Tales of Trains - Where the Journey is the Destination

42,000 kilometres.
11 countries.
44 days.

Traveling by train isn't always about getting to where you're going – at least it hasn't been for me, and the 25 or so countries I've traveled to and through by train.
In fact, I would go so far as to say there is no better way to see the world than by train.

For me, the destination is irrelevant; rather, taking the train IS the destination.
That is what Tales of Trains - Where the Journey is the Destination is all about.


This Isn't a How-To Book
Although you'll get some tips on how to upgrade to sleeper class on Australian trains, what not to eat on the Trans-Siberian, and I share the best resources for worldwide train travel, this book won't (directly) teach you how to travel around the world by train.
Instead, Tales of Trains – Where the Journey is the Destination is a narrative about what it's like to do some of the world's most epic long-distance train rides, including the Indian Pacific and The Ghan in Australia, The Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Beijing, the world's fastest train, and a whole host of much (much) slower trains as well.

What You'll Read About
Tales of Trains – Where the Journey is the Destination covers over 42,000 kilometres of train travel through 11 countries, in 44 days (in two concentrated stints over a period of two years).
16,000 of those kilometres were done in Australia – including 11,000kms in 11 days straight....all to see if it was possible to get bored on a train.
The following year I was invited to do the Ultimate Train Challenge, which involved 25,000kms of train travel between Lisbon and Saigon in 30 days....straight.

These are the two main focuses of Tales of Trains – Where the Journey is the Destination. Among other things, you'll read about:
The very slow “Very-Fast” train (and other paradoxical experiences) in Ukraine
Befriending a gaggle of Mary Kay conference attendees in China
Fending off a drunk Russian train conductor on the week-long Trans-Siberian
The million or so inhabitants I met in Cook, Australia
The most compelling toothbrush sales pitch I ever saw on a train (or elsewhere)
Having no money somewhere in Slovakia and almost getting kicked off the train
Meeting a charming gay couple who were (way too) excited to see Broken Hill (Australia) solely because of the movie Priscilla: Queen of the Desert
Fending off the flu in Barcelona
Discovering a worldly (and adorable) senior couple who lives in opposite corners of the world and only meets up on trains
Arriving in Prague and ending up “naked at night” in the thick of it
...and much, much more.