I didn't go up the mountain today.  Being the 'old man' that I am, and with nursing a few long term injuries, I needed to rest up the ankle and knee.

On my first full day in Whistler, I had already decided that I wasn't going to go snowboarding.  Instead I wanted to get everything organised and have a good look around town.  So I switched the GPS on and took a wander.  Got my lift pass in Creekside, then popped to the HUB and got a 10 day bus pass (they did not have any month passes!) before heading over to Whistler village.

As I wandered around it was quite clear that very little if anything has changed!  See the GPS track here:

I got it!

I managed to get on the 17:00 bus to Whistler.  Sitting on the bus now, and amazingly still have a connection to the Internet!  All I want now is for the rest of the trip to be uneventful!

Thanks to John, he gave me a lift down to London on Friday night.  We stayed in the Premier Inn at London Heathrow.  Had breakfast this morning and that was the true start of the trip.

Things got off to a surprisingly good start.  I got through security at the airport in no time at all.  Result.  So I spent the time browsing a little and then watching movies on my phone.  Everything was very uneventful until I boarded the flight.  No longer were we ready to set off we were delayed by 1 hour due to freezing fog, the flight facilities were awful.  No private screen, but the really old style of a central screen at the front.  This was keyed wrong, the picture was too big for the screen and the colours were pale and awful.  Needless to say I broke out the mobile phone and watched more movies on it (all in Airplane mode, obviously!).

The flight was again uneventful, apart from there was some major turbulence until we got to Iceland. Then again as we got close to Vancouver.

Arrived in Vancouver to find it was raining, and the baggage carousel was taking for ever.  My original bus time was the 15:00, so with the hour delay in flight plus the delay in getting my baggage I missed the 16:00...or so I thought!

Turns out that the "Permieter Bus" has gone out of business   it went out of business some two months ago!  So, I'll have to claim that money back from the bank, as I paid by credit card.

I've managed to book by another company called SkyLynx, but it was apparently fully booked for the 17:00 bus.  Going to try my luck and ask the driver if there is room.  Otherwise it's the 19:00! *ugh*  So, I thought that I would get this blog entry in whilst I could on the free internet!

Got up early this morning and headed down for breakfast in the hotel. I had eggs benedict, coffee and some orange joice to get my day started. The reason for the early start was that today was my wine lands tour and the tour were picking me up at 08:00.

On time the guide picked me and and drove around Cape Town picking up at another 4 other stops. We then headed on out of town. The guide gave us all some really good commentaries and passed on a lot knowledge and information about wine, the regions, and it’s history in South Africa. Also along the way she pointed out some interesting areas of the countryside and people.

The tour had three different wine tasting stops all together, and a tour stop in XXXX. The first stop gave us a good guide to the wine we were tasting and included a brief tour of the facility and a guide to the actual wine making process for both the white and red wines. They also had a cheese making facility on the farm and we got to try a number of great wines and some cheeses, that were English style cheadar. The various wines were really good and had a lot of taste, which was backed up by the great cheese.

The second stop was a quick tour of SalXXXXX. We were all dropped off and told of some interesting places to go and see and we all headed off in our own directions. I toured a couple streets taking in the different cultures and wares for sale. I then headed off an took a cup of latte, before heading off and getting onto the bus again.

The next stop was another wine tasting and lunch. This place was in a very pictuesque location that offered some great views. I do have to say however, that the guide to the wine was not of great standard and unfortunately the wine was not as enjoyable as the first stop. The wine just didn’t have a lot of flavour and did nothing for me. We all decided that we would have lunch there, even though we did have the option of being taken into town and having lunch there instead. I have the stir fry beef and have to say that it was excelent.

After a brief drive through tour of the town we headed on off to the last wine tasting location, which also had some stunning views. In the very far distance we would see Table Mountain, well we would have if it wasn’t completeley consumed in clouds. It was also the location of some of the best wines we tasted, they also provided us with a taste of some 2 whites, 2 rosé wines, 3 red and also a desert wine. All but one of the rosé wines were fantastic, and the desert wine was a good sweet way to end the wine tasting. We then all had a quick look at the glass blowing factory they had on site before heading back into the bus and back to Cape Town.

