we were on our way until we reached Taree.
We made Brisbane on the fourth day after stopping a while at Surfers Paradise, which strangely enough proved profitable as I found $50 in the surf.
After Brisbane hitching became harder - two days to Gympie - so we and a guy called Grant decided to catch a train to Rocky. We parted with Grant after unsuccessful attempts to jump goods trains. I’ve come to like Prospect; it’s like an oasis in the desert. We caught another train to Proserpine where we met a hippie who invited us to share a paw-paw with him.
Proserpine is a rather nice place. It’s surrounded by sugar cane and does a roaring tourist trade through boats visiting the islands. We met a couple of friendly New Zealand people there who were touring around Australia in a huge caravan.
We caught another train to Townsville and then got a lift - to my amazement - all the way to Three Ways. The guy was nice enough although a Scot with a Scots temper which unfortunately I got on the wrong side of so Three Ways was as far as we got. However we got a lift practically strait away all the way to Katherine where we were dropped off - to my relief. Four in the front seat isn’t my idea of enjoyable travel even if we are supposed to be ‘roughing-it’. The heat and warm water made it worse.
At the caravan park we met an Austrian and a Canadian who gave us the idea of working in Europe. They were the most entertaining people we have met so far. I hope we meet more people like that overseas - fellow travelers seem to be more friendly and interesting.
A trucky gave us our final lift to Darwin on the condition we helped him unload his truck. We helped him the next day as well and got paid for that, as well as free beer at every place we unloaded. I’ve come to the conclusion that beer is a necessary evil in Darwin!
We spent the first two nights at the Wheelers house although Peter was in Brisbane at the time. We felt uncomfortable there so we moved to Rod’s caravan where we again felt uncomfortable so we moved again. So now we are at Bruce’s place and feeling pretty comfortable because his family is so friendly.

Getting off the plane at Denpasar airport I felt a mixture of anxiousness and wonder at being in a foreign country for the first time. The boredom of filing through the ticket and passport checking stations turned into bewilderment as we were whisked away by a brown uniformed porter who was carrying our bags out the door before we could utter a word. I was worried I would have to tip him and for all I knew of Indonesian currency I could have given him the equivalent of a months pay. The rate is actually 400 rupiah to an American dollar which would make it about 460 rupiah to an Australian dollar, the Australian dollar being stronger than the American buy about 1.15 to 1. But fortunately he didn’t ask for a tip or if he did I didn’t hear him. As soon as we made one step outside we were swamped by people offering us lifts to all corners of Bali. We were surrounded by about 8 guys shouting 200 rupiah, 100 rupiah etc. We finally made it to a truck - like a utility with a roof and seats - and set off down the road at a great pace. We could hear the eternal beeping of horns and people were flying past without any concern of road rules.
Our losmen was called ‘Tamen Sari’ and our friend who caught us at the airport was called Swastika. Indonesians seem to have two first names. One being the order in which they were born. Swastika is the same age as us and very friendly and helpful.
In less detail, the next day - 1st November - we hired motor-bikes for 1,500 rupiah each and rode about 30 kilometers to Sangeh where they have a monkey temple. I bought a packet of peanuts and became swamped by monkeys that searched in my trouser and shirt pockets until they had cleaned me out. About 10 minutes after we started riding the bikes I nearly got wiped out. I was looking at Julian behind and turned around just in time to swerve out of the way of an oncoming bemo. From then on I kept my eyes glued to the road and followed the local rules by beeping my horn madly. We followed the road right to the end and ended up walking along a foot track near the mountains. Some of the villages were so unused to civilization that they stared at us in wonder and none could speak two words of English. Everyone knew how to say hello and we got thousands of waves and smiles. Denpasar is noisy and crowded which is a contrast to the quiet serene countryside further out. The streets of Denpasar are a bustle of cars, motor cycles, bikes and pedestrians. There are also lots of one way streets where traffic is sometimes 4 abreast
The next day - the 2nd November - we spent all day on the beach talking to an endless array of Balinese girls. Most of them are younger than use. They are selling drinks, hats, sarongs and shirts because their parents cant afford schooling which is very expensive they say. They seem to have an easy life and are quite happy and content to stay in Bali for the rest of their lives. Julian and I put on a pretend fight which has them clapping and laughing and caught the attention of the rest of the beach.
Next morning - 3rd November - we rented bikes again and rode to Lake Batur. We hired a guide and climbed the volcano and also saw hot springs which weren’t much good. After that day we both decided to stop spending money - $35 so far - so no more motor-bikes, cloths or guides if we are going to keep to our budget!
Now it’s the 10th November. We have spent the last week mainly on the beach talking to the Balinese girls, to save money but it’s starting to get pretty boring. We have also both got diarrhea. I am getting over a bad cold and Julian got a stomach ache. The only way to really have fun here is to spend money so as soon as Julian is better we will hire motor-bikes again and see some more of the island. My Indonesian is slowly improving with the help of Geoffrey and the girls on the beach.
It’s now the 20th November. I have just gotten over an attack of the ‘Bali Belly’ which was pretty unpleasant. We have started to get into a routine in Kuta. Susie’s for breakfast and lunch and Poppies at dinner time. Then sometimes off to the Doggies discothèque. Poppies in the big meeting place and we always see plenty of people we know when we go there.
Last Saturday I met a really nice chick from Jakarta at Doggies. I thought I was getting on really well with her until she started flirting with every guy that came in the door. The next night she was arrested for prostitution. I saw her again last night but it seems money is the only way of getting past the dancing stage. I also met a chick from Melbourne whose hotel room I stayed in for a few nights. She was very nice but a bit too quiet.
