Why Overland? London to New York, no flying
IN the second of a series giving an inside view on overland travel from the people who have experienced it first hand, Nick Machin guides us through his London to New York adventure.
“Over 90 days, I experienced so many wonderful things and saw so many amazing places which I will never forget - making it the best decision I had ever made.”
AFTER working as a journalist for 20 years and edging the wrong side of 40, I decided time was too precious and life too short not to at least try something a little risky.
And I wanted to do something big. Really big.
Which is why I got on a bus in London and, three months and several thousand miles later, got off a small passenger ferry in Manhattan with a lifetime of memories.
Making the decision to give up work was the biggest decision I had made, but once it was done, nervousness and utter excitement kicked in.
And over those 90 days, I experienced so many wonderful things and saw so many amazing places which I will never forget, making it the best decision I had ever made.
My life-changing journey began on a chilly mid-March morning when a small group of strangers met on the Embankment and climbed on board a bus which would take us through France, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia before heading to Russia and St Petersburg and Moscow.
How wonderful it was to discover the joys of drinking a cold beer with new friends in the sunshine in a beautiful Brugges market square.
To drink in the stunning beauty of Prague’s majestic architecture. To get lost in the bizarre Thieves Market in Riga. To witness a Good Friday procession in the chocolate box city of Tallinn. To experience the simply amazing Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.
And to stroll through Moscow’s Red Square on a sunny April evening.From Moscow, we left the bus behind and boarded the Trans-Siberian Express for a never-to-be-forgotten four-and-a-half day marathon journey of 5185km, taking us from Moscow to Irkutsk.
After walking across the frozen waters of Lake Baikal and driving on the ice in a former Russian ambulance, it was back on the train to Mongolia and two fantastic days in a ger community before heading back to Ulan Bator and the overnight train to Beijing.
For ten days, my senses were bombarded as we travelled around China – from the huge contrasts of Beijing to the gritty, sweaty Xi'an, to the lung-busting scale of the Great Wall and the jaw-dropping brilliance of the Birds Nest Stadium.
And after buses and trains, next it was the boat. And a big one at that.
We jumped on to the Diamond Princess cruise liner as it was passing Beijing and after two weeks of fine food and wine, dancing and karaoke, hopped off in Alaska for the last five weeks of our journey.
And what a fabulous five weeks it was – drinking and dancing in Chilkoot Charlie’s in Anchorage, hugging the Alaskan coastline in a kayak, hiking and camping in Denali National Park, taking a ferry back to the campsite at midnight in Dawson City, watching the sun set and rise from the back of a ferry gliding slowly along the
Inside Passage, enjoying a curry in Vancouver, baseball and the fabulous Pike Street Market in Seattle, yomping through Yellowstone, relaxing in the waters of Chena Hot Springs, the thrills and spills of white water rafting in Wyoming, enjoying some blues in Chicago and the bright lights of Times Square.
There were too many wow moments on my three month adventure to list here, but suffice to say, it was a journey that ticked pretty much every box I’ve ever had and one which I cannot recommend highly enough.
- You can read a full account of Nick’s London to New York journey at and the full details of the trip at www.epicoverland.com
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