Tag: train travel

The Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver

~ Cat ~ 1 Comment

I’ve wanted to take the train across Canada for a long time. I’ve met Canadians on my travels over the years who have suggested it’s a bit dull especially in the middle, but more recently I’ve met Canadians who have been enthused about my trip.

There are various different types of sleeping arrangements at various different costs on the train. I booked a cabin for 1, which are in high demand, and as I was travelling during August, I’d actually booked this trip a year ago as soon as the tickets for the departure date had been released. So it had been a long time coming.

I arrived at Toronto’s Union Station at about 8.30am on a Sunday morning, ready for a 9.55am departure. After checking in my main luggage (only carry-on size can be with you on the train, big bags have to be checked in), it was off to the business lounge to be checked in for the train and to select my meal sittings for the day – early/mid/late, with each sitting lasting around an hour and a quarter. I opted for mid which is the most popular with lunch served around 12.30pm and dinner at around 6.45pm.

Boarding started about 30 minutes before departure and after being shown to my cosy cabinette, the attendant for the carriage came round to explain various things in the cabin and on the train including how sensitive the toilets were (and this was reiterated several times a day!!). After a short safety briefing I was free to roam around the train.

My cabin. Spot the loo!

First up, I went to the dome viewing car to watch us depart out of Toronto for the approx. 2700 mile / 4400 km journey to Vancouver. This was accompanied by a complementary glass of fizz – cheers!

After settling into the journey it was time for lunch. Every day it was a 3 course affair with soup of the day, a different choice of 4 mains every day and a choice of 2 desserts. Soft drinks, tea and coffee was included in the price I paid, alcohol was extra. The food was great and you certainly don’t go hungry!

Lunch on day 1, tomato soup and salmon salad

In the afternoon I headed back to my cabin, which had a big (and crucially clean) picture window so spent the afternoon watching the Ontario scenery go by. After we got out of the city, it was mostly forests either side of the train, as well as lakes, as we headed north around Lake Huron.

We had a ‘fresh air’ break in the evening for around 20 minutes in Capreol. A good opportunity to stretch the legs too as there’s only so many times I can walk from my cabin to the activity car for a cup of tea!

Dinner was another 3 course affair with choice of soup or salad to start, choice of 4 mains (which changed every day) and choice of 2 desserts. The quality of the food and the way the meal services were organised was very impressive.

I was rocked to sleep that evening by the movement of the train. I’ve previously not slept at all well on various trains in Australia and South East Asia but I did get a much better sleep here, thankfully, as I have 4 nights to sleep through!

My cabin in it’s nighttime arrangement

The next morning we woke to a continuation of the trees, tall pines and firs, and then passing beautiful blue lakes.

Some fire-damaged trees from recent wildfires
Beautiful lake in western Ontario

Breakfast is on a first-come-first-served basis between 6.30am-8.30am with a choice of breakfast options plus juice, tea and coffee. Mornings aren’t my forte so I opted for a post-8am breakfast, which coincided with a quieter dining car. After that it was back to the daily life on board. Activities are put on through the day including talks about the train and the provinces we pass through, bingo, quizzes and beer and wine tasting. There are also jigsaws and other games in the activity car to keep us entertained. I’d downloaded some books and movies and also brought a puzzle book with me to keep me entertained when I wasn’t looking out of the window.

I don’t think I’d ever appreciated how big Ontario is. We were still in Ontario in early evening on the second day! By 8.30pm we had arrived into Winnipeg, Manitoba for a slightly longer leg stretch – 45 minutes. This was enough time for a very quick walk around The Forks park and market, and also to admire the beautiful domed ceiling of the railway station.

Brief highlights of Winnipeg

Back on board and off to sleep. Manitoba passed by overnight and in the morning I awoke to the open farmland in Saskatchewan. Lots of neat bales of hay dotted across the fields. I was a bit surprised by the landscape here, not as flat as I’d imagined the prairies to be. Rolling hills and very green.

Sights across Saskatchewan

Another fresh air break at Saskatoon in the early afternoon. And then more puzzles, reading and scenery for the rest of the day. We arrived into Edmonton at around 10pm for a longer break but given the time of night, and that the station was not close to the centre of Edmonton, I just had a walk up and down the platform to stretch my legs.

The next morning I awoke early to find we’d already arrived in Jasper. This was another long stop so I was up and dressed before 8am for a wander around the small town. Not much open at this time in the morning, and it was a little cloudy so I didn’t get the best view of the surroundings. It very much reminded me a small towns in national parks in the US. A very particular style of buildings. Back on the train by 9.30am and off for what everyone says is the most scenic part of this journey, through the Rockies.