The weather on the whole tour was partially cloudy with some light winds, and I think we got the best of the weather for as when we returned to Cape Town it was dark, damp, cloudy and misserable. This however did clear to the end of the evening and I got a great view of the sunset outside my hotel. It litterally set directly outside of my hotel window, and I think I got some great photos.

For evening meal I headed off to Paranga which was just along the road. I decided to go for steak tonight, given all the fish that I had the night before. Turned out to be a very good choice, and I also had a glass of wine from another local supplier, and because I was feeling indulgent I had a desert of ice crean and chocolate. Yum!

I again headed to Baraza for a quick cheeky beer, but it was dead in the place so I only had the one and headed back to the hotel to get packed for the trip back to Durban in the morning.

Got up early this morning, shouldn’t have bothered as the weather was blooming awful. It was raining, heavily overcast and very windy. I decided however to try and give my plans a try, just in case. So I got down stairs and got a taxi over to the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Water Front. I wanted to go and have breakfast at Societi Bistro, which I did. The breakfast was really good, if very quiet as there wasn’t anyone else around.

After breakfast I had a little wander around the V&A shops and stores. I then headed into the Two Oceans Aquarium (TWA). The TWA allows you to watch Cape fur seals and penguins. It also has a predator exhibit that is home to the ragged-tooth shark, loggerhead turtles and shoals of yellowtail. It was good and I recommend to others to go.

After that I thought that I’d try and see if the ferry was running to Robben Island, which is mostly known for the place former South African president Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. It was a place of exile and imprisonment for 400 years. However, because of the bad weather no ferries were running. Not unexpected but still disappointing as I would have been more than willing the brave the rough seas.

I then bought a ticket on the Cape Town City Sight Seeing bus (CTCSS) which is a very cheap and easy way to get around the interesting parts of Cape Town. It only cost me R120. I hopped off the bus at Cape Town Tourism on Burg Street. I then proceeded to wander around a little and eventually headed into the Castle which is opposite the Grand Parade. I had a wander around that as it was quite interesting to see details of the Boer War and the conquering and colonisation of South Africa.

After heading out of the Castle I headed up along “Lower Plein” and around into “Paddock” and the Company Gardens. Moving through the gardens I ended up at the top of “Long Street” which is a straight road that runs from the foreshore op towards the mountain and is one of Cape Town’s oldest. It was here that I stopped off and had some lunch and a coffee.

After lunch I headed on down to the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and up around onto “Loop Street” and then “The Strand” heading along toward “Buitengracht” which is also known as the M62. It was my intention to re-catch the CTCSS and head on up to the Table Mountain cable car.

The bus was an open top bus and I could tell that there was no chance that the Table Mountain cable car was going to be open. This was confirmed by the guide. The bus on up to the cable car was soon battered by high winds and also engulfed by thick rolling clouds. The bus still stopped at the cable car station and we had a few minutes to have a look around at least.

By now I was actually starting to get wet and cold so I hopped back on the bus, which it’s next stop was outside my hotel the Bay Hotel. The view as we god down towards sea level was really cool but it was hard to get any decent photos.

After a relax in the hotel I decided to head out for some food and ended up at “The Codfather”. It’s a restaurant with a bit of a difference. The waiter takes you up to the deli and explains to you about all of the different fish that they have in for the day, and you then get to choose along with the side. I ended up having Swordfish, Butterfish, Kingklip (???? Not sure of name) and some calamari with rice. I decided to also have some red wine unique to South Africa, Pointage I think! I do have to say that the butterfish was fantastic along with the Kingklip but the swordfish was too ‘fishy’ for me . I felt like a happy and contented stuffed pig at the end.

After that meal I thought that I’d go for a quick beer and ended up having a couple in “Baraza”. In summer this bar must be booming as it is in a fantastic location and looks right out onto the beach. I could only handle a couple beers as the food and all the wolking in the day had tired me out so I headed back to the hotel and called it an early night.

Started this morning nice and easy.  Shane (Jason’s brother) gave me a lift to the airport and we had a coffee and a chat before I caught my flight.  The flight was delayed by 30 minutes but that was no worry as I wasn’t in any hurry.

I had arranged for a Mercedes from the hotel to come and pick me up.  Must admit that it’s the first ever time that I’ve arrived at an airport and one of those people holding up a card had my name on it .  The trip to the hotel was nice and gave me a good chance to see a fair bit of Cape Town on the way.  The driver was also kind enough to point out a few things as we went past.

