Being the school holidays I asked Master Five what he would like to do next week. His answer, “Can we go on like a bear hunt to the park or something. We can take our bikes and our lunch and go all day.”

So, our adventure next week is to go on our own ‘hunt’.

Seeing that this is likely to last a little longer that 5 minutes we are going to need to pack our Hideo Wakamatsu luggage (Camo, of course to blend in to our surroundings! We don’t want to be caught) to haul our supplies and of course our Kodak zi8 for proof of our hunt.

Wonder if they would be in for a ‘dress and shoe hunt’ for mum?

The deserted plains of Siberia rushed by as I lay against the window of my First class compartment on the Trans-Siberian express. I had caught the train from Moscow – a beautiful and intriguing city, the city of Chekhov, tall spires and wide boulevards.

I had always dreamed of traveling on the Trans-Siberian express, seeing the vast expanses of Mongolia and Siberia and then arriving in Japan. I was hoping to be in time for Hanami, the viewing cherry blossom trees – and see the famed somei-yoshino, the most beautiful of the Sakura. I planned to take a video of the blossoms with my new Kodak Zi-8 pocket video camera – a present from tres handsome French mon-ami I had met in Paris.

After three long days (and I confess, perhaps three or more too many vodka and borscht mixers later), the Trans-Siberian trundled slowly down the tracks into Tokyo train station. Despite it being Spring, there was still a chill in the air and the air was fresh and crisp as I stepped out into the soft Tokyo sunshine.

I walked down the street breathing the air for the tell-tale sweetness of the cherry blossom scent. I was pulling along my beloved cherry blossom Hideo Wakamtasu suitcase which I had taken across the world with me. As I neared the trees, a group of young women turned to look at me. “Look”, they shouted, “a beautiful Sakura”, pointing to my beloved cherry blossom suitcase! I have many fond memories of that day, but the best of all was the video I took of my new Japanese girlfriends and I picnicking under the somei-yoshino, seated around my cherry blossom suitcase, drinking sake, eating Kushi Dango, talking and laughing. A perfect adventure.

Aboard the ship my Sakura holds safe my treasures
I don my bathers and shoot scenes of the shore

We flit from atoll to enclave upon sapphire seas
cradled in Poseidons palm

coruscating stars above
the darkest nights
the deepest calm

I sip aromatic teas in the afternoon and G&Ts in the evening. A breeze wafts through the open window, abating the heat and bringing with it the sweet scent of spices – cardamom and cinnamon and a hundred others I can’t identify. Bells lightly jingle somewhere in the distance.

My hair is tied back with a scarf I bought at a dusty outdoor market. The fringed ends tickle across my shoulders. In fact, my entire suitcase has transformed itself into a library: gold brocades and ruby-red silks, worn brass buttons, emerald green velvet so rich you could sink into it and white cotton for contract. Each one a story; some a brief sketch, others an epic tale.

Strong luggage is essential. On an adventure like this, who knows when you might be turfed from the train for an imagined misdemeanour?

I use my camera ostensibly to capture the scenery outside but, in reality, to capture my fellow travellers. Each one of them has a past, is running to or from something.

Women with painted smiles, men with guarded eyes: mismatched couples who raise unanswerable questions.

Worn faces and gold teeth. Children with charming grins and light fingers.
Strangers with golden skin and inviting stares; forbidden desire; frenzied passion; languid, lazy days.

Adventures surround me like ripe oranges hanging from a tree, I just need to reach out my hand and pick them.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl in Canada.
She dreamed of travelling to exotic locations and living a life less ordinary.
She travelled from one end of Canada to the other stopping in many locations, none which lived up to her dreams.
As she grew older, she left her small town life behind and moved to the city.
From the city, she made week long visits to Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Mexico with friends; they were fun, but fleeting.
“Oh, but to go ‘down under’,” she thought wistfully.
After working hard in school, she became a nurse and worked tirelessly toward her goal of travelling to Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia.
Finally, she had enough money saved! She packed her backpack and camera and set off.
She bussed around Fiji, went tramping in New Zealand, and learned to scuba dive in Australia. The backpack and camera served her well.
While in New Zealand, the girl met a boy. She decided to stay. They got married.
The old backpack and camera continued to serve her well in Malaysia and even on her honeymoon to Bali.
The boy and the girl had a baby…And the girl started to miss her family.
Now the girl can think of no more desirable travel destination than Canada.
Her backpack is worn out and the camera now defunct.
She dreams of packing her things in a chic new leopard case by Hideo Wakamatsu and boarding a plane with her husband and babe, bound for the land of her childhood.
New Kodak moments would beg to be captured as Nana and Poppy meet their granddaughter and the girl rendezvous with old friends.
Now, thanks to her favourite blog, Super Kawaii Mama, the girl found the perfect contest to help her travel happily ever after…