Round the World trip ~ Chapter one

In the Beginning was the plan.
Then there was the planning.
Then the story unfolds.
This is the true story of my trip round the world. 20th Sept 2006 to 26th Jan 2007
Some people thought me mad to attempt such a journey. Others thought I was brave. In fact it was neither. But this is not about why or how, but about what happened.
To say that everything went according to plan would not be admitting the truth! Very little went exactly to plan. And it would have been surprising if it had!
I actually started my journey on Wednesday 20th Sept.2006. After saying goodbye to Dilys in Scarborough I got on the train to Manchester. My very good friends Geeta & Gordon very kindly agreed to find me a bed space in their very recently moved into flat. It was great to see them again. I had known Geeta since about 2003, when she lived in Mumbai, India, with her mum. After a few years she met and married Gordon, who is English and lived in Nelson Lancs. That evening Geeta showed me around part of the Manchester Mall, and we talked about old times on the net.
It was up at 5 am for the start of a VERY long day. A day in which ended in a way that was not all planned. The BA plane took off about 20 mins late from Manchester airport . And I was on my way. The flight was uneventful, except that they fed me well with a good vegan meal and what seemed like constant supply of drinks. Anyone who likes to be served early should order veggie meals! As specials get first service *SMILES*. Well, as we landed at JFK Airport, on my way to Halifax (Canada) I could not know what was going to happen later. I knew that I would have a 5 hour wait for my next plane, but I was unprepared for the first shock!
I have always had an aversion to mobile phones! But I was persuaded of the usefulness having one for this trip of a lifetime, to keep in touch in emergencies. Now I had planned to set up and store all my friends phone numbers on my mobile phone that I had bought, with its SIM card which could be used anywhere in the world, and to text Jonathan to let Dilys know that I had arrived in New York. After all I had 5 hours of nothing much to do . As it turned out the 5 hours was with nothing to do! The mobile phone refused to connect with anyone, because it could not make a connection with any server! I kept trying but could not make it work at all! Yet I knew it worked in England. Being frustrated I gave up finally and eventually boarded a small plane to Halifax, flying back over the route I had already passed over! (well almost!). Halifax felt my footsteps on its soil about 45mins late. My first ever venture to Canada. My mobile still refused to work. So I phone from a call box to Kim to let her know I had arrived in Halifax. I just had time in my minute (for $3.50) to explain I had arrived and would hopefully be at her house in about two & a half hours to three! It was now 9 pm and dark! I went to the car hire firm with whom I had booked in advance a car for the long weekend. I was given the keys, and expected to be shown to the car and how it worked! After all I was from UK with different driving conditions etc. But no! No one asked me if I was use to automatic cars. No one wanted to know if I had driven on the RIGHT hand side of the road, and the fact that I had never driven a left hand drive car was of no interest to them LOL. One thing that I forgot, because I had not driven an automatic for MANY years was that such cars are totally suitable for one legged people, so long as it was the right leg that was not missing! Well At first I forgot that my left leg was redundant, and it was determined to push the left pedal, in unison with the accelerator. A number of bump starts and stops resulted, before I told my left leg it was to hide! Then I mastered the long forgotten art of driving a non clutch car. Well this was just the first of a clutch of problems. The night was still young!
The car and I gradually became friends and worked well together arriving in Truro in good time. (For what reason Truro was in Nova Scotia I have no idea!) In Truro I good not find any signs to Antigonish, or any places for that matter!. So after a while I found some students and asked then the way to Antigonish. I tried my best to remember their instructions, and drove along, well not happy, but cautiously looking for signs. I was passing a cyclist so I stopped and asked him if I was on the right road, he said I was. So I carried on a little more confidently and after about 4 or 5 Km a white truck overtook me on double white lines, and indicated for me to stop! To say that I was a little concerned was a bit mild! I pulled up anyway, and asked him what the matter was. He responded with a question! “Are you Lost?” I thought! And said “Am I on the right road to Antigonish?” He looked un surprised, well as much as one can in the dark, and said “OH! NO! Look turn your car round and I will too, then follow me.” Curiouser & curiouser.
So I did as asked and followed him back to Truro, and out again on another road. After about 5 miles, he pulled up and said if you continue on this road, you will get to Antigonish. This just goes to show that there are kind human beings in this world. I was in deed MOST grateful to this man. He told me that If I had continued on the other road that I would have ended up on a dirt track on top of a mountain !
And I still had a mountain to climb!
It was still a long way till I saw any signs that said Antigonish, and after a couple of backtracking errors I eventually did make it to Antigonish town centre, and turned left, something I had remembered from the map I had got from Yahoo! I had not explained that I had been unable to see the maps in the car, because I could not find the switch for the interior light. So I had to open the door or read it in the headlights! Anyway it was now 12.30 am, and I saw a small group of what looked like 12 year old girls coming out of a party, and asked them where Kim's road was, none of them knew, BUT I showed them the map, and they told me I WAS on the road leading to it! *SMILES* . Now I was nearly there! And I found the road, went to number 4, but could not find 4b. So I looked at the map and decided that the street sign had misled me, and it had. I went to the street off the one I was in and again found number 4 and a 4b. I knocked on 4b, the house was in darkness. No one answered, and as I saw a man walking down the street I asked him if I was in the correct street, He said no I wasn’t! But he didn’t know where it was either! But I then drove further up the other road and found the REAL road I wanted. The house Number 4 had a 4 on one side & 4B on the other! “HURRAY” I thought, I am there! I went to the door near the 4B and rang the bell, Once then twice…..It was now about 1 am! What to do? Here I am at the right house, no one answers, I am in car in a country that I have never been to before, where the drivers sit and drive on opposite sides to us, and I have arrived so late that my friends must have gone to bed. I did notice a light on in the basement., but no other sign of life. I decided that I had best sleep in the car . But not in this built up place. Someone might be worrying if they saw a stranger sleeping in a car outside their house at night!, so I found a place just out of the built up area, near a field. BY golly I needed that field!, what a relief! LOL. I then unpacked my dressing gown and covered myself and now having found out how to have the inside light on I read my book, and when I was drowsy put out the light and slept for about an hour, waking up and being tired I wanted sleep so I read again (reading is my way of getting to sleep!) This happened several times. By 6 am I was feeling cold, by 6.30 I was too cold! So I got the car started again, remembered where I was in a LHD car for RHD road! Found a Shop OPEN near where Kim lived. Bought a bottle of water and asked if there was a toilet I could use. They very kindly allowed me to use the staff toilet. Thank goodness, I really could not have waited much longer! But when I flushed the toilet, the floor flooded! (Just water, thank goodness) URGH . So With several paper towels I dried the floor as best I could, and left thanking the shop keeper very much.
I then drove into town and back again to Kim’s house, and pulled up outside and decided to wait till I saw signs of life. This was about 7 am. !5 minutes later I noticed a car in their drive backing out. I got up from my reading, and the driver got out, it was a young man, it was JAMES! Kim’s boy friend! He was just going out to try and find me!
Having got over this shock! I was led round the back to their entrance! Kim had forgotten to tell me their entrance was round the back and down the stairs! And had not heard the door bell because it wasn’t their bell! The 4B on the front was for the letter box NOT the house! LOL
Poor Kim & James had sat up till 3.30 am for me! Kim was so sorry about not having told me where their entrance was! Had I known I would have had a bed, and they would have had a longer sleep!
BUT it was so lovely to see Kim after all these years (6) of knowing her only on line.

© Chris Phillips 2007