doctor doctor...

If the truth be told, I am absolutely exhausted. There are a number of contributing factors, mainly the 5 months of constant travel finally taking its toll on me, plus a long journey from Fiji to the west coast of Australia. My week in Fiji was wonderful, not just for the sun, sea and, er, sand, but for the cultural experience of life on an island. The earthquake in New Zealand didn't logistically affect me, and as shocked and saddened as I was by the events, I was still able to get on with my travels. In Fiji, however, the news of the earthquake in Japan had much more of a direct impact on me, firstly because a Tsunami warning was issued whilst I was there, and secondly because Japan was part of my itinerary before returning home to London. As already mentioned, my final night in Fiji was somewhat frightening as I didn't really know what was happening, other than a tsunami warning was in place, some people had been told to go to higher ground, and I was in a village right by the ocean but we weren't going to higher ground. In the end nothing happened, but I got at most an hour and a half's sleep before beginning my 16 hour journey to Perth. I also arrived in Perth suffering from a blocked ear, which had happened whilst swimming in Fiji. Similar to what I experienced 2 years ago, swimming had caused my ear to block up and I was effectively deaf in one ear, and once in Perth knew I would have to deal with it. So on Monday I went into downtown Perth, visited the Visitor Centre, and they told me to go to the Medical Centre. Within an hour I had an appointment with a doctor, and he syringed my ears bringing my hearing back up to scratch. All for $85.

Now I'm struggling with the heat. I really wasn't expecting to struggle with it as bad as I have, but the past 2 days have been around 30° plus, and I haven't coped very well. Luckily by mid-afternoon, with any luck, the sea breeze comes in from the West and cools everything down a bit. This breeze is known as the Freemantle Doctor as it tends to come in from Freemantle, a town on the coast just a few miles from Perth. The second doctor in two days to bring great relief. I've also been concerned about my trip to Japan, and how I should deal with. I gave it a couple of days to take in the continuously developing news and decide, and today I finally decided it would be for the best if I skip the Japan leg of my journey. Although Tokyo (and to the West) has been mostly unaffected, I've decided that just a few weeks after the disaster is a little too soon. Partly because of the possible aftershocks, partly because of the current nuclear power predicament, but mostly because I just feel it would be inappropriate to be there as a tourist whilst the entire country is having to pull together amidst possible power cuts and extreme stresses on the countries resources in general. I am aware of the argument that the Japanese economy needs people like me to still go and spend money, and in a month or two I would probably agree. But just a few weeks I feel is too soon. I will definitely one day make it to Japan as they will no doubt recover from this terrible tragedy. So I have now rearranged my flight to go through Bangkok, where I will spend a few nights before returning home to London. And the rest of my life. Whatever that may hold...