Asia by Rail - Escorted Holidays

There can be no man-made structure more well known than the Great Wall of China. Though the saying that it can be seen from space has been proven as a myth, it is an incredibly impressive construction that was gradually built over a stretch of two thousand years.

Large swathes of the wall still stand today, and walking along them, you are surrounded by the intensely verdant beauty of China, getting to see it from one of the country's best tactical vantage points.

Trains are, without a doubt, one of the best ways to see both the exotic and everyday panoramas of a destination as you speed on by, and this is no less true in Japan.

Step on board the incredible Shinkansen, or 'bullet trains', as they whisk you smoothly from city to city on high-tech maglev tracks. Ultra-modern and incredibly comfortable, these routes are one of the most innovative ways to enjoy travelling throughout Japan and its islands, picking up speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.

A melting pot of cultures with a myriad of languages, you'll hear Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Khmer in the countries you visit with Rail Discoveries. A multitude of currencies are also used here. In Japan, you have the yen. In China, the yuan, where Cambodia has real and Vietnam has dong (both these countries also accept US dollars).

Despite all the different languages and currencies, flight times are fairly similar, with flights from London to Tokyo lasting 11 hours and 50 minutes, and flights from London to Hanoi taking 11 hours and 40 minutes.