TRAVELLING FLIGHT FREE
from europe to asia
Ever dreamed of travelling from Europe to Asia via land? This is exactly what Morgane from Antwerp did back in 2017. We stumbled across her story on social media and knew that we had to share her inspiring experience to help encourage other like-minded travellers to travel flight-free on their next big adventure.
Sustainable travel is at the heart of everything Travelling Whale does and we really want to show how important it is. Flying has the biggest impact when it comes to travelling and in recent years a growing number of travellers are ditching the flights to help save the planet, we’re here to help show you that it is possible.
The flight-free movement is small but the community of people who are drastically reducing the number of flights or giving up air travel altogether is ever growing. Flight free UK is at the forefront of this movement and over 3,000 people so far including our co-founder Annabel have signed the pledge to not fly for 2021.
Morgane’s story highlights that it is possible to travel overland and the exciting experiences that can happen along the way. A plane gets you from point A to point B in the quickest way possible whereas a train allows you to explore many different destinations enroute and to admire the beautiful landscapes along the way – Morgane explained.
“Travelling flight free is really the only way to be truly sustainable. Reducing your plastic waste, eating a vegan in-flight meal, staying in eco-accommodation and contributing to the local economy is all important, but the flight itself will wipe out any carbon savings made elsewhere. In Europe, air travel is roughly 90% more polluting than travelling by train – and if you see the journey as part of the holiday, you’ll find that travelling overland has huge benefits for the traveller as well as the planet.” Anna – Director of Flight Free UK
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO TRAVEL FLIGHT FREE FROM EUROPE TO ASIA BY TRAIN?
When I decided on a travelling flight-free adventure, part of it was to make a statement, to show people that it was possible to travel more sustainably.
Almost ten years ago, I started to become more environmentally conscious in my daily life. Eating less meat, consuming in a more conscious way and reducing plastic waste.
Eventually, that lifestyle caught up with my own conscience when it came to my deeply rooted love for travel.
The moment came where I started offsetting the carbon emissions of the flights I took. But then, when I started dreaming of making a big solo trip, it became crystal clear to me that the only way it would make sense, was to do it flight-free.
Why do we need to think about flying less?
“On average, Brits emit 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year, yet if you fly a few times a year, you could emit that through flights alone. The IPCC says we must halve our emissions by 2030, and has given a budget of 2.3 tonnes each, annually, by 2035.” – Flight Free UK
Morgane’s overland trip from Antwerp to Hanoi (one way) calculated a total of 0.353 tonnes of CO2.
If you were to fly from Brussels to Hanoi (via Bangkok) you would produce 1.427 tonnes of CO2 (Economy class)
Charlie Cotton a sustainability consultant from ‘Ecollective’ calculated Morgane’s carbon output from her flight free trip and compared it to what it would of cost if she flew (one way)
As you can see from the diagram, whilst trees play an important part in absorbing carbon from our air. Whales are a key player when it comes to carbon and is why we donate 1% of our profits to the conservation of Whales
Highlights of travelling FLIGHT FREE
Suddenly, I was leaving Europe on a train. It was overwhelming how much distance I covered in the first couple of days. I stayed in Berlin on the first night and after a six-hour train ride later the next day, I arrived in beautiful Warsaw.
I spent the afternoon visiting the city before hopping on the sleeper train to Moscow. And just like that, on day three I was in Russia! That’s where my Trans-Siberian adventure started
Taking sleeper trains and moving ever deeper into the Asian continent became my new daily life. Hundreds of kilometers of birch tree forests, fields and villages with little wooden houses moved past me behind the window, before the scenery became more mountainous and diverse in Siberia.
I had a bed to myself, with clean sheets and towels, and whenever the train was scheduled to arrive at my destination in the afternoon, I slept in as long as I wanted, while still feeling like I was actually making meaningful progress.
The landscapes that I admired for hours kept changing, turning to a desert in Mongolia before evolving into lush green fields and mountains as I made my way south. I always made sure to stock up on snacks in the local supermarket before taking my next train
During the day, I’d practice Russian with my fellow travellers. Did you know that Russians, although they sometimes seem a bit reserved at first, are actually super friendly and hospitable people? I would fill up my reusable cup with hot water at the samovar, so that I could share tea with them.
During my visit to Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya’an, situated in the lush green mountains near Chengdu in China. I was charmed by the place beyond my own expectations.
It was not only the fact that this sanctuary had a program for educating their panda bears with the objective of releasing them back into the wild – I couldn’t get over how cute these lazy and clumsy creatures were!
When I found out that people could sign up to volunteer, a crazy and impulsive idea entered my mind. I emailed my request to the panda base that same evening and 4 days later I was helping clean enclosures, making ‘panda cakes’ and of course, most excitingly, feeding a panda bear.
The species are sadly endangered but at least these bears in Ya’an were definitely not going to die of hunger.
One of the absolute highlights of my entire seven months trip for me was the Gibbon Experience in northern Laos.
I had convinced my travel buddy to sign up together for this magical experience.
You live in the highest treehouse in the world for three days and while you spend your nights there, the days are spent ziplining and hiking around the surrounding jungle in a tiny group, accompanied by a qualified local guide.
