Lecture tour 2024

Austria to Australia without flying? (A2Awf)

Richard Parncutt

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In 1889-1890, Nellie Bly traveled around the world in 72 days -- an impressive achievement for a solo woman in a patriarchal world. Today, a lot of things are easier, but it is not always easier to travel without flying. Take Azerbaijan, whose land borders (to Russia in the North, Georgia in the Northwest, Armenia in the West, and Iran in the South) are currently (in 2024) closed. It's similarly hard to travel between Indonesia/Timor and Australia without flying. If there was no aviation, the situation would be different. But with a certain amount of patience and persistence, it is still possible to circumnavigate the world (almost) without flying.

From May to Juli 2024, I travelled from Austria (where I live) to Australia (whence I hail), mainly by surface transport (train and bus), via central Asia, and giving some academic lectures on the way. It was a great trip and I'm really glad I did it. The point was to show that a lot of flying can be avoided, with a bit of patience and creativity. Everyone's situation is different, so everyone's solution will be different. But if you put your mind to it, you can turn your flying-avoidance into a fascinating intercultural experience.

To find my daily blogs and photos, log into Facebook (you'll need an account, I'm afraid) and search for the string a2awf, which stands for "Austria to Australia without flying".

To fly or not to fly?

Flying is making a large and growing contribution to global warming. It's currently 2.5% of CO2 emissions, but 4% of warming due to different greenhouse emissions. Those numbers are expected to double or triple by 2050. Flying also represents a large proportion of the personal carbon footprint of individuals who fly regularly -- often more than a half.

One might object that aviation is getting more sustainable, therefore we need not be too concerned. In fact, the industry is expanding faster than aircraft are becoming more efficient. Besides, aviation requires enormous amounts of fuel, and 100% "sustainable aviation fuel" (SAF) for all flights would use up a devastating amount of natural resources. We need to do the opposite -- put aside vast areas of land and sea to promote the biodiversity that will save future generations. Besides, the idea behind SAF is colonialist. Should the rich really use up all the world's resources, leaving a few crumbs for the poor? We can do better than that.

In moderation, and with the right environmental controls, biofuels can be ok, but so far they make up much less than 1% of all aviation fuel, because they are too expensive for commercial use. Electric flight is another option, but so far it is only possible for relatively small aircraft traveling relatively short distances. Of course, research on sustainable flight is important and should be generously financed. But don't expect big progress anytime soon. It will take decades to get off the ground. Meanwhile don't believe anything the airlines tell you about this. The greenwashing is intense.

Another possible objection is that it is more important to stop the biggest carbon polluters than to reduce one's personal carbon footprint. Yes and no... If global catastrophe is to be avoided, at least in part, eventually everyone with an above-average carbon footprint (that is, most people in richer countries) will have to seriously reduce their personal emissions. So let's get started! Besides, in the existential political struggle against the biggest carbon polluters (who meanwhile belong to the most evil actors in all of human history), reducing one's own footprint is a good way to gain influence and credibility.

For the average person who sometimes flies, avoiding flying massively reduces your personal carbon footprint. Buses and trains typically emit much less CO2 per passenger kilometer than aircraft. In addition, avoiding flying generally means traveling smaller distances, which means emitting even less. Tip: Cancel your international holiday and explore your home country instead. There are jewels waiting to be discovered!

Of course we also need political solutions. Flight tickets should be heavily taxed and they should also be rationed. An interesting combination of those two ideas is a frequent flyer levy.

Unavoidable short flights

My aim on this trip was not to be perfect, but to significantly reduce flying, which is something every flyer can do. Here are some general principles for reducing personal aviation emissions that I am trying to follow:
On longer trips, spend more time at the destination, e.g one month stay per 1000 km flown. That, way, reduce the number of trips.
Travelling via Central Asia, and avoiding Iran and Russia, you can avoid flying all the way from Europe to Australia with two exceptions.

Tbilisi (Georgia) to Aktau (Kazakhstan). The land border between Georgia and Azerbaijan is currently closed. It is also quite difficult for pedestrians to take the irregular ferry from across the Caspian Sea from Baku to Aktau. The visa procedure for Turkmenistan is complicated, time-consuming, and unreliable. In retrospect, I should have been more adventurous and taken the Caspian ferry.

