Perth to the UK 1976
- Sue Clayton
- May 31, 2025
- 10 min read
Perth to Jakarta 27 Jul 1976
We spent 10 months in Perth. I worked at Pacific Film Laboratories all that time, while Ian worked as an electrician at various places, including some time away up north.
Today, Kerry White took me to the Airport 8am, and Julie Kindleysides was there to see me off. Ian had gone to Darwin on Friday night to catch up with Peter Downes (this was Tuesday).
I arrived in Jakarta at 12 noon and decided to wait for Ian. While I was waiting I started to talk with a lady (Rusmina) and her little girl and she invited me to stay at her home, with my friend. Ian did not arrive on the expected flight, so when her nephew, Ostain, came back to get me I went with him wondering if I was doing the right thing. They gave me some rice and another dish, then showed me to the bathroom (where you pour cold water over yourself from a trough). Slept on a bed with no sheets - so hot and humid - with my passport and money under my pillow!
Jakarta 28 July 1976
Had a good night's sleep despite hearing people up till 2am and from 4am. Rusmina said to be like one of her family and I ate what they ate. They took me all around Jakarta, and to the market where we had lunch. Jakarta is dirty yet the people are so clean and very dress-conscious. I certainly saw some sights beside the road etc. and saw the real Jakarta. Everyone stared at me (the people are all tiny and dark - I was tall with long blonde hair). We went to the airport and Qantas sent a telex to Darwin. Went "home" for another shower - it is so hot and sticky. Went to bed at 10pm as they had friends visiting and I could not understand the language.
Jakarta 29 July 1976
Telephoned Qantas and they'd had a reply from Darwin to say Ian was booked on the flight today. Spent another day being taken around in the car. Changed my money and went to Garuda Airlines to arrange a flight for Ian and I tomorrow, but there was a mistake on my Cathay Pacific ticket and it took some time and a couple of trips to sort things out. I had two interpreters (Rusmina and Ostain) thank goodness!
Then when I rang the airport after Ian's flight arrived I was told he was not on the plane. I was getting very worried, but at 7.30 he rang from the airport and came in a taxi. Good to see him again - and to speak proper English. (He'd missed his plane because he'd been exploring the outback - Arnhem Land and Jim Jim - with Pete!)
Singapore 30 July 1976
Spent the morning packing, and going into Jakarta to arrange about Ian's ticket. Changed my money into Singapore dollars. Got a taxi back to the house, said goodbye and thanks to everyone, and to the airport at 11am to fly to Singapore. No trouble getting through customs and caught a taxi to Victoria Hotel. Had a shower and tidied up, then went out to look at the shops. Ian bought a nice camera case. Came back to the hotel, then went out again after dark. Went to Plaza Singapora, a big shopping centre, and had a look round and got something to eat. Back to the hotel and to bed about 11pm.
Singapore 31 July 1976
Didn't get up till 9am. Did some washing etc. and then went downtown. We finally booked our flight Singapore-Bangkok-Hong Kong-Osaka for S$900 which is quite a cheap rate. Have to abandon our plan of going by train to Bangkok as there are difficulties about visas. We discover we will have to be careful with money unfortunately. Booked a tour around Singapore tomorrow morning as that seems to be the best way to see the city on a limited time schedule. Went back to Hotel after American Express was shut. Lazy afternoon then went down to hotel restaurant for a chinese meal, then to bed.
Singapore 1 August 1976
Up at 7am and ordered Continental breakfast (very nice) then walked down to Raffles Hotel where we were picked up for our tour. We were taken through the city and Chinatown then up to Mt Faber where the cable car goes to Sentosa, then to Tiger Balm Gardens and "Asia Cultural Show. Then to House of Jade and Orchid Gardens. Interesting tour though our guide was a dead loss. Back to the hotel where we spent another lazy afternoon. It is Sunday, so we couldn't go the ANZ for Ian to see about getting money transferred or American Express to cash Travelers Cheques.
Had a beautiful meal here at the hotel restaurant - Sweet & Sour Pork with Rice and Chinese Tea. Then to bed.
