Page 37 - Michael Frost-Voyages to Maturity-23531.indd

the Chinese seemed in control of everything, except that, essentially unseen,
the British, through the army and the navy, had the final say. The major issue in
South-East Asia was then the Vietnam War and the vestiges of French efforts there
were still apparent; we frequently saw Cambodge, Laos and Vietnam, three smart
passenger ships very similar to P&O’s Cathay and Chitral, themselves throwbacks
to the need for the Belgians to travel to what had been the Belgian Congo. The port
was also home to quite evident numbers of British troops and sailors.

The work needed by the officers in Singapore was minimal (though not, of
course, in the case of engineers), and I was thus able to see something of the city.
One necessarily went to Change Alley, which, true to its name, was little more
than a narrow, enclosed street, but which I quickly realised was little different
from Aden, though a good deal more expensive. The city itself, or what little I
saw of it, was not, however, very impressive. To put it mildly, Singapore had not
had a good war. It had fallen precipitously to the Japanese, largely because of the
ineptitude of the British Army and Navy (in 1941, two British capital ships had
been sunk within fifty minutes by the Japanese air force, which lost three aircraft
in doing so) in part because the supposed supporting British aircraft carrier
H.M.S. Indomitable had run aground in the West Indies, and partly as a result of
which humiliation the western colonial powers were thereafter perceived to have
feet of clay) and the city/state had been but lackadaisically resurrected; there was
insufficient money to keep even the United Kingdom in the front rank, thus so
much less important were the outposts of empire. On the 21st, we departed this
rather disappointing port.

Three days later, we arrived at the fabled city of Bangkok. It was, however,
difficult to know what ‘arrival’ meant; the land was so flat that there was no
evidence of having arrived anywhere. But I took the opportunity, upon anchoring,
of going ashore to the Mariners’ Club and was delighted to read a few reasonably
current magazines and also, for the first time in many moons, be able to hear some
proper music; there was a record of Leonard Pennario and L.A. Philharmonic (in
Grieg, I seem to recall). The city itself made no impression upon me, a fact that
did not worry me as I knew that I would be back to see the unique sights and ride
in one of the long canal boats. (I need hardly add that I was never to return.) But
I was also advised by Plumridge that the most onerous part of the trip was about
to start … though it was usually a remunerative interlude.

The following morning, I saw what he was talking about. A lighter loaded
with squealing caged pigs arrived alongside, all of which were to be loaded, four
high, on the fore-deck (which is to say, right in front of our cabin). The loading

36