We are to board Queen Elizabeth at Yokohama, the most populated city in Japan. Once again, we threaten our ability to stay cool while negotiating a train station, with 4 bags, looking for a service, platform and ticket. All was achieved without profuse sweat and we stood on another packed train, on a mid Sunday morning, for 30 minutes, before taking a taxi from downtown to the dock. Boarding a ship is like a gathering of hoarding clans as people emerge from diffe...

It’s a hop, skip and, a jump from HK to Tokyo, just under four hours, a little like a flight to Greece! We are both addicted to Solitaire on the entertainment system, as a result we are landing pretty much after we’ve taken off. For once the weather is very pleasant, it rained nearly everyday we were here in May 2006! We safely negotiate getting a bus downtown, about an hour, and then find a taxi to get us to our hotel, not as easy as it sounds as they pede...

The flight from Jo’berg is flying forward, an early afternoon flight means you are bedding down at around 5-6pm, it never works for me so, twelve hours later we arrived, at just after 6.00am, somewhat bleary eyed. Chinese efficiency has us thru passport control, customs and RTS downtown, checking in less than 90 mins after touchdown. The weather is the mandatory grey, cloudy that greets every trip here. The train in takes you past the container port, so large, ...

What could go wrong? Nothing, absolutely nada! I’ll start at the end, it was the quintessential T20 game, it had everything, finishing with a victory from the last ball! Back to the beginning... A leisurely start, no stupid o’clock alarm call for guide or taxi, lying in bed, admiring the ceiling of our beautiful room, before an al fresco breakfast, listening to an old gentleman playing two recorders at the same time, it sounds like he’s in need of a snake....

The IPL leg! Typically us, instead of just going home we bolt on another leg. Imagine going a thousand miles for a couple of football games!? It’s an early start, leaving our safe haven for, who knows what! Needless to say Kathmandu air traffic control is still on point, and falling over, a 40 minute hold on the tarmac becomes 45 minutes more, but, engines started earlier. This is a flight which bridges a strange time zone, we are flying back in time by 15 minu...