Slow travel adventures: Tales of walking, riding and sailing the world

Slow travel: the journey is as important as the destination. This Buddhist-like take on seeing the world is a rarity today.

It's possible to fly halfway around the planet in under a day, or to cross a continent in mere hours. Long gone are the days when epic ocean journeys and cross-country treks were necessary. 

You'd think this means we're seeing more of the world. But could it be that with today's rapid transportation we're actually seeing less?

Check out some of Asia's slow travel options below and judge for yourself.

Slow travel by car or motorbike

Road tripping through Asia isn't typically considered as glamorous as it is in the United States, with its car-rich culture. 

That doesn't mean there are not a load of driving options (click for info on Hai Van Pass and more) when it comes to choosing a car, motorbike, or bus over quicker transport. 

A CNNGo reader recently experienced hot springs, winding rivers, waterfalls and surf schools in a five-day road trip covering four prefectures and four major points of interest in Shikoku, Japan. 

An ABC broadcaster Jon Faine and his son, Jack Faine, drove from Melbourne to London taking in Southeast Asia and the Chinese mainland. It was thought that driving across China for a non-resident entering through Laos was impossible.

Or take inspiration from Vanessa Able who last year traversed 10,000 kilometers across India in the world's cheapest car, the Nano -- a car made especially for in-city running and small distances. In their three-month trip around India, Able and Abhilasha negotiated "batty city traffic, hours sitting in gridlocks, mountains, forests, plains." 

For the adventurous spirit looking to try out their driving skills on two wheels, Vietnam’s Central Highlands (check the story for full details on what to see and where to stay) offers one of the least-toured areas of Southeast Asia. 

Bus travel is a budget option to slow traveling throughout Asia, though isn't known to be the most comfortable or safest.

For those willing to take the risk, here's a few pointers on surviving budget bus travel.

Slow travel by bike

A cycling journey in Asia provides a ground-eye view of the journey, allowing you to experience the places before your destination too.

One man that thinks it's all about making sense of the 'in-between' is cyclist and adventure traveler Peter Gostelow, who completed an epic three-year biking adventure from Japan to the United Kingdom. 

Gostelow says, "Traveling by bicycle works for me as it allows me to interact with people and their country/environment at a pace I'm comfortable with."

Not one for seeking creature comforts, he believes a destination is better rewarded after a challenging, monotonous or even lonely journey.

"Travel without some effort -- the logistics of planning, or the physical effort as with cycling, is less rewarding in my opinion," he says.

While biking across a major city could still be considered slow travel, it isn't what floats Gostelow's boat. 

For him, it's usually the hardcore places that stand out as highs -- the hard mountain passes in Tibet and northern Pakistan and the friendliness of the people who live there.

He says, "Pakistan, Tibet, Tajikistan and the remote mountains roads/valleys and communities stand out, and often the polluted, over-populated cities full of hassle are places that don't."

Some might find the idea of biking for three years or making a round-the-world trip a tad too slow. It's always possible to take city-to-city jaunts and bike from Tokyo to Nikko over three days, say, or bike from Tokyo to Osaka over a week. 

For those looking for shorter, or more urban biking experiences, there are still cities in Asia that are bike friendly.

Extremely slow travel

Some want to experience slow travel the really old fashioned way; by walking.

One man nearly walked across the whole of China in serious test of endurance. He came up short of his goal, but still considered himself a better man for the experience. 

For something a little less extreme yet still compelling, The Age put together a great list of little-known yet exhilarating hikes that include Asian treks along The Great Himalaya Trail in Nepal, the Khao Sok National Park in Thailand, and Via ferrata in Borneo, Malaysia. 

Then of course there's always trekking along the Silk Road, or for a more unique experience traveling by unicycle (click here for more on both).

Slow train travel

Taking one's time while traveling doesn't have to be about walking across a continent, or backpacking sans soap. Luxury train travel is one form of slow travel that those with a little time and money are able to enjoy.

Since the Indian Railways tourism company approved luxury passenger train travel on its tracks this year, luxury operator Maharajas' Express has provided an alternate option to the typically crowded train travel in India in the form of tickets starting at US$6,400 for their Princely India and Celestial India tours. 

The Orient-Express is a name known over the decades and is synonymous with shameless luxury.

For a posh journey across South East Asia or a two-night journey from Bangkok to Singapore (US$2,210, less than a business class airline ticket), the Orient-Express is an old school, modern day slow travel luxury.

There are also sleeper trains operating between cities in Japan that offer a comfortable experience for not quite the same extravagant prices as the above two luxury operators.  

Slow freighter travel

To keep his dream of not flying alive, Nick Brown, an Englishman in his late 20s originally wanted to get to Australia from Dili, East Timor on any type of vessel that could keep afloat long enough to reach Darwin. 

After his urge to catch the Ashes live in Perth won him over, he chose to travel by cargo freighter from Singapore to Fremantle on a seven-day trip that cost him 600 Euros (US$765). 

Nick's company came in the form of two other travelers and the ship's crew. His ticket bought him a personal cabin that included an en-suite bathroom and TV and DVD player. It's conceivable that long journeys out at sea could get dull occasionally. 

Brown says, "Time flew past, I had ideas of catching up with my journal, sorting through my mass of photos but before you knew it another day had passed spent reading, watching films or more often than not just out on deck watching the hypnotic movement of the ocean and occasionally seeing another ship to break the endless but somehow never tiresome sight of ocean and sky."

When not hypnotized, Brown says the rules and atmosphere on the ship are very relaxed.

They (passengers) could pretty much do as they pleased and the German and Singaporean crew were more than accommodating and willing to give them tours of all parts of the ship, or even let them visit the bridge. Only being out on deck at night was a no-no due to the threat of pirates, but that's what duty-free-alcohol-fueled karaoke sessions are for. 

For more information on traveling by freighter, GoNomad has a nice guide to get started.

Alternately, there are luxury cruises throughout Asia for those looking for a more traditional slow ocean traveling experience.