Rail Adventures Introduction Railway Contacts Bargain Fares Cruise & Rail All Aboard Africa - Rails Airport Rail Alaska Railways Alberta - Railways American Spirit Amtrak USA Asian Railways BC Rail -Dome BC Railways Map BC Whistler Nwd Box Car Willie Canada's Via Rail Canadian Pacific CPR Rockies Map Europe Railways Fun Trains Heritage Park Rwy History of CPR Kettle Valley Line Railway Museums Railways: In BC Rocky Mountaineer Rapid Transit Sierra Madre Sky Train Streetcars USA-Rails West Coast Express White Pass & YR Wine Trains				The Trans-Siberian Railway and legendary Great Silk Road by Jerry W. Bird   Any time I think of the great Trans- Siberian Railway, as if by magic, sweeping images from Doctor Zhivago (the movie) start to dance around on the theater of my mind. Aha - I can almost hear 'Lara's Theme' on the balalaika and the tinkle of sleighbells in the background. Considered by many world travelers to be the 'mother of all rail travel adventures', the Trans-Siberian Express rambles and rolls through the broad steppes, crossing mountain passes, skirting Lake Bakail (world's deepest) and mile upon endless mile of desert - from Moscow on Europe's doorstep to Vladivostok, seaport of the Pacific. The distance crossed by this historic train is close to 10,000 km; a seemingly impossible undertaking at the time the famous line was completed in 1916. It followed a rutted horse and cartroad, which in itself was once an integral part of the legendary Silk Road. Meals are served in the dining car, however many passengers buy food at the local stations from vendors who come out in droves to meet the trains. Several key stops along the way include Kirov, Sverdlovsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk (Siberia's oldest and most populous city) a key hub of the silk trade between China and the outside world. Travel contacts: See Letters Page The Silk Road While breaking bread and sharing ideas with delegates from 18 Asia Pacific countries at the last APEC Summit in Vancouver, I saw how formersworn enemies are now building bridges, opening roads and laying tracks for a post cold war tourism bonanza. For example, we've often been bedazzled by posters, brochures and videos of the exotic Silk Road, made famous by Kublai Khan, Atilla the Hun, Alexander the Great and Marco Polo. Even Jules Verne's Phineas Fogg character got into the act in "Around the World in 8O Days." This ancient caravan route stretched 7,000 miles from Imperial China, via the Great Wall, through desert, steppes and mountain passes, to Europe's doorstep. The Northern route extended westward to the Black Sea, while the Central route wound its way via Persia to the Mediterranean Sea, Greece and Rome. Travelers on the Southern route headed west via India and Afghanistan. During the dark, cold war days, any thought of Silk Road travel by American citizens was fraught with risk. For today's enlightened traveler, with a yen to learn about the peoples, cultures, religions, history, geography and art of Asia -- it's a popular option. Like the old days, it may lead to some rare shopping bargains as well. So get yourself a good map, see your travel agent and bon voyage.
				The Two Korea's Rails: A Hope for Peace Checking that same map, and you'll discover that the Silk Road runs parallel to trans-continental railway lines, stopping at scores of unique places with strange sounding names. This fact broadens your travel options considerably. Today in Mainland China, with new connections from Hong Kong added, the country offers a variety of rail tours, as does Japan with its bullet trains. While the Malaysian Railway (KTM) is Southeast Asia's example of a 'freedom train', the Korean Peninsula has presented a different story. Now, after 50 long years, the two Koreas are poised to restore a vital railway line that connects their economies via China and the Trans Siberian Railway, to Europe and the British Isles. Having marked the centennial of Korea's railway system, it's an opportunity for all Koreans to share the dividends of peace through tourism. Contact your travel agent or e-mail us at airhwy@dowco.com  ----------------------------- Airlift to Peace: Vietnam and Cambodia are facing a massive invasion. This time it's a peaceful one, a daily airlift of entrepreneurs and investors, followed by tourists with their Nikons and hi-tech gadgets. As a new millennium dawns, financial and cultural bridges are being rebuilt, making travel to Indochina more accessible and the populace more tourist savvy. To many, this new phenomena has awakened a desire to visit Angkor Wat, cornerstone of Khmer culture, attend the Opera, stay at a quaint hotel and dine at one of the Parisian style street cafes with French wines, crusty baguettes and buttery croissants. Despite two topsy turvy decades of devastation, the French influence, which began in 1889, is still very much alive. In Vietnam, as in many US Civil War sites, battlefields have been turned into markets, theme parks and war museums. Today, the Air Highway to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Osaka has become one of expanding bridges and opportunities. As the next chapter unfolds, let's hope that war has finally become unthinkable. nformation: http://www.airhighways.com/silkroad.htm, http://www.airhighways.com/apec.htm, e-mail: Airlift to Peace: Vietnam and Cambodia are facing a massive invasion. This time it's a peaceful one, a daily airlift of entrepreneurs and investors, followed by tourists with their Nikons and hi-tech gadgets. As a new millennium dawns, financial and cultural bridges are being rebuilt, making travel to Indochina more accessible and the populace more tourist savvy. To many, this new phenomena has awakened a desire to visit Angkor Wat, cornerstone of Khmer culture, attend the Opera, stay at a quaint hotel and dine at one of the Parisian style street cafes with French wines, crusty baguettes and buttery croissants. Despite two topsy turvy decades of devastation, the French influence, which began in 1889, is still very much alive. In Vietnam, as in many US Civil War sites, battlefields have been turned into markets, theme parks and war museums. Today, the Air Highway to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Osaka has become one of expanding bridges and opportunities. As the next chapter unfolds, let's hope that war has finally become unthinkable. Information: http://www.airhighways.com/silkroad.htm, http://www.airhighways.com/apec.htm, e-mail: airhwey@dowco.com