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Published: March 12th 2009
27th February 2009
Today would be our last to say goodbyes to some of our friends. We went into Calangute and I bought some new shorts as my old ones were falling off me. I also bought a couple of pairs of light cotton trousers. We then did the rounds saying goodbye, Mike and Jenny at The Pheonix, we had another long conversation with Nisar and spent the rest of the evening at the Sports Bar. We’ve made some amazing friends and have never been made so welcome anywhere. It was an emotional day for all of us; everybody gave us their personal details and asked us to keep in touch.
28th February 2009
We arrived down at Bobbies Beach Shack for the last time at 11:00am. Don was already there, asleep in a beach chair. We grabbed some beach beds next to French Cut John who had returned the previous week to use up the last of his visa. We spent a couple of hours topping up our tans. We had our last curry together, Bobby treated us to cocktails and we said our goodbyes. It feels as if we’ve been here forever but it’s only been
three months. We then head down to say our last goodbyes to our dear friend Nisar and Nicki which was very hard, then Vinny takes us home.
1st - 2nd March 2009 (last day in India)
We spent the morning relaxing and packing. We said our goodbyes to wonderful Don, I only wish we’d spent more time together. Vinny collected us at 8:30pm and dropped us off at Mapsa bus terminal.
We waited for half an hour and then the bus that we were going to spend the next twelve hours on pulled in. From the outside it looked like a wreck. We’d paid for a luxury sleeper, our hearts sank. On board we were shown to a small, rough looking bed with a curtain for privacy. Only two of the four lights worked which I think was a blessing. At least we couldn’t see what other life was sharing our bed. The blanket that was folded at the end of the bed was damp and stunk to high heaven, I threw it into the gangway and we dug out our sari’s for cover. The trip was a nightmare from the outset. It was impossible to sleep
because of the constant noise from the other inconsiderate passengers. MP3 players blaring out Bollywood’s latest hits, phones going off and loud chatting and laughter. The rolling of the coach over the uneven roads made us tense our bodies just to be able to stay in the bed. The whole journey then turned out to take three hours longer than we expected. We arrived at 10:00am instead of 7:00am. We flew at 11:50am and the gates shut at 11:00am and we had to get through Mumbia at rush hour. The chances of us making it in time for our plane seemed impossible. Thankfully a kind Indian couple advised us to get off early and get a taxi. They also leant us their mobile and Pili contacted the airline who in turn called the airport to let them know we might arrive a little late.
When the coach finally arrived where we were advised to disembark, I immediately hailed a taxi. I told the taxi driver I’d give him a 1000Rs if he got us to the airport in time, the fare was actually 300Rs. He drove like a mad man until we hit traffic grid lock in the centre
of the city, then it got seriously hot. All along the route around the outskirts of the city were the famous slums. I’ve read about and imagined these hellholes but nothing prepared me for the actual sight of this human misery. Open sewers, children and old people eating scraps from the mountains of waste and shit. The slum went on and on like a festering scab infesting the city. Tears filled my eyes and I felt ashamed to be so helpless to make a difference to these poor souls. How many potential Einstein’s, Darwin’s or Beethoven’s lay lost in this degradation, never to be given a chance or even a decent meal? How did mankind evolve to be able to allow this to happen to his own species?
When we arrive at the airport I tell Pili to run ahead while I pay the driver and deal with the bags. She ran with arms in the air shouting “Singapore airlines”, she was called through; we had two minutes until the gates closed. Those kind souls on the coach who lent us the phone probably saved us because the airline had phoned through to let the ground staf at the
airport know we were coming and they were looking out for us.
The plane seemed like heaven, we had the centre isle to ourselves. We couldn’t quite forget the slums because looking out of the windows we could see them right up to the airport fences. A JCB was in the process of flattening them regardless that they were still being used. I guess it’s out of sight out of mind; after all we don’t want to disturb the passengers!
After a couple of complimentary bloody maries and lovely meal we both fell asleep. Goodbye India, we shall return.
SINGAPORE
When we landed in Singapore the first thing we noticed when leaving the plane was the humidity, it smothered us like a warm wet blanket making the sweat to instantly start oozing from our skins. By the time we found a taxi I was covered in a slick film of sweat. We’d better get used to this because this is the city; Borneo will be a whole different story!
It was a fifteen minute taxi ride to Pili’s friend’s apartment. Pili has known Zana since she first came to live in England and she got
herself a job at Pound Stretchers. Wow that seems like a different universe ago. Zana and her husband Azher greeted us warmly and showed us around their lovely apartment telling us to treat it as home. Azher works for RBS as an accountant, we hit it off immediately and started talking about he economic crisis engulfing the World. I found out very quickly that we’re on the same page with our opinions and predictions for the future, I found this very refreshing and a little surprising if I’m honest.
Zana had prepared a salad and pasta meal which we consumed gratefully. We stayed up until gone midnight talking and getting to know each other. They also have a five year old daughter called Hadeeqa (lovingly called Gia) who is very cute and extremely bright. We retired into a large luxury bed and were asleep in a moment. It seemed a long way since our horribly bed on the coach in India.
3rd March 2009
During the night I felt a tapping between my shoulder blades, I turned over in the bed to find a small child staring at me expressionless, it was young Hadeeqa wanting a toilet
break. It scared the life out of me, Pili put her back to bed. An hour later it happened again, over breakfast the next morning we all laughed about it.
After breakfast Zana took us into the city, we needed to make some purchases before leaving for Borneo. I bought some new sandals, three 8GB SD cards for my camera, some rain ponchos (very stylish) and a good padlock. We also stopped for an India lunch and later some Masala tea and ice cream.
At 8:00pm we met up with Azher and they invited us to an Indian resturaunt for a meal. They were celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary. The meal was great and I even managed to get a pint of Guinness, it has been three months, heaven!
4th March 2009
After a late start Pili and I braved the Singapore transport system commonly known as the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) and made our way to the west side of the island and to the World famous Jurong Bird Park with over 300 species and 6000 birds, I couldn’t miss this, could I.
The park lived up to my wildest expectations, truly wonderful. It
was little strange seeing some of the same species I’ve been photographing on India in the wild, species a couple of years ago I never imagined I’d be seeing outside of one of my books. I was grinning from ear to ear. The one draw back was it was so bloody hot and humid. Within thirty minutes of arriving we were both completely soaked in sweat. It looked like I’d been swimming with my clothes on. It is amazing how anybody lives in this. The birds didn’t seem to mind though. It was great to see the birds of paradise, it reminded us of Pili’s mother, Rosario, she loves watching them on my David Attenborough DVD’s, with all their strange mating dances and peculiar calls.
I think Pili's and my favourite bird was the prehistoric looking Shoebill Stork (check out the photos) this very rare bird comes from central Africa and since I was a young boy has reminded me of the extinct Dodo, it was a thrill to finally see this bird in the flesh.
After we’d been around this amazing park with its amazing collection of birds and wonderful lay out we were starving. We treated
ourselves to a Bongo Burger in the park restaurant, it was very expensive but very good and the air conditioning was a joy. Over our meal we discussed staying in Singapore another week to see the sights properly and spend some more time with our friends.
Zana had been asking us to stay longer and generously offered to lend us some cash so that we could afford to change our flight schedule. We decided to take her up on her offer and headed back to make arrangements.
During the afternoon Zana had gone to her local printers and had 200 business cards made up for me, these will be very useful.
Zana was very impressed with my photo work and asked me to take some photos of a treatment she was going to give Pili. The photos will go into her next brochure. Pili had the full works and after six months on the road she relished every moment.
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