AROUND THE WORLD IN FORTY DAYS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10963, 4 May 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

AROUND THE WORLD IN FORTY DAYS.

The earth contracts. A generation rgo Jules Verne described tht\ seemingly impossible feat of circling the' -globe m eighty days. To-day -.it is possible to go around the world m forty days, at a cost, if economy is an object, of considerably less than £100. For this we have to thank the reopened Siberian Railway and the improved service's of the Canadian Pacific "Empress" line. The journey is made m four stagesLondon to Moscow, two and a half days ; Moscow to Vladivostock, thirteen days'; Vladivostock via Tsuruga to Yokohama, two days; Yokohama to London vm Vancouver, twenty none and a half days; connections, one day. Travelling firstclass, the expenses are : London via Moscow, to Vladivostock, first-class, with food, £50; Vladivostock to- Yokohama; about £8, and Yokohama to London £65. Those who wish to do the journey more cheaply could, by going second-class and by living m simpler fashion, cut down the cost from London to Vladivostock to £25, and from* Yokohama to London to £37. The whole trip could thus bo done, 'with incidental expenses/for £80. From London to Berlin is^a night ai:d day's journey, and 'the Queenborougii route is the .pest. You have an hour m Berlin, jusfi^time enough to peep out Of the Fried'richstras'se . Station at the busy life>of the German capital, and then you, are on again to', Russia m ji fresh troiii from the ' same - central station. I suppose that rid Englishman visits*'Ru_^ »sia for the first time' 'without a feeling of anxiety. You "recall the old stories rof • police spies,* B ecret agents, 'Cossacks with knouts, and the like. As the train slowly enters the magnificent station at 'Alexandrovo, and the many uniformed and sabred Officials come to you, the very splendors of. the building seem to speak of oppressisve burea_6racy- : A TIME OF DELIGHTFUL • ; !"' ■■■■' DISCOVERY. * - Within twenty-four hours 'the feeling has ;gone. -Yb'u' fihd^.that the -Russians; despite their uniforms' and their sabrds, and the revolvers of the gehdarihes, are a charming and delightful people." T;h-? travellers m, your .com'partmentrmdke friends With you, and there are certain to be c some. 1 "among - theni who speak French or German fluently, if -riot TEng-, lishT' The ; great bi_of«_guage .trainswith their immense carriages j their comfortable - sleeping accommodation."iandroomy corrfde-rs, amaze '..you... The day and a half from Berlin -to -'Moscow; is ittime of delightful discovery;- The Russian railway buffet is a' revelation m the' possibilities *of railway catering. -The counter, with! its * : zakOuskas; its-.endless trifles of cavaire, smoked salmon^'ihftyon'haise, andthe like; wins yotir heart.- Before arriving at Moscow you. will have come to the right cohclusion; -that the Russians alone among the iiations*' know the art of ; rrfaking^. railway^ '.travelling really comfortable. _r ■ ; "' ' : .' - ''" The regrettable feature of' this forty 1 days' journey is that you cannot' 'linger on> the -way.- But -the "mati Who is' not bound to time will tfferttunly throw vii .- way .schedules on ; .one -side when. 1 "he reaches Moscow,^ and will remain ih f the old Russian capital foi. some days,' enjoying the bizarre' beauties df ' its architecture. The. piety of the people;' the. costly churches; / the superbT opera house, and: the luxurious shops show- another iside of -Russian -.iife. "iYou drive across Moscow from one station to the other; and catch < the Trans-Siberia,n express at half-past ten on Wednesday evening. This express is world-famed.- -'., _here is a splendid and inexpensive restaurant car,; with a library- attached. : Theberths are .fitted up aB compartments for eithoi two ofTfour 'persons, with every conveni' ence. Arrived at -your berth you unpack and make yourself cpmfbrtabl.' as when entering your cabin on ah ocean linet for a long sea trip. The corridors are the promenade decks, and' the diningcar is the cdmmon meeting-hall.*'* On many trains there is a music-room,' and Borne carry and barbershops.. - . ■ ' ; ; '-'■■■'

