We both prefer to travel by road from one country to the next – overland travel, and very often by public transport. This love of overlanding has led to us spending an abnormal amount of time on buses, bush taxis, motorbikes, rickshaws, donkey carts, night trains, cargo ships…you name it. Some of our funniest, most interesting, most tiring (and also frustrating) travel-days we’re either on public transport or trying to find our next ride, and you can read all about it, here.
A couple of locals we talked to in Cairo and Alexandria hinted at there being ferries to Saudi Arabia from Hurghada or other places in Egypt, but no one knew much about it. Any sort of ticketing or travel agent we asked said no such thing existed and tried to sell us flights to Riyadh. That only strengthened our resolve and we were determined, Insh’Allah, to arrive in Saudi Arabia by ferry.
This is a guide to inspire and help you plan an independent trip in Central Asia. It follows our route with information about border crossings, trains, and things to do along the way.
I highly recommend the overnight ferry, if you’re travelling from South Korea to Japan (or vice-versa). A smooth trip, a comfortable night’s sleep, and a bathhouse onboard. And if you aren’t that tired, there’s always karaoke.
This post is about our experience aboard the Tazara train, traveling from Zambia (New Kapiri Mposhi) to Tanzania (Dar es Salaam). It’s a guide to whatever you need to know to take the same journey, and what awaits you along the way. And – if you’re in the neighbourhood, then you should definitely take this journey.
The Congo river separates the two closest capital cities in the world: Brazzaville and Kinshasa. You can cross the river border in a ‘canot rapide’ – boats that make the trip from one city to the other in about fifteen minutes. Too easy? Don’t worry. There are plenty of obstacles in store, thanks to infamous levels of corruption. Still, crossing this mighty river from one Congo to the next has been pretty high on our ‘to do’ list for a while. And here’s how it went.
You can of course fly from Kuala Lumpur to Sumatra’s capital city Medan in less than two hours. But if, like us, you’d vastly prefer a lengthy overland excursion instead, you can travel from one country to the other on a combination of public transport offerings by land and sea. Crossing by ferry between Malaysia and Indonesia is easy, it’s just time consuming: it took us a bit under three days to get from KL to Medan. Here’s how.
You can of course fly from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur in no time. But if, like us, you’d vastly prefer a lengthy overland excursion instead, you can travel from one country to the other on public transport. Travelling by road between Thailand and Malaysia is easy, it’s just a bit more time consuming. Here’s how to do it.
Dangerous driving on bad roads is a given in Bangladesh. But you don’t have to get around only by bus: train travel is a great way to go. Especially if you follow my advice below.
Travelling in Bangladesh will inevitably involve a river-journey or two. An iconic trip: cruising on the Rocket, an early 20th century paddlewheel steamer.
I was ready to leave Tofo. I’d had my fill of lazy days at the beach, and started to get restless. And so that’s why I went from travelling by overcrowded chapa in Mozambique to safariing in a Kia Picanto in South Africa.
A couple of locals we talked to in Cairo and Alexandria hinted at there being ferries to Saudi Arabia from Hurghada or other places in Egypt, but no one knew much about it. Any sort of ticketing or travel agent we asked said no such thing existed and tried to sell us flights to Riyadh. That only strengthened our resolve and we were determined, Insh’Allah, to arrive in Saudi Arabia by ferry.
This is a guide to inspire and help you plan an independent trip in Central Asia. It follows our route with information about border crossings, trains, and things to do along the way.
I highly recommend the overnight ferry, if you’re travelling from South Korea to Japan (or vice-versa). A smooth trip, a comfortable night’s sleep, and a bathhouse onboard. And if you aren’t that tired, there’s always karaoke.
This post is about our experience aboard the Tazara train, traveling from Zambia (New Kapiri Mposhi) to Tanzania (Dar es Salaam). It’s a guide to whatever you need to know to take the same journey, and what awaits you along the way. And – if you’re in the neighbourhood, then you should definitely take this journey.
The Congo river separates the two closest capital cities in the world: Brazzaville and Kinshasa. You can cross the river border in a ‘canot rapide’ – boats that make the trip from one city to the other in about fifteen minutes. Too easy? Don’t worry. There are plenty of obstacles in store, thanks to infamous levels of corruption. Still, crossing this mighty river from one Congo to the next has been pretty high on our ‘to do’ list for a while. And here’s how it went.
You can of course fly from Kuala Lumpur to Sumatra’s capital city Medan in less than two hours. But if, like us, you’d vastly prefer a lengthy overland excursion instead, you can travel from one country to the other on a combination of public transport offerings by land and sea. Crossing by ferry between Malaysia and Indonesia is easy, it’s just time consuming: it took us a bit under three days to get from KL to Medan. Here’s how.
You can of course fly from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur in no time. But if, like us, you’d vastly prefer a lengthy overland excursion instead, you can travel from one country to the other on public transport. Travelling by road between Thailand and Malaysia is easy, it’s just a bit more time consuming. Here’s how to do it.
Dangerous driving on bad roads is a given in Bangladesh. But you don’t have to get around only by bus: train travel is a great way to go. Especially if you follow my advice below.
Travelling in Bangladesh will inevitably involve a river-journey or two. An iconic trip: cruising on the Rocket, an early 20th century paddlewheel steamer.
I was ready to leave Tofo. I’d had my fill of lazy days at the beach, and started to get restless. And so that’s why I went from travelling by overcrowded chapa in Mozambique to safariing in a Kia Picanto in South Africa.