Transportation and travel

Traveling is very popular in the 21st century. Why do people travel? There are many
answers and reasons. Probably the most common reason is tourism. People have always
been curious about far-away places and cultures and traveling is really the only way to
experience new places, meet interesting people, and see the most beautiful buildings
in the world. Traveling for tourism is not limited to any age group. Even small children can
travel with their parents on a family vacation to see another city, another region, or even
another country.

Many people like visiting castles, chateaux, palaces, ruins, churches, cathedrals, and
temples. When we travel, we can eat unusual foods and experience many different ways of
life. We can meet new people and make new friends. Some people travel for business,
political or cultural reasons, others travel only for recreation, fun and adventure.

But there are more reasons for traveling. People travel because of the requirements of
their job. Or they might travel because they are moving, either by choice or because
they are refugees. Another reason to travel is to gather with family and friends from
distant places.

Means of transport
There are many means of transportation that can be used while traveling. We can divide it
into two groups - private and public. Private transportation includes cars, or for shorter
distances, bicycles. Some people prefer motorbikes to cars. Motorbikes are faster,
especially in cities, but it is more dangerous, you must travel alone or just with one friend
and you can't carry much luggage with you. A few people own a helicopter or a plane, but
that isn't very common.

Public transportation offers a greater variety of options. The fastest and the most
comfortable is traveling by plane. It usually takes just a few hours to reach distant
destinations. But for many people it is too expensive. For distant journeys we can also use
buses or trains. Buses are faster and cheaper, but less comfortable. Trains offer more
space, and you can move about during the journey. Sometimes there is also a dining
car where you can have some refreshment. It is also possible to travel by ship. It is cheap
and you can carry a lot of luggage, but it takes longer.

Buses usually represent the main public transportation in cities. Sometimes there are trams
or trolleybuses. Some bigger cities also have underground subways. The underground
(or tube) has many advantages, it runs frequently and is fast, many people can use it at
the same time. But some people think it is dangerous to travel by tube. They feel that
everywhere is a threat of a terrorist attack.

One special means of transportation is the taxi. You can use it everywhere in the city, you
can call it whenever you want, but you usually pay for it great money. Especially the Czech
taxmen are said to be very expensive and not always fair.
The absolutely cheapest means of transportation is hitch-hiking. You can meet
interesting people, see new places and save money. One drawback is that you never
know how long the journey will take, so it's best if you don't have any exact plans.
Another disadvantage of hitch-hiking is that it can be quite dangerous. You never know who
the driver is and how he drives. It is necessary always to use a seat belt. If you are not
sure that the driver is OK you must stop him and leave the car.

Advantages, disadvantages and complications

There are many advantages of traveling - fun, adventure, the excitement of seeing new
places and learning about new cultures. But there are also disadvantages. When you are
traveling you don't have all your comforts from home, you are in an unfamiliar
environment, you might not like the regional cuisine, or you might even encounter dangerous
thieves.

But there are also some complications. The number of cars in the world is rising and it
causes a lot of complications. Many towns are afflicted by traffic jams. Increasing costs of
petrol are unwelcome for the households and firms. There is a risk of crashing when you
travel by bus or car. There is also a danger of being exposed to some illness when you
take public transportation, and now a new risk is a terrorist attack.

Obligation
If you travel abroad you must be sure you have all the necessary documents, like your
passport and a visa, if one is needed to travel to a specific country. You need to make
travel arrangements, and exchange some money into the local currency of the country
where you are traveling.

If you want to go on vacation you can take an advantage of the services offered by travel
agencies. Travel agencies will take care of accommodation, transportation, health
insurance, accident and baggage insurance. It is much more comfortable - but you pay
for it, of course.
At the airport (postup na letišti)

Tara is going to visit her friend in Germany. To get there from England she has to take a
flight in an airplane. So now she is at the airport. The first thing she did when she got there
was to leave her car at the long-term car park. This is a special car park where travelers
can leave their cars for over a week.

Now she has gone to the part of the airport where she will start her flight. This is the
passenger terminal. The part of the terminal she is looking for is called departures. The
other part of the terminal is arrival and this deals with travelers whose flight has just
brought them to the airport.

Once she gets to Departures. Tara takes a quick look at the flight announcements. Good,
her flight is still on time, and there are no delays. Because she wants to have plenty of time
before her flight, Tara goes straight to the check-in desk. She is very early so there is no
queue. At the desk she shows the ticket for her flight, and hands over her suitcase. The
baggage allowance for her flight is just 25kg, so Tara has been careful not to pack too much.
If her suitcase were too heavy, Tara would have to pay an excess baggage fee.

Now her suitcase is taken away to be carried in the plane's cargo. Tara has marked a big
cross on her suitcase, so she will be able to recognize it easily when it arrives on the
luggage carousel for her to collect at Munich airport. After she has checked in, Tara is
given a boarding pass, which will allow her on to the airplane.

Now Tara has to go through security and emigration. She checks the regulations, and
makes sure that she has no dangerous objects such as liquid or aerosol in the bag
which she will be taking on to the airplane as carry-on baggage. She also checks again that
she has her passport to show at emigration.

Once she has gone through security she passes through a scanner to make sure she has
no metal objects in her pockets. Her bag goes through a special x-ray machine which
checks that too.

Now she is in the flight-side part of the airport. If there is anything she has forgotten on
the public side, it is too late now! But Tara thinks she has remembered everything. She
checks the flight announcements to see at what gate she will find her plane. Because her
gate is on the other side of the airport she has to take a shuttle train. Fortunately it is not
crowded.

Tara knows that she might have to wait for a while in the departure lounge next to the
gate before she boards the airplane, so she decides to have something to drink while she is
waiting. Then when she hears the announcement that her flight is boarding, she hands in
her boarding pass to the flight attendant, and walks down to the runway where her plane is
waiting.
Slovní zásoba
amusement park - zábavní park
currency - měna
danger - nebezpečí
dining-car - jídelní vůz
driver - řidič
gather - shromáždit se
hiking - turistika
hitch-hiking - autostop
luggage - zavazadlo
mean of transport - způsoby dopravy
move - pohybovat se, stěhovat se
passenger - cestující
passport - cestovní pas
plain - letadlo
platform - nástupiště
reason - důvod
refugee - uprchlík, emigrant
requirement - požadavek, nárok
rucksack - batoh
temple - klášter
traffic - doprava
traffic jam - dopravní zácpa
tram - tramvaj
transport - přeprava, doprava
travel - cestovat
travel agency - cestovní kancelář
traveler - cestovatel
trolleybus - trolejbus
underground / tube / subway - metro
vacation - dovolená
visa - vízum