With a lot of patience, endurance and money (obviously), it is actually possible to travel from Singapore to Europe by train. As attested by Dina Malyana’s adventure across continents on railway tracks, you’re gonna need SGD3,000 and seven weeks of your life, to be exact.
It was a dream of the Tripzilla Magazine editor to travel from Singapore to Europe overland on a modest budget, and she did just that a few months ago. Utilising a well-trod route (she’s hardly the first one to do so), Dina traversed through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, Mongolia and Russia before finally arriving in Moscow. Most of the trip was done by train, with some road trips taken by van and other vehicles.
Providing an extensive guide on how to do some train-trippin’ like hers, Dina recommends packing lightly, ditching advanced bookings (if you aren’t travelling in the peak season), and couchsurfing for the optimal experience. There’s even a breakdown of the costs she incurred at each major part of her trip.
Very Darjeeling Limited indeed, but before you pack your bags and book your tickets on the Trans-Siberian Railway, you gotta ask yourself if you’re actually ready for the long, cold journey. We’ll let Dina explain:
“Are overland journeys for you?
Okay, here’s the deal. If you don’t like the idea of spending hours after hours on the train, don’t do it. A little duh! but I’m just saying. I absolutely LOVE train rides and spending hours looking out the window, reading or sleeping, so it was perfect for me.
Be prepared to live on trains – eat, shit, sleep, you name it. Get ready for train delays, lousy seats, eating cup noodles, meeting weirdos on trains, and the dull monotony of doing absolutely nothing. There are upsides too, of course, like making new friends, astounding scenery, mind-blowing landscapes and exciting stops along the way!”
Reader Interactions