Mon. July 9 At Sea
Usual lazy time. Weather bad, so no sunbathing. Read, slept and talked. Nothing new to report.
Tues. July 10 At Sea
Another day, just like yesterday, with nothing at all to do, smashing!
Played cards; rummy and seven-up. Slept in the afternoon and then played cards again until after midnight.
Wed. July 11 Penang
Got ashore after lunch and went to see the Chinese snake temple.
John and I photographed each other with vipers coiled around our necks.
From there we took a trip on the Penang hill railway. There were terrific views from the top but it was a bit overcast for photography.
Back to the ship for chow and then ashore to the Mariner’s Club. Met up with the cook and the chief steward off the Maron and got wonderfully drunk. Also present was Jimmy, the Aussie junior eng. off the Santhia. Went back on board and carried on drinking with some of the 1st class passengers. Had words with Neil, the other Aussie junior. His mouth is a bit too big for my liking.
Usual lazy time. Weather bad, so no sunbathing. Read, slept and talked. Nothing new to report.
Tues. July 10 At Sea
Another day, just like yesterday, with nothing at all to do, smashing!
Played cards; rummy and seven-up. Slept in the afternoon and then played cards again until after midnight.
Wed. July 11 Penang
Got ashore after lunch and went to see the Chinese snake temple.
John and I photographed each other with vipers coiled around our necks.
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| Figure 4.5: Snake temple, Penang. |
From there we took a trip on the Penang hill railway. There were terrific views from the top but it was a bit overcast for photography.
Back to the ship for chow and then ashore to the Mariner’s Club. Met up with the cook and the chief steward off the Maron and got wonderfully drunk. Also present was Jimmy, the Aussie junior eng. off the Santhia. Went back on board and carried on drinking with some of the 1st class passengers. Had words with Neil, the other Aussie junior. His mouth is a bit too big for my liking.
Thurs. July 12 At Sea
Ate, slept, drank, played cards, as usual.
Some of the friends we made: Toby the Dane, Sherwood the American, and not forgetting Dennis and Ian from Brisbane who will appear again in this story.
Ate, slept, drank, played cards, as usual.
Some of the friends we made: Toby the Dane, Sherwood the American, and not forgetting Dennis and Ian from Brisbane who will appear again in this story.
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| Figure 4.6: M.V. Santhia from Singapore |
Ship docked early and we went ashore as soon as possible to make inquiries about the next stage of the journey. We found several leads that looked promising. We will follow some of them up later.
Made inquiries at the Y.M. re accommodation but it was much too dear for us.
Land rover unloaded O.K. and is stored in a warehouse overnight.
Sat. July 14 Singapore
Left the ship early in the morning and, after a fantastic amount of messing about, managed to get the land rover off the docks by about 12.
Took myself up to the British Army Hospital to get my elbow seen to, then we motored up to Changi Beach. I was feeling so ill that I had turned in by 4.30.
Later in the evening a whole lot of people arrived and started having a barbecue with loud music, dancing, and general jollification. Eventually we gave in and moved away.
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| Figure 4.7: singapore |
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| Figure 4.8: Singapore |
Sun. July 15 Singapore
Up early and away to the hospital, as I am still feeling lousy. Found Connel House (the Seamen’s refuge) where we had a good lunch and the use of an excellent swimming pool. All this on the strength of my merchant navy discharge book.
Felt ill again in the evening. We drove for about 40 miles looking for a place to sleep. Finally slept out on a patch of grass right in the middle of town.
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