Jasper

I’ve been fortunate to see some very impressive mountain scenery over the years, in New Zealand, the US and Norway to name a few. I was a bit worried that I’d find the Rockies underwhelming. But I’m happy to say I was completely wrong. The weather had also perked up after the cloud in Jasper and we followed rivers, and beautiful, perfectly vertical (cedar?) trees through the valleys and mountains. My phone is absolutely full of photos and videos. I was trying to appreciate it with my own eyes but every time I thought I’d taken enough videos, another beautiful view presented itself.

Highlights from the final day through the Rockies

This evening’s fresh air stop at Kamloops coincided with dinner so I only had 5 minutes for a leg stretch. But the rest of the evening was great fun as I enjoyed the scenery in the Prestige car bar at the very rear of the train (usually reversed for those who’ve paid the most money, non-Prestige sleeper passengers – like me – are allowed in after 5pm) with a number of my fellow travellers. It’s such a social experience, even if you are on your own. You get seated with others at mealtimes and everyone is happy to strike up a conversation, hear about travel plans and admire the scenery.

We arrived into Vancouver at 5.20am the next morning though thankfully we did not have to be off the train until 8am. At various points on the journey we were 2-3 hours behind schedule as freight trains have priority on the tracks, but we arrived over an hour early into Vancouver.

I was quite sad to say goodbye to my little cabin and the daily life on the train. It was a really fabulous journey, watching the scenery change from the forests and lakes in Ontario, through the Prairies of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta and finally to the Rockies in British Columbia. An experience I will never forget.

Montreal and Ottawa

~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

Rather excitingly I can now fly to Canada directly from Cardiff. WestJet fly 4 times a week between May and September. So off I went on a Saturday morning to the easiest airport in the world to get through. The only downside is there is very little to do at Cardiff airport, and the flight was delayed by an hour.

But anyway, we eventually left on an 8 hour flight to Toronto on a narrowbody (1 aisle and only 2 toilets for the 150+ of us in economy), and no seat back entertainment screens. But, free WiFi which worked! Worked so well in fact that about 2 hours before landing, I discovered that my connecting flight to Montreal had been cancelled (WestJet cabin crew were having a labour dispute) so I spent the time looking at my options. I knew the train was an option as I would be making my way back from Montreal to Toronto on the train over the next week, but the last train that day had already departed. All other flights from Toronto to Montreal were over $1000 CAD (about £500). The last option was the bus. And there was a Megabus leaving Union Station at 6pm that would get to Montreal at 1.30am. Not absolutely ideal but my original flight was due into Montreal at 12.30am so if this worked, I’d be at the hotel at probably the same time I would have been had everything gone to the original plan.

I was prepped and ready when I got off the plane, my bag was there on the belt and I hot-footed it on the UP train from the airport to Union Station, buying my bus ticket online on the way. I arrived at the Union Station Bus Terminal at about 5.30pm and was very glad to see the bus turn up slightly after 6pm. My body clock was at 11pm at this point and I did my best to try and get some sleep on the bus. Not entirely sure it was successful, and I was so pleased to see us pulling into the bus terminal in Montreal shortly after 1am. After checking into the hotel, I collapsed into bed at 1.40am, slightly over 24 hours after I’d woken up at home in Cardiff.

After a pretty decent sleep, I was up and ready to explore Montreal. I was staying on the edge of Chinatown, close to the Vieux-Port (Old Port). I had a leisurely wander around including to the Notre Dame cathedral, along the waterfront of the old port, and to the clock tower before going in search of some lunch. This search coincided with a downpour so I jumped into the nearest bar and had the Québécois classic, poutine. Basically chips, gravy and cheese curds. All washed down in this instance with some Canada Dry ginger ale. Not sure I could get more Canadian!!

Notre Dame catherdral
The clock tower
Poutine and Canada Dry

It was still raining when I’d finished so after quite a lot of walking in the morning, I headed back to the hotel for a rest before a second wander in the late afternoon after it had kinda stopped the worst of the rain. I headed through Chinatown and towards the financial district which was relatively quiet on this Sunday.

An early night with the jet lag catching up with me, so I was up and at it relatively early the next day though sadly the weather was even worse, so I was looking for indoor activities. I headed out on the metro to the Olympic Park, to the Biodome. Unfortunately a lot of other people had the same idea and it was very crowded, and in hindsight probably not worth visiting if I was here again, but it did keep me dry for an hour. I’d also hoped to go to the Jardin botanique but the weather was not playing ball at all.

The Biodome and Montreal Tower at the Olympic Park

I got back on the metro and stopped off at Plateau Mont Royal, and then to the Jean Talon market which wasn’t super-busy on a wet Monday. I do enjoy wandering around local markets wherever I go, I think it really helps to get a sense of the places you’re visiting.

