“My First Attempt At
An Adventurous rail journey faltered before it had even begun. On a school trip
to Russia in the last days of Communism, the plan had been to take the
overnight service from Moscow to Leningrad (as St Petersburg was then known).
Straight after hauling away from the station, the train rattled noisily to a
halt. Someone had pulled the emergency cord, upon discovering that a drunken
man had bribed a guard to let him stow away in a girls-only carriage. In fluent
and irate Russian, one of our teachers demanded that he be slung off into the
darkness.
Adventures of a very
different flavor are promised by the broad range of train journeys recommended
in this issue-many of them original and affordable. This month’s The Perfect
Trip adds a luxurious option with South Africa’s Blue Train, while Oliver
Smith’s ride into the wilderness of Siberia has encouraged me to finally ponder
making a return to Russian railways.” Peter
Grunert, Editor