We arrived in Yogyakarta on the 23rd of November after an uncomfortable and sleepless bus trip from Kuta. It took me about two days to get over it. Yogya is a fairly clean Indonesian city but the Javanese people are not a patch on the Balinese. The next day we went to the ancient Buddhist temple called
Borobudur, after another bumpy crowded bus trip. The next day we spent reading and lounging around town because after that the next day we want to leave for Jakarta.
We arrive at 4.30am after an overnight train trip. It was a pretty good trip and we got some sleep on the floor. We spent 3 nights at the Youth Hostel paying 600 rupiah each. Jakarta is a comparatively clean city with some pretty monuments and hotels but it is hopelessly overcrowded with traffic. The outer suburbs are a lot dirtier and the people aren’t very friendly.
On Monday the 28th we caught the boat from Jakarta to Singapore which took 2 days and nights. We slept on deck which was overcrowded with Indonesians and gradually became covered in spew, spit and old food. The toilets were filthy and the food inedible. We heard about the bad food before so we bought 3 loaves of bread 10 mangoes and 30 bananas for the trip. We spent most of the time in the bar playing a card game called ‘scuba’ with the other tourists. On the first night it started raining so about 6 of us were cramped up together getting wet and listening to a Tunisian actor who kept us amused with his clowning around, which lasted the whole trip.
We then caught a really enjoyable ferry to Singapore from the last Indonesian Island 5 hours sail away. Eventually we were greeted by a mass of lights at about 10pm. We slept the first night in Singapore at a guy called ‘Tony’s’ flat with about 20 other travelers, including 6 from our boat. Then the next day we moved into a comfortable hotel for Singapore $14 for a double and that’s where we are now.
On the morning of the 6th December we left Singapore after an enjoyable but expensive 6 days. We went to the movies twice, visited the aquarium and even went to the races where I lost Singapore $25. We also found a place that sold duty free beer for 60 Singapore cents. All we had to do was pretend we were in the Singapore air force, very easy. Later that evening we shook off a few parasitical Pakistani guys and together with a Swiss guy called Claudio went to a place called the Tropicana night club. The drinks were very expensive and eventually we were asked to leave because we kept on refusing to buy anything. I also bought a second hand camera from Claudio, an electronic flash, a pair of faded flared jean trousers and shoes. I did not know it at the time but the camera I bought from a Swiss guy fellow traveler and someone who I considered a friend latter turned out to be the worst thing that had ever happened to me in my entire traveling life. The worst thing of all was that Claudio knew exactly what he was doing when he sold me the camera.
On the 8th December we went to Malacca Beach which is really beautiful and peaceful. We met six chicks there, four of them from Kuala Lumper. We played a game called ‘catch the berry’. They gave us their address in Kuala Lumpur and told us to come and see them when we are there. We caught public buses to Kuala Lumpur and went to see Rod and Sue where we stayed. On Saturday we went to see the girls we met in Malacca. They were really surprised to see us. That night we went to a disco and they paid for us. We were the only two Europeans there and of course we had a good time. The next day the girls - Jean, Veron, Vivien, Adrie and Janice treated us to a meal of fish and rice and after we watched a Chinese film on the television. Because we were having such a good time with the girls we decided to stay a day longer. We then went to a movie called ‘car wash’ and they paid again. After that we took them home to Rods place, took some pictures then said very sad goodbyes. It was one of the best times we had so far on the trip. That was the 13th December. We had been there since last Thursday.
The next day we caught more public buses to Penang Island and stayed in hotel in a small town on the mainland called Georgetown. The next day we moved onto a beach on the Island called Batu Ferringi and spent two quiet days there. We walked along a creek with two guys from Singapore and ended up climbing three quarters of the way up a mountain. Then that night we spent sitting around a fire with about 30 guys and chicks from Malaysia. They were a group of students and we all had to take a turn at standing up and singing. I refused and did something else as I am a horrible singer but Julian did it.
On the 16th December we caught buses to Pedang Besar then on the next day a train over the border into Thailand then more buses to Phuket. There were about 20 Thai women on the train that we took trying to smuggle radios over the border. But they got busted by the police. It was quite funny to watch out the window.
The first day in Phuket we lounged around and went skin diving in the afternoon. The next day we went for a walk then spent the rest of the day skin diving. The sea was crystal clear and there were billions of colourful fish. I really enjoyed myself diving down to about 12 meters to the bottom.
The food here is really good. We have been pigging ourselves, especially on sweet and sour pork. Phuket is like an Island paradise with golden sand and palm trees dotted everywhere.
We moved to Nai Harn beach on about the 22nd December. Then spent most of our time reading, learning some Thai and speaking to the local girls who worked at our favorite restaurant on the top of the hill. On Christmas Eve we went into Phuket Town and I got arrested for not wearing a shirt. It was bad luck because I ran into the secretary to the local police commissioner and made the mistake of thinking he was just a shop assistant or something. So when he started abusing me for not wearing a shirt I abused him back. In the end I had to pay a 50 baht fine - that was all I had in my pocket at the time - and had to buy a shirt.
That afternoon we went to see some girls we had met on the beach and discovered they were hookers. We had a great afternoon talking to them and ended up staying the night. We went out to a near bye dance hall where there was about 50 dance hostess’ that charged one baht for a dance. The hostess’ looked about as interested as cattle and danced the same. Our two friends weren’t much better so it was a bit of a right-off for a Christmas Eve.
On Tuesday the 27th December we left Phuket and took a long bus trip to Bangkok. It’s a dirty crowded city.
We went to a place called the Grace hotel with a guy called Kevin. The Grace hotel has a coffee shop downstairs and inside the coffee shop are literally hundreds of pretty girls. Everywhere you look there is a girl making passes at you.
