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Published: November 14th 2007
Singapore!
Love the sunflower garden here so had to pay a visitFirst of All - before I get going on the witty journal stuff, many apologies on the delay in the entries, have had a few technical hitches but have finally sorted it all out.
So for most of you the last time I saw you was probably at many of my leaving events (bleeding a good excuse for a shindig as usual). A fabulous end to an era, with parties of different moods to match all the lovely colourful characters who helped to bid me a bon voyage. So I guess my adventure really begins when I was officially off on the adventure on my own - and for me, cheesy as this may sound - was in the departure lounge in Heathrow airport. I've just had a little glance at my first entry from my written journal (a girl can never record times enough) where I've set out a zillion musings that were dashing through my brain all at once and this is probably a great reflection of how busy I've been over the last few months trying to save for the adventure by working like a lunatic.
First reluctant admission!
I was unable to coyly charm myself
into first class, but I did manage to get a seat change for my efforts on the plane. That's not the reluctant admission! I was in the row of charis that everyone comes to loathe during the flight. You know how it's like a novella when you have a long haul flight? You have all that time to kill so you amuse yourself by assuming what each persons situation is as they are on the flight with you? (maybe this is just me???) Well I was in a row of chairs with a very polite man from The Phillipines - he introduced himself like a business colleague and we made the obligatory pre-take off chit chat about our careers, the reason for our flight and so on. He lives in Dublin and is an architect, was married to a german lady but it didn't work out because "They never yelled at each other" but they are still great friends. We then were both interrupted by a sweating cockney bloke who had been holding the flight up - he was to be sitting in the middle. I was regretting my seat change, this was the worst person I had imagined to
Me in Singapore Airport
You would have got to see more of me - but I looked pretty rough after that long ass flight be stuck next to for the following 13 hours. That sweat was bound to start humming at around 5 hours in and he clearly was not a peaceful man, the latter of which I had assumed as he was mid swearing tirade about "Bleedin' Heathrow! Poxy flights!" etc. I am however pleased to say that the three of us formed quite an unusual bond over those 13 hours. The cockney was "Peeder" - "Peter" to the non-cockneys reading, he has a facinating job too! He is the main airbrusher for FHM and many of the gossip mags - I got a wealth of gossip on which celebrities have legal agreements in place for the parts of their bodies they have airbrushed in all publications. Our Phillipine friend - whose name I cannot remember for the life of me - turned out to have become very accustomed to an Irish custom. He drank heavily throughout the flight. He just became more and more giggly as the journey went on. I dosed in and out of our bizarre fellowship, but by the time we'd all gotten to Singapore there were many hearty handshakes exchanged and fond farewells. This is what I mean,
Fremantle
Chillaxing in Fremantle on my own - and bloody loving it! it's like a mini novella a long-haul flight. If you don't all end up having to develop a community on an island if the plane crashes, then you all muddle on through the sheep-like conditions and get a sense of good human commeradery when it comes to touch-down. Was this what's it's like when you fight in a war?
Anyway - got to Perth in one piece. Was a bit taken aback by the hostel situation but my inner uberwench stood strong.
SIDENOTE: For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term Uberwench, it's an expression you will find peppered throughout the rest of this journal. It is to do with my feminist views, that is to say new-age feminist views. I will not write an essay on this - it would not be appropriate. It's basically a girl who is fully aware of her power as a woman, embraces that power but still likes men and still practices a sufficient routine of body hair removal.
I made my little bunk bed up in the darkness and to the beat of some biblical snoring from a bloke across the dorm and got on with it all.
My first day in Fremantle was delicious! I put on my tiny shorts (with no regard whatsoever to the chilly climes outside) got myself the biggest frothiest coffee I could find and a muffin the size of my head. I marched on with the same level of intent to the nearest beach I could find and sat on the beach with my brekkie giggling to myself that I was finally unemployed and about to relax. I did also have a bit of a chat with the seagulls to imitate the Shirley Valentine rock scene, but what me and those seagulls discussed will remain between between us. Forever!
