Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

I begin my crossing of Saudi Arabia On what my "Arab Gazette" tells me

Is the start of Fifth National Cleaning Week.

It's the start of my third Circumnavigating week

And i've already lost Passepartout.

He's not been allowed to film my journey From the Mecca bypass to the port of Dubai.

On the first day, I see hardly any life Except for the occasional camel

And a filling station where the temperature Registers 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

The desert roads are a driver's dream,

Modern six-lane highways Almost entirely empty.

700 miles later, at Riyadh, The hottest capital on earth,

I rent a car to take me to the Qatari border.

There I am stranded until I get a lucky lift Into the Emirates.

Then it's a taxi to rejoin Passepartout In Dubai at 2.30 on a Monday morning.

I've travelled 1,347.5 miles,

The equivalent of London to the Black Sea, In one weekend.

That I had arrived in Dubai at all Was a small triumph.

I'm even more cheered when I look out Onto a lively and cosmopolitan waterfront.

And, at last, my first sight of a dhow.

I'm told it's only crossword-loving Western Romantics who still call them dhows.

To everyone here, they are launches Or coastal craft.

The dhows are loaded in town with everything From livestock to laxatives.

Best of all, from my point of view, The port seems full of them.

My contact, Kamis, who works at the port,

Tells me the trading season has just resumed After the monsoon.

There are dhows heading down To Somalia and Zanzibar.

And he's found one going my way, too.

Allons y, Passepartout.

Captain?

Hello, good afternoon.

- How are you? - Very well. You speak English?

- Yes. - Good.

- Where are you going to? Bombay? - I'm going to Bombay, yes.

- I need a boat to take me to Bombay. - Oh, yes, why not?

- Yes, why not? - That's confident.

Unfortunately, I also have four other people.

- They come with me. - Altogether five people?

Five of us and a few cases And some equipment.

Tomorrow you bring all your cases And baggage, you bring on the boat.

- When do you leave? - We sail the day after tomorrow,

But you bring your baggage Tomorrow evening.

OK, you ready your baggage.

How long will you take to Bombay? It is important I know.

From here? Only six days.

Six days? You are absolutely sure?

- Yes. - May we have a look? Is that OK?

- Can I inspect? - OK, you come with me.

- Charming gentleman. - Come here all together.

I'd have preferred tomorrow to the day after,

But it's a firm and friendly offer.

This is my cabin, sir. Come here.

This is my bed of the captain.

- And this bed is of the chief officer. - He has a bigger bed than you.

We know who runs this ship, I see!

- We go forward now. - I want to see the guest suite.

By my calculations, these are the only Two beds among a crew of 18.

Maybe this accounts For the friendly atmosphere.

- What's this? What is in here? - The storerooms.

I don't fancy sleeping down there.

- We can, perhaps, sleep out here? - Yes, sleep here. Sleep on the cargo.

Shall we look at the deck?

This is indeed the Black Hole of Dubai.

Sleeping anywhere, Even on sacks of cargo, was preferable.

It's 100 degrees next morning at the world's Largest, probably only, dhow shipyard.

They make reproductions Of medieval European trading ships,

Which is what dhows are.

In England, you'd only see scenes like this In a working museum.

In Dubai, it represents the solid face Of commercial success.

Dhow cargos provided a lifeline for Iran In the recent war with Iraq.

The dhow trade is still flourishing After 500 years.

If I'm to be six days at sea, I'll need to take provisions, but what?

It'll be hot and there are no luxuries Like refrigeration.

Start simple.

I need some rice. I'm going on a dhow.

I need rice for five people for a week.

What is that? Is that basic? It looks like the rice we get at home.

Yes, OK.

Do you want a bag? This one?

- You've got some in a bag! - Indian basmati.

- How much is a bag? - 90 dirham.

- That's good. Is that the cheapest? - No, the most.

- The best? - Yes, best one.

- That's the one from Pakistan. - Cheap, that.

I think I will take a sack of that. How much was it?

- It's 90 dirham. - 90 dirham.

Which is, actually, more than I thought. It's about £15.

I suppose that's all right. £15 for five people.

OK. I need ten dirham change, please.

Thank you.

I hope you like rice!

Preceded by the provisions - Crates of mineral water,

Yards of toilet paper, tins of tuna chunks, Everything the western traveller needs -

I board our dhow, Al-Sharma, Which means candle light in Arabic.

It's my 18th day out of England,

The day Fogg reached Bombay.

Ahead lies an experience Nothing has prepared me for.

As you can see from my outfit, I look like A junior minister on a fact finding tour.