Tonight - the 29th December - we are having an early night because we have only had about 5 hours sleep in the past 2 ½ days.
The next day we left Bangkok by bus and arrived in Chang Mai at about 10pm. We were greeted by a young boy who took us to the Pao Come guest house. The next morning - the 31st December - we looked around the town and did some shopping. Then we went back to the guest house for dinner and a bottle of Mekong whiskey. Latter when we were quite drunk we headed for a near bye hotel but on the way I lost Julian. Luckily we met up again and had a whale of a time dancing with some Canadian women. It was a good New Years Eve but it got a bit spoilt when we had to pay an entrance fee to the club we were in. We had no money and there was an argument where Julian got kicked in the nose. Luckily there was an Australian friend there who paid for us before it got uglier.
We spent the next day recovering then on the 2nd January 1978 we went on a tribal trek towards Chang Ray for two days. Although there were tourists everywhere we really enjoyed it. We saw Burmese, Chinese and Tibetan refuges. The Tibetans wore really strikingly black cloths and headdresses. I managed to swap an old pair of trousers, T-shirt and running shoes for a guy’s shirt. We were both really pleased. Since we started on the trek I’ve had a really bad cold and bronchitis because of the colder weather that developed as we moved into higher altitudes and the last two nights I haven’t had much sleep. Our money is still rapidly going down - now nearly half. So after Nepal we have decided to rush through the rest of Asia to England. On the 5th January we took a freezing cold bus trip back to Bangkok. We spent the first night in a guys flat because we could not get into the Atlanta hotel, but we booked rooms for the next night. Then that night I had my first good nights sleep for a week.
Over the next week we did a few things around Bangkok but mainly stayed at the Atlanta. We went out to the Grace hotel a few times with guys we had met from Atlanta City in America. One late night I returned from the Grace and on the way home I saw a prostitute bye the side of the road. She said she was robbed so I took her home to my room. But as soon as she was in the room she started trying to steel everything in sight so I dragged her downstairs, amid much commotion waking everyone up, and threw her out.
I got extremely drunk on the last night and talked to a girl we christened the ‘Queen” because her attitude was so aloof. After getting a frozen answer I melted into the corner for the rest of the night.
The next day we caught a flight to Rangoon. We were really sad to leave Bangkok, especially Julian who got to like a girl at the Grace. We slept the first night in the Y.M.C.A. then the next night we caught a cold train to Tanzi then another train the next day to Inle Lake. On the second train we sat on the roof with about 20 locals and got a great view of the incredible mountain scenery. On the next day - the 15th January - we took a boat tour of Inle Lake and spent the rest of the day looking around the village. The next day we lounged around reading all day. Julian and I challenged the locals to a game of billiards and got thrashed. I also played some tennis that evening, doing a little better. On the morning of the 18th we took a 24 hour train trip back to Rangoon. Inle Lake was really nice apart from the cold weather and the shit food. We stayed that night at the Y.M.C.A. again then left the next day by plane to Calcutta. Our whole stay in Burma cost me $30 because of Johnny Walker Whiskey and Triple Five cigarettes and the Diplomatic Store.
When we arrived at the Modern Lodge in Calcutta I discovered Id’ lost my pendant and a 10 baht coin as well as leaving my sleeping bag at the airport and having my flash stolen. I was put in a worse mood when I couldn’t sell the cigars I had bought duty free at the Rangoon airport and only got 100 rupees and a scarf for the black and white film I bought. However I quickly cheered up when we looked around the local market and went to see ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ at the cinema for the equivalent of 30 cents.
On the next day - the 20th January - we bought $40 worth of leather goods and sent them back to mum to sell. We were hassled all day but it was worth it for what we got. We took our third flight in 10 days on the 21st and arrived in a very cloudy and cold Kathmandu airport with only a short sleeved shirt on. We quickly found a hotel then looked around the markets for some warm cloths and luckily they were everywhere! I bought a yak wool jumper for 85 Nepalese Rupees. Kathmandu is an incredible city with narrow cobble streets and tall brick buildings that make it look more like a Swiss village than an Asian city. Up until the 26th January we stayed in Kathmandu not doing much. We have eaten a lot of food with rice although at the moment I have lost my appetite. I’m also getting over a bad attack or asthma. We started sharing a room with two Swedish guys called Hans and Peter. We had met them a few times before on our trip. That something that happens, bumping into people over and over again. I’ve bought a 2nd hand down sleeping bag for $55 and gloves a hat and socks, all made from yak wool. I also bought a pair of pajamas to keep warm in the night and a plastic jacket to wear against wind and rain.
On the 27th we took a bus to Pokera. The scenery was really spectacular. We stayed in Pokera for a few days then headed off into the mountains, trekking, on the 29th. We went as far as Gorapani then to Gundrung then back to Pokera again. We were away a total of seven days. It was a very hard at times, especially walking up the mountains which were numerous and steep. We climber to a total of 10,500 feet at a place called Pune Hill. We saw some beautiful sights especially on the part to Gundrung where the ground was covered in snow almost the entire way. It was not a very clear trail and was quite slippery and dangerous. We even saw a frozen waterfall about 30 feet high. We rested a day at Goripani in a lodge that had a big fire in the centre or the room. Then we came back to Pokera, very sore and hungry, but extremely happy. It’s the best thing we have done so far!
On the way back to Kathmandu our bus crashed into a stone wall. The accident we were anticipating since we arrived into the madness of Asian road travel had finally happened. It was not serious and we were only put out by being delayed for two hours then finally taking local public transport - instead of the direct express bus - back to Kathmandu. We were sitting on top of the bus until it started raining then we all crammed inside the bus. It was really uncomfortable but I was so tired and so supported by all the bodies squashed against me that I nearly fell asleep standing up. We finally arrived in Kathamndu 6 hours latter than expected.
