Realise I’ve blethered on about Sydney and Melbourne without connecting them via the 11 hour train journey between the two. To start with it was strangely familiar – this was what we call an inter city 125 but with different upholstery. Then the differences began to emerge:
- Coffee made essential by the 7.45 departure, was real coffee not instant, made with a coffee bag that you could steep for as long and strong as you wanted.
- Food was incredibly varied – huge choice including hot dinner which you ordered an hour in advance and then collected from the buffet. And so cheap – nothing over $10 dollars which is incredibly chap for here.
- Baggage – bags were checked in and loaded to a baggage car which trundled along behind us with its two faithful servants just like used to happen in the UK. Yes folks there was a time when the luggage spaces, aisles and everywhere else was not filled with falling baggage.
While I’m on with nostalgia, this trip was so cheap that I had thought about upgrading to first but decided the company would be better in cattle class. I struck lucky as behind me sat two old boys who didn’t know each other but chatted happily comparing Aus with life in the UK. In the case of one of them, the passing scenery (and there is a lot of it)brought back memories of his Australian childhood. Wonderful stuff and all for free.
Wagga Wagga, which I’d rather childishly looked forward to seeing, was not much to write home about, not least because I wasn’t allowed to get off the train to take a photo. Presumably losing a passenger in WW is a sacking offence.
No comments:
Post a Comment