Travel by Train
January 12th 2009 11:45
If I had a choice, I would travel everywhere by train. Ok, perhaps not the trains in Australia at the state they are in, but I do love trains when I am properly travelling (and not in a hurry of trying to get to work on time).
Travelling by train gives you more perspective on the place you are visiting. Many times while on a train journey we encountered interesting people, passed many places we wouldn't otherwise have visited and had many laughter and tears. Sure trains may be slower, but gives you a lot more comfort than flying, and a lot more scheduled than your regular bus. I love them.
I have met many of my travel companions on trains. When you are travelling you can always spot the traveller who are also by themselves. You'll end up in the same line to buy tickets, you almost always bump into each other waiting on the platform. Some trains require changing at the odd in-the-middle-of-nowhere stops and you will both be standed for the hours waiting for your connecting train. You start chatting, discovering you both have something in common, and eventually you end up travelling together and if you are lucky, you end up keeping in touch for years on and become great friends.
Some great friendship are forms on trains.
And then there are times you might be stuck overnight because you had missed the connecting train. You might have to present your passports at border crossings. All these little things become great travel memories later in your life.
I will never forget the time we were on the train crossing the Germany-Poland border (before Poland joined the EU) and had to present our passports for being stamped out of Germany first by the German border guard, then immediately after him, stamped into Poland by the Polish border guard. They looked serious, and never smiled. Curious at their attitude, I spoke the only word I knew in Polish - Dziekuje (thank you) - and managed a shy smile out of him. Was I ever so proud.
Then there was the time going back to Cusco on the train from the base of Macchu Picchu after 5 days trekking there, we didn't have the money to travel first class so along with all the locals we bumped all the way back arriving late at night, and almost got stranded at the wrong station because we couldn't hear the announcement properly.
And of course, the beautiful scenery along the way travelling by train through the Italian country side as well as the east coast of Taiwan.
And the best part? By getting the train, you don't have to worry about driving!
Travelling by train gives you more perspective on the place you are visiting. Many times while on a train journey we encountered interesting people, passed many places we wouldn't otherwise have visited and had many laughter and tears. Sure trains may be slower, but gives you a lot more comfort than flying, and a lot more scheduled than your regular bus. I love them.
I have met many of my travel companions on trains. When you are travelling you can always spot the traveller who are also by themselves. You'll end up in the same line to buy tickets, you almost always bump into each other waiting on the platform. Some trains require changing at the odd in-the-middle-of-nowhere stops and you will both be standed for the hours waiting for your connecting train. You start chatting, discovering you both have something in common, and eventually you end up travelling together and if you are lucky, you end up keeping in touch for years on and become great friends.
There may be times you'll need to over night somewhere odd...
Train journeys give you a chance to see a bit of everything along the way...
Some great friendship are forms on trains.
And then there are times you might be stuck overnight because you had missed the connecting train. You might have to present your passports at border crossings. All these little things become great travel memories later in your life.
I will never forget the time we were on the train crossing the Germany-Poland border (before Poland joined the EU) and had to present our passports for being stamped out of Germany first by the German border guard, then immediately after him, stamped into Poland by the Polish border guard. They looked serious, and never smiled. Curious at their attitude, I spoke the only word I knew in Polish - Dziekuje (thank you) - and managed a shy smile out of him. Was I ever so proud.
Then there was the time going back to Cusco on the train from the base of Macchu Picchu after 5 days trekking there, we didn't have the money to travel first class so along with all the locals we bumped all the way back arriving late at night, and almost got stranded at the wrong station because we couldn't hear the announcement properly.
Not having to worry about driving means you have more time to catch up on some light reading...
And always a chance to spot Thomas's best friends!
And of course, the beautiful scenery along the way travelling by train through the Italian country side as well as the east coast of Taiwan.
And the best part? By getting the train, you don't have to worry about driving!
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