News
Far Eastern Travels
Andrew Negus
gave a fascinating talk to Sarum Probus Club on 13th
February 2026. As a young man Andrew had ventured as far as New
Zealand backpacking. Therefore, in 1991, after the death of his
wife, to find some peace after a time of grief, he set out to make
a second journey there and meet up with old friends. This time he
would go by train.
His talk told us
the first part of his venture, the journey to China. He took his
backpack and a small pouch of money strapped carefully to his
chest. He decided to use the Trans-Siberian Railway stopping en
route to see many historic cities. He was travelling alone but soon
found travel companions from a variety of countries.
Warsaw was one
place he stopped and he was surprised at how anti-Russian the
people were in those early years following independence from the
Soviet Union. Travelling on to Moscow he was impressed by how
colourful the city was. Living on a very low budget Andrew was
pleased too, that food, although not of great quality, was
relatively cheap. The Russian travellers on the train were very
hospitable.
In Mongolia
passengers had to alight while wheels were changed to fit a
different gauge and then, when leaving the country alight again
while the wheels were changed back.
Finally Andrew
reached China. In 1991 there were almost no cars in the country,
people mostly used bicycles or buses. He was also thrown because
all signs were in Chinese and Andrew knew very little. There was no
European food and foreigners were only allowed to stay in
designated hotels.
At first it all
seemed rather drab and disappointing. Andrew decided to stay as
planned and he began to see China through new eyes. He visited the
Great Wall and the Emperor’s Palace, both great feats of
engineering.
This was only
the first part of Andrew’s Venture and members look forward to
hearing more some time in the future.
.jpg)