[.ca] Travel The World By Train: Africa

From Amazon.com:
Africa is given a fascinating introduction in this volume of the Travel the World by Train series. The Morocco train departs from exotic Marrakesh, traverses endless plains of scorched earth, and stops at ancient Oujda, "The City of Fear," whose labyrinthine bazaars evoke the movie Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Carthaginian ruins enhance the journey through Tunisia, which ends at the azure Mediterranean resort of Djerba, refreshing travelers since the days of Homer's Odyssey. The Egypt excursion follows the Nile River to the ancient pyramids of Giza and Luxor's enigmatic City of the Dead. Riders departing Nairobi, Kenya, pass vast expanses of savanna in Tsavo National Park, where elephants, zebras, and ostriches run free. In the middle of nowhere, this train picks up Masai tribesmen, in full regalia, en route to market. Outside looms 19,340-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro. On one train in Uganda, the leather seat upholstery has been ripped out, to be made into handbags. Another Ugandan passenger line is a former cattle car, with no seats at all. Then there's South Africa's luxurious Blue Train from Johannesburg to Cape Town, where pure gold coats the windows to filter out the ultraviolet rays, and wine is served in crystal goblets. The video prompts us to remember that this, after all, is Africa, continent of stark contrasts. --Laura Mirsky

A Nice Surprise:
Surprisingly nice trains will whisk you through Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Both Morocco and Tunisia prove cosmopolitan and modern, with beautiful seaside scenery and all these so clean-looking white buildings. The Egypt ride provides the obligatory visit to the Pyramids, of course, while the Kenya and Uganda trips afford the always fascinating sights of African wildlife. The South Africa ride is on a luxurious train with amenities that seemed to have gone to the head of one female passenger who, in the end, keeps raising her eyebrows a la Hyacinth Buckett while grinning from ear to ear. A different kind of wildlife, I guess... An enjoyable way to travel.