Travellers' ChecksTwo stereotype defying Asia cruises, from Myanmar to Australia or Guam to Japan

Upmarket cruise operator Silversea is offering two interesting expeditions for spring 2019, both operated by small ships on routes that make an adventurous change from the usual sailings in this part of the world.

Departing on March 5, the first is a 31-day voyage from Yangon, in Myanmar, to Darwin, Australia. The first port of call will be Port Blair followed by South Cinque Island, as the 116-berth Silver Discoverer sails through India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Then it is south to Sumatra, for several days exploring the remote offshore outposts and southern coast of the Indonesian island, before turning left at Anak Krakatoa and following the north coast of Java to Bali. It is possible to end the cruise there, but the ship continues for 16 more days via Komodo, and its dragons, to Indonesia’s eastern islands, arriving in Darwin on April 5.

The second cruise – this one lasting 13 days – sets out from Guam on April 29 and heads for Kobe, in Japan, with the 144-berth Silver Explorer sailing north through the Marianas by way of Saipan, Pagan and the Maug Islands. The isolated Japanese islands of Chichijima and Tori-shima are next – the former reached after almost two full days at sea – before the ship heads for Kobe via Yakushima, Kyushu island and Hiroshima. There is also an option to continue on for another nine days to Busan, in South Korea.

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The British Rail sandwich is so exemplary of the very worst in transport catering that it even has a dedicated Wikipedia page, describing it as “emblematic of the unappetising fare available aboard Great Britain’s railway service during the period of nationalisation from 1948 to 1994”.