A short bus journey away is Parap Market, one of Darwin’s longest running markets. This small Saturday market is situated in the Parap Village shopping precinct, in a pleasant suburb 5 km north of the city centre. It’s a mixture of arts and crafts, clothes and food. Among the stalls are several selling south east Asian take-away and the sounds and smells transport us back to the street food in Thailand, Laos and the rest. This afternoon we spent some time starting what will probably be a long process of researching where to go after Australia. East or West? India or South America? Initial research into flights costs suggests that the cheaper option is India. Sri Lanka was a possibility until we checked the Foreign Office website which advises against all travel to the north and east of the island – and since the west and south will be in the monsoon season when we want to travel we have discounted it as a destination. Research to be continued….
Yesterday afternoon we returned to the hostel to find the street closed and police milling about. Outlines of a car accident had been marked on the road, but the vehicles involved had been towed away. Today, we read in the newspaper that there had been a road rage incident just outside the hostel; a man in a 4wd had deliberately driven at another on a motor scooter causing him to swerve head on into an oncoming car. The 4wd proceeded to run over him as he lay in the road and had then driven off. This would be a shocking event anywhere, but it seems particularly so in this pleasant and seemingly laid back city. Fortunately the victim survived and the perpetrator has been caught.
Darwin is famed for it’s spectacular sunsets and today we went down to the waterfront to see for ourselves. We left it a few minutes too late and the sun went down so fast that we missed it disappearing below the horizon, but the aftermath was beautiful nonetheless as the sky turned a deep orange and the clouds took on a golden hue.
My arm is much better; the Deep Heat seems to be doing the trick and I’m gradually getting a wider range of movement and less pain.