roundtheworldin18days

  4 hours sleep, 1 hour on the laptop and then 2 hours sleep .. so back on track.  Breakfast was included in the Shinjuku Washington and my word did we give it full attention. Didn't eat as much as I would have liked yesterday and due to the variety and difference of choices at breakfast I managed to turn it into a 3 meals in one experience. Might have tried almost everything on offer a real fusion of eastern and western options.  Started with a bit of yoghurt and fruit, accompanied by some mind settling pear juice, and a smoothie that felt like a dessert before we has started. Gorgeous.  Then a little bit of everything sausages/bacon, noodles, mackerel, salmon, chicken, soy sauce, a melting pot of cultures that melted in my mouth.  Back to mainstream with a milky coffee and toast, jam and danish pastry. I had noticed bottles of wine so a thimble full and a bit of curry and chips, that took me back to Saturday mornings in Loughor Boating Club.  (not so muc...

  That might be close to the longest non stop flight I have done, was due to be 14 hrs but captain put his foot down and we got to Haneda in 12.5 Configuration on the flight mean the rest of the clan had a middle block of 3 and I was in an adjacent aisle.  My other travelling companions were a couple of lovely older ladies from Japan who did not speak much English but there was a lot of bowing and thankyous at regular intervals when toilet trips were required. In between toilet trips got to watch the Whitney Houston film for the first time and tried to get a bit of shut eye to the Star is Born which I have seen before. Managed to read half a book and eat anything that was offered to me including welsh butter, menyn cymraeg, warms my heart of the international world. Sleeping wasn't much of a feature.  There will be a crash and burn to come. The adrenalin of a new airport, one of the 2 in Tokyo, boosted the mood.  And off the ramp and into the first exciting part of t...

  The time between leaving the office yesterday and embarking on our travels today (with a fair amount of packing, bike ride and 5K run) amounts to around 12 hours, and may be a bit of taste of what is to come.  Seat of our pants, hither and thither type of travelling, I think, I think, I might be just getting a bit too old for this approach. The whole family united in travels again. Anyway, we are where we are is the once upon a time opening of any great cock up so lets see where this one takes us.  The plan, for those still with me, is a 14 hour flight to Japan.  We then have the best part of 6 days in the Land of the Rising Sun, with a Parkrun and mountain venture the hopes in terms of activity, and much old and tech culture to juxtapose in between.  Its then 8 hours to Fiji, my long anticipated Robinson Crusoe bucket list destination, where the beards will be long and the hope is island culture, water adventures, remoteness and perhaps a bit of rugby if we c...