There is nothing more to remind you that you are indeed 700 miles away from the sunshine and heat that was Cote d’Azur, than the grey skies of Colchester and today’s Times with the following weather forecast on its masthead:
Anything between 5 to 20 degrees. Sounds like home alright.
After the festivities of Eid last Sunday, I travelled to London on Monday afternoon to catch an early morning train to Nice via Lille. Yes, that’s right, I took a train. No it was not much cheaper than taking a flight. No I don’t have environmental activist designs, although a few tonnes of CO2 emission saved is never a bad thing. Still, given the marginal contribution of me getting on a plane when the plane was going to travel anyway.. I haven’t quite figured out the economics of that.
Anyhoo. The mechanics of travelling onto European soil by train. The Eurostar is effectively your escape from the island. You can either travel to Paris, Lille or Brussels, where connections to the rest of Europe can be made. To avoid changing stations in Paris on the Metro, Lille is a nice alternative for a selection of destinations. The journey to Lille took me 1 hour and 20 minutes or thereabouts. The subsequent journey to Nice from Lille was 7 odd hours, almost 8 considering delays. Yes, French trains are delayed too, would you believe it? And here I thought it was a unique trait of British railways.
The 7 hour train journey is not as bad as it sounds. This is not KTM, but then again, being a veteran of 5 years taking the KTM train to and from JB, that wasn’t bad either. By plane it would have taken me a mere 2 hours. I have no way of understanding why I prefer trains over other modes of transport. In essence I am a person that will always choose the fastest way to get from A to B – I would rather cycle in torrential rain in December than wait for a bus to get home from work. I would pay premium prices for direct flights, even if a short, 2 hour transit could save me £100. I would never walk to work if I could not because I can’t stand the distance, but because going by bike would give me almost as much exercise and I save 20 minutes both ways. Nevermind that said 20 minutes is used for Conquerclub rather than getting anything useful done. But when it comes to trains.. hmm, entahlah. The best explanation is that I am mad, and I accept that wholeheartedly.
Good things about taking a 7 hour train ride:
1) You get to work on your 20 minute presentation
2) You get to catch up on reading you’ve neglected for months on end
3) The view is awesome
Bad things about taking a 7 hour train ride:
1) You can’t enjoy the view if you don’t get a window seat
2) It sucks when no one else in your carriage except you took a shower that morning.
Of course, this successful train journey confirms that long distance train travel is very plausible comfort-wise, and as long as we both don’t get cabin fever and kill each other, Spain(der) by (der)Train will be a reality come March (funds permitting).
Perhaps the worst part of the journey was the stretch between London to Colchester, but that was in no way TGV’s fault – more Network Rail’s. Engineering works meant that my 7 hour journey to London from Nice was supplemented by a part bus-replacement service, which I couldn’t get at Liverpool Street and instead needed to travel by tube to Newbury Park, get a bus there to Ingatestone and then a train from there through to Colchester. Hungry, hot and tired, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Not. I wish they’s stop this hop on hop off drama and just charter a bus to and from Liverpool Street when engineering works are on. Makes for less luggage lugging drama.
The other thing about travelling for business – and specifically, a conference – is that it is work, and you need to be properly packed for it. This meant both work and play clothes, and a slew of books and papers on top of the usual. Which makes for a lot less light-travelling. So while running from train to train is fine if all you’ve got is a backpack and a camera satchel, it is rather different when you’re dragging a wagon behind you. The smart thing to do was to post all the heavier work stuff home and claim that as part of subsistence costs. Maybe next time.
My literary companion for the journey was Paul Theroux’s Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, in which he retraces his steps from the journey that was The Great Railway Bazaar. I quite like the way his travels unfold; old age has tempered his verbosity and there was a totally different tone in this book compared to the earlier journey. Why read a book about travelling on a train while you’re travelling on a train? I dunno. Why not, eh?
