Modern life is impossible without travelling, and you can always see a lot of people at the airports, sea- and river-ports and railway stations. Some of them travel on business, others – for pleasure, some visit friends and relatives.
There are different means of communication: cars, buses, trams, trolley-buses, trains, ships and planes. And there are different ways of travelling as well: travelling by air and by sea, by train, by car and on foot. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages.
Of course, the fastest way of travelling is travelling by plane. With a modern air-liner we can get very quickly to places which it look a month to get to a hundred years ago. You can book tickets beforehand and coming to the airport you must only hand in your luggage and board the plane. The seats on the plane are comfortable, and you can sit and read, look out of the window or sleep until you arrive at your airport. But the fare by plane is much dearer than by railway.
That is why many people prefer to travel by train. It is slower than by plane, but it also has its advantages. You can see the country you are travelling through and not only the clouds when you are flying. Modern trains have very comfortable seats in all passenger carriages, and there are sleepers and diners which make even the longest journey enjoyable.
Some people prefer to travel by ship when possible. There are large liners, holiday ships and river boats on board which you can visit different places and countries. Ships are not so fast as trains or planes, but a sea voyage or a river trip is a very pleasant way of spending a holiday. Such holiday trips are very popular all over the world.
Many people like to travel by car. The advantages of this way of travelling are that you can make your own time-table, you needn’t buy tickets and you will never miss your train or plane. Then you can stop wherever you wish, to see something interesting, to have a meal or to spend a night at a hotel. This is why travelling by car is popular for pleasure trips, while people usually take a train or plane when they travel on business.
A long walk in the country is very interesting. Such a walk is called a hike. Why is hiking a nice thing for all people? Well, a hike is a walk for pleasure in the open country. Hiking is nice because you needn’t think about tickets, time-tables and other things. You can go and enjoy the country-side. What you need is a rucksack with all the things you will use on a hike. Some people like to hike in the mountains, others visit interesting historical places, some go boating down the rivers. Hiking is a good thing to keep in good form.