Japan here we come!

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So its finally the night before our epic holiday to Japan and my original plan is to do an all-nighter before our mega 13 and a half hour flight, but in the end I succumb to tiredness and manage to achieve a full three hour sleep – almost a normal night's amount of sleep for me so i'm pretty happy (even though i'm somewhat bleary eyed when the 4 alarms we have set all start beeping at us at 6am). Checking in for the first leg of our flight is pretty straightforward enough and we are surprised to find one of our former colleagues is on the same flight to Madrid as us so we get to have a little catch up. When we actually board the plane, we realise we are also sitting in the same row which happens to be the emergency exit seats, as another colleague who also works for the airline has managed to sort it our for us both so we have a little chuckle. Cheers lorena!



We say our goodbyes when we get off at Madrid airport, and then negotiate our way to the international terminal which is in a different building. By the time we have landed and made our way to the gate, we only have to wait about an hour before boarding so its not as bad as we were anticipating. As usual, everyone gets overexcited when they announce they are starting to board, but we decide to wait until the end so that we don't have to stand in a queue for ages. We all have allocated seats anyway so there's no point. Once we do board, I'm a bit thrown off when we show the assistant our tickets and she seems to hesitate for a second and then looks at her computer screen and types something in. Part of me is hoping Lorena has worked her magic and managed to sort us out with first class seats at the last minute, but then she doesn't say anything else to us and the bubble bursts. Still, I say to Greg it was a bit strange and I want to ask why she did that, as I then notice she doesn't do the same for the customers behind us. Greg being Greg just tells me to leave it and tells me it won't mean anything but it has left me wondering a little…



I soon forget about it as we board the plane as I'm still holding on to the last bit of hope of turning left instead of right as we get on board. Sadly, we are directed to take our seats to the right, but never mind. I actually feel quite calm and relaxed about the long flight for a change so fingers crossed it is a good flight. However, by about two hours in I am already restless and Greg has pretty much eaten all of our pre-made sandwiches! Although we have an entertainment station in the front of our seats, the selection isn't as good as emirates or BA (have I mentioned we are seasoned travellers?? lol) so i'm worried i'll run out of things to watch before too long, and especially as it will be the same selection on the return journey (but lets not think about that just yet). However, they have a USB charging point on the seat as well, which means I can use my kindle without worrying it will run out of battery which is definitely a bonus.



By the 6^th hour I am almost climbing the walls as I keep thinking we've travelled further and longer than we have and then keep getting disappointed when I check the time and realise its not been any longer. Time seems to be going backwards every time I check it! By this point I've managed to drink 3 mini bottles of red wine and watched two films, so figure I should probably try and get some shut eye, especially as the local time is about 3 in the morning just now. I'm quite prepared (for a change) with my neck pillow, sleeping tablets and ear plugs, but even so, trying to sleep upright is not the easiest thing to do. I do manage to sleep a little, and wake up assuming I've been asleep for about 4 hours when in reality its been 45 minutes. Another few tv programmes and I try again with the same outcome. By the time we land I think I've averaged about 2 and a half hours but at least I slept at all so i'm thankful for small mercies.

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