Video: Russia
We’ve done very few videos during the trip, but here they are. First one is in Russia, excluding the two weeks we spent in the villages. It is a long video (nine minutes) representing the long time it takes to cross and enjoy Russia.
Read MorePublic transport in the US
The trains exist, usually one a day. On the South only 3 per week, on the East between Boston and Washington one per hour. The first class is a 2-seats couchette you can transform into 2 beds and with all the meals included. Second class are reclinable seats with leg rest. For the night they […]
Read MoreFirst Amtrak Experience
After two bus rides in Malaysia (one in the back of a doubledecker bus with hot air blowing down my back), a long air trip (didn’t remember that the air is so dry in airplanes – I felt like one of those dried fishes in the Chinese markets…) and surviving US immigration, we arrived happily […]
Read MoreSometimes…
This is the account of buying a train ticket at Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station. We arrive at the ticket counter. The man who gives out the numbers asks where we want to go.We: “Singapore, tomorrow 24th december.”He: “No more tickets to Singapore until the 29th.”We: “You sure?”He: “Yes.” We don’t quite believe him (one thing […]
Read MoreThe 8-hour trainride that took 26 hours
We continue on the Reunification Express, this time from Danang to Nha Trang, a trip of 524 km. Of course we knew about hurricane Mirinae, we had seen the flooded streets in Hoi An and people continuing with their everyday life.We arrived at Danang train station at 10 am, having in mind to take the […]
Read MoreThe Reunification Express
We’re back on the trains again, and happy with it. Bus travel in Vietnam is either in public buses, which are old and bumpy and where tourists get ripped off as a rule, or in tourist buses, shared, well, with tourists.Not many travellers in Vietnam seem to use the train, but there’s actually a convenient […]
Read MoreChina – Episode 2
From the centre of Hong Kong, we took the metro to the last station one rainy morning, and crossed the border to Shenzhen. At the train station we had to queue a bit – we could have bought our ticket in Hong Kong, but for a ridiculously high commission. Getting our sleeper tickets in Shenzhen […]
Read MoreNight Train Philosophies – Shenzhen to Guilin
After hanging around at Mc Donalds for half of the afternoon, we boarded our night train in the early evening in Shenzhen, a Chinese city close to Hong Kong. We shared our compartment with a Chinese man who fell asleep very early, so we didn’t make much noise, did a bit of reading and then […]
Read MoreJapanese trains
This time in Japan we took only three trains. We did not have Japan Rail Pass, which is a must if you want to go around Japan, as trains are expensive like in Switzerland. Unfortunately in Russia you can only get this rail pass in Moscow and we were a bit far away from it. […]
Read More36-hour train to Severobaikalsk
Thirty-six hours, the longest so far. It was two-nights on a train with only two or three stops worthing to strech the legs outside. Buying same day ticket meant to go on kupe, 2nd class, which means closed compartiments of 4 berths. Beds are larger, softer and long enought for being stretched. In 3rd class, when […]
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