We hung around Kathamndu again for a few days then headed up to a place called Nagarkot - on the 6th February - where we spent the night. There are great views there of a large part of the Nepalese mountain range including Everest which was just a dot in the distance. Then back again to Kathamndu where we bummed around some more and doing a little shopping. I bought a few more things; a ‘Gurker” knife, a scarf, a silk vest and tailor made pants. I am just getting over another attack of the good old bronchitis again but this time it’s not as bad as the first attack. Peter went ape-shit this afternoon because I stole one of his biscuits. We will be leaving for India tomorrow - at last! I’ve been sick most of the time here which sort of spoilt Nepal for me, But the trek was great.
We left Kathmandu - on the 14th - by bus which took all day, winding down mountains till we reached the Indian border. We stayed the night in a place called Rauxal. The next day we caught about 4 trains to Varanasi together with an English couple. On the 16th we went for a boat ride on the Ganges River. It was misty and raining so the place looked really morbid. We saw the dead body of a holy man flouting in the river. Normal people are burnt and the ashes are then put into the river but we were told that the holy men or sadu’s are thrown in as they are, to be eaten by the carrion birds and the flesh eating Ganges Dolphins. We also saw a few bodies being burnt and vultures and many other birds of prey and a Dolphin broke the surface right next to our boat.
That night we caught a train to Agra where the nest day we saw the Taj Mahal. Then that night we took anther train trip to New Delhi. We arrived at about midnight and stayed the night in the first dirt hotel we found. On the next day - the 18th - we saw ‘The Omen’ at the pictures, then that night we caught yet another train to a border town called Ferzapore. However we could not get across the border there so we took a bus to Amritsar then crossed the border into Pakistan and onto Lahore where we caught another night train to Peshawar where we were forced to spend two days waiting for our Afghanistan visa.
On the 22nd February we caught local buses through the Khyber Pass and over the border into Afghanistan then onto Kabul. The countryside looked really desolate - like being on the moon - except it was spotted with hundreds of old mud forts, especially on the Pakistan side. We stayed that night in a bad hotel then moved the next day to a place called the Khyber Pass Hotel. It’s raining at the moment and I'm just about to have my first hot shower I about two weeks.
We wanted to keep moving fast so decided not to make a trip to the northern city of Afghanistan and as Kabul got pretty boring pretty fast we decided to move onto the next city west of Kabul which was called Kandahar. That morning right at the last moment before getting on the bus I realized I had left my cloths at the laundry so then I had to watch as Julian went off on his own. It was the 24th February and my 20th birthday. As a way to celebrate and to relieve the boredom of being in Kabul I decided to rent a horse and go riding around the city. I must have looked pretty strange to anyone who was not from Afghanistan because I was wearing my Nepalese yak wool jumper, a bright yellow Benares scarf, a pair of light blue baggy Afghani trousers, a fur lined and embroidered Afghani jacket, a pair of knee length leather boots and perched on my head was a fox skin trapper hat. The trousers, boots, jacket and hat I had just bought the day before. So looking very much like Attila the Hun I went though the street and eventually climbed a small hill in the middle of Kabul to get a better look at the town. There were no people around and the only thing on the hill was what looked like a grave yard without any walls around it. After a while a few children saw me and started running up the hill. Then all of a sudden kids where coming from everywhere. Eventually there were about 50 of them and they were jumping around me and shouting and trying to frighten the horse I was on. Then a rock came whizzing past my head. Then another and another. I tried to get angry and shouted at them but it only seemed to make them behave more belligerently so I decided the best thing was to make a run for it. I kicked my horse and started to gallop down the hill with all the kids in hot pursuit. When I get to the bottom of the hill I didn’t slow down and just kept going along a dirt street bordered by mud houses with turbaned old men sitting out the front cleaning their riffles and smiling at what I can imagine they thought was some sort of harmless blood sport their children had created. Then the horror! I get to the end of the street and it’s a dead end. I turned the horse around and faced the pack of oncoming children which by this time, had swelled to about 100. They were now carrying sticks and handfuls of rocks so I thought this is it Jeremy your not going to die on your birthday, alone in Kabul. So I gave the horse an almighty kick and just charged right into the middle of the oncoming mass. The next thing I remember was empty space ahead and a road that I galloped along for what seemed like eternity until I was sure I was safely away. My heart was beating like a bongo drum, but I was free.
The next day I took a bus to Heart arriving there at about 7am the next day. I met up with Julian and we went to get our Iranian visas. It was snowing now and very cold. On the 28th we left Herat. We had a terrible day crossing the border and being hassled to death. Somehow I lost Julian again so I caught a bus that evening with an Aussie guy I had met to Mashed. We strait away went to the train station in Mashed and caught an 18 hour train to Teheran. At the station in Teheran I met up with Julian again then a few hours later we got on another train bound for Istanbul. It took 84 hours and the trip was utter hell. It was overcrowded with Turks who I thought were dead-shits and poofters also. I hate them! I had $120 in traveler’s cheques but I got them refunded from American express in Istanbul. I nearly got into a few fights as well. The weather is still pretty cold but not as bad as Eastern Iran and Afghanistan though there has been snow on the ground all the way since Kabul.
Well dear old diary I haven’t written in you for a while. That’s because nothing much has been happening. I think we arrived in Istanbul on about the 5th March. We stayed for about a week, eating in the pudding shop every day. We played some cards one night with two Pomes and a guy called Art from Canada and I won about $60.
