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Thanks -- I'm about to find out! I'm so sorry you'll not be able to travel to Japan again. Does JAL have any fifth freedom flights so at least you might be able to experience your favourite airline one more time?

I entered the First Lounge at 6am when it opened. Within an hour the main section had become quite crowded… …So I walked over to the amazing, but for some reason little-used, Sushi Tsurutei room. I ordered the “Weekly Sushi Plate” using the QR code on my table, which took me to the Lounge...

My take on the JAL A350-1000 First experience? What’s not to like? It’s a private couch in the sky – I don’t think I’ve even mentioned the privacy doors yet – with an incredibly comfortable bed, a huge high definition (actually 4K, if I recall) screen, and food and beverages that are over the...

Either that or I'd have been in agony for the whole flight. When my leg is supported, or horizontal, there's little-to-no pain at all. But when there's nothing to support it, it becomes very painful very quickly. My next flight is in JAL 777 Premium Economy; I've never flown in that seat before...

On JAL First class they give the option of either a multi-course Japanese, or Western, meal. I’d always been intending to order the Japanese meal but at the last minute I decided that I didn’t feel like leaving my comfort zone any more than I already had, so I ordered the Western meal. In any...

JL 3, JFK-HND First class. I booked this as part of a longer itinerary but on its own it costs 149,000 Qantas points plus about $300. Because I am only transiting through Haneda, I paid $198 in carrier charges. Go figure. There’s a story behind this booking. Soon after I started planning this...

Thanks @RooFlyer and @Quickstatus for your concern and suggestion about the wheelchair. Yes, I've asked for one in Haneda. I was told that because the flight is arriving at 5am-ish they might not be fully staffed but they'll do their best!

A teaser… hopefully my hip will allow me to enjoy it!

The Greenwich Lounge is noticeably larger, but noticeably more down-market. I didn’t partake of any food or drink here (I’m obviously becoming a lounge snob in my old age!). It’s a typical Business class lounge; having said that, it also has great tarmac views!

After a day full of drama of the sort I did not want, and still in some pain, it was time for my final Uber (but not my final rideshare) of the trip – to JFK, Terminal 8. It took about 50 minutes to get there. I haven’t seen this in a while. But that’s not where I was heading. I was heading...

I mainly did my shopping at Houston, Kennedy and Washington. I bought plenty of souvenirs for me and my family (obviously my wife deserved whatever she asked for!). My suitcase weighed 15kg at Melbourne Airport, and 25kg when it was weighed here at JFK a few minutes ago. I bought one or two very...

Time for some reflections on my time in NYC (though actually this post should be titled “Reflections on my time in Manhattan”, given that apart from 5 minutes on Staten Island and the trip to JFK, that’s where I’ve been). And I’m putting the medical episode to one side: I’m so grateful that it’s...

Well that certainly escalated quickly! Or should I say, “deteriorated”? By 3pm it was clear that the pain in my hip wasn’t going anywhere. By 4pm, with just under 9 hours remaining until my first flight home, I was finding it very difficult to walk and could only do so with extreme pain. I was...

… and woke up, once again, in pain – I should have listened to my head and my body last night! My hip pain, which went away as the day progressed yesterday, has come back with a vengeance. And as I write this (11am) it hasn’t gone away. So my time in NYC is ending anticlimactically, with...

I had always wanted to see a second Broadway show, and two that I particularly wanted to see both had tickets available last night: Gypsy, and Sunset Blvd. I wanted to see Gypsy for the great music and it’s star, Audra McDonald, and Sunset Blvd because of its great reviews and its intriguing...

Thanks — I’ll try not to let it go to my head!

Ah, now, see, you shouldn’t have said that. Because now you’ve got me started. This is the first Vigee Le Brun painting I ever saw, in 2002, and I was immediately entranced. It’s a self-portrait of the artist with her daughter. At the time, I was the father of very young daughters, and this...

Thank you so much for your very kind words. I've really enjoyed putting this TR together! To answer your question: yes, the USA is expensive at the moment; I actually do think that "shockingly expensive" is about right. Expect everything to cost what you'd expect to pay in Australia, or more...

I’ve been wanting to spend my 2025 A$200 AmEx Platinum international dining credit on this trip (I know it’s early in the year, but hey…). I chose Bar Primi: first because it was relatively close, second because it was open for lunch, and thirdly because I realised that I was missing pasta! It...

After arriving back, and given I was already downtown, I went to the 9/11 Memorial. It was peaceful and the Memorial’s use of water is excellent – soothing, even. I could barely imagine the contrast between what I was experiencing at that spot, and what it would have been like at that same exact...