Dili (East Timor) to Darwin (Australia). The freight company Bollore is operating between Dili and Darwin. The journey lasts a couple of days. But they are not taking foot passengers, presumably because the demand is small and it would not be worthwhile to organize. Regrettably, I flew two additional times to meet deadlines or because of my own poor planning.

Singapore to Jakarta (Indonesia). There is a Pelni ferry from Batam (an island in Indonesia near Singapore) to Jakarta -- but not every day. I had to fly to catch a speaking appointment in Jakarta. It would have been much better to take the ferry! Denpasar (Bali) to Dili (East Timor). There is a Pelni ferry from Denpasar (Bali) to Kupang (Timor) that takes 3 days. After that, there is a bus from Kupang/Atambua to Dili. The ferry was booked out a few weeks in advance, as I found out too late. (Most of the bus and train trips on my journey could be booked a day or two in advance.) It's also possible to rent a motorbike one-way for this part of the trip, taking short ferry trips from one island to another, but the journey takes at least two weeks. Anyway, the ferry would have been the best option.

If the political situation was different, it would be great to travel either through Moscow via the Trans Siberian Railway or via Ukraine (which seems to be the shortest route). And then via Teheran, Kabul, Delhi and Myanmar for a totally different experience (and probably the shortest route). Hopefully there will be a miracle and those routes will again become reasonably possible.

On not being perfect

It's a good idea to reflect openly on attempts to reduce emissions because they sometimes don't work very well. On this trip, I traveled much further than I would have done if I had flown from Vienna to Melbourne via Dubai. Imagine adding up the emissions from all the buses and trains that I took, and adding the additional short flights. The total of all that might approach the emissions from flying all the way.

But the point was not to be perfect or to solve all problems at once. Rather, it was to show that we can radically change how we think about travel, as a step toward decarbonization.

At the end of all that traveling, and after spending some time in Australia with my family, I flew back to Europe.  I could have avoided that by taking a freight ship to South America, buses through South and North America, and a freight ship to Europe. But like everyone I have obligations and relationships in my home town. Time was limited.

My general solution is simply to fly less often. I won't be back in Australia for five years or so, unless there is some kind of emergency (and it's unclear what exactly counts as an emergency). Given how quickly global climate is changing, it is not clear right now whether a trip in five years will be possible. 

Meanwhile I intend not fly at all. I decided in 2015 to stop flying to academic conferences and instead focus on European conferences that I can travel to by train or bus. I'm very glad about that decision and won't be changing it. Astonishingly few academics appear to have had the same idea. Travel tips

If you are thinking of embarking on a similar trip, the following ideas might be useful. Of course, different people have different priorities and things change, and of course I cannot accept responsibility for any problem that may arise as a result of following my suggestions.

Bags. Travel light. You will need a larger and a smaller rucksack. To carry both at once, carry the smaller one in front, or put the smaller one inside the larger one.

Valuables. They can be split between the clothes you are wearing and the smaller rucksack. I wore trousers with three pockets on the front that close with zips: one for the passport (you will often need it, for example when buying bus or train tickets), one for the wallet including cash and cards, and one for the mobile phone. Doing that helped me to keep track of things. I never once in my entire journey suspected that someone might want to steal anything from me. On the contrary, a couple of times I dropped or forgot something and a kind person gave it back to me. Well, you can be lucky.

Clothes. Wear clothes that dry quickly after you wash them by hand. In summer, they will dry overnight. That way, you can cut down on clothes to carry. Tip: before hanging them up to dry, roll them up in your hotel towel. To avoid sunburn, wear a lightweight, light-colored long-sleeved shirt with a collar and similarly light long trousers. With these clothes you can also enter temples and mosques as a tourist. Of course, a hat is essential in the hot sun. Take just one pair of shoes -- the ones you are wearing. They should be comfortable, light walking shoes with soft soles (especially soft heels), to protect your hips from the impact of feet hitting the ground 10,000 times or more per day. Closed shoes will protect your toes as you walk along dirty streets with broken pavements, regardless of the temperature.

