Saturday,
November 30, 2002
Major Tom part 2
The next
day as we ate breakfast outside, we watched the huge rice
boats arrive and wait for us on the river. They look like
something from the distance past with their bamboo roofs
and dark black wooden bodies. Something straight from
the orient... or Hollywood films. I just knew I would
get told to leave the moment i stepped aboard. "YOU.
You are not glamourous or rich enough to be on here. Be
gone."
There were 2 cabins on each of these houseboats, with
a sunning area at the front. Penny and I shared with Victoria
and Shawn who are lovely women that I have taken quite
a shining to. All of us lounged in chairs as we watched
the world along the river go by, pausing only to have
lunch and dinner prepared by our onboard chef, or to have
a beer and have ridiculous conversations about men. We
took turns lounging on the mattress at the front of the
boat. And all day and night people smiled and waved to
us from the shore.
When my companions
tired of it, I continued to sit at the front and wave
back, loving the sudden influx of positive energy. It
was unreal. We dropped anchor in a lake, where the world
had turned purple: the water was dark purple, the trees
black in silhouette, the clouds were maroon, and the sky
was a soft violet. (Handy, you would have imploded. I
took a picture but you know it wont be the same). By lantern
light we finished the evening, and when everyone went
to bed, I sat alone on deck with the last of my beer,
wondering how I landed in a dream.
The only thing I didnt dig about it was there was a gheko
(sp?) trapped on the boat with us who would crawl all
over the ceiling and relieve himself while overhead. Not
very glamourous.
On to Cochin,
shopping in the city where I noticed people giggling at
me as I stood outside of a store waiting for my travel
companions. I finally realised that I was standing in
between 4 mannequins that were all white females. We must
have looked like a can-can line.
A worldwind
tour of Cochi Island ended in us pulling the ropes to
raise giant fishing nets. I ate prawns the size of my
head, and it was fabulous!
(sending
this off again)