■ INTERNATIONAL: AMENITIES. <■*■■ I- Before the. erid; of the seoond day» you Lare on farhiliar teitns'with many of your' .fellow-passengers. ■- .-By the fourth diiy half a dozen <ofyou%-Russian, German, arid English— \y ill have sworn eternal friendship.. '. In! the dining-car at meal times five .or>si_ languages!. will-be • hettrd at once. The conductor of. -the ' trains will certainly talk. Freri.fi>**!! not English, and French menus will be obtainable. The man who understands nothing but his ownjslanguag© .will find it somewhat! awkward, although the good temper and kindly Assistance of others will pull him. through; Thirteen days m one train-sounds very formidable. Really it. is. quite the reverse. The Siberian train _ra vela s_ slowly that there is practically no vibration. I have rested a glass of water on |he open window-sill as a train was going along aud it has not spilt a drop; There are long stops at all the stations, and the crowds of Russian peasants who flock around are objects of perpetual interest. As you cross the Volga you taste the delights of the sterlet, fresh and, smoked, and the man who has nevsr eaten sterlet fresh from the river does not know what fish really can be l*ko. Once qut;of the poverty-stricken dietiic _ of Central Russia, across-the Urals and into Siberia, you find ;youl*sclf m pastoral country, ever growing lienor. At one spot you traverse the great plains where the : patriarchs led th-'r--:fl<tl. p. Then you are m the new Siberian faming ' belt.; Here you fiud.a disti*. _t- typfe! of Russian, peasant, prosperous, nio'er^n dent, caring little for offi ...Is, and a sturdy upbuilder of newTl'us.-Av Ho has! but to scratch the land arid at gin . him wealth. Of course he. grumbios, for the Russian nature is esse .*.■ i^Jy pessimistic; but even inlhis' grup_bl.'n^ he admits his own prosperity. Sib( >*:a, the' reputed horror centre: of the eaith, is, yon discover, a land 0 1 . promise. As one. travels on day alter *tay* he greatness of this new Ru«sia coin's l-'oine to the mind. You rea'ise t lie magnM u'de cf the vision and iminu.u.ty ol trie aintition of the men who luJ Ibis i.:Iwiy tlirough thousands of; miles of-de-sert and forsaken country.-- ? heir execution was sometimes blundering; their means were sometimes inadequate, but they saw far ahead away into; a great future, and whatever may liave been their faults, littleness • was not- one of them. ...•'.,

Irkutsk, the Paris of Central Asia, cannot fail to surprise. ■-, Here is a oity, m the very heart of Siberia, with luxu ries and comforts that, you only look for 'm European capitals. The fine streets of palatial buildings show rows of shops full of .costly" wares. You can obtain practically whatever you want at Irkutsk, from the daintiest Paris • dresses to tho finest . Goerz lenses, ; .-. and . from Michailowa's rendering of the newest German opera to the most recent scieutinc volumes from Leipzig and Oxford. ONE DAY FOR "DOING" JAPAN. At Vladivostok the Russian East Asiatic steamer should await the arrival of the express: The' run from VladivOstbck to Tsin-uga m Japjih is comparatively short, and the journey thence to Yokohama takes about half a day. The little toy trains m Japan, with their boylike attentants, .afford a striking contrast to the Russian railways:' The man who can go thi-ough Japan m one day, as has to be done for this forty days journey, must have iron resolution, for the charming scenery and the winning people invite him to stay. Yokohama .s a half -European town, with every European comfort, and its hotels are worthy of Northumberland-avenue. Here we catch the Canadian Pacific steamer, and the' long sea-run to Vancouver begins. The C.P.R. boats are exceedingly comfortable, and well managed. The only disadvantage of the Vancouver route is its roughness, for owing to the steamers takiug the northerly route it is by no means uncommon to have fairly tem-pestuous-voyages. The Honolulu-San Francisco route has to go through much smoother . seas ; but it requires several days longer. From Vancouver one has ah endless panorama^ The "Over-Seas, Limitedj" the 'fine C.P.R. continental train, rivals the Siberian express, m luxury. At Quebec, after the" great continental run from west to east, one finds the. new 18,000-ton Atlantic steamers of the same company waiting,' arid less than a week afterwards one is' back m London. .

By this journey one sees the coming Powers of the earth m the makirig. Starting from London, the centre pf civilisation to-day, and passing through Moscow, the centre of a great civilisation of yesterday, one finds m Siberia, a new Russia that will yet be greater than old Russia ever was. From Harbin onwards oue comes m close contact with ne , w . J . a P au > and learns a little of her colonising methods, her social ways, her weakness, and her inherent strength. Vancouver reveals New Britain, and as one gazes on the fine cities, the prosperous communities, and the air of freedom among England's sons from Vancouver to Halifax, one realises that flag and i-ace are something more than signs of arbitrary division. They are for us symbols of world leadership. 'T — F. A. McKenzie, m Daily Mail.