1103372249 - 2003-11-12
Truckin' into Trouble?
12th November
I�m safely in Singapore after a bit of an ordeal. Probably the sketchiest experience I�ve had so far. Steve had arranged for me to get a lift with one of his Trucker mates from Sydney to Melbourne. Devon rang me and told me he wouldn�t be doing the trip afterall and would hook me up with his friend Jay, I�d have to meet him that evening. That afternoon I went to K*risk*indl to see Alexandra. She was too tired to come and meet me, so I made a flying visit. I�m glad I went back there, things are happening and it�s all quite amazing. Some big world organisation that Alexandra is involved with is buying K*risk*indl so that she can realise her vision of The C*radle I*nstitute. She showed me the plans and it�s a huge project. It will be a place of study for professors and academics from all over the world, with five-star accommodation and an underground car park. She is employing some of the residents of K*risk*indl to help with building and labouring, and even Jade (who was really mistreated by John) will get a job of some sort.
The biggest news was that Alexandra is marrying (quiet) John. He has skin cancer and she has been helping him to get well by going for walks with him and taking care of him. He does look so much better than the last time I saw him. He used to be very depressed and let John .L treat him like a skivvy. I could hardly believe this turn around of events. It was almost miraculous to me and so unexpected. Alexandra had been so desperate to get out of there when I left and I thought she would be leaving two weeks after me.
I met her new roommate who was Japanese, I think. She seemed nice enough, but when Alex and I were sitting in John�s room she told me how mean she was to her. She is an English student and studies constantly. Alexandra says she can�t be in the room when she is studying, even if she is reading herself (which is all she does) and she is then asked to leave the room. On top of that she treats her like a maid and orders her to bring her things. It�s unbelievable. Sometimes I wonder whether to believe anything Alexandra tells me, not because I have any reason to doubt her honesty, but because they are just so bloody bizarre. Like the time she told me she�d been kidnapped five years ago in Sydney. She was beaten up and she thought she was going to die, but she escaped. This is a long, convoluted story that goes right back into her murky past and I don�t think I should go there. So she often sleeps in John�s bed, but she doesn�t want John L to know. I suggested they get a room together but she actually wants to stay where she is to examine this strange behaviour from this girl and see how far she goes. I suppose it is fascinating but I know it upsets Alexandra and she is paying to share that room. I had my last dinner at K*risk*indl and said a quick goodbye to Alex; she had to do some work for John L and neither of us like emotional goodbyes (who does?). I was supposed to pay $8 for my meal but couldn�t find John after dinner and did a runner.
I caught the train to Homebush where I was meeting Jay in his big truck. It proved to be a logistic nightmare trying to locate each other in the suburbs of West Sydney. After many anxious phonecalls later with my battery dying, I found his monster truck parked up on a B-Road. �I shouldn�t be here at all, I�m not supposed to come off the motorway and I�m on a tracker, so we�d better go. I hear you smoke, I�ve got a bong in the back if you�d like�
I climbed up the steps into the plush cab. It was nice, roomy with a bed in the back too. I�d always had a romantic view of long distance lorry driving. When I was a child I imagined it was the perfect job because you got to sit down all day whilst listening to the radio, and a selection of confectionery spread all over the dashboard.
I was fairly wired considering I�d had such an exhausting day. I was buzzing after my return to K*risk*indl and seeing Alexandra. Jay was really enjoyable company. He was 28 and we talked openly. He told me about his son and splitting up with the mother. I felt really safe and comfortable with him. Then he told me he I was going to have to get in another cab for the second half of the journey because he was doing a changeover. I was dissapointed but I grabbed a few hours kip on his bed (which was like trying to sleep on top of a washing machine) after smoking a few bongs.
I could hear Jay on his radio trying to find me a driver, he told me he wanted to make sure he put me in with someone safe and that there was one driver he didn�t trust.
