· Vietnam to India should be relatively straightforward on buses and trains through Thailand and Laos, but I don't think you can travel through Burma. Bangladesh has rail links with India although travel in India's remote north-eastern province is not as easy as the rest of the country.

The India-Pakistan rail link was recently re-opened, and there are plenty of buses on that route. You may not want to travel all the way through Pakistan, however, so the ferry option from India could be a good idea. I was thinking of travelling on a wooden dhow, which still trade between the west coast of India and the Middle East. That would be an adventure in itself, but creature comforts could be scarce.

Once you get to Iran, things should go a lot more smoothly -it's a great country to travel in. Turkish buses are well run and cheap, and even in Greece buses are a better option than rail. From there, you can catch a ferry to Italy or travel up through the Balkans, although Albania could be dodgy, especially at the borders.

Some Irish guys I met did a similar route in 2000 - from India to Ireland on motorbikes - see geocities.com/fromindia toireland. Also, check out serious overland travellers on horizonsunlimited.com.

Donal Kerr

· While it is certainly possible to travel by rail through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, there is a much safer and more reliable alternative: a delightful French-colonial narrow-gauge sleeper will take you from Hanoi to Kunming in south-west China. An easy change of station will put you on the main Chinese network, on which you can travel comfortably via Xian, Lanzhou and Urumqi to Almaty in Kazakstan. From Almaty, there is a daily sleeper departure to Moscow - which takes about 72 hours. From Moscow, it is a standard Euro train to Waterloo. The most irritating part of the journey will be crossing London to Euston, Virgin Trains to Holyhead and the ferry to Dublin.

Henry Irving