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Slow Travel By Bus, From Bus Trips To Coach Holidays. Chinatown, Bangkok. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Slow Travel By Bus, From Bus Trips To Coach Holidays

Buses must be the most unglamorous and unromantic form of travel, but they can be very handy, are increasingly comfy, are very affordable, and there’s nothing like gazing out the window all day as fascinating landscapes rolls by. Here’s our guide to slow travel by bus.

Slow Travel By Bus, From Bus Trips To Coach Holidays

We’ve travelled on a lot more buses than we normally do over the last year – mainly for the convenience, sometimes because there were no other options. Those journeys have got me thinking about slow travel by bus, everything from the bus trips that get travellers from A to B to multi-country coach holidays of the kind my mum used to love to take.

If Terence and I aren’t road-tripping, trains will usually be our first choice when it comes to transport – it’s really the best form of transport for slow travel. But after years of taking trains in Europe and loving them, a frustrating time on the tracks a few summers ago, marked by constant strikes, cancellations and overcrowding, put me off train travel.

You expect no-shows and booked seats to be taken in developing countries, but you’re often paying very little for the fares so are more forgiving. When you’re paying a small fortune, you have the right to get riled when the air-conditioning doesn’t work and you have to sit on your luggage. When you’re 20 it’s an adventure, when you’re older…well, it’s just not.

There are many more great train journeys I’m still dreaming of doing. The Trans Siberian/Mongolian tops the list. And we had a fabulous time aboard the luxurious Eastern & Oriental on their Epic Thailand trip last year, even though organised travel was never really our thing. That had something to do with the private cabin with butler, welcome glasses of bubbly, whistle-stop tours, interesting whistle-stop tours, gorgeous Thai countryside, and sunset gin and tonics in the observation car, and twice-daily gourmet meals.

But unfortunately that brief renewal of affection for train travel was curtailed a couple of months later after two appalling overnight trips between Hanoi and the hill-town of Sapa that involved the possibility of sharing sleeper cabins with strangers (again, getting too old for that sort of thing), horrible food, hard beds, and horrendously dirty toilets.

My romanticisation of Vietnam’s Reunification Express (not one train, but an epic route of daily trains that run between Hanoi and Saigon) was quickly proven to be just that when we boarded at Danang for the never-ending trip to Nha Trang to find the carriage stinking of vomit, the floor and seats littered with rubbish, and the bathroom even more putrid than that on the Sapa train.

We were relieved to find the just-abandoned seats and table covered in puke and food were not ours, but unfortunately we were right behind, close enough to still be able to smell the stench. If it hadn’t been for the pushiness of the family allocated those last four seats, the conductors would have been very happy to leave the mess as it was for the rest of the days-long journey. Our fellow-passengers, many passed out or wearing face masks, didn’t seem fussed.

Determined to continue by land, we decided to try the bus for the remaining legs of our Vietnam travels and were relieved to find it not only more convenient – the buses collected us from our hotels (yes!) and staff swiftly took our luggage and secured it underneath. No bags to drag across train tracks and haul up high onto the train and racks, risking injury to the Vietnamese strangers who insisted on helping – there’s always one amongst a crowd, thankfully – and more affordable (yes, strangely enough, trains are comparatively expensive in Vietnam), they were also comfortable with pretty good legroom.

While we didn’t like the ‘luxury’ lie-down bus at all that one of our hotels booked for us – we have no interest in sleeping all day when there’s lush scenery to be seen out the window and books to read, but our Vietnamese companions seemed to love it – the seated buses were just fine.

The sweet-natured hostesses handed out bottles of water and snacks, continually collected rubbish, and occasionally delivered amusing tourist guide-like commentary. On the trip between Saigon and Phnom Penh we were given a lunch box and they distributed immigration and customs forms, collected our visa fees and passports, and took care of border formalities. Bliss!

After years of being fans of trains, associating buses with the sort of long distance travel we did as young backpackers in Latin America (i.e. cheap), I’m suddenly finding buses more appealing. Getting old? Getting lazy? Or just getting more picky?

Luxury trains aside, has bus travel improved so much that it’s now better than train travel? Or is it just the case in South East Asia? And Latin America. Because even 20 years ago the buses were brilliant in countries like Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, with clean toilets, meal boxes, and kitchenettes with soft-drinks and coffee machines.

What does this mean for my future of travel? If we don’t want to fly, and, for whatever reason, we don’t want to drive, will I start to think more about buses as an option? And what about holidays when these two travel writers eventually retire? We’re not fans of organised tours at this stage in our lives, so a bus tour is not an option. But what about later on in our lives, I’m starting to wonder. I travel very differently now to how I travelled in my 20s. How will I travel in my 70s? Will we always self-drive when we really want to see a country?

