There are lots of ways to get from point A to point B. You could walk, bike, drive a car, hire a rickshaw, but you get the idea. Now if point A is a long way from point B, it's not overly practical to walk or take a rickshaw. If you don't have a car, or if you don't want to worry about parking, gas prices, or the issue of time, mass transportation is the way to go.

Train: A lot of people really love trains. Well, let me rephrase that. A lot of people really love the idea of trains. I'm not entirely sure why, but there are lots of model train enthusiasts, and movies about trains, and songs about trains, and I have to say I don't get it. The train is so 19th century. Sure, back in the heyday trains were something special, but when there was no other way to get to the next town apart from a stagecoach, trains were a big step up. The thousands of miles of steel track stretching across continents is also rather impressive. But now the train is passé. By and large goods are moved by truck, and people by, well, anything else. No one really wants to take a train. It's slow, dull, and quite frankly who wants to spend half of their vacation looking at poor people's back yards? Let's face it, no matter how impressive the collection of junked cars, poor people's back yards are Ugly.

Bus: I'm for bussing. I'm for bussing every pinko in Cincinnati back to Russia. Sorry, was channeling a little WKRP there. I won't let it happen again. What can I say about busses? Does anyone anywhere actually like busses? A bus is a poor man's airplane. No, let me rephrase that. Discount airlines provide the poor man's airplane. The bus is the ramen-eating student-loan-subjugated dirt-poor student's slow-moving earthbound airplane. But they aren't all bad. First, the bus does provide an option for the person who lacks the funds to travel by plane and doesn't mind spending 36 hours sitting near a borderline psychotic who smells of urine. Second, the mere existence of the bus gives those of us who have bad experiences while using other methods of transport some comfort in the simple fact that no matter how unpalatable the meal or long the wait or thorough the cavity search, at least we aren't on a bus. That's something, but not enough to vault the humble bus out of Bad.

Airplane: I like airplanes. There's no where you can go, spend hundreds of dollars, and be so keenly reminded that we still have a class system. Business and First class passengers get to board whenever the heck they feel like it, they get to exit the plane first, and you just know that when those of us in "hospitality class" are eating our egg McMuffins and/or cold cuts on a roll with Sprite they are getting, well, something else. Considering how much a ticket upgrade costs, though, I'll be content with my cold cuts and Sprite. I can do without the extra leg room and elbow room, too. After all, the last time I flew I had no one directly beside me, and when you have two people sharing a three seat section, it's not so bad. I had the window seat, too, which is always cool (I don't know why anyone would ever request anything other than a window seat, unless they were specifically planning to go to the washroom during the flight, and I can't imagine anyone doing that). I wasn't able to spot my house during takeoff, but I was at least able to see where I work, so it's all Good.