How about that: train arrives five days ahead of schedule

by Jerry Guo on

There’s a new direct rail service between China and Hamburg, Germany, which is suppose to take a whopping 20 days. But the maiden trip happened to finish five days ahead of schedule. Whoops.

After all that we’ve heard about airport delays, perhaps trains may be making a comeback. And to think, this particular voyage wasn’t even a stunt. Unfortunately, from what I gather, the service will be only for freighters. No passenger service is planned at this time, which means the Trans-Siberian Railroad, from Moscow to China, is still the longest single journey by train (You can start in London, but that technically doesn’t count).

I did, however, find a guy who managed to travel from Southeast Asia to Scandinavia using only trains.

Showering on the Trans-Siberian

by Neil Woodburn on

One of the longest stretches of time I’ve been without a shower was the seven days I spent on the Trans-Siberian traveling from Moscow to Beijing.

Although the train carriages were comfortable enough, each had only a single toilet, a horrible little sink, and absolutely no opportunity to shower–or so I thought.

Like most people on the Trans-Siberian, I slowly ripened over the course of the journey along with the three other passengers who shared my berth. But according to Vanessa Arrington writing for Lonely Planet, this simply wasn’t necessary.

The trick is to bring along a larger water bucket. Passengers can fill this with boiling water from the samovar, mix it with cold water from the bathroom sink and then toss it over their head while locked in the bathroom. The water will disappear through a hole in the floor and onto the tracks below.

While this seems a pretty decent idea, I see two immediate problems. Since there is only one bathroom, there will be some pretty angry people on the other side of the door waiting for shower time to finish. Worse, however, is that the bathrooms are very small and very dirty. I would not want to get naked in one of these things while the train is rocking back and forth. Ugh!

Let’s face it; if you can’t go that long without a shower, get off in Irkutsk or somewhere else along the line and lather up. Just don’t get back on board and turn up your nose at fellow passengers who aren’t going to smell as fresh and rosy as yourself.

Video: Commuting in Mumbai

by Justin Glow on


I didn’t bring along a video camera to India because I didn’t want to have to deal with making sure it wasn’t broken, lost, or forgotten somewhere. But after I arrived, I immediately realized my mistake because almost every second of every day I was there, I saw video-able material. It’s a good thing other travelers bring along their cameras, or else we wouldn’t have the video above, taken by YouTube user Jaiwit. It’s simply titled “Commuting in Mumbai” which — well, I’ll just let you watch it.

In-freaking-sane. [via]

European Trains more Time Efficient than European Planes for Short Hauls

by Neil Woodburn on

With the rash of budget airlines plying the skies of Europe these days, one must wonder why anyone bothers to take the train at all.

The reality, however, is that high speed train travel between European cities that are less than 550 kilometers apart is actually more efficient than flying according to a recent study.

Think about it. Most European airports are not only way outside the city center, but also eat up your time with security, boarding, and that pesky rule about getting there an hour before flight time.

Train stations, on the other hand, are usually located in the center of town and passengers can arrive just moments before their departure time.

The actual time spent traveling is much longer on a train, but the overall journey tends to be about the same length of time or perhaps just a bit longer. The important difference here, especially for business travelers, is that almost all of your travel time on a train can be spent working. There is no turning off your electronic equipment, putting it through an x-ray machine, or standing in long lines. Your laptop can be opened the moment you sit down and you can plug away uninterrupted until you arrive at your destination.

The efficiencies of high speed train travel, however, are only gained with journeys that are four hours or less. Planes become increasingly more efficient with your time over longer journeys.

Rajasthan’s “Palace on Wheels”

by Willy Volk on

The best way to get from Lusaka to Dar es Salaam (without flying) is to take the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA). I made this 2-day trip, and I loved it.

The Advantages:
* Highly affordable.
* You can easily see the surrounding countryside.
* You can chat with locals on the train and those hawking goods at the stops.

The disadvantages:
* There are no toilets; there are just holes in the floor.
* They ran out of water half-way through the 1150-mile trip.
* They stopped accepting the currency of one country the instant we crossed the border. We hadn’t changed money in advance and were charged an exorbitant rate.

In our minds, the pros outweighed the cons, however, and though we sat most of the way, it was still a rollicking adventure. That said, it was certainly no “palace on wheels.” That title is reserved for Rajasthan’s train.

The Palace on Wheels is a rail journey through northwest India. Starting in Delhi and chugging through Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai, Madhopur, Chittaurgarh, Udaipur, Bharatpur, and Agra, the train is vaguely cruise-ship-like — in the sense that everything is planned out, and there are time restrictions to which you must adhere. However, considering the stops and the experience, generally, it could be classified as “luxury adventure.” If you haven’t got a month to Rajasthan, this may be the best way to compress it into one week. Sign me up!