Currency. I realized at the end of my travels that I should have taken a Wise card (or app?), which allows you to pay electronically in multiple currencies. That would also have saved me a lot of money in bank fees. Since I did not do that, some of the following comments will be unnecessary.

Before leaving a country, don't spend all your local cash. You might need some on the border for unexpected fees. On arriving in a new country, change the cash left over from the previous country more or less straight away. Check on an internet calculator how much you expect to get and write it down on a slip of paper. Make sure the currency exchange office has a sign outside indicating their rates, and watch out for additional fees.

Carry some US cash in a safe place, e.g. hidden inside your belt behind a zip (I bought mine in the internet -- no shop seemed to have one). $5 bills can be handy when arriving in a new country without local currency. One of them will generally pay for a taxi from the train or bus station to your accommodation if it is relatively central. If you're lucky you'll get change in local currency. But there are also good taxi apps (e.g., Grab, Yandex, similar to Uber) that allow you to see in advance what the trip will cost. In Central Asia, all banks accept US currency, but most will not change your $50 or $20 bills into $5 bills, so bring $5 bills from home.

Central Asians expect US bills to be impeccably crisp and clean. If your US bill is torn, worn, or written upon, or merely unduly creased, it will not be accepted, or part of the value will be deducted (e.g. 5%). If someone offers you a damaged note, don't accept it. Things are different in East Timor, where US dollars are the country's official currency. There, it's no problem if your cash is old and dirty. If it's clear that it used to be genuine US paper money, it retains its value. That was my experience in 2024, but things could change.

Costs. The main expenses are travel, accommodation and food. All three were cheaper throughout this trip than in Western Europe or North America, typically about half in Central Asia for example. But traveling like this is still expensive. It is a privilege for people like me who have enough time (having retired) and money. Even if you choose relatively cheap travel and accommodation options, avoid taxis, eat cheaply and so on, this trip will cost at least 100 Euros per day, 3000 per month, and you could easily spend twice that. It’s much cheaper, but more boring, and of course less environmentally friendly, to fly. Cycling with a tent takes much longer but daily expenses are much less. You will see more on the way and have more freedom in deciding your route, but it might be hard to avoid busy roads. 

Smartphone. If there is any chance that your phone battery will run dry during the day, carry a powerbank that can charge it several times -- especially if you are relying on google maps or similar to get around and can't speak the local language. Don't worry about adaptors -- European plugs work almost everwhere in Caucasus, Central Asia, China and SE Asia. For mobile data, you have three options:
In the countries I visited in 2024, many cafes/restaurants and most accommodations had free wifi (although often unreliable). To get around without mobile data, download the relevant map in your map app in advance. GPS works without data, so you can always see where you are on the saved map. 

Language. If like me you can't speak Russian, you will need a translation app in Central Asia, and the same applies for Chinese in China. Read about currently available translation apps in advance and practice using one of them. Currently they all seem to rely on a good fast internet connection, which you won't always have (e.g., mobile data may not work in large buildings). It should also be possible to download a package for translating between two specific languages, but I didn't have much success with that.

Health. I took along a kind of traveler's pharmacy shop -- a small bag of remedies for the main diseases that travelers in Asia tend to get. Luckily, I never needed any of it. The bag was light, but too big considering I didn't use it. I'm not sure what to recommend. If you are traveling from city to city as I did, and you get sick, you can usually find a pharmacy that sells what you want.

Having read stories of people getting sick in Central Asia from eating plov or drinking fermented mare's milk, I simply avoided unfamiliar food. If you suspect that food served in a restaurant has been lying around for a while before being reheated, skip it. Eat where you can see food being prepared freshly, or in a restaurant with a lot of customers.

Tap water can sometimes be drunk (e.g., in Yerevan) and sometimes not. Water in plastic bottles is everywhere but problematic. Often, you can trust your tastebuds: swish the water around your mouth without swallowing. Sometimes you can fill your water bottle from drinking water provided free by your hotel.  If you run out of water while walking around town, it is seldom far to the next shop.

