Leonie and I went for dinner today in the restaurant car, where we were joined by Chantelle and Caroline as we approached Ontario. Luckily, I had been able to get hold of a few bucks from a cash machine in Winnipeg which was feeling less temperamental than the ones in Edmonton, so I was finally able to afford something to eat. Cash machines are always something of an enigma in foreign countries - your bank will happily tell you that your card will work in hundred...

Leonie, an attractive young redhead with a captivating smile and habit of flicking her hair out of her eyes at every opportunity for no particular reason, seems to have occupied most of my attention since leaving Edmonton. Can't imagine why. She's been travelling the world for the last ten years and seems to be so well versed in what to do everywhere I'm going that I was thinking of asking her the best way to get to Mars. Also, she seems to have turned me into so...

It seems to have been quite lucky that I chose to get off in Edmonton for a few days, as the train I've joined for the last leg of my journey across Canada has been full of a younger crowd than the earlier one and the observation car is suddenly full of people wanting to chat and discuss their travels and play card and board games rather than spending all their time glued to their mobile phone making sure that Valerie at the office has sent the paperwork to Dave ...

Having spent quite literally the entire day at West Edmonton Mall, I can truly say Two things. Firstly, I am absolutely exhausted simply from all the walking I've had to do just trying to find my way around the complex, and secondly that I really am finding it very hard to justify the existence of the place. Now don't get me wrong here - today has probably been the most fun I've had in a while and by the end of it I felt as though I'd spent the day at a theme par...

Unlike British engine drivers, whoever is stuck at the front of the train for the duration of the journey from west to east certainly doesn't seem to be in any massive rush to get anywhere - but then again, I don't suppose there's any real need to put your foot down when you're not expected at the other end for several days, and I definitely wouldn't be in any particular hurry to leave the scenery behind and get back to the big city. I'm told that, despite the to...