Montreal has an Underground City, which makes sense when you consider how cold it gets in the winter. It was a glorified shopping mall though, I much preferred Sapporo’s version.

After that it was back to the hotel for dinner and a rest after clocking up a whole lot of steps over the last couple of days.

Up early again the following day (still jet lagged). The weather was so much nicer so after breakfast and before my train to Ottawa, I retraced some of my steps around the Old Port and Waterfront, for some blue sky pictures.

By mid morning I was off to the Gare Centrale for my train to Ottawa. I’ve written a few times about the trains I’ve taken on my travels this year, all of which put trains in the UK to shame. And Viarail in Canada is no different. I’ve booked a business class ticket for the slightly over 2 hour journey to Ottawa, for £78, which includes a nice seat, 3 course lunch and drinks including wine. And the WiFi works on the train! The equivalent train in the UK would be well over £200, you might get some snacks thrown at you and the WiFi certainly doesn’t work!

I arrived into a hot and sunny Ottawa by mid afternoon, though we were about 30 minutes late. This did mean that I was able to check in straight away when I arrived at the hotel in downtown Ottawa. I had a bit of a wander and then in the evening I met up with my roommate from my Thailand and Malaysia trip from earlier this year, who lives here in Ottawa. We went for a cold dip in the river at NCC River House, a free outdoor swimming area on the Ottawa River. We weren’t in the water too long (it was cold!!), but the air temperature was lovely so we sat out and chatted for ages before deciding we should go and find some food for dinner.

The next morning I started with a walk to the nearby Parliament buildings where at 10am every morning during the summer, the Changing of the Guard happens. As a Brit, this was all very familiar, as were the surroundings as the buildings certainly appear to be modelled on the UK Houses of Parliament (I’m sure someone will correct me here!). I didn’t stay for the whole ceremony as it was very warm, and so after a wander around the parliament buildings, I headed for some air conditioning in the form of the National Gallery of Canada. As I’ve got older, I’ve decided a quite enjoy wandering around an art gallery. This one had some interesting indigenous art, as well as other European and North American art. It also had an exhibition of Canadian artist Helen McNicoll, an impressionist, which I really enjoyed.

Familiar-looking buildings
Parliament
Another Notre Dame
Helen McNicoll painting

After that, I walked to the Byward Market for a little browsing and a late lunch followed by a Tim Hortons. In the evening I met up with my friend again, and some of her friends, as we enjoyed fireworks as part of a competition from a pub on the water. All very relaxing.

Byward Market
Timbits!
On the river
Fireworks

So, my first impressions of Canada. Montreal was unfortunately a bit damp and I’m not sure I saw the best of it. It is certainly a French-first city and I did manage to dredge up some of my schoolkid French to bumble through. When it was sunny on the final morning, it felt like a place I’d like to stay longer if it was dry. Ottawa had the benefit of being gloriously sunny (in fact a bit too hot at times) while I was there. It is officially bilingual, so my haltering French was less called for here. I really liked the vibe in Ottawa, a calmer city I think, very walkable. And the biggest plus of all to catch up with my friend.

Now, onwards back to Toronto…

Darwin and Townsville

~ Cat ~ 2 Comments

There is slightly over a week between each of the first 3 test matches so I am taking the opportunity to see some other bits of Australia that I’ve not been to before. First up was a 3 hour 40 minute flight from Perth to Darwin. After struggling at the bag drop alongside Mike Atherton and Steven Finn, the flight was uneventful and I even had a spare seat beside me – result!

I arrived in a sticky Darwin in the early evening, and after a brief wait for the Uber pricing to reduce slightly, I arrived at my hotel, which is the biggest bargain accommodation so far. Outside of the cricket and my side trips in Perth, I have been staying in hostels to keep the cost down. I am being a little picky but have generally been paying slightly over £30 per night for shared accommodation. This place (DCH on Mitchell) was £38 per night for my own en suite room. Not too many frills at the hotel but the room was clean and had a fridge and TV, the AC worked, and there were toiletries in the bathroom so all in all, a very good deal.

The sun was setting by the time I’d arrived, so I had a brief walk around Darwin and its waterfront. The city centre is pretty small and easy to walk around. I was expecting humidity here and I was not wrong, but it possibly wasn’t quite as bad as I’d feared. A cyclone had blown through only a few days beforehand which may have tempered the heat and humidity a little bit. There were several trees across the city that had been uprooted by the winds.

I only had 1 full day in Darwin, which I think is plenty to see the city. But you can easily spend longer in the region with a car, enabling easier access to the national parks.