Heat is another issue. If it gets seriously hot, stay in the hotel rather than risk heat stroke. Outside, drink plenty of water. Head for the shade and avoid the sun. I was lucky and never experienced 40C or higher. 

Borders and visas. Traveling as an Austrian citizen, I did not need  any visa in advance. A couple of times I got a visa at the border.

In 2024, nationals of several countries including Austria needed no visa for China. That was a big relief. Arrival in China was refreshingly easy, compared to stressful border experiences in Central Asia. The passengers on my bus entered an enormous white clean building -- seemingly in the middle of nowhere, on the road from Almaty to Ürümqi. From behind glass, a mild-mannered, well-dressed young man spoke into a microphone in Chinese. The computer gave me a German translation (having noted my Austrian passport). I answered the questions in the language of my passport, which the computer duly translated again. If the computer made a mistake, it could be corrected. Taking fingerprints was easy with an electronic device, and bingo, I had entered China.

For Laos and Indonesia, I got a visa on the border..The procedure in Laos was a bit of a nightmare. After getting off a beautiful clean efficient Chinese train, I caught a crowded bus that went for a kilometer or more to the official border. There were forms to fill in a hurry, US dollars that were not accepted, a crowd of people waiting in the heat, and uncertainty about what would happen next and how it would all end. Finally, I took a taxi back to the train, which was waiting for the stragglers. What if the train had gone without me? Luckily, I never found out. For Indonesia, I applied for a visa in the internet and the border crossing was easy. For Timor-Leste I did not need a visa. My route avoided Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Myanmar.

Border crossings in Central Asia can be crazy and stressful. Everyone is carefully checked. On a train that crosses the border, you give your passport to an official and get it back perhaps an hour later. (What if they lost it?) If you are on a bus and everyone gets off, try to remember what the other passengers look like so you can find them again after going through the border checks, then wait with them for your bus to appear. (What if it doesn't? In my experience, it always did. But in one case I found out to my surprise that we were getting on a different bus. Which is why it helps to talk to other people on the bus.)

If you are given a mysterious piece of paper when entering a country, keep it with your passport. You may be asked to show it on the way out.

Planning. I decided in advance which cities I would visit on which dates. That helped me plan my academic presentations in those cities. It would also have been possible to leave the timing open, allowing for the unexpected. For tourist information, electronic Lonely Planet guides can be good, but sometimes a bit awkward to use on your phone.

The hardest part about planning was buying travel tickets in advance, to be sure of getting a seat. Usually, I managed to get a seat on a bus or train a day or two in advance. For example, on arrival in Aktau (Kazakhstan), and after trudging around town in the heat, I managed to find a travel agent that sold me a train ticket to Nukus (Uzbekistan). The travel agent thought it a bit strange that a European would take an old rattling Soviet train without air conditioning and without first class through the desert, but they did sell it to me, and the train did indeed take me safely to my destination.

It was not always possible to book a train a day in advance. A day before my trip from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, I could not get a train ticket for part of the journey. Sold out, or so I was told. I then got a taxi to the bus station and got a bus ticket to travel on the same day. The bus turned out to be very fast, clean, and comfortable.

The trains in one country are usually not well connected to those in the next country. For example, the train station in Sofia (Bulgaria) cannot sell you Turkish train tickets. So I bought my Turkish train and bus tickets soon after arriving in Istanbul, which was fine. Perhaps I was lucky. I did not know in advance whether that strategy would work. In retrospect I probably could have bought a ticket in the internet up to a month in advance.

In China and SE Asia, I bought some tickets on internet platforms, which at least meant I had a reservation, but for Chinese trains I still had to go to the ticket office at the railway station with electronic evidence of the reservation to get the actual ticket. Whenever you buy a ticket in person, plan some extra time. It could happen quickly or you could wait in line for an hour. In Indonesia, I bought train and bus tickets using an app, as instructed by friendly, helpful railway personnel.

Accommodation. Booking.com and hostelworld worked well. The accommodations that I found were generally ok and corresponding to expectations. It was usually easy to find good inexpensive accommodation just one day in advance; an exception was Singapore where things suddenly got more expensive. I tended to book places that were close to the city centre, train station, or bus station. 

