I have decided, rather than writing to all my friends on Facebook, and via email, I would just write a blog and then anyone who wants to can find out what I am up to on the Rainbow Warrior! This first post will be about the first few days, impressions and the people I meet and I will update it as and when I can!
My journey to the Rainbow Warrior started on Sunday morning, with my Mum and sisters, Philippa and Maddie, picking me up from home and driving me to Manchester Airport. We got there a little early, had a coffee and then said our goodbyes, with no tears at all, from any of us! I was expecting to blub like a baby to be honest but the tears didn't come!
I boarded a small KLM plane to Amsterdam, and had a window seat, which I prefer. I got chatting to the guy sat next to me, he was called William from Eindhoven and was on his way home to visit his family for a week before returning to the UK for work. I asked what he does for a living and he told me he is one of he stage builders for the Take That Tour! WOW! It was only a short flight but we chatted about the tour and where I was flying off to and the flight seemed to take no time at all. We landed in Amsterdam and I walked through the terminal to my Boarding gate for my flight to Incheon. Whilst in the airport I picked up some cheese biscuits and cheese for Esti, they don't have nice cheese in South Korea and she was craving it so I picked some up in the terminal.
My next plane was HUGE. I have never seen an aircraft so big, it had two floors! Ridiculous! But then I guess this is also the longest distance flight I have done, as my previous flights to South Africa have been done in two parts of about 6 hours each...
So we boarded the plane and took off, and the flight was going well, until just as dinner was being served, an Asian man a few rows in front of me was taken ill and he crew asked for a doctor. I turns out he had a small heart attack or irregular heart rhythm, and the doctor used a defibrillator to correct this, which worked...now I know this may seem really harsh and I am very glad this man seemed to recover but all that was going through my head was - DON'T YOU DARE TURN THIS PLANE AROUND!! I AM GOING TO THE RAINBOW WARRIOR!! But it didn't happen and dinner was eventually served, which was delicious!
I tried to sleep on the plane but my body clock was messed up, I just couldn't sleep, even though it was evening UK time and so I should really have been able to. I watched two films - 'Burlesque' and 'No Strings Attached', both mediocre but they killed a few hours. Then breakfast was served and that was also delicious, an egg and cheese omlette with potatoes! Mmmmm! Then we began our descent to Incheon Airport. I went through passport control, grabbed my bag, and then headed for the doors. I was met by a Korean guy of few words, holding up a sign with my name on!
He took me to the car and drove me from the airport to the Port Authority Immigration Service, where my visa was stamped to say I was leaving Korea again! I had been a visitor in Korea for less than 2 hours! haha! Then he took me to Customs at the Port, which passed without a hitch and then got back into the car. As we drove around the corner, I caught my first glimpse of the Rainbow Warrior! WOW.
We got to the boat, and Erik, the engineer (he's Dutch) helped me get my bags onboard and into my cabin. I was given a quick tour by Adrian, the First Mate, who introduced me to lots of people who's names I can't remember, and then took me down to the Hold where some of the crew were making banners. We were cutting letters out of rip-stop, making eyelets and then putting gromets into them. I helped for a few hours and then the jetlag hit, and I went to bed for a few hours. I woke at 7pm to have dinner, met some more of the crew and then wen back to bed.
I met the following crew:
Alex: A rather gorgeous and posh guy from Slough. He is the First Mate.
Haans: Another rather gorgeous 29 year old doctor from Rotterdam. He is a deck hand and the ships medic.
Simon: Official GP Asia photographer - on board for the S.K. boat tour.
Maite: Lovely friendly smiley Spanish deck hand. Room-mate.
Elena: Australian deck hand. She has since left the boat.
Emma: Australian Boatswain. She is leaving the boat tomorrow.
Mong: Radio technician and internet guru.
Adrian: Chief Mate and lovely guy. He is from Panama and also leaves tomorrow.
Tracy: Canadian ship engineer. She is lovely and very chatty and welcoming.
Willy: Ships cook. Quiet but makes AMAZING food!
Dave: British electrician for the ship. He leaves tomorrow to go and work at Glasto for Oxfam.
Mike: New South African captain. He is from Cape Town but now lives in London. I think we will have a lot to talk about!
Dan: New Chief Mate. Also British. Arrived today so not really had a chance to chat to him yet.
...my fingers ache from typing, so I will write more soon! xxx
