Elective Love

I was on the tarmac in the airport in Bangkok. There was a line to board the DC 10 that would take us to Calcutta. I was 22 and on a journey from Bombay to London. Ahead were 3 women and I were the last of the line. I was young and gregarious then, and I asked them where they were going. She turned around and my heart skipped a beat. She smiled politely and said "Bombay".

"Well, that is where this plane was going but where from Bombay?" I asked as charmingly as I could.

"We are on an overland trip from Bombay to London".

The heavens opened up and the angels sang. "So am I!" I exclaimed excitedly. "My name is Tony." "I am Lyn". She smiled.

We did not get much of a chance to talk after this as we were in different parts of the plane. But I already noted she was travelling with 2 girls. No male companions. During the flight, I thought about my girlfriend in Sydney and how we have had a passionate 3 months together after meeting on a blind date. We made love in her car, in my car, on the beach, in the nurses' quarters, the students' quarters and in a hotel in the Blue Mountains the weekend before I left. Our sexual and emotional connection was instant and overwhelming. She described being swept off her feet and was disorientated for weeks although she had continued to work without problems.

She had stayed behind in Sydney to finish her midwifery course. There was never much discussion of her accompanying me across Asia to London. The farewell at the airport was heart breaking for both of us.

I was on my elective term in an undergraduate course in Medicine at Sydney University, and I was supposed to be gaining some clinical experience at a place of my choice. I had chosen a rural hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I managed to get a document to say I completed 8 weeks of a clinical attachment in a rural hospital in Thailand. I had done 1 week there and concluded there was not much to learn there that was relevant in Australia. A small tip to the secretary was involved and postdated. No one checked in those days and the letter I got looked impressively authentic. The original was in Thai with a countersigned English translation typed underneath. I had intended to do the 8 weeks but this was what happened.

A week into the attachment, I woke up in a rural hotel in Chang Mai with 2 hookers in my bed. They had agreed to spend the night with me for about 25 USD each. We had met at a bar, and it had been a raucous night, with drinks and singing. My hitherto traveling companion, my friend at medical school, was about to spend 10 weeks at a local rural hospital, just like me. I had been trying to start a relationship with her for weeks, to no avail. That night, she hooked up with a tall blonde guy from Denmark, another student. With that, our friendship had ended. It was December 1975.

"You gurl fren, she no good. We take care you. My sister, she come with me. But no money, no honey." A young bar girl touched my inner thigh, brushing my rapidly hardening cock under neath the pants. She was smiling and welcoming. She was typical of northern Thai girl, dark skin, petite and with toes which suggested wearing shoes had been a relatively recent event in her life. Her sister was like her, a little younger but she did not know a single word of English.

I had the first threesome of my life. The girls were willing and energetic. I was too and made love to both twice. The "sisters" made love to each other passionately and I concluded that whatever the relationship, they were not sisters. It was the first lesbian sex I had ever seen and I became aroused and had to do one doggie style. Fortunately, I had not drank much and the sex lasted 2 hours with breaks. With my fourth orgasm, I finally felt asleep.

We had breakfast together. They insisted on trying the western breakfast of eggs, bacon and peas. They left, with an extra 10 USD each for the taxi. Scam it was but they were making a living.

I did not care that much because I had, almost by accident, picked up 5000 USD in Casino Lisboa in Macau the week before. I had bet the last 10 USD that I was prepared to lose at the roulette table on 9 as I was about to leave the casino, fully expecting to take my losses and move on but it landed. I took 300 out and whimsically put 10 each on 1,8,12,19. 12 came up. In 5 subsequent turns of the wheel, I found myself with 5,000 USD in chips. I took it in USD cash, deciding to stop when ahead. The next day, I converted them to Traveller's cheques. I had over 7,000 USD and in 1974, that was a lot of money.

After the bust up with my fellow student, I went back to Bangkok and went to a travel agent popular amongst students and affiliated with the student's union in Australia. Three days later, I paid 350 USD for an overland trip from Bombay to London. It took 2 days to confirm the booking and it was the last seat on the bus. I spent 3 days getting my Indian visa. The other visas were to be obtained along the way.

I flew from Bangkok to Bombay with Thai International. I was careful not to exceed limits on the currency I took in. Even travelers' cheques were counted. I also bought 1 bottle of JW whiskey and 2 pairs of Levi jeans. I concluded a deal on all with buyers at the hotel that was the designated starting point of the overland trip. The profit paid for all expenses for the first 7 days in India. The Stiffles hotel, was a flea infested dump. I checked into the hotel next door, a no-nonsense business hotel with clean rooms.

I was very excited because travelling to London via the gringo trail was a dream come true.

I saw her again at a restaurant near the hotel the next morning. It looked reasonably clean with "Kwality" at the front door. She was alone. I went up to the table and asked, "May I join you?" She smiled and said, "sure. I was wondering where you got to. When we came out, there was no sign of you." I explained I had been detained and thoroughly searched. After 30 minutes, they finally released me, having found nothing. "Welcome to India". They smirked.

She was from Adelaide and was a schoolteacher, taking a year off to "do" Europe. I told her my story. Somehow, we managed to talk for 2 hours in that restaurant in Bombay on a cool winter's day. She had decided to go on the trip impulsively after she was irritated by her boyfriend talking about traveling to Europe without involving her. I said my trip was planned for months.

