Account of Travels The first "Tifin Talkie" of the season was held at noon on Oct. 19 Jat the Y.W.C.A, headquarters, 22 Nanking Road. These events, whicl have always been one of the most enjoyable features on the gramme, bid fair to re usual popularity this season. An atmosphere of pleasant informality jand friendly interest is nearly al-Jways to be found, and yesterda; tiffin was no exception to the ger feral ral Miss Jeanne Perkins, Secretary jof the Y.W.C.A., who has recently returned "a from a year's. holiday spent in travelling, was the central figure, and her account of part of her travels delighted her listeners.
Her talk was entitled "Home by way of the Volga, Bagdad and Damascus" and included many graphic descriptions of this unusual trip, which ix seldom undertaken from China, Miss Perkins started on the jour= ney in company with a friend at the beginning of summer, 1931, Instead of taking the usual Siberian route to Europe, they branched off and went South through Persia and Turkey before gaining Italy and the rest of Europe, They left their first port of call, Manchuli, and went by train to [Lake Baikal; despite the necess for cooking their: own meals on the train and obtaining hot water only, stations, the trip was comfort fable, and the scenery beautiful, From thence they went to Moscow, where they were met by a friend and were, able to enjoy the luxury fof a hot' bath and dinner at' the hotel. After several days apout in sightseeing in and around Moscow, the travellers joined a tourist party through South Russia, stopping off fat Nijlmi Novgorod, and afters wards taking a trip down the Their next destination was Stal-ingram, where Miss Perkins was me terested to note five new industrial jeentres. Stalingrad was followed *-Iby Rostov, and afterwards Baku Jwhere the' party swam in the Cas pian, from thence to Tiflis, the old capital of Georgia where they rode into the mountains before returning Ito Baku.
From Baku, they took the boat to Pablevi in' Persia, and crossed to Teheran—a journey which took thirteen hours by Ford ear. Teheran, they found picturesque and very. interesting. The city has been remodelled and can now boast wide reets and modern buildings. notable sight were the. glad streams which run through the gut= ters, pure and cold as they come down "from the mountains, The formed a picturesque ickgrourid for the veiled women Jand uniformed men who thronged the streets.
From Teheran they flew Bagdad where the July heat was overpowering. Across the Arabian desert to Damascus was the next step—a very long one- considering that it was a distance of 700 miles and was completed in 25 hours by On reaching Stamboul, the mo= dern name for Constantinople, the Journey, insofar as the Near East was concerned, was nearing its end. The westernisation of Turkey was specially notable in Stamboul; from there the travellers took the Orient Express through Bulgaria and Jugo-'Slavia, and from thence they went to Eutope, visiting Venice, Milan, Geneva, Paris, and London by the From London they crossed the Atlantic and arrived in the States—and home,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.