Going down under

I wrote this journal entry after a stop over in a Singapore airport on the way to Perth, Australia. I have added my comments in parenthesis.

"There are so many people here, moreover types of people and clothing, the likes of which I have never seen before. The people filling the flat belts, people movers, that run down the center of the terminals are mostly short, around five feet tall, skinny, and olive brown. One type of Asian woman I saw with beautiful long black shiny hair literally had no forehead. Her hairline started half an inch or less above bushy black eyebrows.

Many here are wearing white linen. Head to toe robes with the women wearing head coverings and the men in what I can only describe as vanilla sailors' caps atop heavily bearded faces. I must find out what religion promotes such elegant and soothing attire. It looks quite comfortable too. The women in full black burka, only their eyes visible, stand out even more against the sea of ivory robes. Where is this Jeddah they are going to? Departures is a sea of ivory speckled with black. (I later find out that Jeddah, Saudia Arabia is the country's second largest city and the principal gateway to Mecca, Islam's holiest city. Jaddah is the Arabic word for grandmother. Eastern folklore states that its the location of the tomb of Eve, considered the grandmother of humanity. The men are wearing the prescribed attire for a pilgrimage, an ihram, and the women are wearing their normal hijab, but probably a cream colored version. The simple, white Ihram clothing is intended to unify the believers and make everyone appear the same since Muslims believe that in the eyes of Allah there is no difference between a prince and a pauper. Having seen my fair share of gold laden and jewel bedazzled holy men, I find the ritual righteous in the best sense of the word and can't help, but think that someone all those years ago had a great classic sense of fashion.)

My first experience with an Australian was one of the Quantas flight attendants on-board our flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Singapore. True to form, after he asked where we were headed in Australia, he launched in with tips to see a deadly, wild lizard that has a peacock like feature to it's neck that springs to life when he is threatened and a tough man's crooked walk. (We later saw him from a safe distance and from behind glass in the Sydney Wildlife World.) And then there was warning about the crocodiles in Litchfield National Park and, most emphatically of all, the warning about driving in southern Australia and watching out for kangaroos. He was quite graphic in explaining that some 'roos are taller than my husband and can jump eight to nine feet vertically from a standing position and are so fast they will be 'on your bonnet' and through your windshield continuing completely through the car before the driver can even react. Welcome to Australia! Just like author Bill Bryson said, these helpful tips were all delivered in a bright and eerily relaxed matter-of-fact tone. When my eyes widened, I guess larger than anticipated, the attendant admitted he'd never actually hit a kangaroo in his 38 years. My husband concluded that he must just like to f*&% with tourists, but I think it's something more benign and cultural."

I've added some pictures of the crocodiles and kangaroos. We did take a boat trip through a billabong (i.e. lake) in Litchfield National Park infested with approximately 8,000 fresh and saltwater crocodiles. We saw a few dozen crocodiles perched on the banks, but they both couldn't have been less interested in us and also were very aware of their status at the top of the food chain. The kangaroos, on the other hand, did jump across our path a few times while driving in Margaret River and there were several casualties lining the road, but they kept to the open pastures for the most part and were pretty shy.