Singapore 2 August 1976
Walked to ANZ via Elizabeth Walk, where Ian arranged about money to be sent to Hong Kong, then to American Express to change some money and then to Travel Agent to pay for tickets. Had a beautiful fruit lunch in the open market, then back to hotel. Went back downtown in the afternoon to collect tickets etc. and got a trishaw home again. Had a nice meal again in hotel - Chicken & Cashews & Prawns in Tomato Sauce. Then after dinner we walked right up Orchard Road and about half-way back, when we caught a Taxi. Ian bought a shirt and I bought a long dress - $35 them both. Got back to hotel and found tomorrow's flight cancelled because of a strike in Bangkok.
Singapore 3 August 1976
Went downtown in the morning to American Express to cash some cheques. On the way down we spent all we had on us. Ian bought a pair of boots and I bought a pair of shoes and we bought two T-shirts. Walked back along Elizabeth Walk. Had lunch at the hotel - prawns & fish & chips. Lovely. Went back to Aerial Plaza where I bought 2 skirts, a T-shirt and a scarf. Wasted time wandering around the waterfront till 6.15 when we went on the ferry for a sunset harbour cruise. Lovely sunset and the harbour and boats were all lit up on the way back. Straight to bed.
Singapore 4 August 1976
Went downtown again to American Express and then to the travel agent. The strike is off at Bangkok Airport so we were able to book a flight for tomorrow night. Had lunch at the fruit stall again - delicious. In the afternoon we went on a coach trip into Malaysia. Very interesting. We went to the town of Hohore Bahru where we saw the Sultan's Palace, a Hindu temple and a silk weaving factory. On the way back we stopped at a rubber plantation and the Kranji War Memorial. We had dinner in the hotel again. We planned to go to Bugis Street after midnight, but although we woke up we didn't feel like going then.
Singapore - Bangkok 5 August 1976
Packed in the morning and spent the rest of the day looking round the shops. Had lunch in a coffee bar in Singapore Plaze (expensive for what it was - for Singapore!). Spent later part of the afternoon looking at movie cameras and then trying to get away from salesman. Got a taxi back to hotel to collect our luggage and then to airport. Had a look in duty free shops then a few drinks in the bar. Flew Singapore Airlines Jumbo - excellent. Arrived Bangkok after 10pm and were in World Hotel about 11.30. Straight to bed.
Bangkok 6 August 1976
We were up early (6am) and we were called for to go on a tour of the floating markets. A terrific trip in a small boat up the river, past all the kampongs. Back to the hotel for a short rest, then we were picked up again at 1.30pm and taken to the Roase Gardens where they had a Thai Village Show. We saw cockfighting, Thai boxing and various forms of self defence as well as different dances. Back to the hotel again and we were picked up at 7.30 and taken to Suwanahong Restaurant for dinner and a show. The Thai food was beautiful and the show was very good. Back to the hotel. Excellent service by travel company.
Bangkok 7 August 1976
Up again at 8am. A car called for us at 8.30am and we had our own personal guide and driver for the morning. We were taken to see the Grand Palace which is magnificent, and the very bautiful temple within the palace grounds, containing the Emerald Buddha. We were also taken to three of the more interesting temples around Bangkok where we saw a 5½ ton solid gold Buddha, the Reclining Buddha and the Marble Temple. Then we were taken to a small shopping centre where we both spent a bit of money. I now have 3 new rings!
Flew to Hong Kong at 4.30pm, arrived at 10.30pm and stayed at Plaza Hotel. Very luxurious.
Hong Kong 8 August 1976
Fantastic city to land in after dark. The plane landed on a runway in the middle of the harbour and all you can see are lights from all the high-rise buildings surrounding. Plaza Hotel is a fabulous hotel - pretty pricey too. We're up on the 21st floor so we have quite a good view. We have a colour TV in our room, so decided to have a rest for the day. Even ordered dinner in our room. Despite the price the food wasn't of high standard. Didn't get to bed till late - sat up watching TV.
Hong Kong 9 August 1976
Had breakfast in our room and then caught the bus into Central to see if Ian's money had come through. Forgot his passport so made 4 trips on the double decker. We saw a bit of Hong Kong on the way - had lunch in a little Chinese restaurant. Ended up spending a bit of money today. We bought ourselves a movie camera, a wide-angle lens for Ian's camera, some filters and a calculator. Very pleased with our purchases. Stayed up late again watching TV. There are about 5 channels here but not all are in English.
