long way home

When we decided we wanted to take “the road less travelled”, it became obvious that we would need to take the trains. The more we planned, the more classic train journeys and famous train-lines we came across, and before too long it was a consistent, if unplanned, theme.

The Orient Express

The Orient Express Leaving Vienna

There are a number of trains, and a number of routes, which have historically been known as “The Orient Express”, with the common feature of commencing in Paris and heading east towards Budapest and as far as Istanbul. The train has featured in fiction including Bram Stoker’s Dracula (and the Christie novel, Murder On The Orient Express of course, although apparently she describes an entirely different train) and has subsequently developed air of intrigue and romance.

We’ll be travelling from Paris to Budapest via Zurich, almost along the “Arlberg Orient Express” line, but will be taking a number of individual trains rather than a single line — but the “original” Orient Express no longer runs. So maybe it doesn’t count, but it’s still a good start to our train travels!

Trans-Siberian (Trans-Mongolian)

Trans-Siberian in Mongolia

This was the line that started it all. Hearing about the Trans-Siberian railway, then seeing Russia, Siberia and Mongolia in The Long Way Round, was inspiring. It is the longest railway in the world, taking nearly a week to travel direct from Moscow to Beijing — which gives us a week to write, read, play cards and drink vodka. Nostrovia!

Qinghai-Tibet

Qinghai Tibet Railway

From the longest railway in the world to the highest: the Qinghai-Tibet railway climbs to over 5,000 metres above sea-level, high enough that the operators pump oxygen into the cabins. Hopefully we can do this one — it’s one of the few ways into Tibet from China, but must be organised with a Chinese travel agency.

Reunification Express

Reunification Express

Originally built by French colonists, this line runs the length of Vietnam and looks like a pretty common way for travellers to get from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). During the Vietnam war, the line was severed; in 1975/76 it was reunified (along with the country) and repaired.

The Ghan

The Ghan

The Ghan runs from Darwin to Adelaide, straight through Australia’s red centre. We won’t take it all the way, but are hoping to go from Alice Springs to Darwin (provided they can take the 4WD for us, and it’s not too expensive!). Began in 1878, it took until the 1920’s to complete the original line; a new line was constructed in 1980. Interestingly, the train was named after the outback camel drivers of the 1860s through to 1930s, who in Aussie fashion were all nicknamed “Ghans” despite not all of them being Afghans.

So that’s it — the famous trains we’ll (probably) take.  (Of course, I’d love to take the Eastern & Oriental Express, but at £1000 for two nights from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur it is considerably out of our price range! Maybe next time…)