OT I think I made a mistake with next years holiday

[harry]

You wouldn't want to do it again! Fly back.

[Robin]

Seems to me very unlikely to be frustrating in this case: as a special birthday trip I expect for Adam every day will be his birthday :)))

[Roger Hayter]

As opposed to trying to get exchanged for a North Korean spy?

[Dave Liquorice]

Me sir, carry your bags sir?

Depends wether you sit staring out of the window or engage with your fellow passengers. You're not on the 0753 to London Bridge, hiding behind a newspaper or oblivious to anything other than a few square inches of screen and likely to get arrested for assault if you so much as smile at some one.

Inclined to agree though it depends on how fussy your are about the standard of accomodation/facilties and/or actually knowing where your are going to sleep that night! Back in the early 90's I booked a flight to Hong Kong and 6 weeks later one from Bejing to Bangkok, 3 weeks later Singapore to Bali. Had a vague idea of what I wanted to see in those overland sections but more or less just went where the fancy took me using ordinary public transport and cheap basic "traveller" accomodation. Fantastic time, still have a hankering to "do" the Karakorom Highway and then wander about the various 'stans etc.

[GB]

A friend was telling me how incredibly boring the Trans Siberian Express is. The first day is good, but then there's another four days of sitting and looking at the scenery that doesn't change much. They ended up getting drunk on vodka, just to pass the time.

[nightjar]

Interesting. However, what I remember was not a second full passport, but a visitor's, passport, which anybody could get, even if they didn't have a full passport. It was only valid for 1 year, instead of the 5 years of the full passport (which was then renewable for another five). It was also cheaper, so recommended for people taking a one-off trip. OTOH, not all countries accepted it, so you had to be careful about which one you used in which country if the reason for it was to avoid 'hostile' stamps in your main passport.

[tim...]

I missed the PP

but N Korea is NOT on the USA list of restricted countries.

tim

[tim...]

difficult to get much cheaper than 2 grand for a 15 day (nominally) long haul holiday

tim

[tim...]

I'm surprised that people don't realise this beforehand

I guess that they just don't think about it

tim

[harry]

That doesn't include getting back. In these third world countries everything is dirt cheap. The expense is getting there. The wife and I have spent £2K for the both of us and staying away for five weeks.

Some place hotels are £1/night fast food meal for 50p. Hire a taxi for the whole day for £5.

[harry]

It's possible to go to Australia by train. Two ferry trips around Indonesia. I think the record is !3 days But that's not stopping and no missed connections.

[ARW]

I have been told that should I ever apply to become a member of the local WMC that my application will be rejected by the committee.

Trust me, it was not heart breaking news.

[ARW]

ATM I do not have a passport.

[ARW]

I was going to get drunk on Borovicka instead of vodka.

[tim...]

I'm not quite sure how someone can say that "Travelling to Australia without flying is ... expensive", when at 800 pounds it's not significantly different to half the RT airfare.

Presumably they mean when compared with hitch-hiking

tim

[harry]

Dopey as usual shit-fer-brains. There are accommodation and eating costs to be added. Possibly taxi. Railway stations are in town centres where hotel/eating costs are expensive.

[harry]

Why does that not surprise me?

[Richard]

Perhaps, harry, Adam has a great love for his country and doesn't feel the need to go all over the place to feel superior to the people surrounding him.

Alternatively, he simply hasn't renewed it recently.

[Terry Casey]

Lots of business travellers had more than one passport - and probably do today.

The reason was simple - if they had to submit their passport to get a visa to visit a particular country they would have otherwise not be able to carry on their business in the meantime unless they had another passport.

[Terry Casey]

Ah yes, the BVP. Issued by the Post Office but you had to apply in person - both of you if it was a joint passport.

My wife and I found them incredibly useful.

Only valid in a restricted number of countries, though - mainly Europe. Western Europe, that is - I don't think you'd have had much success using one to try to access the Communist bloc!