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Just a (very) quick update on Singapore before I get onto Darwin... Apologies for the delayed contact by the way, its been a busy few days.
I got up early again on my final day in Singapore to begin the tour... Unfortunately, it was pretty disappointing and definitely not worth the money. My own fault I suppose, we spent the whole day seeing all the places I'd already been to myself on the previous day (on my five hour exploration!). Marina Bay, Gardens, Little India (having just arrived from the 'real' India - this was a complete copout), Chinatown, various Buddhist Temples etc. Oh well, this time at least I had some company, mostly Australians, a few Americans... surprisingly I was the only 'Brit' though. I won't be making the same mistake of paying for another tour again.
Unfortunately, the local guide had broken English and consequently was difficult to understand. So although initially I asked a lot of questions... I soon stopped, after many a blank stares in response 😊
However, I did grasp a couple of points. (Unsurprisingly) Singapore is a country of 'fines' ... "One step out of line and a fine". The majority of the population live in high raised flats, which are all identical to each other and have the exact same layout. So for instance, every flat has four rooms: a bathroom, a kitchen/lounge area, a bedroom and a box room. The box room can be used as a study or as another bedroom. The blocks of flats (and flats themselves) have to be repainted every five years. Reminders are sent months before the five years are up and if you fail to fulfil the necessary government requirement ... Yep, you receive a hefty fine. Weirdly too, currently the lifts (in these mahoosive blocks) only stop at floors 6, 11, 16, 21... Etc. Which understandably makes it very difficult for the elderly and/or disabled.
Hearing all of the above only cemented my initial opinion that there seems to be a distinct lack of creative/individual expression here... For instance, you live in a flat with the same layout as every single other person in the country. Your apartment must look a specific way and if you don't comply, you'll receive a hefty fine through the post.
Although it's one of the safest cities in the world, for me it comes at a price. It's far too regulated and I think actively discourages freedom of self-expression. As mentioned before, everything looks too 'identical' and too 'perfect'.
Throughout that whole last day, I thought a lot about India. I really missed its colour, character and vibrancy... Although not 'spitting man' I admit. I missed the authenticity of the country though, which lay in it's imperfections. Such a contrast to Singapore!
Important to note, when discussing my thoughts on Singapore with Liz and James, they were shocked and commented how much they loved the place. But did admit you need money to really enjoy what it has to offer... Ah, so maybe that was the issue! They also said they wouldn't go to, nor would have liked, India at all. Thus, comments/reflections/advice can only ever be based on subjective experience - dependent on the values and ideals of the individual. So I suppose (what I'm trying to say is), don't take my word (or anyone else's word for that matter) as concrete - go see for yourself, every experience will be completely unique and that's what's so exciting about travel 😊
Annnyway, after a relatively hassle free flight (with exception of an initial two hour delay - boo). I finally arrived at the very top of Australia (Darwin, Northern Territory). 35 degrees pretty much all year round, it felt hot and humid.
After being picked up at the airport by James, I was wisked straight away to Darwin's 'poshest' restaurant next to the sea. There I (excitedly) met Liz and other friends of theirs. It felt so good to be socialising again and catching up with the both of them! They also have a beautiful new baby too, Sophia - just six weeks old. Most fragile little thing I've ever held in my arms!? Gorgeous.
The next few days were spent adapting to the northern territory lifestyle... Which includes plenty of socialising, fishing, cruising on the rivers (amid many, many crocs), boating at sunset, swimming in the pool and walks to the beach. It really has a fantastic, 'outdoor' lifestyle here. Incredibly laid back, stress free and very, very hot.
There's again a much stronger community feel out here compared to the U.K. Liz said "your friends are your family out here" - consequently I was able to meet a lot of people in a short space of time, which was great. People tend to wonder in and out of the house/garden to grab a beer, catch up or use the pool etc. I also noticed you don't tend to 'pop out' for a meal just with your partner, friends always come along too and even if not arranged beforehand, it's very likely you'll end up bumping into someone you know anyway. "Hey, how you goin'?" ... then a few more chairs pulled up around the table - loved the relaxed (but social) atmosphere of it all.
A big thing here is the gym too, pretty much everyone seems to go. I heard so many, "Ah at the gym this mornin' ..." and "I saw at the gym last night..." Liz explained because it's so hot, the emphasis on 'body beautiful' is much stronger here. Which makes sense I suppose, as you try to keep yourself as cool as possible and thus wear less.
We enjoyed a cruise at sunset, with 'bring-your-own' nibbles and alcohol, stunning! Beautiful skies, vibrant reds and tranquil turquoise sea waters... Gorgeous evening.
Having said that, unfortunately it's a case of 'look but don't touch' up here in Darwin. You can't swim or surf in these waters because they're infested with sharks, sting rays and box jellyfish. So there are endless stunning - but very empty - beaches. James explained a lot of Australians come up here and shortly return back home. Being a very 'outdoor' country, some Australians can't cope with not being able to actually use the waters.
We spent the day in Kakadu National Park (one of the seven natural wonders of the world) and across the backwaters - fishing, amid the crocs. They are so shockingly still and silent... quite deadly.
