When I was first asked to write about the best means of transportation in the world, I thought it would be easy.But when I was told that I could only choose vehicles I had personally traveled by, I had to think carefully about what I had been doing from when I was a teenager to the present time.My favorite train, for example, is thought to be one of the best in the world, so I had little difficulty in choosing it. As well as being my favorite, The Blue Train is also the pride of South Africa's railways. One travels between Pretoria and Cape Town while the other travels between Pretoria and Durban. A few years ago, my wife and I spent two nights on board the Cape Town train, paying a fare of just over $2000 each. The 1300-foot-long train has 41 suites, where 82 passengers can stay comfortable. It was a unique experience and one I could happily repeat. A more difficult choice was that of my favorite motorcycle. However, that changed last week when a friend bought a new Suzuki Hayabusa. It was, as I found out, extremely fast. My friend let me test it, even though I wasn't used to riding such a fast motorcycle, and I was amazed to discover how well it performed. Perhaps the hardest choice to make was that of my favorite car. A ston Martins, Ferraris and Porsches didn't count because I have never driven any of them. Instead, I chose a Cadillac Fleetwood that my father used to drive. It was neither fast nor easy to handle. But I liked its leather seats and its "character" - something that seems to be missing in modern vehicles. I have only been on one cruise, so my choice of ship was easy. When I graduated from college a Royal Caribbean cruise ship was my home for five days when I went on a cruise around the Mediterranean.
I had a cabin on one of the upper decks, which was very comfortable. Unfortunately, five days was not enough time for me to get used to this luxury. There were also organized tours at each port. Finally, air travel for me is almost always the same. It is for this reason that I chose a Cessna that was owned by a pilot I used to know. Because it was so small, it really gave me a sense of freedom and an idea of how it must have felt in the early days of flying.