Two weeks ago robert and i set out from Singapore to hong kong, and from there we travelled 5000 miles by train: seven trains plus numerous metros (Beijing, Moscow and paris); and passed through ten countries, across two continents.
Our journey now ends in Largs, 30 miles west of Glasgow on Scotland's ayrshire coast.
It was raining when we set out, and is raining again on Scotland. Rain is auspicious in some parts of the world.
Train travel is fun, and can be comfortable. It is more environmentally friendly than air travel, less prone to delays, and avoids the discomfort of turbulence.
We are grateful for technology (ipad and iPhone got alot of use), and most trains allowed some form of charging of gadets.
The trip, including tickets and hotels, was about the same cost as a return flight, but much of that was fungible, we chose to travel in fairly comfy class, and due to time constraints had to get express visas, which were expensive. It is probably possible to do the trip at 30 to 40 pc less, of comfort and time are not pressing issues.
We had fun. The end of the trip is always a bit of an anticlimax, as the journey itself is the thing, but we will have lots of memories.
Thanks to Marie and Ellen for allowing us to make the trip.
Robert and Craig
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Largs, Ayrshire
Glad it was such a blessing.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see the breakdown of the costs if you can ever produce them, as I have eschewed flying on aeroplanes for environmental sustainability reasons, but am generally resigned to the notion that - at present - that means considerably greater cost, given the unfair advantages the aviation sector is given.
I would be delighted to be corrected!
...meanwhile, enjoy Largs!! ;-)
Well done! Reading your blog each step of the way, I really got the sense that you had crossed half the world and had been deposited blinking in St Pancras, surrounded by the "Friday night inebriates" and all the displacing familiarity. Definitely one of the great train journeys of the world.
ReplyDeleteI spend most of my time oscillating between Central and Causeway Bay, a daily circuit of no more than 3 miles, and the idea I could break this orbit by climbing onto a train just a few miles away in Hung Hom is giving me itchy feet. Maybe in 12 years time ...
Once again well done - and enjoy being back in Largs.