The roads to Kakadu were long, straight, bright red and very empty - with exception of a few wallabies wondering around at the side, which made for a pleasant two hour journey.
It was quite funny actually, our river boat broke down half way through our trip on the waters, so we were left stranded in an incredibly remote area with nothing but crocs surrounding us! I did have to giggle at the helplessness of our situation - because there was absolutely nothing we could do but float(!) and wait for either someone to come by in another boat, or, wait until a search party was called once we hadn't returned at the time we were supposed to. No phone signal, no sign of any human life at that point... Nothing!
Clearly we were not too panicked... We cracked open a beer and bottle of wine and waited patiently. "No worries" ... Approximately two odd hours later a fishing boat cruised by ... Giggling as we did 'SOS' calls and waved a towel frantically in the air, they finally moved towards us. "No worries mate. We'll go back to your spot and inform the guys there". Bless them - we had finally been 'rescued'! The boat owner arrived another while afterwards in a speedboat. We (very) carefully stepped into his boat careful to avoid "all the crocs beneath" ... Finally transporting us to safety! Great day. It did make you think afterwards though, if that fishing boat hadn't come by, we could have been out there all night and with no lights, it would have been very difficult to catch the attention of the search group!?
That night, Liz and I went out and met some more of her friends out. A great evening, again care free, laid back and great fun. Danced away to some 'qual' local musicians. It's nice, the girls here tend to wear no (or very little) make up, flip flops and summery casual clothes - very different to the 'TOWIE'/'Essex' look back home. A lot of care free backpackers hanging around too.
I was literally jumped on by one girl in the toilet who really reminded me so much of 'Muriel' from Muriel's Wedding(!) In the strongest Aussie accent she said, "Aww I love your hair, is it natural?" after replying 'yes' etc, she got overly excited, started to squeal and jumped on the spot - I thought she was hyperventilating and asked if she was 'OK' ... "AWWW you're from England, how AWESOME ... I always wanted to go to the river Thames, do you live near the river Thames? That's so awesome. I really wanna go to the river Thames!" she replied. But what really made me laugh, she was pronouncing 'Thames' without the 'T' ... Similar to 'th' in 'the' ... So it became 'thame' as in 'game' ! So chatty, dribbling at the sides of her mouth, jumping up and down on the spot, bless her ... I couldn't get away :-o
On the subject of the locals: the lifestyle here, without doubt, is fantastic and far better than the U.K. But, Liz and James really painted a realistic (and often grim) side to emigrating too. Not only is 'leaving your family behind' understandably incredibly tough, many people just don't stay in Darwin, because it's apparently "so laid back, it's horizontal" and thus not much hope of any career progression. People who have progressed, are apparently the locals who have lived in Darwin for years. Most, if not all, (in Liz and James' experience) are apathetic, not pro-active and let everything go completely over their heads. Consequently you can get away with anything. Both Liz and James were also advised they should 'dumb down' their CVs in order to get a job here. At Liz's school she has fought to bring in programmes and structured planning as there was nothing being implemented when she first arrived. The teenage kids were making cupcakes for years on end in one subject apparently. Important to note this is only in Northern Territory, the other Australian states follow a similar set up (I.e like a 'national curriculum'😉 to ourselves in in the U.K.
What seems clear from Liz's experience though is an evident lack of motivation or pro-activity. So it's almost like full cycle, if the teachers aren't passionate, or motivated, then they certainly won't be instilling this into the kids either. So the perpetual cycle of apathy continues down from generation to generation - unless you get out of Darwin. "It's really like the wild west here" Liz said, "so frustrating". Hence why after they receive their passports and citizenship (after what seems like five tough years - despite the incredible lifestyle...) they are returning to the U.K.
The other issue apparently is the Indigenous (original inhabitants of Australia) - lots of alcoholism, drugs and petty crime. I noticed a divide between white people and the indigenous after hearing racist language being used by one of their friends (a local).
Then (after catching my flight to Alice Springs yesterday), I was surprised to find out I'm not supposed to leave the motel at night. Liz, James and various people from Darwin first warned me. But then the man I was chatting to on the flight over warned me, then the taxi driver, then the hotelier... It was crazy, I had no idea (naively!) that a small outback town could be so dangerous. There have been frequent rapes at gun point here recently targeting lone females, beatings and robberies. I never quite worked out whether they were all implying that the violence has something (if not all) to do with the White/Indigenous divide or not? I'd like to read more up on the history as I'm (clearly) clueless!
Needless to say, it was a good job I was warned, I would have been out that door exploring after dark if not - oops.
Up early (again) tomorrow, leaving at 6am for the five hour drive to Ayers Rock. Here I'll be doing lots of walking and sleeping in a swag, in the desert, underneath the stars for the next few days. Then I'll return to Alice Springs for one night, before I head on to Sydney on the Saturday. So wish me luck with the various creatures I may encounter in the night... 😊 Take care x By the way, sorry I can't upload pictures at the minute, such a shame. Hopefully should be able to once in Sydney. Got some beautiful shots. I'll write again post camping in Uluru 😊 Love to all x
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Keep Smiling
Mike Fossey
Go with the flow...
Enjoy every minute of the laid-back Ozzies - all too soon you'll be back home!