I scribble a note, pull a shirt on, and quietly click the door shut. Before she wakes, I will fetch breakfast. And I will explore.

I pad through the sleek, marble foyer of the Marriott like a brave and fearless adventurer of old, pausing only at the entrance to the hotel, where a worn and weather-beaten old man is selling coffees from a Starbucks trolley in the corner.

Who are you, traveller, who stands here today? I can tell he is thinking. What business do you have with my people, with my land?

I do not answer him, mainly because he has not verbalised this, but also because I have started to consider a pastry. I buy my supplies from this wide-eyed merchant, and stride through the automatic doors, like Indiana Jones with a latte.

Outside, the sense of adventure is heightened. The safety net of Western civilisation is further away with every yard I travel. I look back at the Marriott. Fare thee well, old friend, I think. Wish me luck.

I look around me, at the square buildings, with their windows and doors. At the Esso station across the road, full, I am sure, of unusual petrols and diesels. But where am I going? What should I do?

And then I spot it.

A Borders.

I stand outside for fifteen minutes, drinking my outlandish latte and waiting for it to open. Familiar-looking cars drive by, but upon closer inspection, some of them have slightly different names. I shake my head. Ha, I think. They will never believe this back home.

Borders opens its doors, like the cave in Aladdin, and in I walk, past the latest Nick Hornby novels and the imported copies of that week's Heat and Grazia magazines. I clamber aboard the escalators, and stride towards the Travel section, with its exotic colours and thick, bound books, where I find a guide to local points of interest and experiences. I hope I will understand this, I think, but it is a Time Out guide, and so in all likelihood I will.

I look at my watch. It is just after 9am. My wife will be stirring soon. I should head back, lest she assume I am lost for ever to this strange and mysterious land. I flick through the guidebook quickly. Excellent. They have a Hard Rock Cafe here.