After about a week of boredom and eating in the pudding shop Julian left for London, hitchhiking. I decided to catch a British Airways flight the next afternoon after he left and arrived in London that night - Thursday. The first week without Julian was total hell. I had almost no money and everything was so expensive. I walked around the city with two German girls called Maria and Grizzly and a Canadian guy called Joe. I started looking for a job but didn’t have much luck. I was staying in the Youth Hostel in Holland Park but you could only stay there 3 consecutive nights so on the fourth night I moved for one night into the Student Centre. I was getting a bit home sick so I splashed out and rang mum.
Julian arrived about a week after I got there so things started to look up because some money came in from Australia and I finally found some work. That was on Thursday exactly one week after I arrived. I got the job through a work contracting company called ‘Manpower’. I was to wash dishes in a Department store called ‘Peter Jones’. I got pretty close to Maria but she feels she is getting too involved so she goes off to Edinburgh for a few days.
On Friday the 24th March we get our very own flat in West Kensington. It’s only one small room and costs us 18 pounds per week. Julian, Maria, Grizzly and I have a little party to celebrate. After four days in the new apartment I have a fight with Julian because I spilt his yoghurt. Maria has gone back to Germany. We see a few live shows in the ‘West End’. ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, ‘A Chorus Line’, ‘Oh Calcutta’ and the best of all, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’. Though we haven’t been out on the town much because we don’t know the cheep places to go to.
I’ve compiled some useless information for you. We passed through 13 countries including Australia and England traveling approximately 28,800 kilometers from Canberra to London. About 7,000 of those kilometers were by plane, 8,500 kilometers by train, and 7,500 kilometers by bus, 4,000 kilometers hitch hiking, 1,300 kilometers by boat, 300 kilometers walking and about 1,000 kilometers by various means like trishaws, rickshaws, horse and cart. bemos, taxis and tuk-tuks. We stayed in 36 different hotels ranging in cost from $3 in Singapore to 25 cents in the Nepalese Himalayas
We both have mixed feelings about the future. I want to spend about one month working in London then get a job in the country for about two month and save some money then travel around Britain for about a month then either 1) Get a job in either Sweden, Holland, Germany or France, or 2) Find work in Africa through a Western company, or 3) Drive cars to the Middle East, or 4) Fly to New York and get work in Canada, or as a last resort, 5) Work in the Middle East, or if we are dying, go home.
On the 18th April I arrive on Charnwood Farm where I plan to work for the next month. Julian is going to stay in London. I got sick of London because we were spending as much money as we made and we weren’t meeting many people. I hope this job is good, but I will find out soon enough.
13th May, well I have found out. It’s pretty lousy! The first few weeks I used to feed about 70 cattle in a shed and give them bales of straw each day. Now all but 4 bulls are in the meadow so I’m working about one hour a day at the moment. I’ve talked to practically no people and the boss’s wife is a bitch. All I do all day is read and I sleep about seven hours every night. Even the weather is cold and raining at the moment although we have had a few fine days. I made to hitch hiking trips to London to visit Julian. The first time I went down to the ANZAC barbeque and stayed the night at Julian’s friends flat in Charring Cross Hospital. The second time I went to see Jethro Tull in concert. I missed seeing Julian that time so I ended up staying at ‘The Student Centre’ again. It’s now the 31st May and I will finally be leaving here this Saturday. On Sunday the 28th April the weather suddenly became very hot and has been that way ever since. I’ve bought a radio/tape recorder to keep me company but it’s fucked at the moment so I’m still reading and sleeping late.
I moved back to London on the 3rd and stayed in Julian’s flat for a few nights then moved to the ‘Student Centre’ again. I went to parties last Friday and Saturday nights. Both of them were though the pub that Julian was working in now. I got very drunk at both of them. I finally found work in a pub in London street in Paddington. It was including room and board and I moved in on the 12th April. I start work at 7.30 pm tonight - good luck Jeremy.
The pub job in Paddington turned out to be really fucked. I hated the boss and he hated me and after about 3 weeks working there he kicked me out because I refused to work on Saturday night because I had a ticket to go and see David Bowie. Strait after that a Canadian guy called Bill and I went to Scotland for a week. We hitched all the way up to Inverness and then back again. The country side was beautiful and all the free beers we got from generous Scots were even better. Back in London I staying in a bead and Breakfast place for a few nights and then moved in with Julian.
I met an American girl called Debbie in a pub on Kings Road and started spending most of my time with her. I went to the British Grand Prix with Debbie, Julian and Julian’s Norwegian girlfriend and also to Wimbledon by myself. I also took Debbie to see ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ again and saw a concert in a famous venue called the ‘Marquee’. The band was a punk band called ‘Dead Fingers Talk’. The last week I have been working at Julian’s pub and the nights I’m not working I’m going out with Debbie. At the moment I’m staying at Julian’s friends flat. His name is Bob and his flat mate was busted two nights ago for possession of 20 grams of smack. I arrived back at the apartment with Debbie about two hours after it happened. It was very lucky I was not in the place when it happened or I might have been spending a very long time in jail even though I knew nothing about the drugs. Well all for now dear diary. I will write more when time permits.
After that I was just fucking around spending money for a while. I broke up with Debbie a few days before she left which really cut her up. So one day I went and got a magic bus ticket then that night I jumped on the train for Holland. I get a pretty amazing boat over the channel spending my time talking to two Dutch chicks.
It’s now the 9th August and I’m sitting in the bedroom of a squat in Amsterdam and listening to ‘Simon and Garfunkle’ on the tape recorder. I arrived in Amsterdam on about Thursday the 3rd August. There are six other people staying here. Steve - who is laying down here also at the moment - from Australia, a strange German guy called Fritz, an American guy called Mathew - who I have only seen twice and I don’t really like, an Irish chick called Bernie, another Irish chick called Stephanie and an English chick called Sheila. I get on with all of them pretty well except one. So now I’m just lying back enjoying myself. On Monday I start work in a cafeteria at the airport - pots and pans again? Amsterdam is a very laid-back city compared to London. It’s a nice change! Julian should be over in about two weeks.
