Around the World in 80 Days
Day 37: 31 October

There is an air of melancholy about the Susak this morning. It's as if yesterday's conviviality was an aberration, and today life is back to being what it probably always is on board a cargo ship, slow, listless and repetitive.
On the bridge the captain indicates the print-out screen on the satellite navigation system. This is a relatively new but radical improvement. Eight satellites orbiting the earth send down signals against which the ship's position can be checked. The vagaries of the weather - clouds or fog - have been defeated, the days of the sextant superseded. This morning the screen indicates that our speed is down to 11 knots. A strong northerly head current is responsible. Time of arrival in Singapore has been put back to midnight tomorrow.
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PALIN'S GUIDES
- Series: Around the World in 80 Days
- Day: 37
- Date: 31 October
- Country/sea: Indian Ocean
- Place: Malacca Strait
- Book page no: 119
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