Travelling from Singapore to England without flying is not impossible, as proven by Tom Woods
By Cheryl Chia
Planning to travel from Singapore to England? Easy, just take a plane. But how about travelling from Singapore to England without flying?
Most people would baulk at the amount of planning and the tedious journey it would take to travel solely by land and sea from Singapore to England. Not so for Briton Tom Woods.
Having travelled almost 19,000km from Woodlands in Singapore to his home town, Woking in England, he’s seen much more than a plane cabin on his journey by taking the train, bus and ferry.
A journey of a thousand miles truly begins with a single step. Tom’s first step was to decide not to travel via the conventional mode.
Border Crossings
En route to Woking, Tom’s first stop was Butterworth in Penang, Malaysia before crossing the border to Thailand. He then travelled on to Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Germany before finally arriving in his home country of England.
Tom did most of his research for his trip from the website Seat61.com, which advises travellers who want to travel by land and sea.
Says Tom, “I thought it would be a cool thing to do. Much more interesting than sitting on a beach – I’m ginger and we burn easily. I get to tick a few more countries off the list as well.”
“My uncle did the trip from London to Singapore when I was a kid, so I’ve always fancied doing it,” he explains.
Tom moved to Singapore in 2010. He was in between jobs when he decided to embark on this journey of a lifetime. The whole journey took him about one month, from departure to arrival.
Window to the World
Tom also thinks that travelling by train is a fantastic way to gain a window to the world.
“You’re moving slow enough to appreciate the changes in landscape, architecture and people but still fast enough to cross countries, sometimes in a matter of hours,” he enthuses.
Tom adds that “unless you fly in a business or first class bubble, air travel is a chore and really something that is to be endured rather than enjoyed.”
He encountered interesting folks on the train such as an older Thai lady asking in perfect English for help with her baskets. It turns out that the lady had lived in London for seven years, but moved back to Thailand after her husband passed away.
Wanderlust Travelling
Apart from seeing the city sights of Penang, Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City, his train rides also took him to far flung and picturesque locations such as the world’s deepest lake, Lake Baikal in Mongolia. It was on the last of his stops in Asia before hitting Eastern Europe.
Throughout his trip, Tom kept his travel blog running, which tells of a funny exchange that occurred on the way to St Petersburg with an older Russian gentleman, who insisted on quizzing him on all things English despite speaking only Russian.
The old man started the conversation by saying, “Are you from Ireland? You sure look like it.”
Lost in Translation
“I didn’t have a great start in St Petersburg; getting into the hotel proved problematic. I found the street with relative ease after picking up for tips on finding roads in Cyrillic in Moscow,” says Tom.
This resulted in a delightful conversation with the hotel staff.
Tom: “Morning, thanks for the call back, I have a reservation and I think I’m the right street but I can’t find the hotel.”
Hotel Staff: “Sorry, I don’t speak English.”
Tom: “Why did you call me back?”
Hotel Staff: “I don’t understand; I go.”
A passer-by finally lead Tom to the hotel through an unmarked gate.
He says, “As much as I’d like to regale you with some nerve wrecking moments, there weren’t really any. Apart from getting a little lost in Russia and running late for a couple of trains… the rest of the time was pretty serene.”
Homeward Bound
When Tom finally reached London via Cologne, Germany, his friends were waiting to hear all about his travels. He took his last train ride on the London tube’s Southwest train from Clapham Junction for his ride to Woking.
He later took a flight back to Singapore.
Following His Footsteps
Those interested in doing a similar trip can refer to Tom’s travel blog for a detailed account of his journey and his travel route or plans. The entire trip cost him $2,726 but he admits that he could have saved money on visas, and even some tickets by booking them earlier.
When asked if he would recommend this model of travel he answers with a resounding, “Absolutely!”
He says, “There are various routes you can take. There are loads of ways to get to London from Moscow, a few different ways to get to Beijing, etc. You can stop at different cities depending on what you find appealing.”
“It is a great way to see the world,” he adds.
For the full story and a blow-by-blow account of his travels, visit Tom’s travel blog at www.woodlandstowoking.wordpress.com
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