Around the World in 80 Days

Actor and writer Michael Palin takes up the challenge to emulate the adventures of Phileas Fogg and circumnavigate the globe, travelling by land and sea, and sets off from London's Reform Club for Venice.

Disaster strikes when Michael misses his connection at the Saudi port of Jeddah. By the time he reaches Bombay, he is likely to be at least seven days behind the schedule set by his fictional rival.

Michael and his crew hitch a lift on a very primitive sailing boat and come close to danger in the Strait of Hormuz when the engine fails and they drift among the mines sown during the Iran-Iraq war.

Michael Palin and the crew arrive in Bombay one week behind schedule. They move quickly through India to Madras, aiming to catch a ship heading for Singapore, but only two ships are docked - one is leaving too late, and the other is not taking passengers, so Michael signs himself on as a deckhand.

Michael continues with a trip on a huge container ship across the South China Sea from Singapore to Hong Kong, then an express train ride through China to Shanghai. At last he's back on schedule for the first time since leaving Europe.

Ten days behind schedule, Michael sails out of Shanghai on a ferry bound for Japan, where the bullet train whisks him to Tokyo. After he has a hilarious night out on the town, he has to find a shipping company willing to take him on a cargo ship across the Pacific, which is his last chance to stay in the race with his fictional rival.