Peopletravellinglongdistancesfrequentlyhavetodecidewhethertheywouldprefertogobyland,sea,orair.Hardlyanyonecanpositivelyenjoysittinginatrainformorethanafewhours.Traincompartmentssoongetcrampedandstuffy.Itisalmostimpossibletotakeyourmindoffthejourney.Readingisonlyapartialsolution,forthemonotonousrhythmofthewheelsclickingontherailssoonlullsyoutosleep.Duringtheday,sleepcomesinsnatches.Atnight,whenyoureallywishtogotosleep,yourarelymanagetodoso.Ifyouareluckyenoughtogetacouchette,youspendhalfthenightstaringatthesmallbluelightintheceiling,orfumblingtofindyourpassportwhenyoucrossafrontier.Inevitablyyouarriveatyourdestinationalmostexhausted.Longcarjourneysareevenlesspleasant,foritisquiteimpossibleeventoread.Onmotor-waysyoucan,atleast,travelfairlysafelyathighspeeds,butmoreoftenthannot,thegreaterpartofthejourneyisspentonnarrow,bumpyroadswhicharecrowdedwithtraffic.Bycomparison,tripsbyseaofferagreatvarietyofcivilizedcomforts.Youcanstretchyourlegsonthespaciousdecks,playgames,swim,meetinterestingpeopleandenjoygoodfood--alwaysassuming,ofcourse,thattheseaiscalm.Ifitisnot,andyouarelikelytogetsea-sick,noformoftransportcouldbeworse.Evenifyoutravelinidealweather,seajourneystakealongtime.Relativelyfewpeoplearepreparedtosacrificeuptoathirdoftheirholidaysforthepleasureoftravellingonaship.

　　Aeroplaneshavethereputationofbeingdangerousandevenhardenedtravellersareintimidatedbythem.Theyalsohavethegravedisadvantageofbeingthemostexpensiveformoftransport.Butnothingcanmatchthemforspeedandcomfort.Travellingataheightof30,000feet,farabovetheclouds,andatover500milesanhourisanexhilaratingexperience.Youdonothavetodevise

　　waysoftakingyourmindoffthejourney,foranaeroplanegetsyoutoyourdestinationrapidly.Forafewhours,yousettlebackinadeeparmchairtoenjoytheflight.Therealescapistcanwatchafreefilmshowandsipchampagneonsomeservices.Butevenwhensuchrefinementsarenotavailable,thereisplentytokeepyouoccupied.Anaeroplaneoffersyouanunusualandbreathtakingviewoftheworld.Yousoareffortlesslyoverhighmountainsanddeepvalleys.Youreallyseetheshapeoftheland.Ifthelandscapeishiddenfromview,youcanenjoytheextraordinarysightofunbrokencloudplainsthatstretchoutformilesbeforeyou,whilethesunshinesbrilliantlyinaclearsky.Thejourneyissosmooththatthereisnothingtopreventyoufromreadingorsleeping.Howeveryoudecidetospendyourtime,onethingiscertain:youwillarriveatyourdestinationfreshanduncrumpled.Youwillnothavetospendthenextfewdaysrecoveringfromalongandarduousjourney.

　　出远门的人常常需要决定是走旱路、水路,还是坐飞机.很少有人能够真正喜欢坐几个小时以上的火车.车厢很快就变得拥挤、闷热,想摆脱开旅途的困扰是很难的.看书只能解决部分问题.车轮与铁轨间单调的嘎喳声很快就会送你进入梦乡.白天是忽睡忽醒,到了夜晚,你真想睡了,却很难入睡.即使你走运弄到一个卧铺,夜间有一半时间你会盯着车顶那盏小蓝灯而睡不着觉；要不然就为查票摸索你的车票.一旦抵达目的地,你总是疲惫不堪.乘汽车作长途旅行则更加不舒服,因为连看书都几乎不可能.在公路上还好,你至少能以相当快的速度安全地向前行.但旅行的大部分时间都花在路上,而且只有很少的服务设施,交通也很拥挤.相比之下,坐船旅行或环游可以得到文明世界的各种享受.你可以在甲板上伸展四肢、做游戏,还能也很见到各种有趣的人,能享用各种美味佳肴——当然,这一切只有在大海风平浪静的情况下才有可能.如果大海肆虐起来,你就可能晕船,那种难受劲儿是任何一种别的旅行的方式都不会带来的.即使风平浪静,坐船旅行也要占用很长时间.没有多少人会为享受坐船旅行的乐趣而牺牲假期的时间.

　　飞机以危险而著称,连老资格的旅行者也怕飞机.飞机另一个缺点是昂贵.但就速度与舒适而言,飞机是无与伦比的.腾云驾雾,在30,000英尺高空以500英里