Here is an interesting video for the end of the week, brought to us from Off The Map Tours. They also do motorcycle, train, horseriding, camel and walking tours, together with many cultural tours. The soundtrack is hypnotic.
Travelling around Singapore is a cinch and it just got a whole lot easier, and cheaper. There is a notably efficient public transportation network of taxis, buses and the modern Mass Rapid Transit rail system.
A comprehensive transport guide for tourists has just been launched, including information on tourist hotspots and how to get there. For S$8 a day, tourists can buy a card which allows one, two or three days of unlimited travel on buses and trains.
France is starting to deal with a series of open-ended strikes that are expected to paralyse public services and utilities. Beginning today, only about 12% of the high-speed TGV trains are running and there is almost no Paris metro service. Paris Opera House and Comedie Francaise State Theatre are expected to be closed, while disruption is anticipated to escalate next week when civil servants, teachers and other public employees will stage protests.
EDF electricity and GDF gas are caught up in the turmoil and even the magistrates and court clerks are planning to take to the streets. As you might expect, the French students have got involved and to cap it all, next week there will be no forecast from Meteo France weather employees.
This is bad news for Parisian hoteliers who report that over a quarter of their reservations have been cancelled already. More information and comment.
This year is being dubbed the age of the train in Europe because of the introduction of several high-speed rail links. At present, the rail journey from London to Strasbourg currently takes about 8 hours but from June 10, 2007, this will be reduced to a mere 4.5 hours with the launch of the French TGV Est high speed train. Suddenly, the range for European day-trippers has dramatically increased; the British will be able to enjoy a weekend break in Champagne country and the French will be able to pop across the Channel to watch the start of this year's Tour de France.
Later in the year, the new St Pancras International rail station in London is due to open and Eurostar will operate even faster trains between Paris and London thanks to the completion of the final segment of high-speed track. This will make the journey time about 2 hrs 15 min.
A similar reduction in journey time is promised for Spanish travellers with the completion of a high-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona; bringing the journey time down to around 4 hours.
Eurostar recently commissioned a study comparing flying with travelling by train and concluded that Eurostar releases ten times less carbon dioxide than a plane, making train travel the green choice for eco-conscious travellers.
