| Exploring the Pacific Islands leisurely, romantically, and | | | | hitching a ride on a cargo ship, he laughed. He said he |
| cheaply via ship has always been a dream of mine. | | | | had hitched rides on ships all around the Pacific and |
| Hoping to make the dream a reality, I looked into | | | | that the best place to hunt for passage was on the |
| various shipping companies before I started traveling in | | | | west coast of the US because of the traffic. Then he |
| South East Asia and discovered that passage on | | | | said that no captain in his right mind would allow a |
| cargo ships is quite expensive. Many ships carry about | | | | female on-board and that he as captain would |
| a dozen passengers and have comfortable cabins | | | | definitely never take one on as the crew is usually all |
| complete with air-conditioning for their customers. | | | | male and they don't see others, women, for weeks. |
| Prices range from $80-$150 per day and include three | | | | He went on to say that I could probably try working as |
| meals. You provide your own entertainment and | | | | a cook on a ship but that the conditions were arduous. |
| socialize with the crew and your fellow passengers. | | | | The kitchen can get very hot and the sea very rough. |
| You can book passage on a ship via a travel | | | | He'd seen cooks throw up into the evening's stew and |
| company, or you can contact the shipping companies | | | | had sometimes even found alien chunks in his food. |
| themselves. I loved the idea, just not the price. | | | | After that I decided that I if I ever did sail, it would be |
| Still hoping to sail cheaply, I decided to try working in | | | | with people I knew well or on a cargo ship when I was |
| exchange for passage. I found the idea of a position | | | | in the mood to splurge. |
| on a small boat infinitely appealing as there would be | | | | Since then I've met men who had worked as |
| more freedom than on a large one. In Hong Kong I | | | | deckhands and sailed around the world, and one |
| hung around the yacht club hoping to befriend | | | | woman, a chef by profession, who cooked on tourist |
| appropriate people, but the only sailors I met were | | | | boats that plied the water between Ushuaia, Argentina, |
| yachters exercising their boats for the day. I scoured | | | | and Antarctica. The men found their positions by |
| the notice boards hoping to find a 'help-wanted' ad, but | | | | hanging around marinas and the woman via the |
| found only objects for sale. Finally, I asked the lady at | | | | Internet. Although I have never met a female |
| reception if there were any positions available on a | | | | deckhand, I've certainly heard of women who have |
| ship; she handed me a job application saying I might be | | | | worked on boats as such. If you have cooking skills or |
| able to find something on a cruise ship and told me to | | | | don't mind taking orders, this might be a way for you. |
| return in a few days and talk to a manager. I decided | | | | Before committing yourself though, get to know your |
| to focus on my land explorations and try my luck later | | | | fellow sailors, employers, and make sure they're |
| on in Singapore. | | | | trustworthy. If you have any doubts, don't sail. It's better |
| At my hostel in Singapore I met a ship engineer, an | | | | to be free on land than stuck with sharks on a boat in |
| Englishman. When I asked him about working or | | | | the middle of an ocean. |