Slow boat to China

If you enjoy romantic tales of adventure on the high seas, this is not the blog for you. If however you enjoying laughing at people who have vomit in their hair, read on.

Our time in Japan has been incredible. For the last eight years I have listened (mostly) to Matt continuously talk about Japan and yet it was still amazing, unexpected and far beyond any ideas I had about the country. We have been fortunate enough to visit nine wonderful countries on our trip, but I think that Japan has been the most unique and enjoyable of them all, Matt’s ramblings were certainly justified, I cannot wait until we return.

But for now China is calling. So on Friday we said our sad ‘See You Laters’ to Japan and boarded the Su Zhou Hao ferry. A two-day cruise from Osaka to Shanghai. I use the term cruise loosely, The ferry’s main job is a container vessel but the top three levels are for passengers. We had no problems with immigration and were shown straight to our room. We were sailing second class, which means a room designed for 4 people with two bunks and a small sitting area. We were lucky that we were sharing with one other guy, he was quiet and tidy so this worked out nicely! We did not spend much time in the room however as there was a nice reading area upstairs were we got chatting to some of the other passengers. It was strange to talk to people who were just on the beginning of their trips but nice to be able to exchange stories and tips.

On board the boat I was able to read (the hunger games trilogy, I really wouldn’t bother) and relax watching the world go by. On board was a Japanese restaurant and we had our last Japanese meal. However, it would not be it’s only appearance on this trip!

At 11 pm the announcement played out wishing everybody a good nights sleep, so off to bed we went. The gentle rocking of the waves meant that I had one of the best nights sleep for a while.

At 7 am I was awoken by the announcement ding dong, welcoming us into the new day and declaring that breakfast is now being served. Great I thought, just brush my teeth and have a wash then breakfast. I made it to the bathroom, laughing to myself at how drunk I felt, funny, I did not join in with the sake and karaoke last night, kind of wishing I did now however I can see why the rum is always gone on a pirate ship.

The whole world was rocking side to side, it felt like being in the walking dead with zombie like creatures, tinged green hobbling along with vomit down their shirts. Bing bong apparently we are encountering some rough tides today. You don’t say! So for the remainder of the day I lay horizontal in my bunk trying unsuccessfully to keep last nights dinner down. I kept telling myself only another 24 hours and we will be on solid ground, although after NZ and Japan, this is no comfort as solid ground has a tendency to shake in this part of the world.

I must say though Matt was the perfect companion on the trip, he was absolutely fine, he reported back that there was only him and a handful of children up and about, the kids were playing Mario cart and running up and down playing hide and seek. Even the normally cheerful staff were feeling the effects. Matt was able to carry on as normal enjoying his cruise and looking after me. Thank you Matt.