I arrived at the hotel and was really pleased that the hotel was practically on the beach.  I was then shown into my room.  Wow!  What a view!  Absolutely stunning and the room was fabulous too.

I decided to head out onto the beach and had a bit of a walk, taking in the sea air.  Before doing that I decided to try and book my Winelands tour.  I had wanted to do it tomorrow, as the weather report was not looking good.  Unfortunately there were no spaces available, so I had to settle for Wednesday instead.  After a little relaxation on the beach, the sunlight wasn’t going to last long so I headed over to the local store and bought some light provisions.  I then decided to take it easy for the rest of the evening and spend some quality time in my quality hotel room.

I've started the journey to South Africa for Lyndy and Jason's wedding.  The journey so far has been so easy and relaxing, just the way I like it.  I left Birmingham on the 13:00 Virgin train, got the Victoria line tube to Green Park, then the Piccadilly line to Heathrow terminal 5.  Each and every step without any trouble and nicely relaxed, just the way I like it.  However upon getting to terminal 5, I took the escalator up to what I thought would get me to departures, only to get so far that you have to take an elevator back to the tube platform only to be taken then to the top floor!  How stupid is that!

My impressions of terminal 5 is that it is lovely wide open, clean and well laid out.  There are no real sign's around the place and instead they have loads of 'honkies' telling you where to go.  Being Scottish and practical, I see that as a real waste of money [especially as most of them are blokes or not so good looking women ].

I decided to have some dinner before checking in, and headed for the "The Five Turns" pub & restaurant.  Service was incredibly slow, despite there being hardly a person in the place, yet I've counted at least 7 people working here.  Took nearly 10 minutes get someone to even take my order!  Then when they did, most of the main menu was 'sold out'.  So ended up having some over cooked fish and chips, then decided to risk having some ice cream.  The ice cream came in a tub that you normally buy from a shop, and they are charging HOW MUCH for that!!!  Won't be coming back here again, or recommending to others!

Let's hope that the duty free and the flight is better   Blog again soon...

Today started off a little slow and did not get much better.  Myself, Alex, Chris and Koko headed on over to Hakuba 47.  We headed on up and took a couple runs on-board before heading into the Hakuba 47 park.  I went through the pipe and didn't do too bad and got some really good and high push off the walls.  It was then straight into the jumps and rails.  I pulled a switch 180, small but still felt good.  I then switched over to the box and just did a 50-50.  Over to the bigger jump, and because of the conditions I hit it very much harder than I expected and because I couldn't see the landing it turned out to be a very much bigger jump than I expected.  I then hit the last couple jumps and again I hit it much larger than expected.

We then headed back up the lift to hit the pipe again.  It turns out that Chris hasn't actually ridden a pipe before, so myself and Alex had to persuade him to give it a go.  Alex had borrowed a new board and he had massive toe over-hang.  So for him the pipe just wasn't going to happen.

We then headed up to the top, as we were supposed to meet everyone over at the "Pod" at 11:00.  As there was some nice powder around today with all the snowfall, we hit a few powder drops and a huge load of jibbing spots.  We did however decided to head straight down and through the mogul field.  Even with the new load of fresh powder it was a hell of a lot of hard work.

When we arrived at the Pod there was a very large number of Snowbeds residents in there.  We had a drink and found that one of the guy's had cut his leg badly (clash with his friends earlier up the slope), and after we took a couple photos he headed off to get it seen to. Ended up he needed six stitches.

After the Pod pit-stop we headed on over to the Iimori park.  The wet snow was giving trouble in getting enough speed for the jumps and they were not good.  The rails and boxes were good however.  By now however we were really starting to feel the effects of the effort made (so I was quite sweaty) and the very wet snow conditions.   So we simply got up the lift and rode on over to the Goryu plaza and got the 13:30 bus back.

I woke up early this morning as I didn't sleep that well.  So, got up and checked out todays travel itinerary.  Get to Tokyo station, buy tickets to the Shinkansen (Tokyo - Nagano Bullet train), get on the train arrive Nagano, get bus tickets, get on Bus, arrive Hakuba (Happo station stop) and get taxi to Snowbeds.  Hmm.  Sounds complicated but it wasn't really.

