South China Seafaring
Paige and three guys took passage on a merchant ship from Hong Kong to Saigon during the hottest month of the year and while they had paid for their berths they preferred to sleep on deck - with the Asian seamen.
"It was like an oven below deck," laughs Paige, "and the smell of my cabin was indescribable."
"My cabin had a porthole but there was absolutely no air coming through."
"We were steaming through the doldrums - that part of the South China Sea near the equator that has no breeze whatsoever."
"The air was as fetid on deck as it was below deck," laughs Paige, "but at least sleeping under the stars gave us a cooler atmosphere than we felt in our cabins."
"We weren't allowed to take our bedding out of our cabins," explains Paige, "so it was very uncomfortable sleeping on the hard wooden deck."
"Most of the crew were sleeping on deck, too," says Paige, "and I'm glad I had the three guys as travel companions because I would have felt really out of place sleeping alongside Asian seamen."
"I don't mean that to sound racist," explains Paige. "It's pretty common that Asian guys are attracted to western women just like western men are attracted to Asian women, and if I had been travelling alone I would have stayed in my cabin rather than expose myself to possible danger."
"I wasn't specifically traveling with the three guys for protection - I had only met up with them in Hong Kong - and as far as I knew they might have been more dangerous to sleep on deck with than the crew," laughs Paige, "but it's natural, I suppose, for people to feel more comfortable and safe with their own type - especially a woman."
"Anyway, the heat - or should I say the extreme humidity - was so bad that nobody in their right mind would be thinking about sex," laughs Paige, "so I wasn't really scared of being ravished."
"I just felt very awkward being the only girl on board and sleeping exposed on the deck at night made my situation more vulnerable than ever."
"My mom and dad would have been very angry to know I ever put myself in such a situation," sighs Paige, "but when you're traveling you've got to do crazy things - if you don't you may as well stay at home."
"We slept on towels and the guys made themselves comfortable by stripping to their shorts."
"I wore a tee-shirt with shorts and slept with my purse wrapped in another towel for a pillow."
"What we all feared most was getting our passports and money stolen."
"We were warned of the risks when we booked our passage on the merchant ship," says Paige, "and we discussed taking turns sleeping - while one of us took a turn at a watch - but it was too damned hot to bother."
"Even though the deck was as hard as you'd expect wood to be," laughs Paige, "I loved sleeping under the stars and wonder why ships did away with hammocks - they would have been ideal for South China Sea voyages."
"It was like an oven below deck," laughs Paige, "and the smell of my cabin was indescribable."
"My cabin had a porthole but there was absolutely no air coming through."
"We were steaming through the doldrums - that part of the South China Sea near the equator that has no breeze whatsoever."
"The air was as fetid on deck as it was below deck," laughs Paige, "but at least sleeping under the stars gave us a cooler atmosphere than we felt in our cabins."
"We weren't allowed to take our bedding out of our cabins," explains Paige, "so it was very uncomfortable sleeping on the hard wooden deck."
"Most of the crew were sleeping on deck, too," says Paige, "and I'm glad I had the three guys as travel companions because I would have felt really out of place sleeping alongside Asian seamen."
"I don't mean that to sound racist," explains Paige. "It's pretty common that Asian guys are attracted to western women just like western men are attracted to Asian women, and if I had been travelling alone I would have stayed in my cabin rather than expose myself to possible danger."
"I wasn't specifically traveling with the three guys for protection - I had only met up with them in Hong Kong - and as far as I knew they might have been more dangerous to sleep on deck with than the crew," laughs Paige, "but it's natural, I suppose, for people to feel more comfortable and safe with their own type - especially a woman."
"Anyway, the heat - or should I say the extreme humidity - was so bad that nobody in their right mind would be thinking about sex," laughs Paige, "so I wasn't really scared of being ravished."
"I just felt very awkward being the only girl on board and sleeping exposed on the deck at night made my situation more vulnerable than ever."
"My mom and dad would have been very angry to know I ever put myself in such a situation," sighs Paige, "but when you're traveling you've got to do crazy things - if you don't you may as well stay at home."
"We slept on towels and the guys made themselves comfortable by stripping to their shorts."
"I wore a tee-shirt with shorts and slept with my purse wrapped in another towel for a pillow."
"What we all feared most was getting our passports and money stolen."
"We were warned of the risks when we booked our passage on the merchant ship," says Paige, "and we discussed taking turns sleeping - while one of us took a turn at a watch - but it was too damned hot to bother."
"Even though the deck was as hard as you'd expect wood to be," laughs Paige, "I loved sleeping under the stars and wonder why ships did away with hammocks - they would have been ideal for South China Sea voyages."
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