Here's a short essay that won a local award.
It was the summer holidays. It was supposed to be hot, great beach-weather, but it was not hot. We had the potbelly stove going. We stayed inside and played games, listened to the radio and CD's.
We read books and magazines. Sometimes we dressed warmly and braved the wind and the rain and went for a brisk walk. At Cape Schanck the weather can change dramatically. One minute the sun is shining and the sea is smooth, the next minute it is misty and no sea is visible At other times the sky can be clear and bright, while the wind whistles and the sea rages. We can hear the waves crashing onto the rocks and the shore.
When we walk down the "thousand" steps to the tip of the Cape the wind can be fierce; we have to hold on tightly to the rails and hold tight to our clothes.. If Suzie, our little dog, is with us the wind blows her off the stairs and we have to carry her. The Cape is treacherous in rough weather. Small craft have capsized and people have been swept off the rocks to sea. The windiest month is September and when I visit our neighbour’s house, which nestles into a hill at the back, and which is on stilts, the whole house shakes and it feels as if it will fly away.
On a beautiful, still, sunny day, when the sea is calm and the waves gently lap the rocks, we sit and dream about the mysterious world of the sea or we walk for miles around the Cape and along the coast. My favourite pastime is picking smooth pebbles and throwing them into the waves. I am standing on the balcony but suddenly a gust of wind blows and doors slam shut. I go inside. I am watching the black clouds roll on. It is dark and there is a streak of lightning and then a crash of thunder. I feel excited. It's like being in a movie, in a ship in a storm in the ocean.
Then the rain thunders in on the tin roof.. We can't hear anything. The raindrops are huge, engulfing evervthing. I feel small and insignificant, powerless before nature's rage. I am glad to be safe inside. Cape Schanck is safe away from the fights and fears, it is always a refuge, a haven. Suddenly it stops. It is silent and the clou ds'clear . We hear the birds. The sun is tryin' to peek -through. We can see the coast line and the sea. We go outside, we walk alone, wet sand. We smell the fresh air. It feels good.
11 March 1994
Travel is expensive but a great way to learn about different countries and people and their cultures. I would rather save my money to spend on travel than on going to the movies, buying clothes or buying beer and junk food.
How could I ever forget the smells of Semerang market? Piles of rotting tropical fruit, drying fish, little children rummaging through the mess, little old ladies sitting along the gutters with hands overstretched, tiny stalls separated by low narrow lanes, something like rabbit burrows. Tiny curious people and always the - smell - It's in your hair, in your clothes, 'in the skin, stifling.
The traffic in Semerang is like a colony of ants - very busy and without the rules, the horns beep continuously STOP!! START BEEP, BEEP!! The narrow roads are shared by cars, trucks, bicycles and carts loaded with rugs or fruit and pulled by humans, usually men.
Bali was another experience not to be missed! The street hawkers have to be experienced to be believed. We were warned by the guide that they were aggressive but still were not prepared! "Look! Two for 10 dollar! Three, three! OK, four for you!" as the T-shirts were placed roughly on your shoulder. "Here cheap, beautiful wood carving! I give you cheap twenty, twenty, alright fifteen- OK last price for you ten dollars!" If you managed to escape into the bus then they knocked on the window or tried to make a sale by shoving the goods on your lap through the door!
In Kuala Lumpur, Noor the entertaining guide gave a real living lesson in culture and politics which could never be learnt from a text book in a classroom! Not even from a movie! We saw real slums and architecture that was so different from home! The mosques were exotic and impressive. The politics were different too! For example, the king was elected for five years by the sultans of each region.
In Australia we have a huge variety of food - Chinese, Malaysian - but the Malaysian foods eaten in Kuala Lumpur alongside locals tastes quite different. And you should see the side dishes! Gizzards of this (can't remember the actual animal) and entrails of that! Yuk - I wasn't game to try, but had the more common dishes.
Singapore is lush with tropical trees and shrubs. It is green and beautiful! It is very small, very clean, every bit of space is used as best as possible. Its port is the cleanest and busiest in the world. The streets are spotless, public pay phones. are like new. No vandalism! No graffiti! Very few private cars, but public transport is cheap and efficient. Then as you wander among the street food courts, there is a smell! It is surprising! Not pleasant! The guide told us that it is a tropical fruit "durian". It smells like public toilets, but tastes like heaven!
I will take travel any day. It is worth the money, it is money well spent.
Michael Regos 8.7.95
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