ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL
21 articles filed under ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL.
Bex has travelled by rail from London to Athens - even by container ship as a passenger: across the Atlantic and from Athens to Hong Kong! Read all about it.
Cruise Essentials Packing List
Yes, we're nearly coming to the end of the summer–but that doesn't have to mean your cruising days are over. I write primarily about Greece as a destination, and what to see and do. Articles relevant to a Greek cruise packing list are: Many people take cruises around the Greek islands in the height of […]
One man and a container ship, around the world
A lot of people have expressed interest, even amazement at the fact I took a container ship trip as a passenger this summer to Hong Kong. Whilst not common, people (other then me) do travel by this mode, as my interview here will show. David Riggs is a history professor at a small college near […]
Women on ships…
Yes, I'm back in Athens now after my summer of fun…ready to face a new round of challenges. To round the trip off nicely, yesterday (30AUG) the ship arrived back in Athens as well! I had been staying in regular email contact with the Chief Officer, (remember my avuncular figure who looked after me?) and […]
A cabin of a different sort
And so my journey from Athens to Hong Kong overland came to an end when I touched down at LHR airport. What took me five weeks in a container ship with beautiful views took me twenty hours in a steel tube! I flew with Aeroflot and was initially I was quite nervous about this. But no […]
Why do we need Security on board the ship?
I held off writing a full post about this as I wanted to check it was OK to say some things. It's not a big secret - so I can share some things with you. I alluded to it in this post, but will write in full here. As you know, my ship sailed from […]
Made it to Hong Kong
And so this brave girl made it! My final destination on this grand voyage is Hong Kong, and the ship arrived at approx. 07:30 this morning (30JUL). What a voyage! I feel like I have an extended family…in fact I felt quite tearful saying goodbye…after all, one month on board and a strong bond was […]
Through Suez to Singapore
Yes, I made it! 15 days straight at sea with no access to the outside world: just seeing sunrise, sunset and dolphins playing. Did you know, if you clap your hands the dolphins in the wild will show off and perform for you? I am not kidding. So going through Suez was interesting: hot, the […]
Where do we live on a container ship?
I’ve realized that, whilst I’ve been posting about Valencia, Genoa and nice places visited, I haven’t made it very clear where we actually live, nor the name of my ship. Well, I included a video with my first emotions post about my cabin and what it’s like and also the Galley (kitchen) and Messroom (dining room). […]
What does a container ship carry?
I’m sure you’re all dying to know what a ship of this size carries from/to Asia. So was I, hence my question posed to the Captain one evening at dinner. Some background knowledge for you: The weight of the ship, with no containers, is about 30,000 tonnes. It can hold, at a maximum, up to […]
Valencia
I wrote a post about the downside of container ship travel and mentioned that you’re not necessarily guaranteed a long time in port, indeed…even if it’s possible to go ashore. This was the situation I found myself in Barcelona. But it was made up for in Valencia. We arrived around 08:00 on 02JUL13 and after […]
A downside of travelling by container ship
So far I’ve enjoyed it. 30th June 2013 marked my first week on board and when at sea I’ve: swam in the pool, endured Barry Manilow love songs in karaoke and hung out with the Philippeno crew, watched many sunsets from the Bridge, always get excited to see a Pilot board and exit the ship – […]
A new Captain & Chief Engineer
The new Captain’s lovely! This was the mantra that was running around the ship like Chinese whispers for the last two days or so. A new Captain joined us in Genoa and I had been hearing so much about him from the crew and senior officers beforehand that I wondered if this poor man would […]
Second full day at sea
I’m writing this on the deck of the ship, just outside my cabin. This is the second full day at sea. We left Athens at 01:30am on the morning of Monday, 24th June. I slept really well that night and rose early to watch the sun rise. I’ve been up onto the Bridge (where the […]
What to do on a container ship
You must be wondering what there is to do on a container ship. Well, so far I’ve not been bored. I’ve spent a lot of my time on the Bridge, watching sunrise and sunset, plus moonrise. And to be honest, I think the crew like someone different to speak to. It’s interesting to hear their […]
First day at sea
I’m writing this on the deck of the ship, just outside my cabin. This is the second full day at sea. We left Athens at 01:30am on the morning of Monday, 24th June. I slept really well that night and rose early to watch the sun rise I’ve been up onto the Bridge(where the ship is […]
Joining the ship - first emotions
A very emotional day today. It was the day it hit me that I’m going to be on a container ship, for approx. 1.5 months, travelling to Hong Kong! Joining the ship was easy. I made my way to the Cruise Terminal in Piraeus, the port of Athens and there the agent for this particular […]
What to pack for travel by container ship
I was getting stressed because I didn't know what to pack for my trip. I mean, it’s not as if I’m going on a cruise ship where people get dressed to the nines every evening, yet I’m also not going to be down and dirty with the containers (at least, I HOPE not!) So I […]
Hong Kong accommodation - and return trip
I know, I know…I've not even left yet and already I'm thinking about how I'm going to return! Well, for a trip of this magnitude, a girl's godda be organised. So I've already booked my One Way flight back - for a very reasonable price: 399 Euros inc. tax with Aeroflot via Moscow. Please don't feed […]
My Fearful Adventure
I've travelled a fair bit: solo around Australia when I was nineteen, Sri Lanka teaching English in 2004 to name but a few. I'm going on a trip in June 2013 that leaves me juuuuuuuust that little bit fearful: I'll be the only passenger on board a container ship, from Athens to Hong Kong…amongst a […]
Travelling to Hong Kong by container ship!
Remember back in February I posted about my proposed trip by container ship to Australia? I then further investigated my fears about this, especially given the pirate activity in the Indian Ocean. Photo courtesy of Darren B. Hillman at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dazzy1960/5922809930/sizes/m/in/photostream/ Not my exact ship, but the same Container company Anyway, after discussions with the […]
Across the Atlantic by container ship
I wrote this post before I went to Hong Kong on my container ship trip. Yes, I went across the Atlantic in 2005! You’re going WHERE? enquired well-meaning friends. It was not so much my destination(s) that fascinated them: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Colombia and Costa Rica – rather the fact I had chosen to get there […]