I checked out of the hotel at about 09:30 and walked to the Tokyo station.  It isn't that easy with a big board bag and another holdall bag, but it wasn't too bad as I am used to it.  As I had checked out the way to the station and what entry to the station to take it was quite easy.  It's best to enter from the South East entrance, as this is exactly where platform 22 is, for trains to Nagano.  The ticket office is there too.  It cost about 7,500 Yen to buy the ticket and have a reserved seat.  Once on the platform there are signs to tell you where each carriage is going to stop, and outlined on the platform where you are to stand to board at a specific entrance.

The train arrived and the passengers got off.  A little bemusing to myself was that no passengers attempted to get on.  Instead a cleaner for each and every carriage got on and proceeded to clean and dust every single part of the carriage.  Try getting service like that in the UK?  We were eventually allowed to get on.  Thankfully at my end of the carriage there was somewhere to safely stack my board bag and put my holdall, which was nicely out of the way.  I then went and took my seat.  Man, these bullet trains are wide and spacious.  The seats are in rows of two and three, each seat having ample elbow and massive leg room.  So much so, that my feet were barely able to touch the seat in front.  Only trouble was that my seat was an aisle seat and I didn't have much opportunity to look out of the window.  Booo!  I do think however, that on the left I got to see Mt Fuji, but couldn't be sure.

A measly 1½ hours later, and about 170Km, I arrived at Nagano.  This is where the first bit of confusion occurred.  There are two exits from the station, each of which are signed as having bus stops.  The exit you want is the east exit.  The other exit goes down some stairs into an open area, and this is not the way.  Once you are on street level, there is a souvenir shop and this is where you buy the ticket for the bus.  Once you have the ticket make your way all the way to the end of the bus stop lane, stop number 6, and this is where the Hakuba bus can be found.  It wasn't long before my bus arrived and I climbed on board.

If you have ever taken a bus to a ski resort before, you'll know that there isn't really that much to look at.  Lots of mountain passes, little villages and usually a river or two.  Unfortunately this was mostly the same, interspersed with massive concreting of the mountain sides to stop the hillside coming down onto the road.  After a couple stops I arrived at the Happo buss terminal.  I took my bags to the information center and got them to call me a taxi which duly arrived.  I loaded my bags and was shortly outside Snowbeds.

When I entered Snowbeds I must admit that I was a little shocked at just how many people were there.  Apparently the place can handle up to about 30 at a time!  Mind you, I'm not exactly sure what I actually thought the place was going to be like!

I've had a very brief show around the place and paid my 28 days accommodation fees.  I've also had a chance to meet some of the people whom are residing here at the moment.  Every one of them seam like good people, and are from all over the place.  New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Wales, America, to name but five.  A real cosmo crowd.  The place is nice too.  Lot's of space and it's very tidy.  Probably one of the benefits of the owners residing here too

All I need to do now, is work out where the bus arrives tomorrow and what bus to take.  Then get a lift pass organised.  Shouldn't take me long to get settled though.

I got up again early today, and had breakfast and generally caught up on a few things.  I wanted to also avoid the peek travel period as today I wanted to get around a bit more, and not walk about so much! (My poor feet couldn't take much more).

I walked out the hotel and headed straight for the Shimbashi station.  I purchased a pack of 11 tickets for 300yen journeys.  With these I was covered for reaching every area of the Tokyo metro limits.  I don't know why they say that getting your way around the Tokyo metro is so difficult, it's quite easy really.  The only trouble is the stations them selves.  I find them confusing and difficult to navigate through sometimes.

I hopped on the 'Ginza Line' and headed out to the Shibuya neighborhood.  The Shibuya neighborhood is famous as being 'groud zero' for the youth culture, and also for the Shimbuya crossing.  This crossing is often featured on TV with the flood of humanity that the green light unleashes every few minutes, beneath glowing neon signs that tower overhead.

I initially had a look at the Hachikos statue, the story of which reminds me of 'Gray Friars Bobby', then headed on up into Udagawacho and the stores.  Something I didn't realise is that most shops in Tokyo don't open until 10:00-11:30!  So I had a wander around for a bit and ended up in a Starbucks as the wind was chilly today.  Ok, so Starbucks isn't very Tokyo, but I have to admit that I like the late's!  After than I headed on out for another wander and ended up in Tower Records, and this store is the largest in Tokyo!  I eventually bought just on CD!  It was "Tokyo Luxury lounge 3" with is a dance/lounge/electronica fusion style album.  I also got a free promotional Daishi Dance CD, entitled It gets me downs" by Yoko Ota.  Sweet, will rip them to my iPOD later tonight.