The captain has made sure The place is scrupulously clean.

He assures me the paint work has been Washed not just with ordinary water,

But with drinking water!

It is all very strange.

We are setting off for six days at sea, Out of radio contact,

On a boat with not a lifebelt in sight

And a crew who don't speak English.

We're heading out into the Persian Gulf Where nine years of war are just ending.

No wonder I didn't sleep last night!

Getting rough. Those waves are 1.5 feet, definitely.

The dhow operates almost entirely On human effort.

The only machine on board Is the 280 h.p. British-made diesel engine.

Everything else is done by hand, With everyone helping out.

Teamwork isn't an option here. It's a matter of survival.

Everyone is terribly keen To make us comfortable.

As protection from the heat, a tarpaulin is Raised above the sacks of dates and pistachios

Which make up the floor Of our first-class deck accommodation.

Captain Hassan, endlessly obliging,

Flags down a passing colleague en route From Bombay for a weather forecast.

- What was that? - This is our company launch.

I was asking to him How the weather is in Bombay.

- He says it's OK, nobody afraid. - Nobody afraid.

- It's OK. - The weather is OK and the sea is OK.

He would say that, wouldn't he?!

They say nobody is afraid. They say it is OK.

- This is our company line. - He's coming back on the same route?

He's coming from Bombay.

Will we see many more ships on the way? Woah!

Please, careful.

- Is that the... You have one other boat? - One more, yeah.

So now we can relax till we get to Bombay?

The weather's good?

Everything is OK. He say nobody afraid.

The sea looks harmless, as though Never a wave broke in anger,

Yet I learned the captain's brother Drowned on this route

When his dhow went down in a storm With all hands lost.

The weather isn't the only danger. We're approaching the Strait of Hormuz.

Assuming we miss the mines From the Gulf War,

We still have to negotiate at night Without lights or radar

One of the most tortuous channels In the world.

Beyond the Strait lies the Gulf of Oman

And four days on the wide unprotected waters Of the Arabian Sea.

I'm trying to get everybody's name.

I want all the names. You write your name, Anwar.

- You're Mohammed. - Yes, Mohammed.

- And you are the father of... - Yes, my son, Anwar.

- I am father. - Anwar is very good, yeah.

And Mohammed, you said... Tell me about Your brothers. You've got three brothers.

Four brothers.

What do they all do?

One is in port in my country.

- The second is in ship. Helmsman. - Helmsman, yes.

- My number three. - You are number three.

Yes, and number four is Captain Hassan.

So, you are the brother of the captain?

It's all wheels within wheels here.

And everyone here Is from the same part of India?

Same country. Manui.

- Yeah? - Manui, our country name is Manui.

- Name is? - Manui.

Will you write down, Anwar, The country where you all come from?

- But you are from Gujarat? Is that right? - Yeah.

The Gujarat part of India. Mohammed, Where did you learn to speak English?

Yes, I was before a sailor on big ship, Tanker ship.

You learnt as a sailor?

British ship. Tanker. Oil tanker.

You went on British ships? So, you've been on long journeys?

- Yeah. - Which do you like best?

A big tanker going to Hong Kong or Brazil,

Or this boat? Which do you like best?

This I like, but big tanker is plenty money.

They pay you more on a tanker than on here?

- Tanker pay? - Tanker pay good?

Very good.

- Is this pay good? - No, rotten!

300 only.

- 300... What would that be? Dirham? - Rupees.

- Indian rupees. - 300 rupees for the journey.

Tanker, you get 1,100 rupees.

Yet you still like it here?

- Yes, I like. - You must be crazy!

- You're crazy, Mohammed! - No, this is good life!

- Yes. - What is so good?

- Why do you like it? - Good climate and all my countrymen.

It's because you've got your son, Your brother, your uncle.

- All your family. - Yes, same family!

Dhow life takes some getting used to.

I must remember that the sun sets fast and Once it's gone there are no electric lights.

That's why I'm making my bed at teatime.

I haven't done anything like this For a long time.

It's all the exercise I get all day.

It's the equivalent to a very short jog...

...for a one-legged man.

There we are.

It may all look a bit odd, But I had to get this in Dubai

In about two hours flat The night before we left.

They don't have camping shops, Which I didn't realise until quite late on.

So, there was a lot of hanging round shopping Malls and going into bedding shops.

All this is a real mishmash.

I rather like my little Embroidered pillow, though.

Very nice, but hardly your butch camping gear.

And... This is an extra blanket,

But it is so hot - it's sort of Above 90 at night as well -

So I think i'll just... Start with that.