Travel - The moving bit

I read this post on lonelyplanet.com about distance in travel this morning and it got me pondering why I like overland travel so much. I love to be on the move, mode of transport does not matter but there is something about overland that really works for me. Overland travel is not just about getting to where I am going but also how: air conditioned Lincoln in the US, open sided Tuk Tuk in Thailand or crowded subway in Tokyo. Overland travel has a lot of romance, trying the local way of getting around is like sampling the local food.

Travelling overland is also like getting a crash course in local geography. Moving between places rather than jumping from one to another I feel I get a better sense of the context of the place, how it fits into the world outside. Flying into Bangkok last year it was more difficult to get a sense for its place as the hub of South East Asia. Arriving by bus from Cambodia several years ago I was able to be part of the smelly, crowded electric current of the people, vehicles and goods flowing in and out of the city (can you still call a place as large and dense as Bangkok a city?).

If this bus hadn't broken down...

I would have missed this sight. Prayer flags protecting those travelling the mountain pass.

The convenience of flying can't be beaten (even with the shoe checks and see through bags) but sometimes I love to see what is in between.