Journey round my bookshelves

Travellers’ tales are giving me the travel fix I need right now. Six months ago, when there seemed little hope of venturing much further than our own front doorsteps, I couldn’t bear to think about the wider world, so wonderful and yet seemingly crushed by the pandemic. Although many countries are still struggling to contain the virus, the miracle of vaccines is allowing us to see a glimmer of light at the end of a long dark tunnel. A little spark of joy, as certain Japanese tidiness gurus might say if they were to comment on world affairs as well as the state of their sock drawers. All this to say that I have started to read my pile of travel books and although it is slightly painful, I am enjoying them more than anything else I’ve read in the whole of lockdown.  

As I mentioned before, I started with Monisha Rajesh’s Around the World in 80 Trains. I do like trains a lot, but will never ever achieve her extreme love of rail travel. We are frequently told by wise people that we should enjoy the journey as much as, if not more than, the destination, but I don’t think those people have ever travelled overnight on the Reunification Express from Hanoi to Hue. I have and so has Monisha Rajesh, but I think she relished the experience more than I did. I think I might be lacking emotional depth. Sitting by a train window gazing in awe at the scenery or watching people going about their daily life is fascinating, but for me it really is all about the destination.

When we were staying in Naples, for instance, a visit to Pompeii was at the top of my list. Probably the least comfortable way to get there is by taking the Circumvesuviana – a rickety and crowded old commuter train with no air conditioning – but it’s also the most fun. I loved the bustle of the train and the gritty, salty air streaming in through the windows, but not nearly as much as I loved Pompeii. Around the World in 80 Trains was insightful and entertaining, but I am an incorrigible tourist and I was longing to know more about the destinations.

I have a hankering to travel on the Trans-Siberian express (doesn’t everyone?). It’s the longest train ride in the world, taking 7 days to travel 5,752 miles from Moscow to Vladivostok. Even I have to admit that this might well be about the journey rather than the destination, but I have already googled the top 10 things to do in Vladivostok. Two of the top 10 things are bridges, one is a lighthouse and another is the island it sits on. I don’t think it’s a tourist mecca.

Next on my list is Eric Newby’s A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. I don’t know if mountain climbers actually enjoy the journey or if they just endure it, like passengers on the 7-hour flight from London to Tashkent with Uzbekistan Airways. I’d much rather arrive in Tashkent than on the top of a mountain (so cold, so slippery), but I’m keeping an open mind and waiting for Eric Newby to convince me otherwise.