It’s now the 7th September and I’ve been in Amsterdam for 5 weeks. I’m working at the airport still - Schiphol Centrum - where I have been for about a month now and I am finally beginning to feel financially secure. Its really slack work. All I have to do is push a trolley around the cafeteria collecting cups and plates. Most of the people working there are either English or Irish. The pay - I think - is about 350 guilders per week. Somehow I’ve got to last another 3 months there and save up enough money to go to Africa. It’s starting to get cold now. God knows what I’m going to be like in another couple of months.
At the squat now there is only Mathew, Steve, Fritz, Stephanie and me. Two Irish girls together with their boyfriends moved in a few days ago. I haven’t seen them yet. They have stayed here before but are supposed to be pretty bad so we will have to lock them out. I’ve met piles of people since I have been here but I haven’t found many that I can really get along with well. My best friend here was a guy called Andy. He had lives in the Netherlands, Belgium, Berlin and the U.S.A... We get along really well but sometimes he became really strange. Yesterday he said he would hit me because I tickled his girl friend. A few weeks ago we hitched to Belgium - Bruxells - together for a few days to see his brother who loves Elvis Presley. He even has an Elvis hair cut. So anyway now we are on bad terms, which is terrible as he is such a nice guy normally. There are also two or three other nice people at work. I like Mathew the most now out of everybody in the squat. He is a really warm and friendly guy. Steve is really down-to-earth. Everybody says he is so nice but I think he has a mean streak deep down inside him. Julian came here about a week ago and stayed for about two days before heading off for Norway to visit his girlfriend. He should be back in a few weeks.
I used to hang out at the ‘Flying Dutchman’ - a pub full of very tuff and fucked up Irish and English people - but now that I’m working I go out very rarely. Sometimes I go to a place called the ‘Melkweg’ where they have bands and movies and last night I went to the ‘Paradiso’ and saw the ‘Boomtown Rats’. And sex life in Amsterdam? It’s been very dry. There have been 3 girls I have been with and they were all pretty strange. The first was on my first night here with Sheila, but then she just forgot about me the next day. The second was with a Scottish chick from work called Elizabeth who I tried to ‘entice’ home but no success and the third was Stephanie, who everyone thinks is a Schzitso. I’m not really worried though. I’d rather find one nice chick to stay with than a thousand one night stands.
It’s now the 18th October. We are staying in a grotty Youth Hostel in Munchen where we have been for about 3 days. The weather here is really cold now and it’s raining all the time. We left Amsterdam on about the 3rd of October. Julian came back a few days before and I lost my job, so we decided to leave. It was a pity to leave as I had a circle of friends and was having a good time. I got two guys to move into the squat. There names were Ross and Andy and together we used to go out for some good rages. But at the ‘Face of Folk’, Steve and Art were giving me the shits though so it was good to get away from them.
I left Amsterdam with $500 (or about 900 Deutch Marks) and we hitched to Switzerland. We spent the first night in Dusseldorf, the second in the black forest near Freiburg and the 3rd at Lausanne. We then tried to get work grape picking in Martigny but without and luck. After that we went to Zermatt for a few days but again no work. Then we went onto Grindelwal, then to Zurich and finally to Munchen. Altogether, in about two weeks, I spent about $150 but the weather was beautiful and we had a good time although we had to live on bread and cheese because everything was so expensive. I’ll go back to Switzerland again when I’m filthy rich!
After that we stayed at the Munchen Youth Hostel for about one week looking for work but eventually gave up and started looking for a ‘chauffeur’ job to Istanbul. We finally got one with some guys from Afghanistan but so many things went wrong that I got another job with a guy from Pakistan called ‘Sham’. Julian left with the Afghanis a few hours before me and I didn’t see him again till Istanbul. It took us five days to drive through Austria, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria. There were 3 of us; Sham, me and an Argentinean called Hernan Rodriguez Dell Torre. We could have made it in 3 days but I got a broken wind-screen and we got held up in snow in Bulgaria - not to mention the bulk trouble we had with cops. I met Julian here an hour before he left by bus to Athens. He is flying home via Amsterdam. So the famous two have finally broken-up. Good luck Julian!
Today is the 6th of November and I am sitting in the pudding shop in Istanbul and just waiting to get out of this country. I’ve been here for 8 days now. I think we arrived on about last Sunday night which I think was the 30th October. The weather is shitty though it’s not really cold. Istanbul is the same as last time. There is nothing to do and the Turks are giving me the shits. The last week Hernan and I have just been sitting around the Pudding Shop waiting for Sham to sell the cars. He finally sold mine to someone in Samson so I drove it down there and got the bus back again. Sham is paying everything for us plus we are getting 500 Deutch Marks so when Julian pays me back the 370 Deutch Marks and the $50 he owes me then that will make me even again from when we left Amsterdam. I also sold a Swiss passport I had found somewhere for $30 and a coat and my tape recorder in Bulgaria for 80 Deutch Marks. So as soon as my passport is ‘cleaned’ it’s off to Athens. I’ve decided to go to Africa as quickly as possible. The cold weather here is getting me down and if I don’t go soon I will never go.
We finally got a night bus out of Istanbul on Friday the 15th November and headed for Athens. It took so long because Sham had troubles selling the cars and getting money for them after that. It was lucky we finally got out or I think I would have killed a Turkey sooner or latter.