So over the next few days my pace dwindled as it should and I started to chill out more and more. My day of diving was my next mission. I got on the boat to discover that my divemaster was actually doing his first day on the job having qualified as a divemaster in Canada "A while Ago". As you can imagine this did nothing for my panic at diving again (on my previous dive I ran out of air and it was all a bit too scary so this was the
Bricking it on a boat
Just before we got to Rotto from Fremantle - I was having multiple kittens at the fear of diving again - so I took many dull pictures like this to try and prevent ultimate freak out dive where I was seeing if I could still do it). He was nice though and said lots of calming things to me. I would be diving with him and a lady who had just gotten her open water qualification and wanted to do a refresher dive to see if she could remember the protocol. This would usually annoy me as we'd have to go at a really slow pace with everything but I was quite happy at this. I am delighted to report that my first dive was fine. I used up my air fast (pannicked breathing) but it was all fine. The coral was good but not great, but I was too distracted with the diving stuff to really take in any wildlife.
By the second dive I was back on form, my confidence had returned. I met a huge crayfish who I was unable to coax out of his house. Saw an amazing bright orange starfish and dived in many nooks and crannies. On the way back the skipper tried to persuade me to meet him by the Swan River to do a night dive where he could guarantee he'd get a seahorse to wrap it's tail
around my little finger but he was a bit pervy and I'm in no hurry to do a nightdive just yet so I declined.
I'd befriended 3 nurses on the boat - they were snorkelling and cycling around Rottnest. We'd had a laugh over coffees on Rottnest before the boat sailed us back over to Fremantle, and we decided we'd go to Cicerello's for some recommended Fish and Chips when we got back. So we did. Everything I have to tell you all about Rottnest Island is kind of captured in the photos - so I will not repeat myself.
Had a couple more days in Fremantle and Perth. I had a wonderful time in the Museum of WA. I actually found myself in a corner at one point hiding my tears. I am more than sure I appear to be a crazy lady when I'm on my own - if I'm not casting my beady eyes on people on planes, or talking to seagulls then I'm weeping in museums! The reason for my tears was this floor they had devoted to the cruel things the white men have done to the Aborigines over the years. It was facinating
really. The lower floor of the museum had loads on the early settlers - I found myself empathising with the ladies who had to be all trussed up in corsets in hte scorching heat, and having to make ends meet living in tin houses and using their luggage as a crib for the baby, and stuff like that. Then 40 minutes later I was crying for these poor Aboringine kids who were taken away from their parents if they were "half-caste" and put into these orphanges (even htough they had parents) "To bring the white out in them" by these batty nuns! It was awful! Good museum though.
I then got the plane to Melbourne to meet up with my boy. I have already told many of you of my plans to have a snippet of being just like Laura from Brief Encounter, as part of this dramatic reunion. But for those of you who have no idea what I'm typing about here's the fill in:
I was to be travelling to Sydney by train on the Indian Pacific. Thom would be waiting for me in the station and I'd skip off the train like a girl from a
It's a Quokka!
Only alive on the tiny island of Rottnest Island - weird cross between a squirrel, a rat and a Kangaroo. These little devils are the reason the island is called Rottnest Island. The silly discoverers thought they were huge rats and therefore assumed the place must be a bit rotten. Timotei ad and we'd do the running on the platform thing and so on.
This is how it actually went:
I couldn't get a ticket for the train so I end up flying to Melbourne a few days earlier than planned. Thom was skint so couldn't afford to come and meet me at the airport so I was to get a bus into town and "see him in the bus station". Not epic at all, but my maxi dress and hat would make up for this slight reduction in glamour. I stayed pristine all day long and was fully ready for a gazelle skip off the bus to meet Thom. I was all neat and lovely on the bus, then as my foot touched the tarmac in the bus station the strp on my dress snapped! I was horrified! So I actually had to shuffle (gazelles never shuffle!) up to Thom holding my dress together.
It was still lovely though - he fixed my dress with a padlock. You need to know that a bloke can fix your dress in situations like these, especially when you are about to embark on an adventure with the dude: "If he can fix
First Jammie Sunset
Many more to follow.
This was in Fremantle, taken just after I pied my ass off on some top Fish n Chips with some cheeky nurses I'd be-friended. my dress now, then he can probably fashion us some kind of water making device in the dessert" I told myself. Thom made me dinner - all was lovely, we had a nice chilled day in Melbourne and chatted at a gazillion miles and hour to catch up.
More belated journal entries to follow - It's all about the quality, which does not necessarily mean frequency.
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gemsy d
non-member comment
awww...
PEARMAN! you are a legend, for a while we (lincoln lasses) panicked- when we'd not heard from you... but i'm liking the "come the fuck on, bridget" tone to the log. Hope all is cool- well probably blisteringly hot- with you MISS YOU! x