Day 32- Landing

Darwin, Australia. It's quarter to six but there's no hint of sunrise yet, and the road is illuminated only by the full moon. It's quiet. There are no mopeds to dodge. There is nobody frying noodles or barbecuing pork. "The saltwater crocs- they're the ones to watch out for. They live in saltwater. And freshwater" says the guy next to me. All I can think is "we sure aren't in Singapore any more".

That is what flying does. It changes everything, without any logical transition.

The least logical thing about this flight, was that in those four sleepless fours, I had continued to get further away from home, yet had arrived somewhere that felt closer to home than anywhere I'd been since London. The queen's head suddenly appeared on the coins. Everybody was white. I went into the supermarket, and I bought cereal, milk, cheese, cake and peanut butter.

Despite this familiarity, Australia was the only country so far to put up any resistance at the border. Clearly visiting Australia for six days is not an ordinary request. When I tried explaining the rest of my trip so far to the customs officer, this only seemed to increase her excitement, and I was subjected to a thorough interrogation. My entire rucksack was emptied, tickets were produced, and I answered questions on every little detail of my journey. I was about to refer her to the blog, as she showed such a keen interest, when she grudgingly told me to carry on my way. I can only guess that I was starting to bore her with my lack of criminal activity.

Despite a long nap in the morning, I felt exhausted and vowed to have a quiet day (I'd been telling myself to do this for quite a while). After ten minutes of lounging by the swimming pool, I could take it no longer, and wanted nothing more than to go for a walk. Curiosity is a terrible affliction.

Continuing my trend of accidentally arriving at places on significant dates, today was territory day in Northern Territory, which could mean only one thing. You guessed it- the beer can regatta! 

The gay pride flag was flown by the team that won he open water race. In other news, gay marriage is set to become legal in Australia once the politicians stop arguing about who puts it through.

A proud young sailor aboard his beer can boat. The whole of Darwin seemed to be on the beach today, despite them saltwater crocs.

Never mind the crocs, how about that shark? These didgeridoo buskers rocked.

The Sunset Market at Mindil was packed. There were stalls selling all kinds of food from all parts of the world. While the taste of authentic Asian food was still fresh in my memory, I tried the "Chinese" cuisine. It was a sad moment- I tasted nothing (and paid ten times as much).

I told you it's called the Sunset Market, didn't I?