Trans-Siberia Railway: The backdrop for the movie thriller “Transsiberian”

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s an adventurous ring to the Trans-Siberia Railway–the train that takes seven days to get from China to Mongolia and onto Russia. There’s a certain connotation that evokes images of glamor, the exotic and mysterious. Perhaps that’s why it’s the backdrop for a thriller in the tradition of Hitchcock and Agatha Christie due out this summer. It has Monika Bartyzel on Cinematical eager for its release. I have to agree. It sounds like the perfect blend of travel and intrigue.

In “Transsiberian” Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer play a married American couple, Roy and Jessie, who hop on the train in Beijing (then Peking during the time period that the movie is set) with an aim for a little excitement on their journey home from a stint as missionaries. As what can happen with any travel, but more so, what they envisioned doesn’t even come close to reality. Their personalities and missteps get them into less than stellar situations. Sure, they get the initial fun of a train ride and the expansive scenery of this part of the world in the winter, but they also get murder, drug dealing and deception when they settle into their train car with two other travelers. From the summary, here are missteps not to take that could help you avoid a big fat mess:

  1. Don’t get off the train (However, that puts a damper on sightseeing)
  2. If you do get off the train, don’t get off the train with the travelers you just met
  3. If you do get off the train, don’t one of the two of you miss the train and the other get off on the next stop
  4. Don’t kill anybody if you can help it.
  5. If you do kill someone, it might be better to come clean, particularly if the person might be a drug dealer and left a little something in your luggage.

When I’ve shared train cars with people I’ve been fairly lucky to not have anything overly weird happen. One guy , though, kept wanting to rub my foot–seriously, but other than that, I’ve shared food, conversation and slumber without hassle. I’m interested in seeing this flick for sure. Partly, I want to see what parts of Beijing, Lithuania and Spain ended up in the film. Also, I’m hoping Ben Kingsley who plays the officer looking to solve the crime is able to help Roy and Jessie have a happy travelers’ tale ending. Somehow, I don’t think so.

Spain’s first eco-friendly hostel to open in Barcelona

by Anna Brones on

While many of us may want to reduce our footprint while traveling, luxurious eco resorts with hefty price tags aren’t always in our budgets. Treehugger helps the more budget conscious of us out with today’s post about the new hostel Barcelona Urbany, which is attempting to combine eco-friendly with budget accommodation.

The 13 story building, projected to hold 400 beds, is currently under construction and set to open in June this year. What makes it eco-friendly? Urbany promises a rain water harvesting system — but isn’t it usually sunny in Catalan?? –, energy efficient light bulbs and “more environmentally friendly and less aggressive materials.”

Located 4 metro stops away from the center of Barcelona and only a short bike ride from the beach, it should be easily accessible to backpackers that want an environmentally but metropolitan option. You can’t book a room just yet, but if you are traveling to Barcelona with a group of 20 or more this summer, and want to plan ahead, you can fill out Urbany’s online form.

Spain’s new high speed train connects Madrid and Barcelona

by Anna Brones on

Spain’s high speed link between Madrid and Barcelona is finally open, after more than two decades of construction and administrative delay. Transporting passengers at 300 kilometers per hour (186 miles per hour), and at a price of 180 euros round-trip, the train is expected to compete with air travel.

Madrid and Seville have been connected by high speed bullet train since 1992. Motivated by the addition of the new Madrid-Barcelona line, the Spanish government says that it will have more high speed train lines than anywhere else in the world by 2010, as reported by the BBC. France recently unveiled its latest contribution to the industry of high speed trains, meaning that we can probably look forward to an even better, and certainly faster, train-connected Europe.

[Thanks, Moody75!]

How to not land: A picture lesson courtesy of Iberia

by Grant Martin on

It’s difficult to say exactly what was at play in these conditions, but the position and response of this photographer gives a great vantage point of an aborted Iberia (IB) landing in Bilbao earlier this week.

The consecutive photos posted here show a quick time lapse of what was going on in a few scary seconds over the tarmac.

Among the airline community, the general consensus is that wind conditions caused significant shear near the runway, resulting in turbulent gusts just prior to wheels down. After two tries at landing on this in Bilbao the IB flight had to divert to Vitoria for another rough (albeit successful) landing.

So don’t rush off to hate on the Iberia pilot. As we learned from last year’s One-Two-Go crash on Thailand’s Phuket island, landing in high winds can be extremely tricky.

I’ve been through a couple of aborted landings, but never one that has actually touched down and returned to the skies. As docile as my experiences were, they were still frightening. I wonder what people on this flight were thinking.

Want a cheap way to travel to Europe? Check out a “positioning” cruise

by Jamie Rhein on

A friend of mine is writing a memoir about her mother’s life. Part of it includes details about her mother’s work as a “ladies maid/companion” of sorts for an alcoholic, wealthy woman. My friend is British– and her mother died when she was well into her 80s living an ordinary life through a world rife with change.

Sprinkled throughout the memoir are historical details to set the place and time. I find it a fascinating read, particularly the details about her mother’s travels on a cruise ship. If it weren’t for her job, my friend’s mother would have never taken a cruise–or seen the world past her working class roots. Cruises were not part of her station in life.

These days, of course, cruises are such great deals that you don’t have to hire on as a companion to someone to make a trip across the ocean. Ed Perkins, travel writer commentator suggests another way to score the cheapest option. According to Perkins, “positioning cruises” can get you to Europe in 13 nights for $599 if you don’t mind a non-ocean view cabin. If you want to see the ocean, the cost is $900 more. These are the prices he found from Miami to Barcelona from Hotwire.com. There are many, many options.

If you are flexible, prices go down the closest you get to the time the ship pulls away for shore. If you run with your suitcases flying behind you yelling “Wait for me! I can leap across” as the ship is starting to pull away, the price is almost free. Just kidding. I made that part up.

It is true that prices go down the closer to the departure day, though. These cruises aren’t the type that go from port to port to port. This is a trip across the ocean with the amenities on board. There may be a Bahamas stop, but, that’s it. The scope of the amenities depend on what sort of cruise ship you are on–mass market vs boutique.

As Perkins points out, since this is a one-way trip, you eventually need to have a one-way flight back to the U.S. if that’s where you are heading. One-way flights can be arranged, and are often cheaper if tacked onto your cruise deal. I wonder if you waited long enough, you could find a similiar deal for the return trip?

If I were having a “gap year” that Neil writes about, I think this would be an excellent way to start it off. While you’re staring out across the waters, pondering, letting your mind wander, you can imagine all the places you could go with days, weeks, months of exploring the world and meeting folks before you.

The article I read was in yesterday’s Columbus Dispatch, but there isn’t a link to it. Here is another article, also by Perkins from last September. He makes the same suggestions, although, the prices are lower this time of year.

In another article I found, this one by Arthur Frommer, Frommer suggests contacting major cruise lines to find out about this type of cruise deal, although, I think the deals he is referring to are on the ships that are coming back the other way. He calls them “repositioning” cruises.

Here’s a link to AffordableTours.com which may be a place to start whether you are “positioning” or “re-positioning”. The major cruise lines are listed.