THE TREK TO SYRIA

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 133, 8 June 1942, Page 4

THE TREK TO SYRIA

BY RAIL AND BUS

"Last Thursday we started oil' to break new ground /for New Zealanders," writes a member of the forces overseas to his parents in Wellington describing how he went from Egypt to Syria, "During the next few days we sampled several different methods of travel, and noted, surprisingly enough, that out this way tho best form of rail transport lor troops over long distances is the 'Clievaux 8, Hommes 40' type, Thirty men can get.a very comfort* able night's rest in this form of con* veyance by putting down on the floor a layer of ground sheets and a couple of layers of blankets, and then going to ground with a couple more blankets on the top.

"In the daytime troops rodo all over the train. I spent the concluding stages of the journey—a brilliant Syrian afternoon—riding on the roof of one of our horse-boxes. The most princely form of. travel, however, was by buses, only 18 to 20 men per bus, and none of your Wog jalopies either.

"I am writing at a packing-case desk in a snug two-man cubicle, with real iron beds, and occasionally looking out at the rain which is soaking into the rich, red loam of the Syrian countryside. We are housed in solid tinroofed buildings, and the signalling section has got one of the best positions in the regiment, very handy to the cookhouse and to the signal office. The food is good, and improving, and' leave is fairly frequent to a nearby place of great and varied interest.

"You will be surprised to know ."that we are now in the higher-salaried brackets—more than £9 a week a man! As the Syrian £ (livre) is worth exactly 2s 3d sterling, you will see the reason for our sudden prosperity. Prices'are quite reasonable. We want for nothing here as far as Army rations go, but the Syrian people seem to be terribly short o£ sugar, tea, milk, and tinned foods, and there are many beggars. Wine is cheaper than beer: the übiquitous yin blanc is Is 4£d a quart, while Aussie beer is Is 7d. Many liqueurs are quite absurdly cheap, and even champagne retails for 3s 4M. whisky at 6s 9d, and rum at 4s 6d. I might add that it is wiser to stick to water."