Also Spain is suffering from the crisis. About 18% people jobless. Lots of beggars in the streets and selfbuilt cartonbox houses. Even if you deduct the big informal workforce in Spain probably there are still 10% real without job. I suffer only by taking Metro instead of taxis. Madrid has a very efficient clear system. There are even info points and people for selling tickets. Went by metro early this morning to catch the train to Burgos as station on my way to Paris another 1.200 km approx. Spanish people are readers. Not only lot of bookstores but also people reading [View Full Entry]

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Decided yesterday to eat decadent. Did it in the resto Nina in Madrid. The young waiter, 165 cm at the most, with heavy beard and pink shoes was 21 years old. We had some cultural and language problems. Ordered when I entered a beer, a water, manzanilla and red wine to be sure he could handle the logistic in the right way. Further a meditarian salad and an iberian pig, with french fries. The problems started: Can I ask you what country you come from asked the ayotolla. I told him north of western europe but not too north. Why? He [View Full Entry]

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Had bought the ticket already last month and picked it up this afternoon. Plaza de Torros de los Ventas , biggest Bullring in the world. Built in 1929, beautiful building however poor seats just stone. Had a look at three fights. It s a pity the bull really has no chanche because it s so weakened already by all the teasers before the matador starts his dancing and finally killing. No chanche at all of killing the matador instead what s actually a pity and should make the game more interesting. The last bull I saw was very agressive and broke [View Full Entry]

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Caught the nighttrain Lisbon - Madrid and arrived 8.58 hours.at Chamartin station. Far from the centre. At night I was sitting next to a very fat spanish guy who snorred and made noices all night.Some times stopped breathing and started up than with the noice of an old train engine. Probably the only on who slept well. Was looking for the metro station and asked a huge police women who brought me outside the station to the metro, insisted to help me buying a ticket and even brought me to the right elevator. Good service or the charm of an old [View Full Entry]

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Made today my way from Faro to Lisbon .about 250 km and later tonight the nighttrain to Madrid.another 700km Today april 25th the celebration of the Portuguese revelution. 35 year ago. Did see the Belem tower an Unesco world heritage site after two and a half hours walking after a metro trip to the old centre. Left my luggage at Lisboa Orient. Met a taxi driver who was still proud of the fact that he did is tour in Angola for 28 months beginning the 70th Should like to go back. Dangerous times. During that time 36 of his company died. [View Full Entry]

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By the way in the nighttrain two nights ago from Irun to Lisbon I started to read Nighttrain to Lisbon. 2 million copies sold but I dont think many people read it in the nighttrain. Had a look at Faro today. Nice town to see in one day. Rather good old city still with walls around. Faro have been a tradecenter in ancient times, Greechs and Romans. Captured by the Moors in the 8th century and recaptured by Alphonse the 3rd in the 12th century. Distroyed by the english who took the library to Oxford and never gave it back like [View Full Entry]

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Just arrived end of the afternoon in Faro. Trip went well. Change over trains were o.k. Only a bit problem at Lisboa Oriente. It s a huge new station. Beautifull , modern and almost without any people of the railway organisation. When you don t speak Portuguese or have not much time to change you are in trouble. Fortunately I had plenty of time. The signals like INF are hidden very well and when you finally find it they have hidden the info people even better. They are not there. Anyhow I found my train in time. 4 hours trip to [View Full Entry]

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Finally tomorrow morning I ll start the trip. Leaving with the 9.34 train to Brussel Midi, changing to Paris North, changing at Paris Mont Parnasse for Irun and changing there for Lisboa and from there to Faro The first leg of the trip will be about 2.300 km and takes roughly 30 hours travelling. Yesterday I contacted Malaysian Railway per e mail to buy tickets Butterworth- Kuala Lumpur an KL- Singapore. Within 24 hours there was an answer with the reservation numbers and wher to pick up the tickets in June. Great Servive. [View Full Entry]

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Made today my e mails to people who might be interested in the travelblog and got a lot of reactions. In short some facts about the trip. Travelling to Faro in the Algarven brings me as far as possible, by train, from Singapore. Totally it will be about 23.000 km . Crossing 13 countries over land . Only country without train seems to be Cambodia who had a connection Phnom Penh- Battambang recently but is out of order since a few months. The connection was only on saturday so by not using it I solved also some problems of waiting or [View Full Entry]

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Still 60 hours to go before the trip starts. I wonder if I ll be able to attach pictures during my trip. How will it work in internetshops? attached some pictures of recently made trips. [View Full Entry]

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