There are two luxury trains that bisect the Australian continent: the Indian Pacific, which crosses east-west between Sydney and Perth, and the Ghan, which goes north-south, between Darwin and Adelaide. Both trains stop a couple of times in interesting places en route. The Indian Pacific is a three night trip; the Gahn completes its journey…
It’s a recurring phenomenon with me: a feeling of melancholy during the last few hours of any long distance train journey. It’s happening again as I finish a last drink in the lounge car and shake hands with two of my fellow passengers in case we miss each other on the platform. In less than…
I returned to Sydney yesterday for my last day in Australia and had been looking forward to seeing Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” at Sydney’s spectacular Opera House. And “spectacular” doesn’t begin to do the place justice. It is all of that, plus magnificent and huge and breathtaking and on and on. But tickets to the…
SYDNEY — It’s raining here this morning, so I’m taking it easy, getting oriented, and catching up after a 10.5 hour flight from Honolulu. As usual, Hawaiian Airlines did a fine job. For one thing, they fly my favorite airplane, the Boeing 767. They also feed you — for free! — and the food is…