Our little cabin rumbled and shook. We could hear thuds from outside like distant thunder. All this was mightily alarming, but I was somewhat thankful for the distraction, even if it did spark a flood of grunts and gripes as we jostled and tumbled in the dark.
"Why don't we all calm down and play a guessing game? It'll be a great way to pass the time."
I did a double-take in the direction of the soft, melodious voice, which seemed quite close. A rather fruitless effort, considering it was as black as my last view, but I now noticed the pleasant scent of freshly minted fur mildly spiced with incense.
Silence. There were crinkly sounds like chips being shaken in a foil-bag, before everyone started to speak at once, voicing approval for the disembodied suggestion in their own special way. My voice was lost in the tumult, but it went something like this:
Crikey, a guessing game! This was going to be fun!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Sunday, November 26, 2006
The Journey (Part 1) - The Eternal Optimist
I must say, it wasn't how I had imagined my first trip overseas to be like.
I didn't expect the Queen Victoria, but definitely not this pitch darkness, packed in like a furry sardine with dozens of fellow travellers. I was beginning to think the free ticket to Singapore might indeed be too good to be true after all. Still, the brochures promised plenty of sun, shopping and wonderful food, so being the eternal optimist that I am, surely it'll all work itself out. Somehow.
After a while the confused chatter began to untangle itself. We managed to work out a system where each of us took turns introducing ourselves. Stephanie, Gaston, Jacinta, Oscar and Mel are just about all the names I can recall at the moment, but there were many, many more.
There was much hemming and hawwing as an uncomfortable silence settled over the cabin. A soft cough here, a scraping sound there. It was an awkwardness that comes with realizing that elbow in your eye actually belongs to another person just like you.
Gosh~ things were certainly becoming more interesting by the minute... and we haven't even left the dock yet!
I didn't expect the Queen Victoria, but definitely not this pitch darkness, packed in like a furry sardine with dozens of fellow travellers. I was beginning to think the free ticket to Singapore might indeed be too good to be true after all. Still, the brochures promised plenty of sun, shopping and wonderful food, so being the eternal optimist that I am, surely it'll all work itself out. Somehow.
After a while the confused chatter began to untangle itself. We managed to work out a system where each of us took turns introducing ourselves. Stephanie, Gaston, Jacinta, Oscar and Mel are just about all the names I can recall at the moment, but there were many, many more.
There was much hemming and hawwing as an uncomfortable silence settled over the cabin. A soft cough here, a scraping sound there. It was an awkwardness that comes with realizing that elbow in your eye actually belongs to another person just like you.
Gosh~ things were certainly becoming more interesting by the minute... and we haven't even left the dock yet!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
