IP: Gold Single

We knew from the get go that we’d be doing a rail journey in Australia as part of our overland trip. Which one and when was the question yet to be answered.

By the time we got a loose itinerary worked out, the only accommodations available on the only train that fit within our schedule — the Indian Pacific — was the gold single category … what we call roomettes on US trains. C’est la vie. We booked two of the last four cabins and called it good.

And good it is. Yes, these cabins are “cozy.” Yes, we have to share the facilities — two WCs and two WC/shower combos — with the other passengers in our train car … 16 in all. We’ve done that before, so no worries … being early birds really helps.

The single cabin train car has accommodations on both sides of a corridor that snakes its way down the center of the car. And I do mean it snakes because there are curves to negotiate as you move about the car on your way to the lounge and dining cars in one direction and the facilities in the other direction.

(Mui and I are across from each other and if we choose to leave our doors open, we can see what the other sees through the big picture window. So far, the views have consisted of trees interspersed with sheep and cattle stations, and the occasional settlement.)

Each cabin has a comfy seat and a bench … with a small table between the two. I am, in fact, sitting on the bench as I write this to see the view as we come up to it rather than after we pass it. Every once in a while I can see the engine and the cars in front of us as we go around a curve in the tracks.

The cabin has a sink in one corner … cabinets and a drawer under it. Next to the seat is a narrow column of cabinets … hanging space in the top half; shelves in the bottom half. A pull out tray below two outlets serves as a nightstand and a handy platform for charging eDevices. Space under the bench serves as extra storage for the carry-on size bag that was suggested we bring aboard … the rest of our bags are in the luggage car.

I think we’ll be just fine in these cabins for the next few days.Read more