So I stayed in Athens for 5 days. Hernan left for Crete with his brother. I saw the Acropolis on Sunday. It was a mistake to go on that day because it is a free day so it was swarming with people. I also went to the Archeological museum 3 times. I’ve eaten lots of Suvlaki and drunken lots of bottles or retsina. I was going around with an English guy called Ken, an Australian called Chris and a Scot called Pete. We used to go to an English pub every night called, ‘Pete’s Fireside Pub’ which had great music.
I left for Delphi by bus on the 20th November but when I arrived I met 2 Americans who were with Julian in Athens the day before. So the next day I hitched back to Athens to see him. We had a good time until he left by plane the next day to Cairo, Delhi, Bombay, and Bangkok then home. So I got a bus back to Lavadia where I slept on a concrete floor that night, then the next day - yesterday - onto Delphi again. I’ve seen all the Archeological sites which are very nice. So today - the 25th November - I’m in the Youth Hostel here in Delphi and after I eat breakfast I will be going full speed, hopefully today to Thessaloniki and then on to Munchen.
Well dear diary it’s come around to that time to write again. Today is the 6th December. I’m writing in bed in a hotel in a town called Furth which is a German town about 3 kilometers from the Czech border. The weather now is unbelievable freezing. Hitching today from Munchen was a fucking bad experience but now I’m nice and warm in bed. I left Delphi on the 24th and hitched the first day all the way to the Yugoslavian border. I spent that night sleeping in an open car shed and froze. It took another five days to reach Munchen, sleeping at Scope in a Youth Hostel, Beograd in the basement of a block of flats, Lublana in a Student Hostel and then Spiefield in Austria in a Youth Hostel again. It was a fucking terrible trip. The weather was freezing and there was snow on the ground from Beograd north.
I stayed for about 3 nights in Munchen for free at the Youth Hostel, even free breakfast. I went out in the day with Yarna and an American guy called Glen then spent the nights at the Hauptbrauhaus or the Irish Pub. I also sent a big parcel (7 kilograms) home which was great as now my pack only weighs 13 kilograms but without my cold weather cloths which I’m wearing now.
On the 3rd December I hitched to Bern and believe it or not I had no troubles getting a Czech visa. So back I came the next day and stayed another two drunk nights in Munchen. I stayed in a house with 5 Irish guys who comprised a band called Wild Geese. We had a big piss-up the first night then saw them play - with Yarna and her friend Anne-Clair - the next night. Now I’ve got a double hangover!
It’s now the 10th December 1978 and I’m in Plzen in Czechoslovakia. I left Munchen on the 6th December. On the morning of the 7th I got over the Czech border but I had all sorts of hassles getting further. Hitching was terrible so I ended up catching a bus to Domazlice then a train onto Plzen. Finally got in touch with Dads brother Karel. His family has been terrific to me although only he can speak English. All my cloths have been washed and mended and now I’m in the process of spending my 1,416 Krona (that’s about $150 which was the amount of money that I was forced to cash into Krona before entering the country) on warm clothing. I just weighed myself - 58 kilograms. I’m putting on weight from all the good Czech food. Yesterday we went to Klatovy and saw grandma. She is as strong and healthy as ever and will probably live for another 50 years!
Now it’s Friday the 15th December and I’m still in Plzen. My cold sores and cracked lips from hitching have cleaned up now. I’m spending the days relaxing and reading. I went to Praha 2 days ago to get a Yellow Fever injection. I came home last night four hours late because I missed my stop and went 100 kilometers too far. Praha is an amazingly beautiful old city, the best I have seen. I stayed at Grandma’s sister’s house.
Tonight is the 3rd of January and so much has happened since I last wrote. I left Czechoslovakia on the 21st of December after staying 2 weeks. It was really nice. I went twice to Klatovy and once to a resort called Zelezna Ruda and I did so many things that needed to be done like washing and mending cloths and buying more cold weather stuff like a hat, gloves, good shoes for the snow And trousers.
From Czechoslovakia I got a train to Furth then hitched. I got a lift from an American guy who lived near Nurnberg all the way to Munchen. I stayed at the Youth Hostel and the next day I collected $100 from American Express. The next day I went to Pension Jager and arranged a ride to Istanbul with the same guy Julian drove for however his car broke down like last time so I ended up driving for another Afghani named Abraham. We left on about the Monday of the 24th December. I drove a Renault with 4 other Afghanis who where driving two buses, an Opel and a Mercedes. It took us 6 days to get to Istanbul as one of the buses broke down on the way. I spent Christmas in Yugoslavia. On the way I picked up a Dutch hitchhiker and then a French guy called Guy. He was a really funny guy. We stayed one night in a town called Plovdiv in Bulgaria where Guy and I picked up screws. Mine was a pretty old woman. She gave me a jumper and a parker in return for my Afghani coat - au revoir old friend!
I bought some cigarettes and whiskey at the duty free store and made a fat profit. I arrived here on Saturday and met my old friend Ralph and also the guy I sold the Swiss passport to. I spent New Years in the pub around the corner with Ralph and his mates. We drank lots of beer and saw lots of fights. It started snowing today. I bought a really nice leather coat here for 1,400 Turkish Lira to sell in Israel which is where I have decided to go next. I hope to be heading there by bus on the 5th January.
It’s now the 31st of January and I guess I’ve got a lot to say. Well I finally left Istanbul after about a week. I got an express bus which left in the pouring rain and took about 36 hours to get to Damascus. I met a few nice Palestinian guys on the bus. I stayed two nights in Damascus with two Iranians. I walked around the city and saw a war movie. Then I got a bus to Amman in Jordon and met a Palestinian guy whose house I stayed in for about four nights. His name was Faras and he had about a million relatives who we went to visit every day - free food! After that I got a bus and a few expensive taxis to the border of Israel (or the occupied West bank). I stayed a night in Jerusalem and looked around. I also went to Bethlehem then got a bus to Tel Aviv where I saw Amon Till again. He was as crazy as ever. He is in a computer marriage business and offered me a partnership to begin in Australia ho ho. After a few days I got a bus to Eilat where I met two nice girls called Cheryl and Susanne. I stayed on the beach in Eilat for about 4 days sleeping with a Swedish guy and an insane Irish girl in the life guard tower on the beach. In the night time we went to a place called ‘Henries’ where they had good music.