I took an Uber to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory – probably only a 10 minute drive but humidity. An interesting (and free) museum with a number of thought-provoking exhibits including some Aboriginal Art, an exhibition on the 1974 Christmas Day cyclone which essentially destroyed Darwin, and maritime exhibits with examples of different types of boats used in this part of the world, including Indonesia and SE Asia which are much closer to Darwin than other Australian state capitals.

I was particularly struck by the introduction to the Aboriginal art exhibits which started with the words ‘in so-called Australia…’. The other very noticeable thing almost everywhere I’ve been so far is the acknowledgement of the traditional owners of the land and their ancestors. I don’t recall so much of this in my previous visits to Australia, or maybe I wasn’t paying so much attention…

After a very good lunch at the museum cafe, I walked back to the hotel, via the Botanical Gardens which were, unfortunately, closed due to the impacts of the cyclone. I did, however, manage to sneak in to some bits, which helped make the hot and humid walk slightly more direct!

After making it back to the hotel and some AC, I spent the afternoon chilling out before another walk to the waterfront and then a very reasonably priced (and good) sushi dinner.

My very brief visit to Darwin was over the next morning as I headed back to the airport for my flight to Townsville.

I was at the airport way too early, partly as a result of basically only ever taking international flights. You’d be fine rocking up about 90 minutes before a domestic flight here, no one has yet looked at my ID on the 2 internal flights I’ve taken so far, and there are no liquid restrictions in hand luggage.

I arrived in Townsville mid afternoon after a 2 and a half hour flight. As I was staying with a friend in Townsville, she came to pick me up from the airport, and after dropping my bags at her place, we went for a late lunch on the Strand. After lunch (by now late afternoon), we had a lovely walk along the Strand, which is fairly well shaded so the heat and humidity wasn’t too bad for me at this point. In the evening, we drove up Castle Hill for views of the city.

Views on the Strand
Townsville by night from Castle Hill

We went to Magnetic Island the next day which is just a 15 minute ferry ride from Townsville. Maggie Island, as the locals call it, is a beautiful little island off the coast with some great beaches and hiking trails. There is a hop on hop off bus (for something ridiculous like $1 each for a day ticket) which runs between the ferry terminal and Horseshoe Bay and allows easy access to the main sights. We did the Forts Walk, along with quite a few other people. This is an approximately 2km hike up to some WW2 fortifications. It was very humid so it was a hot and sticky walk but well worth it for the views.

On the Forts Walk, Magnetic Island

After lunch we headed back on a mid afternoon ferry to some cool and refreshing air conditioning. The AC is absolutely vital here, I’d dread to have to deal with the heat and humidity without it. Apparently I’ve visited at a less than ideal time for the humidity, next time I shall visit in the winter!

The next morning I met up with an old school friend who lives out here and had been in touch when I’d posted on Facebook that I was in Australia. It must be more than 20 years since we saw each other and it was great to catch up and hear how he’s settled into life over here. Just slightly different to Colne!!

My brief visit to Townsville was over that afternoon, and I boarded the Spirit of Queensland, a long distance train which runs 3 times a week in both directions between Cairns and Brisbane. It was running an hour late by the time it arrived into Townsville, but we eventually boarded and I settled into my Railbed seat and enjoyed watching the scenery pass by. The weather got more moody as we headed south and there were the occasional flashes of lightning. Dinner was served in the early evening (complete with gratis alcoholic beverage) and then the staff came through to change the seats into beds at 8pm (for those wanting an early night) and at 9pm (also for those wanting an early night…). The train makes stops probably every 90 minutes or so through the night before its scheduled arrival into Brisbane at 9am so I wasn’t worried about having to wake up in the middle of the night for my stop. By the time we were awoken at 6am to return the beds to seats for those of us still on board, we were running nearly 3 hours behind schedule. Breakfast was served at around 7.30am and we eventually trundled into Brisbane at 11.20am. Thankfully for me, the delay wasn’t a problem and was actually an advantage as I was able to check in to the hostel when I arrived.

It might sound odd but the train was genuinely one of the things I was most looking forward to in Australia. A 20 hour (well 22 hour) train ride, with plenty of legroom, bed, entertainment, dinner and breakfast cost me about £155. I really enjoyed watching the scenery pass, being able to lie flat (even if I didn’t really get that much sleep), and arriving at my destination without the various stresses of air travel. There wasn’t much phone signal outside of the stations so not being able to look at my phone every few minutes was also quite refreshing!! Trains will feature again at various points in my travels and I’m already looking forward to them.

Legroom
Dinner
Bed

After a couple of hot and humid destinations, I was glad to arrive into a slightly more manageable Brisbane for the next week or so…stay tuned for my next post to hear all about that!