Tag Archives: train A castle, cheese, wine and chocolate: what’s not to love about Gruyères? We were meant to be hiking around Leysin in the Swiss Alps, but it was raining, and had been for days. We went through the guide books and asked locals about alternative amusements (q.v.: A Trip to the Salt Mines). The medieval town of Gruyères was three train-hops away […]  After thirty-six hours of airplanes and airports, and sixteen hours of sleep, I’m sitting on my balcony with a coffee while welcome swallows and noisy miners swoop around my head. My ears are ringing with the screech of lorikeets and rosellas as they jockey for position in our trees, and light is falling on the […]  First impressions count for so much. My first flight into Hong Kong was a surreal sensory experience: I can still wrap myself in surround-sound memories of listening to Asian flutes in luxurious Cathay business-class comfort, fuelled by love and champagne, as the plane descends through the clouds, allowing the first sight of that beautiful harbour with its sparkling […]  I love trains and train journeys. There is something hypnotic about the rhythmic clack of the wheels on the tracks. And who can resist waving at the people on trains as they pass? Kanchanaburi, about 3 hours west of Bangkok (on a good day), is home to what must be one of the most poignant […]  The last time I was in London, back in the late 70’s, you couldn’t put a bag down anywhere without being suspected of being an Irish terrorist. It was nervous times in England. As a young female travelling alone, I was also a soft target for would-be grifters and pan-handlers: whenever I stood still with […]
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