From Singapore to Austria by Land
While doing my post-graduate study in Sydney I tried to figure out how to get back to Austria without taking a flight. One option was by sea but this would have been way to expensive and time-consuming. Thus, taking a train sounded like quite a good alternative, however it is time-consuming too, but still faster and it further has the advantage of passing through a number of interesting places and countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary and eventually Austria.
The final destination of my trip is Graz, a small town in the southern part of Austria. My timetable is quite strict and I plan to arrive after only six weeks at main station in Graz (Hauptbahnhof) on Thursday, 5. Mai 2011 at 10:33am.
The Journey / Route
Although the idea is to only rely on trains, I have to take a few buses to cross borders or to avoid areas where violence is present, such as in the south-eastern part of Thailand for example.
On the map, the whole trip looks roughly like this:
This is by no means a professional travel-guide but a way to share impressions and experiences during this trip. It may be an inspiration or help to others who wish to undertake a similar adventure… Comments, suggestions and corrections are more than welcomed – please feel free to post and comment
Latest Posts / Current Location:
6 Responses to Asia to Europe
Current Location
Your Comments Guys :)
- Jürgen Kölldorfer Hi Phil, sag wolltest du nicht schon vor einem Monat zurück in Österreich sein? Hoffe du hast einen wirklich tollen und interessanten Trip und... – Jun 08, 10:39 AM
- Philipp Babcicky good to know i'm not the only one who struggled with chinese characters... i can't remember the "meaning" of the characters i was looking for,... – Jun 01, 11:48 AM
- Jakob We had the same experience with finding our way in Tokyo, although we had to choose between some destinations not hundreds Our station was... – May 26, 1:25 PM
- Nik Hey Phil, Yesterday Lils and I were listening to "Guaranteed" by Eddie VEDDER (paradoxically, on my new stereo, clearly I'm not one to shrug off... – May 09, 7:30 PM
- Thomas Frischer Hi Phil! So wie es scheint, bist du noch nicht so weit, wie du eigentlich sein wolltest, aber "Gut Ding braucht Weile". Hoffe du kommst... – May 09, 8:19 AM
- Philipp Babcicky mhhhhm! mahlzeit carina... muss sagen, dass das thai food außerhalb thailands auch ganz gut sein kann grüße in die staaten... phil – May 05, 7:41 PM
- Philipp Babcicky danke ja, absolut... aber ist halt verdammt zeitaufwändig. das aussortiern und noch viel mehr die photos zu beschreiben mit den kleinen labels darunter. deswegen... – May 05, 7:40 PM
- carina Hehe ) Schöne Bilder. Da werd ich richtig neidisch! Ich lass mir hier grad thai food schmecken, kein Vergleich zu dem was dir geboten wird,... – May 05, 11:24 AM
- Georg Du machst das schon sehr richtig. Man muss sich einfach von manchen Fotos schlicht weg trennen - oder sie getrennt archivieren. Wenn's zuviele Bilder sind,... – May 03, 6:50 PM
- Philipp Babcicky obrigado natalia! have a safe trip to switzerland and good luck for your research! abrazos, phil – May 02, 8:44 AM
- Natalia FANTASTIC! – May 02, 7:09 AM
- Philipp Babcicky georg, danke für die blumen es ist so schwierig die photos auszusortieren, da gibt's noch so viel mehr was auch noch interessant wäre, aber... – May 02, 6:22 AM
- Philipp Babcicky hey lutz alter gracioso amigo!! schön von dir zu hören. naja, ich denke es ist ein buddhistischer oder hundistischer friedhof, aber vielleicht ist es auch... – May 02, 5:28 AM
- Philipp Babcicky hey, ja denke die züge sind dann in SE-asia doch etwas besser im sleeper kann man sich echt nicht beklagen. halt abhängig davon wer... – May 02, 5:24 AM
- Georg Wow! Ich habe mir alle Fotos im Picasa-Album angesehen. Bisher waren das für mich die beeindruckensten Fotos. Du bist wirklich ein toller Fotograf, dank der... – May 01, 6:30 PM
Latest Photos - CAMBODIA
no images found in feed.More Photos
Latest Posts
Days 13 – 14: From Vietnam to China
By Philipp Babcicky on May 25, 2011
I scheduled only one day in Hanoi since it was time to get to China – where I planned to stay at least two weeks or longer. The most convenient way to travel from Hanoi to China is to take a direct train to Nanning. I’ve already bought a ticket for this direct train when [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
Day 13: Hanoi
By Philipp Babcicky on May 3, 2011
After three days in the same train I finally arrived in Hanoi for which I’ve scheduled only one day. So after having breakfast close to the train station, I walked to the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) which was the nation’s first university. It’s considered as a must-visit in Hanoi and as a jewel of [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