After buying diving books I got a bus to Dahab with three other girls. I saw Cheryl and Susanne again then the next day we headed down to Sharm El Sheik with a New Zealand girl. I was sick there for about two days so I did nothing but lay on the beach. The weather is very hot now which is a big change from freezing Amman. I moved to Narma beach and had 5 dives which cost me $80. It was fantastic. Four of the dives were from a boat. The other divers were mainly from the United States. After that I hatched back to Dahab and stayed two nights in Cheryl and Susanne’s hotel then hitched again up to Tel Aviv where I am now. When I was in Dahab I decided not to go to Africa. I’m getting tired of all this traveling but plane tickets to Bangkok - which is where I want to stop off on the way home - are expensive here. So what shall I do?
I’m now writing on the 27th February. I spent about 4 or 5 days in Tel Aviv looking for a cheap flight to Bangkok. It was driving me crazy and staying with that maniac Jew Amnon didn’t help. At one stage I was going to fly to Nairobi but there was no flight leaving for 6 days so I finally got a ticket to Athens for $341 from the Student Travel Buro. I said goodbye to dear old Amnon at about five o’clock on Saturday morning then got a bus to the airport. At the airport I had to go through an incredibly tight security check which took about two hours then I was on the plane. It was a TWA Bo-ing 707 and the service was really shitty and rude. I arrived in Athens then got a bus to a cheap hotel in the Plaka. Then the first thing I did after that was to go to a restaurant and have a plate of Suvlaki and a bottle of Retsina. I ended up staying three days in Athens. I couldn’t go to the Acropolis because it was raining all the time. I met a couple of Australian guys in the hotel who had a load of hash so I got stoned with them a few times and went down to ‘Peters Fireside Pub’. Then on 12 midnight I got a Qantas jumbo - called the City of Canberra ironically - to Bangkok. Goodbye Europe and cold weather forever! It was a fairly good flight. I watched International Velvet without sound as the ear-phones cost $3. It’s funny to hear all the Aussie voices!
We arrived in Bangkok early the next morning to 32 degree temperature. It’s now Monday the 7th February 1979. Together with a Scottish guy I got a bus to the Atlanta Hotel. We booked into a double then had a swim in the pool.
It’s great to be back again! I saw all the girls that used to work here, they even remembered me and they told me Julian had been through two months earlier. That night I went to the Grace Hotel with the Scottish guy and two Poms who were living in Oz. I got a terrific shock when I entered the Grace Hotel coffee shop. Now it’s full of fucking rich old fat German farts with lots of money. So now all the girls wanted a minimum of 200 baht. I took a girl home to her bungalow. It was ok, but the next day she hassled me like crazy for money so I gave her about 80 baht. She was not happy and called me a ‘bad man, crazy man’.
After the Scottish guy left I moved into a double with a German guy called Manfred. I started going around with him and a French guy called Philip and a Swede called Thomas, who was soon going off to Bali. We went together to the weekend market and the Grace Hotel and Phat Phong.
Phat Phong is great. We went to a night club called ‘Fathers Place’ - it was managed by an Aussie. It’s full of beautiful girls in bikinis dancing and even sitting on your lap if you buy them a drink. Philip said sometimes you can take them home but I didn’t try. I spent most of the days laying in the courtyard or swimming in the pool - I once did 50 laps which is about 1,000 meters. We also went for a canal ride and saw the ‘Reclining Buddha. I took loads of photos. I went to the Weekend Market three times and spent about $250 on Chinese paintings, shoulder bags and wood carvings which I mailed home. I hope they arrive ok!
The others all drifted away so I moved in with a guy from Sydney. His girlfriend had Hepatitis so she left the next day after they arrived. Once I was in my room combing my hair when a girl came inside. She ‘gave the old come on’ which turned me on so I jumped up, locked the door, got my ‘draws down’ and proceeded to screw her in several different positions. It was great, best in my life! But it left ‘the old fellow’ in tattered shreds. After a swim in the pool she wanted a replay but I wasn’t up to it so that was the last I saw of her.
On Monday night of the 21st I had a last fling with an Australian guy in Phat Phong and ended up at the Grace. I had no luck but I had a good night and ended up staying till 3.30am. Sadly I discovered that ‘No Women, No Cry’ had been taken off the Juke Box. Which I guess in a way, was sort of telling me that ‘The Grace’ had changed. I felt like ‘crying’.
On the next day I lounged around the pool till the afternoon then I got a bus to the Southern Bus Station where I got a 12 hour bus ride to Phuket then headed out to Nai Harn Beach. It was pretty much the same as before, boring. I checked into a bungalow for 15 baht then headed up the hill to our god old favorite restaurant but I only saw one of the girls from before, Yoy. Mali was working at the next beach and the youngest one that Julian liked was going to be married in two months. I went there for all my meals over the next three days eating delicious prawns and crabs and sweet and sour fish and shark and of course lots of fruit salads. Everything was the same price to.
After three days of lying around………

END

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Comments

[deleted_49612]

I love your photos, especially since I am old enough to remember when things looked like that. :)

[jeremykalous]

old?
ha ha. they must look 'sepia' to the 'young ones'! funny thing is we ourselves are just children in those old photos.