After my dad died I took my mother to Europe for a two-month summer holiday. When I returned to work in Dubai she stayed on and did some coach holidays in the UK, Scandinavia, and a multi-country trip around Europe. At the time I questioned her choice, as she and dad had always travelled independently. Though I felt secure that someone was looking after her. To my surprise, she absolutely loved it, seeing iconic sights she’d long dreamed of visiting, and making loads of new friends in the process.

Mum loved it so much, when she returned to stay with us in Dubai she said she could easily go straight back and do it all over again. She wasn’t tired, she wasn’t stressed; it was all too easy, she said. Could coach holidays be in my distant future? I’m not so sure. Ask me in 20 years. Though after our recent travels, buses are certainly sounding more appealing than trains.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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Comments

  1. Gabriel says

    June 14, 2013 at 1:19 am

    Yea if I am in a country I have never been to before, or haven’t spent much time in, I will definitely not be bus napping and checking out the scenery.

  2. Lara Dunston says

    June 14, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    I’m with you – I get transfixed too. Although bus-napping is good too :)

  3. Claire says

    June 15, 2013 at 12:24 am

    I did a train trip from Ayuthaya to Chang Mai, Thailand. The trip was pleasant but the windows weren’t any good for looking out. The bed was comfortable enough but I’m 6’1 and struggled to stretch out.
    The Reunification Express from Hanoi to Dong Hoi was not as good. I still felt weird about a squat toilet on a train, but the worst thing was that the beds were perpendicular to the tracks so as you were sleeping it was rocking you head to toe rather than side to side. I don’t think I slept much, if at all.
    I also did a bus trip from Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City which was booked last minute just after Tet so it was our only option. It was pretty horrible. The bus was nearly full when we got on. My friend and I ended up being in the section at the back, over the engine, with no windows, on a stretch of mattress for five people. Including us, there were 5 adults and a child who shared the space. We could smell the carbon monoxide. There was no bathroom on board as promised. I could stretch out while lying down by hanging my feet in the aisle, but sitting up I was hunched over with my neck touching the bunk above us.
    In America I did travel a lot by bus because it was my only option, however the one train trip I did take was much better. So based on my experience I’d choose train travel hands down.

  4. Lara Dunston says

    June 15, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    Hi Claire – oh dear, your bus trips and train trips sound equally as bad as eachother. We were just in Vietnam for six months and we frequently heard reports from travellers who’d taken the Open Bus services who did journeys sitting in the aisles because they’d overbooked. We always try to opt for the ‘luxury’ bus services, which are generally only a few dollars more and way better in terms of seat allocation/service/comfort etc.
    I do still love trains when I can get the seats I’ve booked or at least get seats, and they’re clean (they don’t have to be luxurious). I also enjoy being able to walk around and stretch the legs and love the larger windows and being able to see both sides of a carriage – something not always possible on a bus, especially when people close their curtains. I need to do a good trip to restore my faith in trains I think!

  5. Teresa says

    June 21, 2013 at 12:19 pm

    Lara I’m with you on coach travel! Not my thing at all. But then again, like you said, I travel much differently now that I have in the past… I worked a brief summer in a National Park when I was younger and there was always a steady stream of bus tours mostly filled with older travelers. Maybe that will be the way to go in the future after all.

  6. Lara Dunston says

    June 22, 2013 at 11:20 pm

    I have realised over the years how differently we all travel at different times in our lives and depending upon our experience and even our moods and state of mind. When I’m exhausted from too much travel I look for easy and comfortable routes and forms of transport. When I’m full of energy I can handle almost anything! Thanks for dropping by!

  7. Noah @ Somewhere Or Bust says

    July 3, 2013 at 10:33 pm

    I love bus travel. It’s a great way to see an entire country or continent. On my first trip to Central America, in one month, I calculated that I had spent exactly 8.5 days on buses. I wouldn’t do it again, but I also would have missed out on some incredible waves. My 50 hour bus trip from Peru to Chile also provided me with some great stories.

  8. July Gadabot says

    July 28, 2015 at 7:20 pm

    My friend and I had many trains and buses tours around the world and especially in Ukraine, where I am from. Basically, our love for travelling began with that usually short, weekend trips by buses and trains around our homeland. By the if you would like to travel around Ukraine and have any questions – I will be glad to help you!

  9. Lara Dunston says

    July 30, 2015 at 5:45 pm

    Sounds wonderful! I would love to travel around the Ukraine one day. My grandfather was from a village outside Kiev and my grandmother from Odessa. Hopefully I’ll get there one day. Thanks for dropping by!

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About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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