I'm on my feet, I'm on the floor, I'm good to go...

..well, almost. I have returned triumphant from my visa renewal quest to Singapore and Malaysia, and have also unfortunately returned with a cold; courtesy of some smelly backpackers in Singapore.


The Eastern Heritage Guesthouse 4quid a night for a double room with balcony. Marvellous!
My time in Singapore was spent mostly in a state of constant technogasm; wandering around marvelling at the huge range of technological gadgets and gizmos on offer. I actually encountered a grandmother of perhaps 90 years on the subway, simultaneously talking on her cellphone, listening to an MP3 player, and playing a puzzle game on a PSP; I was most impressed. Of course it's quite possible that she was a bit senile and thought she was still at home, wondering why the telly was showing nothing but stuff about the subway.

Malaysia was the exact opposite of Singapore, and it's also spelled quite differently. I spent most of my time in a town called Malacca / Melaka, attempting to master the Malay language. Most of my attempts were met with the sort of looks usually reserved for somebody that had just jammed a set of chopsticks in the other persons nose, and drop-kicked their last rice-ball into the roadside gutter. So, in the end, I gave up and resorted to being the ignorant tourist; which seemed to please the locals much more than my mangling of the local dialect.

The Australian immigration department has seen fit to grant me an additional six months in Australia, which should be plenty of time to complete the grand loop-and-a-bit. Unfortunately I'm no longer allowed to do any work; I say unfortunately because my petrol fund currently contains a grand total of $3 and 27cents. This alarming lack of substance has mainly been caused by the last round of repairs, and of course my unscheduled trip abroad. Think I'll adopt the attitude of the ostrich to solve this problem, and bury my head in the sand. If I can't see it, it can't be happening.

Fuel woes aside, I am about as eager as a small child with a puppy and an espresso, to get back on the road, and more importantly away from Darwin. I'm sure that if nothing had gone wrong during my stay here, I would have formed a different opinion of the place. Unfortunately, lots of things went pear-shaped, and thus the place, and the grumpy ass majority of those that reside within it's boundaries, can go and swivel for all I care. Of course not everyone was a sad-sack, and I'm sure other people would get a different impression of the town; but the best view I will have, is of the town disappearing in my rear-view mirrors.

Vying for a job with the local tourist board I am not.


A tree frog attempting to make off with Gosling One

Malacca by night
Sundown from the balcony of my guesthouse
Malaysian pussy, yours for 2 tins of kite-kat
The German bikers, bikes finally arrived!
Arriving back in Darwin at 3:30AM to find Gosling One all safely tucked up
Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park
Tobi and Renata, about to depart for the mechanics
Me testing Gosling One in Litchfield National Park

Trip cancelled due to romantic involvement...

...


....


Hah, gotcha! Actually I'm departing Australia for Singapore in order to renew my visa. With any luck it will take a maximum of one week. Then I can return and get the hell out of Darwin, and on with the expedition.

Damn this town gets me down. OK I'm off to wallow in self pity in the corner.

Wired...

...or not, as is the case here.

Well I'm still stuck in Darwin, sans-camera, and more importantly, sans-motorcycle!

After resolving the first issue of the missing nut, I discovered a new one. A fault in one of the wires buried deep within the ignition system, which was causing the starter motor to fire constantly, even when the engine was running. This resulted in an annoying whining noise being emitted from the bike, and more worryingly the potential of a burnt out starter. Luckily I managed to limp round to the local bike place here in Darwin, where the problem was quickly diagnosed.

However, as usually happens with me and problems, it happened at the start of a three day weekend; hence my current status of being 'stuck' in Darwin. With any luck I should be picking up Gosling 1 today (tuesday) at some point, so I'll be able to stave off the onset of cabin fever, and my growing desire to mow down the entire population of the town with a large machine gun.

To keep myself entertained I've trawled through my pictures to find a few more to post, which appear at the bottom of this text. Just a tip for any travellers arriving in Darwin: Don't stay at the 'Leprechaun Inn / Caravan Park' on the Stuart Highway. It's run by the most petty, small minded, self important and jumped up little Hitlers that I've ever had the misfortune to come across. There, my civic duty is done, consider yourselves warned.

Being stuck has meant that I've had a bit more time with the friends I made over in Broome, who recently arrived in Darwin; and I've also met two German couples, travelling from Germany to Australia over the course of a couple of years. They too are stuck without their bikes, as they are somewhere incarcerated within the bowels of a container ship, on their way here. A problem shared is a problem halved and all that!

Landcruiser in need of some 'TLC'


The bike is a photographer as well as a mode of transport


Camping in Shothole Canyon (don't tell anyone, it's not permitted!)


Keeping clean


Night time bugs in a spotlight at El Questro Station on the Gibb River Road


Pilbara Iron train, 2km long!


Unfair competition for the local supply of fish


Guess which side fork seal was leaking?


Pelican at Monkey Mia


The kids thought losing the 4x4 was a great laugh


NOT crossing the Pentecost River on the Gibb River Road


Just to remind y'all it's not a bloody holiday! :-)


Shothole Canyon