I always find rail a preferred way to travel long distances especially if it takes a route not accessible by vehicles. You can stretch your legs, watch the scenery and it is usually easier to strike up conversations with fellow passengers.
Some of my more memorable rides:
1) China - Chengdu to Lhasa
- Probably my longest train journey at 44 hours. We were worried about AMS as it's our first time to such high altitudes. The oxygen masks on the trains just add to the anxiety. But we were alright and of course, the scenery was beautiful.
2) South Africa - Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg
- Excellent value for money with good scenery, a lot safer and comfortable than I imagined.
3) Myanmar - Yangon to Bagan
- Bumpiest train ride I every took. I was hoping that I could be strapped onto the bed to make it easier to sleep. It's nice passing through the rural villages seeing kids playing near the tracks. I still remember being sold a bottle of water whose cap was not sealed.
4) Europe - Rome to Sicily
- We had to get onto a train ferry to reach Sicily island!
5) North Korea - Pyongyang to Dandong (China)
- We were just too glad to clear the North Korean customs without our cameras/photos checked and deleted.
6) India - Cochin - Mumbai
- One of the most scenic train journeys in India. I transferred to Mumbai's harbour line wanting to see how bad the peak hour crush can be. But I chickened out and took first class.
7) Vietnam - Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh
- Memorable because I fell sick on the train and it was such a long 33 hour ride. The view is supposedly good though.
The china train rides I took more than decade ago were also memorable in the sense that the trains were packed and dirty, toilets were digusting, people were unruly and we sometimes only managed to get no-seats tickets for overnight journeys.
We should do a memorable ferry thread too.