The only way to even reach our tree house was via a zipline. Gliding through the air over a vast green jungle canopy is definitely one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life. But it gets better when you know that by participating, you actually contribute to the conservation of Nam Kan National Park, which was created thanks to this project.
CHALLENGES OF TRAVELLING FLIGHT FREE
Of course, the trip was not always a breeze and there were some challenges I had to face and difficulties to overcome.
VISAS
The biggest hassle was obtaining the necessary visas in time. Therefore, I had to plan out neatly when I would apply for visas (Russia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam and a transit visa for Belarus).
The toughest part was organizing the way back home overland. I had to apply for a new Chinese and Russian visa while being on the road which took a lot of paperwork and booking ahead.
The Russian transit visa proved problematic. I planned on applying for it in Almaty, Kazakhstan, however my efforts proved fruitless. I was luckier in Astana, although I barely made it with only minutes to spare before applications closed.
My trains were already booked so I couldn’t afford to miss a single day in order to be back home by New Year’s Eve and, subsequently, the start of my first week back at work.
Solo Travel
I also got confronted with being by myself for longer periods of time.
I knew I could perfectly spend the day on my own and be completely fine. But there were a couple of times during my trip where I would not have social contact for days on end, and I’ll admit that that was harder to deal with. But the good thing about travelling is that when you feel a bit down at points, you always move on and every day brings something new to discover.
Speaking the lingo
Another thing that was challenging sometimes was the language barrier. In Southeast Asia, you can easily get around with just English, but this is definitely not the case in Russia or China.
I had been studying some Russian and Chinese precisely for that reason just before leaving on the trip and it definitely helped me navigate some tricky situations, but it was not always easy.
Learnings from travelling FLIGHT FREE
This adventure made me gain some new perspective on what is possible with slow-mo travel.
I realized the accessibility of so many places in Europe by understanding that the continent is not as big in size as I used to think. It does take a bit of a different travel approach than what we are generally used to.
For example, rather than flying to my summer holiday destination, I’d rather take the train and stop somewhere along the way, adding an extra destination to my trip. I’d do the same on the way back.
Flight Free Travel & Finding Love
Of course, all of these possibilities do not make it inevitable to take a plane. I have travelled flight-free as much as I could ever since I came back from my big adventure. However, the irony in my life is that on this huge flight-free adventure, I happened to fall in love with somebody from across the Atlantic.
I have been in a relationship with my Texan ever since we became travel buddies after meeting in a hostel in Cambodia. Of course, crossing the ocean for visits has been impossible to do without taking a flight.
My personal philosophy on being environmentally conscious has always been about reducing my impact as much as possible like Travelling Whale’s philosophy states, ‘small ripples make big waves’.
Reducing makes a difference and it is easier than trying to be perfect. Eating less meat, using less plastic – taking fewer flights. This way, being environmentally conscious becomes something that is accessible to everybody and this way it will probably have the biggest positive impact.
Train vs Plane
People often ask me to compare the price of travelling to Asia by train versus by plane.
The reality is that both are impossible to compare, because you really are paying for completely different things.
A plane gets you from point A to point B in the quickest way possible whereas a train allows you to explore many different destinations en-route and to admire the beautiful landscapes along the way.
I calculated that for getting from Antwerp to Beijing, it cost me a bit over €1100.
So while that might seem like a lot of money, keep in mind that by the time I reached Beijing after five weeks, I had already visited Warsaw, Moscow, Suzdal, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Baikal Lake, Ulan Ude, Ulaanbaatar and the Gobi Desert.
I had a bunch of amazing discoveries under my belt and some beautiful encounters to look back upon.
In absolute numbers, it is cheaper to fly from Europe to Asia. But if there was a way to calculate your money’s worth per euro spent, I know I got more out of it going by train than if I had flown.
“Travellers now say two things in the same breath: They want to cut their CO2 emissions, and they want to avoid the airport and airline experience. My message has always been, you’re not just doing the planet a favour, you’re doing yourself a favour. Overland travel by train is a far more rewarding way to go.” – Man in Seat 61
Travelling Whale Summary
- Train bookings: book the trains that you are certain of taking. Train travel is cheaper when you book in advance. Not all the train connections run every day and/or all day so it’s a good way to avoid wasting any travel time.
- Visas: Figure out which countries you need a visa for and how long you can stay in that country. Keep in mind that you cannot run several visa applications at once
- Route: Plan a rough itinerary of where you would like to go. Travelling overland takes some organizing beforehand so if planning isn’t your thing then leave it in the hands of travel experts like Travelling Whale.
- Resources: The Man in Seat 61 has an absolute goldmine of information on how to plan your train trip.
- Books: Get an e-reader full of books as well as headphones for listening to music.
- Packing: Pack essential gear like a reusable water bottle and cup (for tea on the Trans-Siberian), packing cubes, a sustainable backpack and soap and shampoo bars, which are a few of my sustainable travel tips.
by Morgane
Travel Blogger
If you would like to read my full story on travelling flight free from Europe to Asia, you can check out my travel blog.
