The Journey to Darwin

On Sunday the 27th, I left Matt, my niece's husband, in my flat at 12.00, took a taxi to Victoria Station, and took the Gatwick Express to Gatwick Airport. I stayed overnight at the Premier Inn opposite the North Terminal.
The following morning, the 28th, I returned to South Terminal and checked in at the Singapore Airlines desk, passed quickly through security, and left at 10.45 on an Airbus 350, arriving at Changi Airport at 06.30 local time, 7 hours ahead of London. I hardly slept on the flight of almost 13 hours, instead listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, DIana Krall, Gregory Porter, Michael Buble and Lady Gaga.
I took the Skytrain from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3, and left at 08.50 on a Singapore Airlines Boeing 737, arriving at Darwin at 14.30 local time, 90 minutes ahead of Singapore. It took an hour to go through Customs and I showed that there was no excessive dirt on my boots, and that my tablets were prescribed. They were looking for food in particular, Australia being very cautious about importing foreign bugs.
A taxi driven by a Bangladeshi took me to MOM, the YHA hostel on Mitchell Street. I'd pre-booked a single ensuite room which was basic. Guests weren't allowed to switch off the noisy air-conditioning although it helped to drown the music at the poolside bar above which continued to 23.00. A blanket was necessary to keep warm.
The temperature was about 28 degrees, the same as in Singapore, with a blue sky which lasted for my stay in Darwin, the temperature reaching the low 30s on some days.
I walked down to the Esplanade which borders Bicentennial Park which has lots of war memorials, especially related to the Japanese bombing of Darwin Harbour in February 1942 when more bombs were dropped than at Pearl Harbour in December 1941.
I went to the bar at the Hotel Darwin for dinner to have my first experience of the size of meal portions in Australia; I couldn't finish the chicken breast. The bar was typical of those I'd encounter later with TV screens showing sports, and some also having screens about gambling on horse races.Les mer