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Tuesday Train – The Maglev, Shanghai
It has been a long held ambition of mine to take the world’s first commercial Maglev train from Shanghai Airport to Longyang Road Station in the centre of the city. A chance recently presented itself when we flew via the vibrant Chinese metropolis to and from Tokyo. A top speed of 430k/mh, though slightly disappointing […]
Tuesday Train – Riga in Latva
A couple of Januarys ago we took the train from the Latvian capital to the Estonian counterpart, Tallinn. Both cities are wonderfully photogenic and the train journey was comfortable & scenic.
2023 Gone, 2024 Beckons
Somewhere in 2023 I lost my blogging/writing mojo. However, my wanderlust was alive and kicking! Hopefully I will get back on the scribing saddle in 2024, but here is a quick summary of travels in the past year, plus one or two to come. 2023 April – Rhodes 24 years after we were engaged in […]
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina – Finding The Evita Legend in Buenos Aires
On The Evita Trail in Buenos Aires Eva Duarte de Perón (7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952) is to Argentina what Princess Diana was to the U.K., a beautiful and charismatic fighter for lost causes adored by the masses, but with some enemies in high places. Like England’s Rose, she died incredibly young aged […]
Syria Before The Conflict Part Five, Saladin’s Castle & Memory Tricks
Are you ever convinced of something only to find that the memory has played tricks on you? Well this happened to me whilst chronicling my 2009 Syria trip. I have just discovered some notes I scribbled along the way and have found two long held beliefs to be incorrect. First of all we visited in […]
Syria Before The Conflict Part Two, Castles & Monasteries
Aleppo had proved to be a superb host city, but this did not stop us from going on a couple of full on day trips by private taxi. First up was St Simeon’s Monastery, some 30km north. St Simeon is the guy who legend has it was driven up the pole! Simeon the Stylite lived […]
New Budapest Nyugati Station Design
According to Railway Gazette International, the competition winners for the embellishment of the iconic Nyugati Station has been revealed. This is how they report it.
Travelling By Train Across The Balkans
My train travel book is now available from Amazon. Travelling By Train Across The Balkans chronicles my trips over the past twenty years or so in the intoxicating region. It features train travel in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Northern Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and European Turkey. The Balkan Peninsula conjures up […]
Turkmenistan Train Trip
I am reflecting on a trip that I made in 2018 from Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat to the eastern city of Mary. Ashgabat to Mary by Train Having spotted a train travelling through the desert northwards from Ashgabat to Dashoguz close to the Uzbek & Kazakh borders, our excitement to be embarking on our only train […]
Monday Morning Blues – The Longest Day, Stonehenge
For the second time in recent years I find myself travelling along the A303 on the day of the Summer Solstice. The A303 links the South East with the South West of England and as well as being infamous for traffic hold-ups, it is best known for being where Stonehenge is situated. ‘The Henge’ has […]
Wilbur's Travels 