Finally, her friends found us as they were looking for a late breakfast. We went on a few trips around Bombay seeing the sights with an Ambassador taxi we hired for the day for 20 USD. Over 2 days, we saw a bit of the sprawling metropolis that was Bombay. I had seen poverty in SE Asia but nothing prepared me for the slums. I even got a haircut in the street. My long hair became a short back and sides. Lyn said I looked younger. I said I was still legal to which she smiled.

The travel bus, a 1960 Mercedes started the journey on 3 January 1976. It was full, with an assortment of Australians, Americans, New Zealanders and a Canadian. Most were young and remarkably, I was the only student. There was a couple of schoolteachers who had retired that year and I suspect without them, the bus passengers' behavior would have been more riotous.

Lyn and I sat together as if it was the most natural thing in the world. We talked and soon we had inside jokes. Southern India was fascinating but soon it was clear to both of us that we were developing bond. On the fourth day of the trip, we were stopping at a local hotel and I took a room for both of us. She did not object and hotel rooms were in short supply. Some of the others even shared 4 to a room.

In the room, she had the first shower and came out dressed in PJs. I had a shower and came out and got into the next bed, intending to go to sleep. She said "Are you kidding?" She drew me to her and felt my groin area. I responded immediately and kissed her tenderly. The PJs came off and we made love three times. Apparently, I lasted a lot longer than her boyfriend who had suffered from premature ejaculation. I employed my budding oral skills and she achieved an orgasm. She sobbed clutching my neck saying it was the first time she had an orgasm with a partner. "I had always thought that this is what sex could be, but Bob always came after a few strokes. You made me cum 3 times." She started to sob again.

After we washed again, there was an awkward silence. We looked at each other. "Do you have a girlfriend and why is she not here?" Lyn asked.

I hesitated but decided to be honest. "I do and she is in the middle of her midwifery training, but we had only been together for 2 months."

"We are both cheaters." Lyn asked me and then started to sob.

"I have a boyfriend who is meeting me in London." Lyn said softly.

We thus consummated our relationship 6 days after meeting. We became inseparable, living in the moment whilst on the travel experience of our lives. We made love when it was possible but sometimes, we slept on factory floors and other places. Travel was different in those days.

The first reality check was at the post restante in New Delhi where we both received letters from our significant others. Sensing a need, I took us to an elegant hotel for our stay in the Indian capital. The Imperial Hotel had been opened in 1936. Even in 1976, it felt old and elegant. I had to deposit 500 USD in travelers' cheques before they will allow us to check in. There were door men in turbans and bell boys who gently suggested we may want to have our laundry done. "Outside service sir. I give you introduction card. Good discount. Hotel service very, very expensive. Yes sir." I gave him a tip. We did a full wash of everything except the clothes we had on. It cost 5 USD and it came back ironed. I had barely touched the 5000 USD I had won in Macau. The hotel was 60 USD a night but it was like stepping back to colonial times. The suite, which cost an extra 45 USD, had 2 bedrooms and a lounge area. Lyn said she did not have the budget to stay in such hotels. I said be my guest and told her what had happened in Macau.

In the room, she handed me the letter from her boyfriend without comment. It was full of expression of undying love and said he would be waiting in London for her. He mentioned he wished they had planned the trip together. With some hesitation, I gave her the letter from my girlfriend, Anne. The letter was a little graphic, recalling recent nights of passion with me and saying that she was waiting for me "at home". After reading, we looked at each other not knowing what to say. She said in a soft voice eventually "I don't want to stop this. We are cheating but this is real. We are here and I have never felt like this, passionate and guilt ridden." That night, dinning at the hotel restaurant, I said "I am falling in love with you". "I am already in love with you." She murmured.

The following weeks were the great adventure of both our lives. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Greece followed, each creating indelible memories. The Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Amritsar, The Hindus, Kabul Gorge, Kabul, some museum in Tehran, Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, the Acropolis, Delphi.......so much in such a short time. From Athens, we flew to London to make up some time as I had to return to Australia to start final year medicine. We made love in everything from hotels, shacks and in a hire car VW bug just outside Delphi on the side of a rural road.

The best was a traditional 5 star hotel in Istanbul where we stayed for 3 days, away from people on the bus. I splashed out with my Casino winnings. The whole Istanbul thing, the baths, cuisine and culture was dislocating. Lyn had her hair done and her body went through a skin scrap at the baths. I had a man who scrubbed me and bathed me. We both emerged from our sessions feeling fantastic and vert clean. That evening, over dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Bosporus Sea, we both had tears of happiness, much to the consternation of the staff.

It was the most emotional and exhilarating days of our lives.

We had fights. It is not possible to live in each other back pockets and not have fights. "You are already dealing with 2 women." She hissed. I was just having a friendly and entirely innocent chat with 2 British girls in a cafe in Chicken Street in Kabul, Afghanistan. "You are dealing with 2 men." I retorted. She glared at me and then the tears flowed silently. Our rapidly developing feelings for each other was overshadowed by a great sense of guilt that hung over both of us. Lyn looked at me and said with a barely audible whisper "What we have here is so much better than my relationship with Rob. I will break it off with him." She looked at me trying to gauge my reaction.

"I do not know what to say. As of today, we have known each other for 6 weeks. Don't you think we should just enjoy this reality. The world will come crashing back in soon enough."

Years later, she said it was then that she realized our bus romance would end in London. Which it did.