Geez, looks like KH refuses to go on the (Mini) Epic Rail Journey.
Somewhat miffed and with some defiance, I said I would go myself!
Actually, come to think of it, why not? My only concern would be the children. Should I bring them all if I were going alone? Or just bring 1 or 2?
Someone asked me why I would even consider going by train since BKK is just a two-hour cheap budget flight away? I don't know. It occured to me that the world is increasingly connected - 6 hours to Beijing, 8 hours to Sydney, 7 hours to Tokyo, 7 hours to Delhi... we can be anywhere in a matter of hours.
But why be in a hurry?
The journey there is really half the fun. Slowing the process means real travel - seeing the landscape unfold, seeing how people live and work along the way, interacting with fellow travelers and with lots of time for silent reflection and thinking. My roomie KJ has inspired me with his travelers tales of travelling by train, the old fashioned way, up to Bangkok. He waxed lyrical with his reminisces of white-washed Thai temples gleaming in the evening sun, endless paid fields, hawkers who thrust their wares through train windows, and a bad case of food poisoning that left him prostrate with yellow-robed monks praying over him!
So while I can't afford the E&O express, I think I can afford to take the slow scenic train up to Bangkok! And I am tempted enough to do it all by myself too!
The (Mini) Epic Rail Journey 1
Okay, so this is is not cast in stone.
But its an idea that I am very very intrigued with, very excited about and have started working on. And so far, what I've found looks very very promising and very do-able.
I am thinking of taking the family on a long rail journey from Singapore up to Bangkok and maybe Chiangmai. Along the way, we will cover KL, Penang, Hua Hin and Bangkok and maybe Chiangmai. Likely we'll fly back from Bangkok or Chiangmai on a budget airline. Tentative plans indicate that this will be a 17Day trip - wow! And should cost in the region of $4000 - includes everything except pocket money.
Tentative dates: Dec 5 to Dec 21.
Oh and why is this called the (Mini) Epic Rail Journey 1? Because I am so intrigued by all the possibilities there are! The idea of travelling overland from Asia to Europe via trains has always fascinated me. Some day I'll do it. So you can be sure there will be more epic journeys by train ahead in my lifetime. But first, all epic journeys have to begin somewhere right? Starting with this one from Singapore to Bangkok - a 'mini' one by the standards of many savvier travelers who have traversed the continents of the world by train.
Will post more when I develop this plan further.
But its an idea that I am very very intrigued with, very excited about and have started working on. And so far, what I've found looks very very promising and very do-able.
I am thinking of taking the family on a long rail journey from Singapore up to Bangkok and maybe Chiangmai. Along the way, we will cover KL, Penang, Hua Hin and Bangkok and maybe Chiangmai. Likely we'll fly back from Bangkok or Chiangmai on a budget airline. Tentative plans indicate that this will be a 17Day trip - wow! And should cost in the region of $4000 - includes everything except pocket money.
Tentative dates: Dec 5 to Dec 21.
Oh and why is this called the (Mini) Epic Rail Journey 1? Because I am so intrigued by all the possibilities there are! The idea of travelling overland from Asia to Europe via trains has always fascinated me. Some day I'll do it. So you can be sure there will be more epic journeys by train ahead in my lifetime. But first, all epic journeys have to begin somewhere right? Starting with this one from Singapore to Bangkok - a 'mini' one by the standards of many savvier travelers who have traversed the continents of the world by train.
Will post more when I develop this plan further.
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