Top ten train tunes for a Traincation...

I'm currently in sunny, snow-kissed St Moritz in Switzerland, hanging with the overtly moneyed clientele of this admittedly beautiful ski and spa resort. I've just been for a walk across the frozen lake below where they hold horse races, the world's only Polo tournament (yes, it's that sort of town) played on snow and rather bizarrely an annual cricket match on ice. Is it just me or are they perhaps slightly desperate to prove that yes you can do all these things on ice...amazing! Thankfully there's no D-list celebrities attempting to dance on the frosty surface so that's one slight relief...

In town I realised I was too late for the day's bobsleighing action on the famed Cresta Run, they apparently start very early in the morning at 8am so my leisurely stroll into town around 10.30 meant I missed the whole lot. So early breakfast for me tomorrow as there is something rather alluring and strangely fascinating about wanting to hurl yourself down an ice chute on a canteen tray with ice skates underneath (sorry, toboggan).

Anyway, having run the gauntlet of extreme up market shopping opportunities, Cartier, Versace, Rolex etc and weaved my way amongst the milling idle rich, old, ugly grey men and flamboyantly coiffed ladies with leathery botoxed faces and tiny ratty mutts on leads or tucked under their arms like expensive hand-bags-to-be (well post-expiration taxidermy is not a bad way to end up, and so practical too!) I am now off for a full body massage to ease away the 'pains' of the day...maybe I'm getting too into this whole malarkey?

So, in an idle few minutes before going to get rubbed down I compiled this list of my Top Ten train songs to accompany the 'Traincation' that I'm currently on. I'm not wholly wedded to the name, last year's 'staycation' felt a bit try-hard and I've had my own mixed success trying to encourage the uptake of 'frucool' (which some wag on the Guardian said was as bad as 'chillax' and would only be used by 'twunts!), but traincations could well be the travel phenomenon of 2010 so who am I to argue! Besides they are BRILLIANT and having been doing them since 2003 when I gave up flying on holiday I obviously agree with the sentiment!

Ok, enough already, here's the list and now to go and get hit by a very friendly steam-roller, sorry masseuse...

1. “Engine 54” The Ethiopians
2. "Big Rock Candy Mountain" by The Highwaymen
3. "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Cab Calloway
4. “Box car blues” Boxcar Willie
5. “Train to Skaville” The Ethiopians
6. "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow" by Johnny Cash
7. "Last Train to Clarksville" by Four Tops
8. "Long Train Runnin'" by The Doobie Brothers
9. “Midnight Special” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
10. “Stop that train” Bob Marley & the Wailers

London Sustainable Development Commission

I am delighted to announce that I have been made a London Sustainable Development Commissioner. The Commission was established in 2002 to advise the Mayor of London on making London an exemplary sustainable world city and is made up of individual experts from the economic, social, environmental and London governance sectors.

As a Commissioner I'll be giving my time voluntarily, promoting sustainable development, embedding sustainability into London wide strategies, and helping make sustainability a meaningful and understandable concept for all Londoners.

Bring it on.

Chinese Outlook Magazine article...

I've just written a contribution to the Chinese lifestyle magazine Outlook, one of the leading creative publications in the country. They even created the natty avatar of me to the left (which some have said makes me look like a psycho, serial killer hitch-hiker - thanks!). The overall piece looks at low carbon travel and I've written about our trip, some of the top destinations we visited on our circumnavigation as well as providing some tips on how to travel slowly. Not being fluent in Mandarin I am unable to vouch for the specific content of the article below...but the other 'tips' they provide seem to include how to make a bolus to catch a pigeon and how to fashion a pair of underpants from a shopping bag! Essential stuff I am sure you'll agree!

Around the World in 80...

...documentaries! For some erstwhile backpackers they might actually learn more about global culture and challenges by watching this compelling list of 80 films. The run-down includes some brilliant movies, such as The Buena Vista Social Club, and makes for a suitably cinematic world tour (without of course going anywhere near a plane!).

Sexy airships!

Here's something to cheer you up during grim, grey February...an amazing airship concept! Having previously been fortunate enough to get airborne in an airship over London, which I wrote about here...plus took some great aerial images of the city which you can see here, I am definitely a big fan!

These babies will be high-end luxurious kite-shaped wonders that will get you across the Atlantic in a leisurely 36 hours or so, cruising at around 90mph. Classy definitely, accessible maybe, inspiring certainly! Full article on the Daily Mail website here (one of my favourite reads obviously!)

Most common forms of plane crash...

Now I'm not one for scare-mongering but there's always a dire fascination with what can go wrong with planes in the air. I met an aviation engineer once in Orkney a few years ago who cheerfully pointed out that there were 'some things that can go wrong with a plane for which there's no warning signal or alarm for the pilot...because there's nothing they can do about them'! Nice. So, for the aviation paranoid out there, courtesy of the gang at the Travel Insurance Blog (shameless plug!) here's a handy guide of what tends to go pear-shaped on planes...so fasten your seat-belts people and watch out for my personal favourite 'over-aggressive piloting' (It's not Top Gun you know). Interestingly they don't mention Malcolm Gladwells' 'Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes'...now that's REALLY scary. Enjoy!

Slow travel catching on...

I got a lovely email from Barnali this morning who is also doing a brilliant long distance overland trip (with some freighter travel thrown in for good measure!). It's always fantastic to be in contact with other 'grounded' travellers, although I can't say I don't get pangs of jealousy as their blogs trigger such happy memories of our trip!

You can check out Barnali and Anirvan's adventures on their blog www.yearofnoflying.com.

Wild ego trip...

Probably one of the cleverest viral videos I've ever seen...

How to buy cheap UK train tickets...

If like most of us you are constantly bamboozled by the complexity of the UK train ticketing system which seems to operate 'ambush' tactics, penalising late booking, offering wildly differing prices for the same journey from different companies or websites and only making some fares available for miniscule windows of time at 3am on the first Wednesday of the month.

Well, in much the same way that www.seat61.com shed light on how to travel by train abroad, this natty new site helps to mystify the arcane process of booking a reasonably priced train ticket in the UK. Which can only be good news!

From how to get tickets for a £1, to the sneaky tactic of split-ticketing (getting a cheaper fare by booking two singles for the two legs of your journey rather than one overall ticket - I know, daft isn't it?!) the site should prove invaluable for getting a fair fare from the rail companies! Well done to the authors...it goes some way to addressing the 'rip=off' concerns of customers, eloquently illustrated by this protest poster I saw in Oaxacca, Mexico - rough translation 'The Bus company Octopus has stolen my money!'

Top 10 grim things people do on planes...

Now I know people also do all manner of despicable and distasteful things on other modes of public transport but this little list of the top ten gross things people do on planes amused me...

Of course they omitted the most heinous of all which is obviously to 'try and blow them up' (marginally more offensive then tending to questionable foot hygiene I think you'll agree)