Academic content

At some locations, I gave one or more of the following talks:
 The duration of each talk was usually one hour followed by half an hour for questions. All talks were free and open to the public.

Itinerary with talks

Here is a list of places I visited, talks I gave, how I traveled, and what to look out for. Don't hesitate to contact me if anything is unclear.
 Psychoacoustic foundations of major-minor tonality
Wednesday 15 May, 4 pm
Academy of Music, University of Zagreb, Trg Republike Hrvatske 12, Room 339
Organized by Prof. Sanja Kiš Žuvela
 Psychoacoustic foundations of major-minor tonality
Friday 17 May, 12:30 pm
Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade, Kralja Milana 50 
Organized by Prof. Blanka Bogunovic

Modeling future climate mortality
Friday 17 May, 6 pm
Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (IFDT), University of Belgrade, Kraljice Natalije 45, 4th floor 
Organized by Dr. Zoran Erić
 Modeling future climate mortality
Wednesday 22 May, 3 pm (end: 4pm)
Department of Philosophy, Üsküdar University, Istanbul
Güney Kampüs, E Blok (Mahir İz Cd. No:23), Room: Sokrates Salonu
 Organized by Prof. Çiğdem Yazıcı

Psychoacoustic foundations of major-minor tonality
Thursday 23 May, 3 pm (talk 60 min + 30 for Q&A)
Center for Advanced Studies in Music, Technical University of Istanbul (Maçka Campus) (İTÜ MİAM)
Organized by Dr. Jerfi Aji
 The fetus/infant and the origins of music, religion, art, language, and consciousness
 Monday 27 May, 13:30-14:30
Department of Musicology, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir
Organized by Prof. Ali Cenk Gedik
Live stream
 Psychoacoustic foundations of major-minor tonality
 Wednesday 29 May, 12:30-1:30
Department of Communication and Design, Bilkent University, Ankara
Organized by Ufuk Önen
 Psychoacoustic foundations of major-minor tonality
Thursday 6 June, 5 pm
Komitas Museum-Institute, 28 Arshakunyats Ave, Yerevan
Organized by Dr. Tatevik Shakhkulyan 
Modeling future climate mortality
Friday 7 June, 6 pm
Centre for Advanced Studies, Ilia State University, Tbilisi
3 Giorgi Tsereteli St, S building, 8th floor, Room S800 
Organized by Prof. Tamar Tsopurashvili   
Psychoacoustic foundations of major-minor tonality
 Friday 21 June, 10 am
 Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts
127 Panfilov street, Almaty city, 050000
Organized by Dr. Zakiya Sapenova
 Modeling future climate mortality
Friday 5 July, 3:30 - 5:00 pm
School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University
10 Canning Rise, Singapore 179873
Meeting Room 4-1/4-2, Level 4
Organized by Matthew Hammerton, TAN Sor Hoon, and Cindy Kwoh

The global multi-hub academic conference
Monday 8 July, 11 am - 12 noon
James Cook University
149 Sims Drive, Singapore 387380, auditorium C2-15
Organized by Prof. Denise Dillon and Belinda Lee
 Psychoacoustic foundations of major-minor tonality
 Thursday 11 July, 9 am (until 10:30)
Conservatory of Music, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Grace Hall, UPH Building B, Lippo Village, Jakarta
Organized by Delicia Mandy Nugroho, M.Mus.
 The fetus/infant and the origins of music, religion, art, language, and consciousness
Monday 15 July, 10 am
Cultural Park (Taman Budaya)
Organized by Vishnu Satyagraha, local government in Yogyakarta
Biography
Richard Parncutt (born 1957) studied at the University of Melbourne and the University of New England (Armidale, NSW), graduating with a Bachelor of Science with honours in physics, a Bachelor of Music, and an interdisciplinary PhD in psychology, music and physics. His interdisciplinary research, which spans humanities and sciences, addresses the perception and cognition of musical structure, the origins of behavioral modernity (music, religion, art, language), and the human cost of global warming. A father of two children, he was professor of systematic musicology at the University of Graz, Austria from 1998 to 2023.
Any opinions expressed on this page are the authors' personal opinions. Suggestions for improving or extending the content are welcome.