At 10.31pm on a typically gray and moody evening in Vancouver, the Canadian pulls slowly away from the Pacific Union station. It's a low key affair, another passenger train departing for Canada's east. Champagne is served in the last of the train's 24 carriages, the Park car, as the windows darken with the onset of night.
The Canadian is one of VIA Rail's flagship transcontinental passenger trains and a train so iconic that, in 2013, it will be featured on Canada’s new 10-dollar bill. The Canadian is a refurbished stainless steel return to the 1950s when voyaging by train sat firmly alongside air flight as a romantic and exhilarating way to travel.
I'm skeptical that the romance of train travel remains today.
I haven't traveled by train in years and I've never crossed a country on one. I've driven, flown, sailed and bused, but I've never been lured by the prospect of train travel. VIA's management suggest we sit back and soak up the ride, relax and appreciate the experience of a slower paced form of transportation. It's not about getting to the destination quickly, but about appreciating the beauty outside and the comforts within.
I'm willing to give it a try.
I recognize this trip will be special - the push through the Rockies to Jasper, the sweep across the Prairies to Winnipeg, and the final run into Toronto in the heart of Canada's largest province, Ontario.
Yet the first leg to Jasper doesn't start well.
I'm struck down with gastro early into the night and spend the next morning curled up in my bed, incapable of any movement or normal sentences. I'm conscious of the large numbers of elderly people onboard versus the very small percentage of passengers my own age - it feels disconcerting but not entirely unexpected. And we sleep that first night in bunk beds - cosy but not exactly superior comfort class.
Ironically, the stomach bug slows me down in the same way this train journey slows down the passage of time.
Forced to sit still and observe, I notice the environment outside my window, the seemingly endless beauty of British Columbia's interior region.
The mountain ranges fill the near horizon, white-capped peaks ringed by clouds, rivers of snow streaming down their sides. The forests are thick with all manner of enormous trees creeping right up to the edge of the train tracks, while rivers of frigid glacial water rage beside the train making its way along valleys and over mountain passes.
The Canadian sways from side to side on the rails, a soothing sensation, but not quite a clickety clack. I sit inside the panoramic car, head back, looking up through the glass ceiling. I know I'm one of a fortunate few, lucky enough to experience this extraordinary ride.
John from Edmonton, a fellow passenger riding the Vancouver to Jasper leg with his wife and two kids, tells me it's not a cheap journey but one they often take in preference to flying. "It's about appreciating what we have around us," he says, a knowing look on his face. "We see elk and bear along the route, sometimes eagles and moose. I want my children to understand what we have on our doorstep and I want to take the stress and hassle out of trying to get home. This train ride allows us to do both."
I'm starting to understand.
There's nowhere to go on this train, no Internet or Playstation 3 to entertain. By taking the Canadian through Canada, you have no choice but to sit and watch, talk and listen. Daily life is stripped down to its bare basics where you learn how to socialise again - dine with new friends, play card games or read books, talk about the world outside your window splendid in all its natural beauty, untouched and serene.
This seemingly regular train ride allows me to rediscover the power of conversation and social interaction with the people around me. Previously, thirteen of the world's best travel bloggers, writers and photographers would sit with their heads in iPhones, iPads and laptops.
Now we talk. Laugh. Learn about each other.
We make Jasper by nightfall and a few days later leave for Winnipeg on a 36-hour train-a-thon. By the time we pass through the vast lakes and forests of Ontario, I find myself yearning for a return to the glory days of train travel, wishing this 7,000km journey would never need to end.
Photo credit: Maurice Li Photography
Passing through a particularly remote area of western Ontario, one of the attendants tells me that the train often stops if a passenger requests it. I don't quite understand.
She goes on to say that they often get requests from folk who climb onboard with kayaks and canoes and who ask to be dropped off at any number of locations along the Canadian National railway, only to disappear into remote bush on their quest for an outdoors adventure in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
It's so very Canadian.
Why shouldn't you be allowed to stop off wherever you want along the train line?
Photo credit: Maurice Li Photography
The journey isn't without its issues.
The Canadian is frequently delayed - CN, not VIA, own the rail line and so freight trains in the vicinity take precedence while our own train sits waiting patiently in a local siding. The one and two-person rooms are on the small side, but it's fair to say they're perfectly formed. And the ticket price is high, although we were fortunate to be sponsored by VIA for this particular travel blogging trip.
Yet all these things fail to dampen the spirit of a true railway journeyman.
The majority of VIA's customers may be of an elder generation and the Canadian may not be the fastest thing on 172 or however many wheels, but it is a national treasure and a true Canuck experience.
Crossing a country as vast as Canada by the most basic of means and being privileged to witness some of the greatest natural sites on the planet makes this one of the world's great transcontinental travel experiences, up there with the likes of the Orient and the Ghan.
It is a journey from another time, when the romance of train travel was a deeply alluring thing, but it still has its place firmly rooted in modern times albeit at half speed and far, far away from the madding crowd.
Have you ever traveled by rail across country? Have you experienced The Canadian or any of the world's other great journeys? What unique travel experiences would you recommend?
If you want to follow along on my journey across Canada, either check in regularly on In Search of a Life Less Ordinary to read my blog posts or jump onto my personal page on the Keep Exploring tumblr site here. The Canadian Tourism Commission and VIA Rail hosted me for the train portions of this cross-Canada journey.
