Darwin is our stopping off point en route to Mumbai. We passed through Alice Springs to get to Darwin, a miserable little spot in the middle of the continent with loads of flies and not much else at the airport. Not sure how they manage to keep the swarms of flies out of the airplane as you disembark onto the tarmac; we were covered from head to toe, up our nose, mouth and eyes. The airport security guards wore hats with nets... like the type of nets you put over food on a picnic table to keep the bugs out- they wear them on their heads here. We were graced with the Australian Rugby Team players all on our flight. Stalking fans were waiting at the terminal with shirts and balls to be signed. Kind of makes you wonder why they allow the entire team to fly on one plane, what if it crashes? With the craze of Australian Footie, it would be a national tragedy for the whole team to be taken out in one go.
But onward we flew to Darwin, we plummeted through thick, black clouds, shattered with lightening as we descended toward the ground. As we hit the tarmac, we were immediately drenched in the heavy, wet air that smothered the town. Welcome to Darwin, in the heat of the wet, rainy season. Our plush hostel had done a bit of bait and switch on us, as we arrived at 9:00pm, heavy backpacks in tow... we got passed from a 'closed for renovation' hostie to another shady spot down the road... the Youth Shack. Now I feel old. Nearly 40 and graying fast, I think I'm a bit out of place here. The beer gardens thump with bad dance music, European backpacker kids pounding pots of beer and sucking down cancer sticks polluting the already difficult to breathe air. We make our way up to our dingy room, to find 4 walls, a bed with nasty dark sheets to hide whatever are living in them, and a filthy sink. This is what $65 bucks gets you in the low season. Thank God it's only a night. 