Days 11 – 13: From Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi
By Philipp Babcicky on May 1, 2011
It was time to head to the northern part of Vietnam – which meant to spend three days and two nights on one single train. I managed to organise a soft-sleeper ticket (1,475,000,- Dong) for this trip which guaranteed a more or less comfortable ride to Hanoi. The train left at 11pm and it was [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
Days 9 – 11: Ho Chi Minh City
By Philipp Babcicky on April 25, 2011
After leaving Cambodia, my first stop in Vietnam was in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Although I’ve originally planned to only stay one night in this city, it finally became two, since the train tickets to Hanoi for the following day have already been sold out. During my stay I got the [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
Day 9: From Cambodia to Vietnam
By Philipp Babcicky on April 20, 2011
Good morning Vietnam – it was time to leave Cambodia and to head to closest major city in Vietnam which is Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon). Siem Reap (Cambodia) is off the railway system and besides taking a boat along the river to the south (expensive and slow) the only option left [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
Days 7 – 9: From Thailand to Cambodia
By Philipp Babcicky on April 16, 2011
I took a train from Bangkok (Thailand) to Poipet (Cambodia) which left at 05:50am in the morning to the Thai-border at Aranya Prathet. The train is not the fastest and stops at even the smallest villages, however the journey is exciting if you like completely packed coaches, mosquitos, dust and smoke from burning plantations and [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
Days 2 – 7: From Malaysia to Thailand
By Philipp Babcicky on April 13, 2011
My initial idea was to cross the border between Malaysia and Thailand at Rantau Panjang (close to Kota Bharu) but recent bomb attacks on trains and killed tourists didn’t sound inviting at all. The only alternative was to go all the way to the western end of Malaysia and to cross the border on the [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
Day 1: From Singapore to Malaysia
By Philipp Babcicky on April 3, 2011
Singapore is connected to Malaysia by a one kilometre causeway in the north (Woodlands) to Johor Bahru (Malaysia) which is the first stop after the border-crossing. After the immigration-procedure in Johor Bahru I continued my trip further north. The destination of this trip was Wakaf Bahru (close to Kota Bharu), located in the North-East of [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
Singapore
By Philipp Babcicky on April 3, 2011
As it is impossible to take a train from Australia to South-East Asia (yes, there is heaps of water between Australia and South-East Asia), I decided for Singapore as my starting-point for my train-trip back home to Austria. Singapore is the closest place to Australia with land-connections to the rest of South-East Asia.
On the [...]
Category: Asia to Europe
wenn es beim Bahnfahren “miles&more” geben würde, dann hättest nach dieser SUPER – REISE sicher a paar mal Freifahrten “Wien – Graz”
Ganz viel Spaß und ganz wenig Verspätungen wünsch ich dir!
glg
Rusbe
Haha, das ist das beste Argument das ich bis jetzt gehört habe, Rusbe! Du bist genial – meine Stimme hast Du für die nächste Kanzler-Wahl (jetzt nachdem ja schon unser Vizekanzler zurückgetreten ist. Halt die Ohren steif und schau ab und zu hier vorbei. Gibt fast täglich Updates! Cu soon Amigo Italiano Irano, Philipp
wow, was für eine reise!! und alles direkt mit zug und bus “erfahren” – da hast die vollen eindrücke von landschaft und leuten… wünsch dir dass alles klappt und viel freude & begeisterung auf deinem trip!
glg,lutz
Danke Lutz, ich bin eh schon mitten drinnen und soweit alles bestens. Nur halt ziemlich aufwändig alles zu organisieren, Tickets zu kaufen, zu warten zu überlegen wie man ab besten weiterkommt, usw. Aja, habe soeben unseren alten Dos Graciosos Blog im Footer verlinkt! Hoffe bei Dir ist alles bestens Amigo!!
..coole idee die ganze strecke mitn zug/ bus zu fahrn..siehst sicher unglaublich viele interessante dinge auf deim weg..und sooo viel unterschiedliche landschaften und klimaregionen…
ganz ganz viel spass auf deiner reise..
Ja, absolut – das ist auch der Hauptgrund. Fliegen ist einfach zu easy und man verliert das Gefühl für Distanz und Zeit. Und unterschiedliche Klimazonen und Länder haben’s mir sowieso angetan. Bis bald in Graz Stef!