Out of Kansai Airport, via Paris, and into Heathrow, England. Twenty hours since leaving Japan already.
This route avoided Russian airspace, so it took longer than usual — 14 hours in the air, 11,989 km just to Paris (a kind Japanese crew member went all the way to the cockpit to check that distance for me).
I once heard that travelling over 3,000 km changes a life. I was already four times that — my life has certainly changed, and then some.
A lifelong economy-class flyer, me. I would love to try business or first class once — though I always think another entry in a rally abroad beats an upgraded seat, so I have never really minded. Still, once in my life, I would like to try it (laughs).
I mean to watch two films, but I always fall asleep partway through one, so really it is two at most. I sometimes watch films or shows I have downloaded, but this time it turned out my head was full of rallying even up here.
I started with a Japanese film called something like “Him, Her and the Rally” — a rally-and-romance story about a man pressing the accelerator towards his dream — while muttering to myself that my own life makes a better drama (laughs).
A few times a year I write a “dream map” while watching a sea of cloud out the window — writing down a hundred things I want to make real. It actually works, remarkably often.
My recommended item: the Muji travel pillow. I have kept buying and rebuying the same one for about ten years — the best part is the hood, which doubles as a blindfold.
My guilty pleasure on Air France is the meat pie.
Once we are under three hours from landing, that meat pie I love so much comes out — my quiet treat.
The good thing about economy is being close to the people around you — “are you travelling?”, that kind of thing, and swapping snacks, a bit of communication.
This time my neighbour was a good-looking man heading to the Netherlands for work (laughs).
Whatever it is, enjoy yourself and good things happen.
Chatting with the Japanese crew about how good the miso soup was, they handed me a whole pot of it, as a gift. That was a real boost for the stay ahead.
So — landing in London in the middle of the night.
I had a free stay booked on points, but a taxi from the airport was €30! Of course I hauled my big bags onto the bus instead.
Everything abroad is expensive right now — the weak yen really hits home. Just stepping into a shop to check the price of a Coke — over ¥500!
Well, juice is a luxury, I told myself — and then water was ¥500 too. Practically a premium drink now.
Hungry, I ducked into a conveyor-belt sushi place — four pieces of salmon, over ¥1,000. Cheap and good is my absolute requirement, and bad and expensive does not sit well with me at all.
Back at the hotel, the Akai Kitsune instant noodles I had brought from Japan turned into the most comforting meal imaginable. I really should have brought more.
Right — updated the blog, and went under before I even had time for a shower.
Tomorrow, at last, I meet the 1929 challenge car, the Buick, face to face. Another four hours on the local bus to get there.
More to come!
So, in the end, tonight’s dinner was Akai Kitsune.