Hilarious

I love snowboarding, and I love riding in Canada (British Columbia to be precise). Sadly that means I have to fly across the Atlantic which is never a particularly great experience (although I did see the northern lights once which was cool). But if we’re honest flying isn’t a great way to travel: Airports, air conditioning, endless security, upright seats, sitting still for hours, bland food etc etc all conspire against us.

All this, and more, are summed up perfectly in this hilarious illustrated account of a trans-atlantic flight:  http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/red-eye/

A few years ago I had a ‘penny drop’ moment: the journey can be fun, in fact it should be fun, it’s all part of the experience of going on holiday.  Sadly flying is pretty much your only option if you want to go from Europe to Canada (although for those with time it is possible to pay for a spot on a cargo ship) but for shorter trips there are alternatives which are way more fun and offer a much richer holiday experience. Taking the train, catching a ferry, or cycling are all far more interesting and eventful ways to travel and have the added bonus of being better for the environment. Nowadays my holiday starts as soon as I leave my front door.

A couple of links:

Amazing advice site for train travel: www.seat61.com

Low carbon travel ideas: http://loco2travel.com