Royal Rajasthan on Wheels

by Scott Carmichael on

Back in 2007, Willy wrote about the luxurious Rajasthan Palace on Wheels, which takes passengers on a 7 day tour of India on an upscale train.

Another Indian tour company took that concept, added far more luxury, and named it Royal Rajasthan on Wheels“.

You really have to see the photo gallery to get a feeling of the experience offered on this train, it makes the famous Orient Express look like a Holiday Inn Express.

Of course, with more luxury, comes higher prices – the train Willy wrote about cost about $2000 for an 8 day trip, the new Royal palace on wheels costs between $800 and $2000 per night! That price does include all meals and sightseeing tours, but if you need a cheaper option, check out this article about the Indian Heritage on Wheels posted by Abha earlier this year.

German sweethearts hatch plan to elope to Africa

by Scott Carmichael on

Amongst all the depressing stories in the world, this one brought a big smile to my face. It’s the story of 2 German kids, Mika and Anna-Lena, aged 7 and 6.

The two are very much in love, and decided to skip all the expensive and time consuming work involved with a big wedding and just elope to Africa.

On the first day of 2009, the kids left with Anna-Lena’s little sister, Anna-Bell and walked to the tram station.

Once they arrived at Hanover central train station, their plans were foiled by police who were probably a little suspicious of 3 young kids waiting for a train to the airport.

Once the police officer managed to convince the lovers that air travel requires a passport, real money and a plane ticket, they were given a tour of the police headquarters while they waited for their parents to come pick them up.

I’m hoping these lovers keep their plans intact, and manage to take that romantic trip when they reach a more responsible age.

(Via: Straits Times)

Minding the gap

by Grant Martin on

I find it funny how the London tube is so adamant about warning passengers about the gap between the subway platform and the train. Sure, it’s an big hole in the ground and you could fall into it if you weren’t paying close attention, but risks like this are everywhere and on some platforms without warnings, the gap is much larger. On the RER in Paris, I could fit a donkey in it (pictured).

Obvious warnings like this always make me think about Drew Carey’s commentary on the Nanny State. Is it really necessary to warn people about everything? At which point should common sense take over?

There is an inherent risk in traveling. Whether this is getting hit by a bus, dying in a plane crash, falling off of a camel or into a 4″ subway gap, at some point, if you’re going to try to enjoy your trip you’re going to have to accept this risk, sack up and acknowledge the fact that you could get hurt when you leave your home.

Personally, I found that once I accepted this risk, realized how minuscule it was and moved past it, that my stress level went down and I started to genuinely enjoy my travels much more.

New York City MTA helps commuters lie to bosses

by Mike Barish on

There are lots of valid excuses for being late to work. Your power was out so your alarm clock failed to go off. Your kid was sick and you had to take him to the doctor. You passed out at the brothel and didn’t have money for a cab. The problem with all of those excuses is that you have no way to prove to your boss that you’re telling the truth. But validating your tardiness just got simpler if you take the subway in New York City.

According to the New York Post, the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is going to start emailing commuters notes to provide to their bosses to verify subway delays that may have caused late arrivals. The New York City Transit division has long provided notes to commuters but required individuals to call a customer service number and then wait upwards of two weeks to receive a letter in the mail. These notes detail what lines the commuter claimed to have been using and any reported delays during the specified times.

In an effort to modernize, the MTA will soon allow commuters who were inconvenienced by subway delays to submit an online form and then receive an expedited email response. They hope to have the online system up and running by mid-2009. Currently, 34,000 people per year contact the MTA for notes to prove that they didn’t simply oversleep due to the heavy drinking that they rely on to help them cope with their mind-numbingly droll lives.

As a NYC resident who relies on the oft-delayed subway system, I’m looking forward to the ease of use of this new online system. Granted, my habitual tardiness can only been blamed on pathological use of the snooze button and a penchant for long morning showers that involve a good cathartic cry. But all my boss needs to know is that the F train got held up because of sick passenger. Everyone’s just more comfortable with that story.

China plans 236 mph rail link between Shanghai and Beijing

by Scott Carmichael on

The Chinese rail Ministry has announced plans to link the nations capital with its financial capital. Beijing and Shanghai are a little over 650 miles apart, and the current rail link takes over 10 hours.

The Chinese claim to have mastered the technology required to build their own high speed trains, and plan to operate them on the new line at speeds up to 236mph (380 km/h) which should cut the current journey time in half.

Previous high speed rail projects in China include one of the first commercial Maglev links which operates between Shanghai and the airport. In 2005 a regular high speed link between Beijing and Tianjin was opened and is based on the highly successful German ICE rolling stock.

High speed rail links have changed the landscape in Europe, and dedicated high speed lines already link the UK with France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.

Being able to commute from city center to city center in under 5 hours will prove to be a very efficient solution in China, and will most certainly eat away at the airline market. The line is scheduled to be completed in 2012, a mere 4 years from now.