He arranged for me to go with a bloke called Junior who was in his fifties. I got into Junior�s cab, which wasn�t as big. It was late now and I was growing really tired and couldn't find the energy to answer all his questions. I was hoping he�d offer his bed so I could just be horizontal, but his bed was covered with bags and stuff. He asked me what I was doing when I got to Melbourne and I said I would probably go straight to the airport and hang out there until my flight; which was at 5.20pm. He told me he had a friend who lived near the airport and I could probably stay there for the morning. It would be fine because he wasn�t married and lived alone. It was 3am now and I was barely conscious, so I agreed that it would be a good idea. I had to sleep and asked if I could lie down. As I tried to fall asleep I could hear Junior on his radio talking to his mate Steve, asking if he would look after me. I couldn�t make out much of what Steve said on the other end of the line. All that I heard was �does she eat meat?� Then laughter. It was at this point that I realised I was possibly heading into an unsafe situation. Junior vigorously shook me awake (he kept doing this) and told me to get up as I was getting into Steve�s cab to �get to know him.� I was exhausted by now (it was about 5am) and climbed out of Junior�s cab and into Steve�s, leaving my pack behind. I didn�t like Steve much; he was a middle-aged creep.
Anyway, I get back in with Junior after half an hour of strained conversation with Steve and we continued our journey. We drove through Albury where Steve lived and I wished I could pop in and see a friendly face. Junior practically kicked me out of his cab at a service station somewhere outside Melbourne at 7am, leaving me Steve�s mobile, which I wrote on my hand. �Steve will pick you up in half an hour after he has done his deliveries. That�s his mobile number, just in case�
I felt like shit and went to the toilets to freshen up. I didn�t know what to do. I felt a bit like a kidnap victim who is reliant on their captor for survival: I'm half hoping he'll turn up because I don't know where I am, and half-hoping he won't, because I have a bad feeling about him. I decided to go with it and convinced myself that I �m more likely to be okay than for anything bad to occur. After half an hour he turns up in his brand new BMW and we go back to his sanitised, slick 80s style bachelor pad. With red, black and chrome d�cor. I�m surprised I didn�t see a framed poster of a red Porche on the wall.
The first thing he does is crack open the rum and he offers me a bong. I really shouldn't have, I knew at the time I shouldn�t, but it�s just not in my nature to say no to blow. On practically no sleep or food I took a toke. It was strong stuff; nearly blew my head off. I broke out in a cold sweat and had to sit down. I started to feel uneasy and realise I've been a bit stupid. He put on a Fleetwood Mac DVD and I tried to calm down on the paranoia trip the weed was giving me.
I was so hungry but my Vegemite on toast was not going down easily. This was a form of hell. Steve couldn�t relax and kept asking me if I was okay and if I felt comfortable. Then he started changing the channels and asked me if I wanted to watch an X-rated movie! Uh-oh� When I eventually finished my food he gave me a tour of the house. He had two shower rooms, explaining that one was for guests; but I could share one with him if I wanted. �Uh, I don�t think so,� I said. I was really worried now and thought �how on earth do I get out of this one?� I had no idea who this bloke was. It had begun as a fun, safe situation and three truckers later I found myself wondering if I was going to get raped or not. I went to catch up on my sleep in the spare room. There was no lock and I was wishing there were a chair I could prop up against the door. I lay down and tried to relax, with one ear alert. I swear to God he was going to creep in.
Next thing I know I'm awake and Steve's at the door saying, �Wake up sleeping beauty�. �What time is it?� It's 3pm and my flight is at 5.20pm. Thankyou Lord! I made it! I shower quickly because there is no lock on this door either, and call a cab to get the hell out of there. Steve gave me a kiss on the cheek and said it was a shame we didn�t have more time together. Yuk! I can tell you I gave a huge sigh of relief on the way to the airport. To think I put myself through all that just to save $65.
Wednesday 12th November �03
I�m safely in Singapore now. I fully intended to catch up on some sleep on the plane but watched all the movies instead (I like to get my money�s worth). I felt okay as we touched down at 10pm. I called a few hostels that were in my SE Asia book that Ben and Alex had given me before I left Sydney. They were all booked up; I couldn�t believe it! Then I realised it was peak season. I caught a bus into the city and tried the YMCA, expecting it to be out of my price range, but I was relieved to find it a reasonable $28. Luckily for me, they had a bed free in a four-bed dorm with an ensuite. It was really posh!
I went to Orchard Road to do a bit of window shopping and came home with a �500 video camera. I never intended to buy it, I just went into one of the malls to get some air-con and found myself in The Lucky Plaza (THE place to buy cheap electrical goods). Curiosity got the better of me, again, and I enquired as to the price of a Sony DVC. Before I knew it I was haggling with the salesman, who was very friendly and kept giving me free water and offering me a fantastic deal. So I thought; I think I was a bit overwhelmed and confused. They are very good at their job and so now I have a new toy, which I don�t really need. I also feel very nervous having such an expensive piece of kit with me.
