The greatest way to discover a new place is to travel by foot. When you’re in a foreign land, it’s always great to look at the sceneries by walking around the place. When small shops and areas are accessible by foot, this is still the most recommended way to roam around. But when destinations are somewhat far from each other, then it’s time to choose certain modes of local transportation to take you from one point to another.
Some people fear that if they ride in certain transport systems, they will lose the “sightseeing mode” since they will be trapped inside a vehicle with nothing to see but fellow passengers. Or some people try to scrimp on the bus or taxi ride fares because they’re trying to save up their money, plus some cities do have super-expensive ride fares.
But for certain cities, there are a few fun and cheap alternatives to try without losing that sightseeing tourist mode while at the same time, the ride gets you cheaper and more efficiently from point A to point B. Try riding trains or some kind of mass transit systems. Major cities already have such systems built around their cities, with most stations stopping at good conjunctions. Of course some of the train rides are not all above ground so you lose some of the sightseeing fare when the train is underground. But most of the time, it’s also happy to sight see when the trains are above ground as it whizzes by certain areas, giving you a pretty overview of some pockets of the city.
Here are some noteworthy train systems to try the next time you travel:
When in Asia
Major destinations like Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand already have established mass transit systems to try. Majority of the train rides in Manila, the Philippine capital, are above-ground so it’s cool to see municipality after municipality from atop this whizzing three-line system. Bangkok’s railway system is also similar to Manila’s construction style. Hong Kong’s is practically the same, except that the train line crosses the waters at certain points to take you to different parts of the island. As we write this, Singapore is still adding on to its already effective and massive train system which, when completed, would take anyone to any point of the island at any time.
When in the US
When speaking of train systems, nothing beats the hundred years’ plus experience of the great New York City subway system. One could easily get lost in this great system since it traverses through all five boroughs. But if you love color-coding and lettering-numbering systems, then you wouldn’t have a problem following destinations because specific trains passing through specific routes are marked with specific colors for easier reference. As for the west coast, the legendary Amtrak train system could take you from northern California down to southern California and back. It is always awesome to sit by the huge window and look at the sceneries change from county to county in this laidback train trip.