MIKE'S NEW ADDRESS

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Man in the middle

There was probably nothing sinister about the three people sitting opposite me in the train. The man was clearly unwell, which would explain why the women were propping him up. Their facemasks were a bit severe but there’s no law against covering the face in Japan. And there’s no law to prevent people dressing alike. For all I knew, the ladies were sisters caring for a sick relative. All the same, I couldn’t help remembering the story about the man in the middle.

Car hire and touring in Japan

There was a time when you had to speak Japanese to travel in the backwoods of Japan and you needed a fat wallet. Those days have gone but the myth remains.

Wild Australia (rainbow lorikeets)

This colourful adolescent is a “rainbow lorikeet”. No prizes for guessing why he and his folks are called by that name. The birds are common in Queensland and a great favourite with tourists.

Places to go (surf clubs)

They’re one of Australia’s great institutions and most clubs welcome visitors. Many have bars and restaurants. That’s one of the ways they make money for their main activity – lifesaving.

Wild Australia (flying foxes)

Okay. They’re not foxes. They’re bats but not ordinary bats. They have a wingspan of more than 70cm (over 2ft) and their main food is fruit. There was once a colony in the mangrove swamps near us. Their constant screeching formed a background noise and we got used to it; then one day it was eerily quiet.

Other jobs (Beach Boys)

In an earlier blog I told you about mud wrestling mud wrestling and the girls who took part in it. Strictly speaking, they were not employees but competitors. That didn’t stop them from earning a steady income. At least, until the women’s rights people put an end to it.

Outback (Dave)

It takes a certain sort of person to live in the remote outback. In an earlier post, I told you about Angus, who hated city life and was totally at home in his sunburnt land. Other young men spent their childhood looking for ways to escape. One was my diving mate, Dave. His folks had a sheep farm on the far side of the Great Dividing Range and that’s where he was born.

Other jobs (mud wrestling)

   

In an earlier blog (jobs/extraordinary) I scribed two sorts of female dance acts. One is performed with clothes on and the other ends with clothes off. Mud wrestling provides a halfway house between the two. Strictly speaking it's not a job. Mud wrestling is a sport and that's an important distinction.

Outback (Angus)

In an earlier post (crocodile farming) I told you about my friend Luke and his son Angus. That’s not their real names but that doesn't mean they are not real people. They are  totally real and totally unlike anyone you would have as a neighbour in leafy suburbia. 

Wild Australia (strangler fig)

The leafy jungle is just as competitive as the concrete jungle. No holds are barred in the race to the top. In the concrete jungle the ultimate prize is money and power. In the rainforest it is sunlight and power. Strategies are much the same in both worlds ...

Other jobs (Toyboy)

It’s not a role that would appeal to everyone and not all young guys are cut out for it. Sufficient to say that a demand exists for the sort of company a younger male can provide for an older female.

Cautionary tales (Veronica's dad)

People are not always what they seem and it's as well to remember that when you make new acquaintances as my daughter, Mel, discovered ...

Cautionary tales (sea change)

So you are fed up with your boring office job and want a change. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in one of those fabulous tourist destinations where it’s summer all year round? How about going into the diving industry? You could buy a boat and take tourists to the Great Barrier Reef. Or you could establish a yachting business in the Whitsunday Islands. You might even set up a backpacker hostel.