I then decided to hop onto the metro again and this time get to the other end of the Ginza line, and head for Asakusa.  I however hopped off at Ueno instead which is in the Shitamachi neighborhood.  I wanted to go see the Ueno-koen (Ueno Park) and the numerous museums, templates and shrines.  I had a good wander around the park and took quite a few good photos.  There was a small market being held in the middle of the park and there was some really interesting pottery, and Japanese art for sale.  I entered the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it wasn't really for me.  It was a show on Japanese calligraphy.  Whist the writing is so much more elegant and artistic than any western language, I just couldn't really get into it with not knowing the language.  I appreciated it for it's art instead. but there is only so much writing you can look at.

It was getting on into lunch time, and so I headed out the south of the park and into Ueno Okachimachi Chuo dori, which was a bit of a down market collection of shops and stalls.    It was a little seedy but nothing to worry about, and I even had a chance to have a quick look into a "Love Hotel" where you can have a room for an hour or two, or the night *wink* *wink*.  As it was a bit seedy I did struggle to find somewhere where I wanted to eat, but eventually settled for this restaurant which was up on the 1st floor.  It not something I think as westerners we are used to so much, in that in Tokyo (and I'm sure the rest of Japan) there is always something on the second, third, fourth, etcetera floor of the building.  So, just because you can't see into the window doesn't mean that there is nothing there, or that it can't be any good!  Take my advice, look up and have a look at those doorways.  I again had the noodle soup with grilled pork dumplings.  Oh my, if I was to live here I'd probably get really fat, and have to become a sumo wrestler.  I do love Japanese food (except Sushi and Sushimi, as I don't like fish!).

I hopped on to the Gina line again and headed on to Asakusa, which is the low city of old Edo.  It's center piece is the Senso-ji temple.  There is a lot going on around this area, with loads of small stalls, shops, temples, shrines, rickshaw's and more.  Look out for the giant lanterns, and also throw a few coins into the temple grates and pass on a prayer.  I had a good mooch around the various stalls and was on the lookout for something to send home to the folks, but they didn't quite have what I was looking for (don't want to give it away, they might actually read my blog...*might*).

It was getting much colder now, and I was getting tired.  So I decided to head on back to the hotel.  I didn't want to do what happened last night.  I had planned to go to Roppongi last night for a couple beers, but fell asleep and woke up at 22:00!  So, got back today just before 16:00, and started to write the blog and upload some more of my photos.  You can see the photo's here.  Eventually I will get them added to my GPS tracking and have them push-pinned to the exact location on the map that they were taken at.

Despite getting up rather early today, I still didn't get out of the hotel until about 09:00.  It took me a while to get ready, and to write yesterdays blog entry.  It was quite a long one

My first goal today was to scope out the route from my hotel to the Tokyo main station, from where I will get the train to Nagano on Friday.  So I headed straight along side the train line, then headed straight up into Marunouchi district and headed into Tokyo station from the west.  After spending a little time figuring out the map, and wandering on over, I can tell that it's from platform 23 I need to depart and it is easier if I enter from the south east entrance.

That done, I headed on up the east side onto the 'Eitai-dori' and over into the Imperial Palace East Garden.  I have to say that it really is a nice place to wander around, and it would be much more appealing in the spring or summer.  I'd recommend it.  I've got some great photos and will be adding these soon.

I exited up by Takebashi, and headed for my second goal of the day.  Gadgets!

I passed through the 'Bookshop Neighborhood' and found some of the stores fascinating. I then discovered that there was a 'Sporting Good Neighborhood' and had a quick look in at a Solomon shop.  But really wanted to push on to the Electronics Neighborhood.

The stores here are amazing.  So many of them, and every single one of them is huge and packed.  What a place.  Makes everywhere else I've been look absolutely pathetic (thinking Totenham Court Road in London).

