11.Traveling, means of transport
Travelling, means of transport
In the past travelling from one place to another wasn´t so easy. People usually used to travel on foot, on a horseback, in carriages, later in trains. Nowadays, people often must travel every day because of their job or because of their school. We call them commuters
How can people learn about other countries?
If we want to get to know about other people or other foreign cultures, we usually visit interesting places like for example Latin America, South Afrika, New Zeland or Eastern Asia. In summer or winter many people travel to foreign countries because of their holiday. In summer the sea - coasts are very attractive and in winter the mountains attract many tourists. They want to have a rest, maybe also fun, do some sport and so on.
The Czech Republic is today very attractive place for holiday. It is mainly Prague, which attracts most of the tourists. There are many beautiful sights of interest and never-to-be-forgotten atmosphere in Prague. I mean mainly Lesser Town and Old Town. Also Czech mountains like Krkonoše or Šumava are visited by many tourists, mainly from Germany, Poland or Austria
But there are also many another reasons. why people must travel. I mean for example wars, natural disasters, maybe also racial conflicts. People often must leave the place, where they were born, which they love, and move to another country, where the situation is safer
Which means do you use for travelling in your country?
Today we have got modern technologies. There is public transport, which is very important, in the big cities. It is quicker , because there is often a traffic-jam. The kinds of public transport are the underground (in the Czech Republic we can use it only in Prague), the trams, trolley buses and buses. Bus transport people use for quite short distances, mainly for commuting. We have only to buy a ticket. The taxis are maybe more comfortable, but at the same time also more expensive. But we can use it in small villages and at night and I think that it is a big advantage for safety.
Another way for commuting we can use trains. The express trains are expensive, but very fast. We can travel in business class or in economy class, it is cheaper. A big disadvantage of trains is changing the trains at interchange stations. We can make a mistake.
We must buy a ticket, single or return. We use the single ticket if we want to go from one place to another. And if we want to go back we use the return ticket. People must be careful on their departures and arrivals. During the journey our ticket is controlled by a conductor.
But now we can travel in tunel too. And bikes or motorbikes are very popular mainly among young people. The most typical mean of transport is still a car.
Which means do you use for travelling abroad?
Sometimes people travel by bus to foreign countries, so they travel by coach. We have only to buy a ticket.
People can also travel by planes. It is fast, usually international transportation, but I think that it is still dangerous. People can choose first or second class according to price. Before taking off and after landing people must go through check points and their luggage through x-ray checks. The flight can be delayed or even cancelled. People can read it on information boards. After taking off people can’t smoke and use mobile phones. But it is very comfortable and luxury. Dutiny a long journey people get some food, which is included in flying tickets.
People can also travel by ship, it is typical for example for British channel. Passengers are transported by ferry.
Sometimes people must obtain also a visa, we can get it at the embassy. Czech people need a visa for example for the entry to the USA, New Zealand or Ukraine. If people travel to exotic countries, it’s important to have vaccinations for example against malaria etc. And, of course, we should have some money. We must exchange money into their currency at as exchange office or in a bank.
Compare plane and train
At first, the diference among them is in price. A plane is more expensive than a train but It is also faster, more comfortable and more luxury. The plane is used for much longer traveling. But train is more available because the airports are mostly in big cities. And the next advantage is that train has a bigger capacity of passengers than a plane. But nowadays exists even bigger plane Boeing 747 for a long distance.
Compare staying in hotel and camp
A hotel is more expensive, more comfortable and more luxury than a camp. In a hotel, you have to book the room, but in a camp you needn’t. It fits to see advanture. You can sleep in a tent, sing round the fire, you can go by a caravan etc. I think it must be very funny.
Hotels are used in abroad, but camps are more often used by population.