Yogi Lodge, Varanasi, India. 24 May 1986
No sleep again. There are some nightly rituals that have probably been in force for centuries. One is the ringing of a bell at a shrine very close by; another performed by a ghost – for two nights I’ve been woken by the tapping of a (no doubt) large cane stick and the blowing of a whistle. It comes right up to the lodge – no voices.
A chowkidar I believe or night watchmen. Essentially the equivalent of “12am and all is well”.
Tha Ton, northern Thailand. 7 March 1986
Took a songthaew to Tha Ton, 24kms north of Fang.
Had a coffee & piece of banana cake in a bungalow that I shared with Evi. I turned the light switch on and there was an explosion. I thought “Oh no, what have I done!” But it turned out it was unrelated, a guy nearby had been ‘playing with gunpowder’ & he was pretty badly cut up. It started a fire in the thatched roof and within seconds villagers were pouring out of their homes & running to the river with their plastic buckets. I joined the bucket brigade, passing one full bucket up & sending one empty bucket down to be filled. Some young guys clambered up the steep pitch of the roof & threw the water on extinguishing the blaze fairly quickly. But you could see how dire the situation was. All the homes had thatched roofs & were close to each other, unchecked the whole town could be razed.
We then went for a walk following the river, through a quaint village & up a steep hill. Very smoky, a lot of burning off. We looked at a detailed map later on & realised we were probably in Burma. The old guy who was waving us back probably knew we shouldn’t have been there. Came back after a fruitless bush-bashing search for a way down to the river.
The photo is probably taken coming back from the walk. You can just see the big white buddha at Wat Tha Ton on the lower ridge line above the Kok River.
Camping at the base of Kata Tjuta, 14 August 1985
I’d seen an episode of the Leyland Brothers where Mike Leyland had climbed Mt Olga, now known as Mt Kata Tjuta. In the youth hostel the night before I had spoken to an American who had made the ascent that day, it gave me added impetus.
Left on the climb at 12pm. Once on the face its much steeper than it appears from below. The first half was the steepest and there were a few hard spots. Didn’t slip or dislodge any rocks, quite a few were loose.
Had magnificent views on top 1 hour 15 minutes later. Mt Connor was directly behind Ayers Rock [Uluru]. Unfortunately at midday the lighting is not at its best, a bit of haze about too. [The summit is 1,066m but 546m above the surrounding plain; it is 198m higher than Uluru].
Came down, much harder to do [facing the rock], still managed it in the same time as the ascent. A lot of bus tourists were looking at me and filming me.
Collected my pack and walked over to the next gorge looking for a good camping spot. Hot, sunburn on my arms. Once the sun went down the flies left and it was cooler. Took some good pics of the red rocks [no one else there – had the whole site to myself]. Had a small but bright fire going after tea. Plenty of dry, brittle wood. Spinifex dangerously dry – was quite windy at night so was careful how it went. Doused the fire with soil before hopping into the tent at 9.15.
Walking around Kata Tjuta the next day. I like the way the clumps of spinifex mimic the 36 domes.
Note that this was just prior to the Uluru – Kata Tjuta national park being declared. There was no restriction on climbing or camping there. As of next October 2019, there will be a climbing ban in place for Uluru.
Swans & cygnets on Loch Fyne, Inveraray, Scotland. 3 September 1986
After 10 minutes [waiting for a lift just outside Glasgow] a Land Rover stopped. A lady and husband who own a converted ferry station on a peninsula opposite Jura. He, into oil – been to PNG several times last year. They gave me a guided tour pointing out castles, peaks, lochs all with names and history – very interesting.
Took me to Inveraray, a one-time fortress town for the clan Campbell, on the shore of Loch Fyne. Visited the 18th C castle, a bit like Disneyland from the exterior, penny-pinching I avoided the interior. Went on a short walk, beautiful forest.
Bought groceries, checked into the Youth Hostel. After dinner out to see the sunset. Beautiful clouds and reflections. This is a bit more like it.
29 November 1985. Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Our first day on the road after arriving from Darwin. Five backpackers all met on the plane – with Wayan at our losmen.
The mid-afternoon thunderstorm of pre-monsoonal Darwin was building as I walked across the Tarmac to the Garuda DC9 aircraft. It was fine to the west where we were heading. Inside the aircraft there were unnerving rusty streaks around the windows as if the plane had been ditched in the ocean. Taxied out & left at 2.20pm. I had a window seat, the guy next to me, Anton, was going to Bali for a month. Took a few photos of Darwin as we left – a fine view. Great cloud formations. Cruised at 31,000ft, 800kph, 2 and a quarter hours flight time to Bali, arriving at pretty much the same time as we left.
Saw small islands way below. Coming down to Bali was exciting. As we got closer you could see villages, thatched huts, roads, motorbikes – just fabulous. A good landing, bussed to the terminal, queued for ages at immigration, stamped my passport. Picked up my 10kg pack and with Anton we negotiated the taxi drivers and stepped outside. Had to queue for money at the bank – changed $US 50 for 1,117 rupiah to the dollar.
Met up with Ian (who I met in the Darwin GPO that morning) and a French guy, Alain, and an American girl, Evi. We caught a bemo to Bemo Corner, Kuta. Then all five of us wandered, slightly out of it, down the road soaking up all the sights and sounds. Getting hounded by hawkers for bemos, bikes, food, postcards, sunglasses etc. Eventually we succumbed to 2 Balinese ‘selling’ their losmen. Went in, checked a room, bargained down to 2000R for the night – less than $2. Pretty surroundings, rooms face a garden courtyard. Anton & I in 1 room. A toilet flushed by a bucket from the bath. Sat down, sorted my gear and my mind.
Went for a walk and reached Kuta beach, impressive storm clouds, quite dark. Hawkers for massages and blow pipes. Threw a frisbee. Met up with the others and we found Aleangs. I had a honey yogurt (yum), a small Indonesian beer (not bad) & a meal of noodles and vegetables. All for 2,550. It gets dark about 5.30. Probably at 8pm I came back to sleep – very tired. Plenty of mozzies kept me awake as did the thunder & lightning.