Shane Cortese
It was 2007 and I had said to my wife, Nerida, “I hope I get the opportunity to do an Intrepid Journey [TVNZ’s travel documentary series].” That opportunity came on a Saturday morning when Dom Bowden got a shot at a big show in the States and rightly had to take it. I got the call up and entered the game from the bench. Departure was the following night to Sri Lanka. I had been a travel agent in Palmerston North for some time and educational travel had always been of a pretty high standard. You were shown what the companies wanted you to see. So, I had never packed a travel bag of less 8kg before but didn’t shirk that challenge. With a fresh Kathmandu backpack and an arm full of holes due to injections I set off. It was not that long after the awful tsunamis. I sat on a beach in a resort that had been flattened and spoke with the owner about the surprise and intrigue at the way the tide went out, and out and out. We travelled the country, in vans, tuk tuks, buses and crowded trains. I stayed at a home with an open flame for a kitchen and had the most incredible seven-course meal before sleeping on a bed of newspapers saved and added to over the years. It was an incredible country and I’m very spoilt in that I have a DVD courtesy of TVNZ to document it.
Nerida and I were going on our first Thailand holiday. I had been working pretty full on with Outrageous Fortune and we were really looking forward to it. Our first stop was at her mum’s in Sydney for her sister’s wedding. I love going to Australia. Anyway, I washed my cargo travelling pants in preparation for the 10-hour flight the next afternoon to Bangkok. The next morning, we packed our bags and I needed to put the pants in a dryer. Went to the washing machine and saw that I had obviously left a tissue in my pocket. I started pulling the tissue away to realise that the tissue had in fact serial numbers, stamps and a ripped-up photo of me. I had only gone and put my passport through the wash. An emergency trip into the CBD, some new photos and I had a very (very) expensive new passport just in time to depart. People, check your pockets!
Shane Cortese performs in cirque cabaret Human, created by The Dust Palace, August 1-4, Q Theatre. qtheatre.co.nz