The Best Job In The World?

I may, possibly, have the best job in the world… I get to travel, visit and enjoy wonderful places and people, experience different cultures and best of all… I get to travel by rail whenever possible. Imagine the worst day at work you can think of, and then imagine that you have to work through the problems of that day while sitting in Spring sunshine outside an Italian Bar with an Espresso and a pastry; or while watching the sunset over the rim of the Grand Canyon. Suddenly, it all doesn’t seem so bad. You still have to fix the problem, of course, but if that’s the constant, the variables certainly make it feel better.

So, what is it about travel by rail that makes travel it that bit more pleasant than flying? For a start, you can arrive much closer to departure time and stations are usually located in city centres. There are big windows, the cabin is light and airy, there is plenty of space at the seats and you can get up for the restroom without disturbing others – or just to walk to the Café Car to pick up a cup of coffee. Security checks? Minimal and sensible. Best of all is that you have an awareness of distance, changing geography and climate; there is a connection with the country you are travelling through that is absent when you’re flying over it.

The core of my work is of course, my clients. It’s my job to make sure that the Tour that they experience, and enjoy, is the Tour that they expected and purchased. Whenever possible, it’s a good thing if I can find a little something extra, a “Surprise & Delight” that adds value to the experience. There are a few places where I have some tricks up my sleeve to achieve this, but they’ll stay as my secrets – sorry, but there’s the surprise part for you! To find out more, come and join me on Tour.  Unexpected problems and issues are the day-to-day raw material of my working life. It’s my job to resolve problems or to find a way around them. After all, that’s the primary benefit of having a Tour Manager around for my clients. It means somebody else does the worrying.

My clients often ask if I’m an expert on the particular country we are visiting. I’m sometimes not, but I am pretty good at getting large groups of people through a transport system to the right place at the right time so that the real experts, our Local Guides can explain to them everything they need to know. My job is essentially to be there to help my clients when I’m needed, and then to get out of the way when I’m not. That said, it’s always a pleasure to mix and chat with my clients. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and occupations and I learn at least one new thing from somebody every time I travel.

I’m often credited with imagined depths of calm and patience when it comes to dealing with “difficult” people. The truth is that such people are vanishingly rare. Great Rail Journeys clients tend to be slightly older, with plenty of life experience and they have learned how to navigate the murky waters of travel and socialising with others. I simply can’t recall a Tour where the group has not got on. In several cases, people have maintained friendships and even travelled together again long after the Tour has ended.

Clients also often ask me if I have a favourite destination? That’s a little like asking if I have a favourite child. Every Tour is different, and every country is unique. While it is nice to repeat a Tour several times, for me the challenge is in taking on something new, and preferably, complicated. Clients may not realise that many GRJ Tours are relatively straightforward with rail travel to and from the destination, and one, or possibly two hotels for the entire duration. One day that may be for me, but for now I prefer long distance and complicated multi-stop Tours that really keep me on my toes. There are some countries that I don’t usually work. I don’t speak German (I speak French, Spanish & Italian) and so I leave German speaking Tours to those that can manage them better than I can. It’s also safe to say that my nature and mind both work more along Latin than Germanic lines.

However, now that I’ve said I don’t have a special favourite Tour, there is a shortlist of those that put a special smile on my face when I am allocated them. The official slogan for Indian Tourism is “Incredible !india” and this is on the money. India just never fails to delight. Every time that I visit the country, I see something I have never seen before (and usually don’t understand). I would add the USA to my list. Having partially grown up there, I believe that you don’t really understand it until you travel through it. New York, Miami and Las Vegas are part of the USA, but unrepresentative of the majority. Running somewhere else in the list would be Vietnam/Cambodia and China – both Tours are eye-openers and fascinating. In Europe, Italy always cheers you up (especially the Top to Toe Tour) and Portugal & The Douro showcases some of the very best of Spain & Portugal.

The Tours that I like the very best are those that challenge clients; I don’t mean physically, but more in terms of challenging beliefs and notions. Take a look at the map above (It’s known as a Valeriepieris circle, created in 2013 by Ken Myers). It covers about 10% of the Earth’s surface area, with a radius of around 2,500 miles, centred in the South China Sea. About a third of the circle is ocean (so, unpopulated). The circle is home to roughly 4.2 billion people, over half the estimated world population of 8 billion. Also, inside the circle you’ll find…

• More Muslims inside than outside.
• More Hindus inside than outside.
• More Buddhists inside than outside.
• More communists inside than outside.
• The least densely populated country on earth (Mongolia)

Any Tour that visits any of this part of the world is, almost by definition, going to be fascinating. The things that apply to our culture and beliefs in the UK are often absent, inverted or irrelevant to those living inside the circle. Luxury beliefs are of little use when you are wondering where your next meal is coming from. There is poverty, almost beyond our comprehension adjacent to wealth that takes your breath away. Beauty sits next to ugliness, heavenly fragrances neighbour nose-wrinkling odours and food brimming with herbs and spices that we have never tried before. Everything inside the circle is different. Our planet is amazing, and the people inside it even more so. Travel lets us observe all of this, and in the process can challenge our perceptions of how best to manager own lives. That’s not a bad thing to do, in my view.

So, there we have it. If you must work, then you might as well find something you love and do it. I’ve been lucky enough to do so.