Planes, Trains and Automobiles…and TukTuks…and Motorbikes…and Camels…

Besides food and accomodation, the other element of our trip that will see plenty of variety is modes of transportation.

Moving from place to place, and getting around each place we’ll be visiting will be a huge part of our trip.

I can only imagine all the types of vehicles we will encounter while traveling such distances, through so many different countries, and over such diverse terrain.

Of course there will be planes. There will be large planes as we move internationally and there will be smaller planes as we move regionally.  I imagine some of them will even make Air Canada look good.

I love traveling by train and, in most countries we’ll be visiting, train travel is accessible, cheap and reliable (notice I didn’t say efficient…it may not always be efficient). It may not be the Rocky Mountaineer but we’ll be able to eat and sleep as well as watch the sights go by and maybe make some new friends on board.

We don’t plan on renting any cars to drive ourselves but we certainly will find ourselves in cars and trucks used as taxis, or even may hire a car and driver in spots to show us around. 

Taxis take many forms all over the world. When I think of taxi, I think of the classic Yellow Cab of New York but I think that taxis in other parts of the world are often quite different. People are extremely resourceful and carrying passengers back and forth in the family car is a great way to make money. It may be a rickshaw, a TukTuk or the back of a motorbike – if they’ll take me where I need to go it’s my taxi for hire.

Southeast Asia and India are the land of the TukTuk. Three wheeled auto rickshaws so named because of the sound they make. They perhaps should be called the CoughCough as the pollution they produce is significant. However, they are a cheap and quick form of transportation and I’m sure we’ll see lots of them.

I understand that motorcycle transportation is popular in Vietnam (and China). I’ve read of travelers renting them for a few days at a time to take them into the country for a self directed tour. They easily traverse the roads and are inexpensive to operate. Sounds like fun.

Wherever there is water there will be boats available either for direct transportation or for touring. Whether ferrying up the Bosphorus in Istanbul or taking the ‘slow boat’ down the Mekong from the Thailand/Laos border, I think that boat transportation will play a large part in our travels.

When we were in Greece in 2004 we took the time to rent scooters as often as possible. They are a fun, cheap and quick way to see any destination. We had such fun zipping up and down the Greek Isles – I can’t wait to do it again. ScooterBoy and ScooterGirl will ride again!!

There will, of course, also be some more exotic forms of transportation. Maybe we’ll be hot air ballooning over the Cappadocia region of Turkey, taking camel rides in Jasailmer India or enjoying elephant rides in Northern Thailand.

I wonder how many different forms of transportation we’ll take?  I’ll have to keep track.