"You're spending HOW LONG on a train?" seemed to be one of the first comments I heard when telling people about my planned trip. "Eleven nights" I said "but not in a row. We get off and visit places on the way."

The next response was either "Wow, sounds amazing" or "I couldn't do that" or "You must be insane". To which I replied either "Yes, it does" or "I don't know if I can but I'll give it a shot" or "Your point being...?".

To an extent they all had a point. It did sound amazing. As I get bolder in my choice of trips (or indeed increasingly insane, depending on your point of view) I tend to judge things on the wow factor. If I see a trip and I go "wow" (or, for those who know me better, a word beginnng with 'f') it goes on the list. Now, as you get bolder in your travel choices you end up with a pretty long wow list. Mine filled an A4 folder to a depth of about an inch. What clinched this one for me was the jaunt into Mongolia and the week in Japan. Mongolia. Ridiculous. How does an insignificant little fart from North London end up in Mongolia?

As for being able or unable to do it, they had a point. There may be a romanticism about travelling on the train but eleven unconsecutive nights would probably kill it. Still, as an experienced looker-out-of-windows and someone who is always happy to sit and read a book this would be a test of my relaxation skills.

Accusations of me being insane, dumb, reckless and the like are nothing new. But then, as I often say, nobody ever lay on their deathbed and sais "I should have spent more time in the office".

Click on the map below and we'll start the adventure.