It was getting later into the afternoon, and I decided to have lunch.  Yum!  My favorite, Japanese noodle soup!  It is a little strange wandering along and seeing plastic models of all the meals that you can get!  I wonder how some 'slop' in the UK would look in a plastic model

After lunch, I wandered around the electric stores a little more.  But I was getting tired now, after all I had walked everywhere.  So I decided to head back, but via the sporting goods neighborhood to see what I could see.  Some of the stores I went in to were packed floor to ceiling with snowboarding/skiing equipment and gear.  It's no wonder the Japanese are mad for the sport when they can get all this in one small area.  Again, it knocks the socks of every other place I have ever been to!

I headed back down towards the Imperial gardens and headed down the Uchidor-dori and back towards Shimbashi where the hotel is.  I visited a couple convenience stores to buy some drinks and snacks for tomorrow.  Then back to the hotel.

Getting on the Hotel Internet

Man, the Internet connection here might be free but it's a right pain in the arse to get on!  You have to submit to a full anti-virus scan, which is done via a Web page and a few Active-X controls.  The firs trouble is that it's all in Japanese, so I didn't have a clue what to click on.  I then noticed that in the URL it does state that the "Language=jp", so I changed it to "en", and that did the trick.  However, it has to do a deep scan, and analyses all of the files on your HD.  Since I have a hell of a lot on my machine this took about an hour!  Yes, an hour!  So that was a right pain in the butt. Eventually I managed to get on though.

Plans for later

When I got back to the hotel it was only about 17:00.  The plan is to get the blogs and GPS tracking entries updated, and then head out for some beers.  My plan is to get some well earned rest and then about 21:00 head on over to Roppongi for some drinks and possibly a quick look at a club!  Looking forward to blogging about that.

  To view the GPS track interactively, go to http://wai.internetwideworld.com/GPSWebService/

Birmingham to London Heathrow

Birmingham to Euston

I decided to get the earlier train of 06:40, rather than the 07:15. Partly because I prefer to be early rather than rushing and also because I know what traveling through London is like, having lived there.

So I set three different alarm clocks to go at 05:45. When they went off I got up straight away and started to get ready, and was out the door by 06:15

The night before I trussed up my board bag and holdall into one, so that all I had to do was roll the snowboard bag. Quite a good arrangement. Despite this, the weight eventually tells, when you have to pull it all the way to the train station.

As is becoming usual when traveling on Virgin trains, the seat booking system was not working, and even the carriage lettering wasn't working. So my attempt to book a seat near where there was a bicycle storage facility was thwarted. There simply wasn't enough time to fin the correct carriage and get on the train! So I simply separated the two bags, put the holdall in the regular bag rack, and stacked my board bag in the train door areas.

Other than feeling the compulsion to check on my snowboard bag every 10 minutes the trip to Euston was very uneventful.

I did notice that coming into London there was a lot of fog around. I was a little concerned that this could cause some flight delays.

Euston to Heathrow

Once I unloaded at Euston I headed straight to the underground. I arrived at the station escalator to find a guard roping it off, which would have left me having to hump the bags, in rush hour, down the stairs. Thankfully I got his attention and he let me use the escalator. Probably much to the annoyance of others

I needed to take either the Northern or Victoria line to connect with the Piccadilly line. I plumped for the Victoria line and to change at Green Park. This didn't prove too successful. The platform was absolutely packed. I eventually made my way to the end of the platform where I hoped for a better chance to get onto the train. After about 5 trains, each of which were packed to bursting, I eventually managed to squeeze on with a little help from a kind Australian woman.

After that it was pretty smooth sailing once again.

I got out at Green Park and dragged the bags to the Piccadilly Line. Not a pleasant 'drag' as there was a lot of people.

Once again I headed to the end of the platform to try and get on the last carriage. Once again I let a couple trains go as they were packed. I then managed to get on, to an Rayners Park train, which wasn't the branch I wanted, but I thought that I could change somewhere further along the line and therefore find it easier to get on. This I did at Barrons Court. Only had to wait a few seconds before a Heathrow train, and practically empty at that.

Sat on the train and read a few news papers that were left behind.

Heathrow to Check-In

Once you arrive at Heathrow, there is quite a trek from the tube station to the terminal. Thankfully at that point I could pick up a trolley and put the bags on it.

I scooted my way to the terminal in my usual quick passed fashion and was there in no time.

For my Virgin-Atlantic flight it was in zone A, and to my pleasant surprise it was very quiet.

