Travellers' Checks | Round-the-world railway journey that spans four continents, starting from London, Sydney or Chicago
- At a price tag of US$20,000 per person, not including flights, the eight-week journey will take in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia
Railbookers has launched an ambitious round-the-world railway journey that spans four continents on an eight-week itinerary. Depending on which Railbookers website you use – United Kingdom, Australia or the United States – you can begin this epic adventure in London, Sydney or Chicago.
From London, the route runs down to Venice, via Paris, Geneva and Rome, then it’s back up through central Europe to Scandinavia, and over to Moscow to catch the Trans-Siberian Railway to Mongolia. From there the route heads south to Hong Kong via Beijing and Xian, and to Chek Lap Kok for a flight to Perth, whence the Indian Pacific train will carry you to Sydney. After a flight across the Pacific, it’s all aboard for New York with sightseeing Amtrak trains such as the Southwest Chief and California Zephyr via Chicago and Los Angeles, before a flight to London.
ITC Royal Bengal hotel to open in Kolkata, India
More authentic, and centrally located examples of the city’s fine cultural heritage can be found across town, at The Oberoi Grand and The LaLiT Great Eastern. The Great Eastern Hotel, as the latter was formerly known, was said to have been the oldest hotel in continuous operation in Asia when it closed for renovations in 2005. Reopened in 2013, it has been in competition with the nearby Oberoi Grand, on and off, for more than a century. After what was then known as the Grand Hotel was rebuilt following a fire, the two faced off on opposite pages in the 1912 edition of Thomas Cook & Sons’ India, Burma and Ceylon: Information for Travellers and Residents .
The Great Eastern declared itself “the most centrally situated and up-to-date hotel in Calcutta”, while the Grand promised “the most popular, fashionable, and attractive hotel in India”. It is pleasing to note that both hotels are still going strong, and at the time of writing were keeping each other company in second and third place, behind ITC Sonar, out of almost 400 traveller-ranked Kolkata hotels on TripAdvisor. Cathay Dragon flies to the city daily except on Mondays.