Hong Kong 10 August 1976
Went into town on the bus this morning and went straight to ANZ. Got some money transferred to Tokyo and the rest of my account to London - so no more worries? Then to Cathay Pacific to book seats tomorrow - that's ok. The rest of that morning we spent looking around the shops and had lunch in one of the department stores. Back to the hotel to pick up the cameras, then returned to town and caught the tram up to Victoria Peak. Magnificent view but unfortunately it was very hazy. Nevertheless we took a few feet of film with our new movie camera. We bussed back to the hotel and stopped and had tea at a nearby cafe. Back at the hotel we showered (it was very humid today) and went to bed.
Kowloon and Osaka 11 August 1976
It was raining rather hard this morning so we got a taxi into GPO to post a card and a parcel, then caught the Star ferry across to Kowloon and had a look around there. Ian was looking for music cassettes but couldn't find any cheap enough. We returned on the ferry and it had cleared up enough for us to take some movie film.
We were at the airport at 3pm to leave at 4, but there was a fault in the plane and we didn't leave until 5.30 (in another plane). Stopped in Taipei for half an hour and arrived in Osaka about 10pm. Everything was closed there but we got a taxi to Hotel Grand Osaka and got to bed about midnight.
Osaka to Tokyo 12 August 1976
Left the hotel about 10am and went to the Railway Station. Managed to catch a train to Kyoto after figuring out how to work their ticket machines. Then Ian got the tickets for the "Bullitt" train to Tokyo (taking just under 3 hours). A very comfortable trip. We met 3 Japanese businessmen who gave us a bottle of saki and took movies of us. They were pretty "full". We arrived at Tokyo Station at 3.30pm and rang our tour guide (Cynthia, a Kiwi, who was to be our Intourist guide for the duration of the tour through Russia) at Tokyo Grand Hotel and she made reservations for us here. Several other tour members are here already. We had dinner in the lounge downstairs and got talking to some of the others. Bed about 9.30pm.
Tokyo 13 August 1976
Up at 8am to join the Tokyo Tour. Saw Tokyo Tower, National Museum of Modern Art, Asakusa Kannon Temple, Imperial Palace and Tokyo Shopping Centre. We were dropped at Imperial Hotel and made our way to HK & Shanghai Bank where my money was waiting (thank goodness). Then we went to the GPO where a letter from home was waiting. Went to a little restaurant for lunch and then negotiated the subway to the Ginza and back to the hotel to get some necessities for our trip. Spent the rest of the evening packing and sorting. Ordered some sandwiches to be sent up before we went to bed.
Yokohama 14 August 1976
Awoke about 6am and had our bags packed and outside our room for 7, then went down for breakfast. Left for Yokohama about 7.45 and after waiting around at Customs & Immigration for a couple of hours we were allowed on board. It was a very cloudy day so there wasn't much of a view, though the sun did come out later in the afternoon. After lunch I lay down in the cabin for a while as I felt a bit squeamy, but got up for tea and stayed up till dinner. After we went into the music salon until 10pm, then to the bar for half an hour, before bed. We are sharing a 6 berth cabin with two others.
Aboard "Priamurye" 15 August 1976
Got up about 8.30am and found an unoccupied shower. Breakfast at 9, though I was still not feeling the best (not as bad as some though, thank goodness!) I lay down in the cabin and slept until lunch time, and after lunch went up on deck and played table tennis and then chess with a group of Japanese fellows. I missed tea and it seemed a long while till dinner. After dinner we all went to the music salon where there was folk dancing and singing, till 10pm, then went to the bar and sat talking to the others until around midnight. I left Ian there and went to bed.
Nakhodka - Khabarovsk 16 August 1976
Got up for breakfast and then spent some time on deck reading. It turned out to be a lovely day and I took a bit of movie film. We had lunch, and spent the rest of the time on deck until we docked at Nakhodka. At last we land on Russian soil and spent a while in the queue to get through customs. We were then taken by bus to the station and the train to Khabarovsk. We were in a small 4-berth cabin with a Canadian couple, Doug and Debbie Seaborn, but it was quite comfortable. We went for our meal at 7.30pm which was very nice. Stayed up and talked for a while, but back in the cabin and once strapped in the top bunk I was soon asleep and didn't hear Ian come in.
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