Check-In

They have this "Three Part Check-In" system, that to me didn't make a single bit of difference. Firstly you have to weigh your own bags. Then you have to scan your passport/booking in a machine and confirm all your details. It them prints you a ticket of kinds.

You then have to go to the normal check-in desks. Having done the other two steps, they then again had to weight the bags and produce new tickets. So to me, it begs the question of why bother? Seams like beurocrasy to me. The check-in took as long as usual and in my view there was no difference.

As is typical, I had to take my snowboard bag on over to the 'over sized' trolley, and with that I was on my way.

Boarding

Security

I quickly progressed through security, as once again there were very little in the way of queues. Probably a benefit of traveling during the week and not the weekend, and of going to a more exotic location.

For a change I didn't have to take my computer out of the bag, which made it easy as I have a plethora of gadgets. After all I am a gadget geek!

There was a second security scanning section in that it was dedicated to scanning your shoes! Many recent travelers will have experienced this, but this is the first time that for me it's been done at a different machine.

I was then on in to the lounge. I had a quick scope around to see what was there and grabbed a quick sandwich for breakfast and a drink. Ahhh! Needed that!

Did the usual mooch around the electrical shops but nothing took my fancy.

Gate Call

I say the boarding gate notification change and made my way to boarding gate 5. I sat down near the entrance door and took advantage of a free newspaper. I only had to wait a few minutes before they started boarding. I could tell that the flight wasn't busy and the boarding call basically allowed everyone to go at the same time.

I settled into seat 59K.

Flight to Narita (Tokyo) Airport

The flight was ready before time, as the flight wasn't fully booked. Looking outside it also looked like the fog had mostly lifted.

As appears to be a common theme, and long may it continue, the flight was very uneventful. Some small minor turbulence points but nothing to bat an eyelid at.

I usually can not sleep when flying. This trip I did actually manage about an hour to an hour and a half, which was great, if completely uncomfortable.

The entertainment systems on board were excellent and the best I have experienced. The screen was large and the system allowed me as an individual to choose what I wanted to watch and fully control the experience. There were about 30 films available, and I could start, stop, fast forward and rewind at will! Now, this is the way that these systems should be like.

I watched three movies, but can't remember what they were at this time.

We arrived early, and I could tell that there were a lot of low clouds and rain. The runway was very wet but it didn't appear to have made any difference to the landing.

Arrival in Narita

As is usual, after disembarking I made my way to passport control, and after a very short line I was in and through. You have to submit to providing a copy of your finger prints of your index fingers and also for them to take a picture. No problem.

I picked up my luggage very quickly, mainly because there were not very many people on the flight, and partly because of the typical efficiency of the Japanese.

Through customs and I headed to the 'Airport Limousine' desk, where I booked my bus to the hotel.

I sat down for a coffee while waiting for the bus, and thought I'd check the GPS tracking. DISASTER! It had only recorded some 27 points! I was sure I checked the settings and that it was recording, but apparently not. So, I reset and set it up for the bus to the hotel. The battery wasn't in good shape either, I just hoped that it had enough to get to the hotel.

Bus to the Hotel Dai Ichi Anex

The weather was drizzly when we set off and I was starting to feel the jet-lag, but this didn't detract me from watching the scenery go past.

I was actually quite disappointed, as there wasn't much of interest to see until we got into the city, and even that was limited. So I only took a few photos on the way.

The bus goes to the Hotel Dai Ichi, where I was dropped off. The Dai Ich Anex is literally only a few meters away and the concierge helped me with my bags. The Japanese people really are so pleasant and helpful. After a short check in I was up to my room. I wasn't sure if I should tip or not, so left it.

Jet-lag and the hotel room

When I got into my room, a few things struck me. Firstly the room was quite small, but to be honest was a good size. There was a large TV and a really good view. There was also a massage chair and foot massage stool, which I proceeded to try out as soon as possible. Man, I'd be tempted to buy one of these! Was so good!

The room had virtually everything automated. The lights, drapes and lace window cover were all controlled from the bed side panel.

I decided that I was going to chill out for a bit and watch a movie on my iPod. Which I did, and was really feeling tired. So went to bed.

I woke up at about 9PM, and whilst I was hungry, I decided that I was still tired and simply went back to sleep, to get ready for the next full day in Tokyo.