the feature article in the life section of the straits times on 30 march makes me re-visit my photo album (of our switzerland tour) so as to share our experience. we actually visited three countries - switzerland, liechtenstein and italy. in the case of italy, it was just crossing from lugano in southern switzerland to tirano in italy. it is like crossing the causeway from singapore to johor bahru town.

ours was a 14-day tour - yes, a bit too long - and we travelled by train all the way, except for the return trip to lugano from tirano (in italy) when we were put on a postal coach. our starting point was zurich. this was our itinerary: zurich - st gallen -vaduz (in liechtenstein) -st moritz - tirano - lugano -lucerne - interlaken - montreux - zermatt/matternhorn - zurich.

we had no choice but to travel by train. driving would have posed a number of problems. first, you had to get used to driving on the right side, just like in the usa. the other problem was that the road signs and information signs were either in french or german. train is the better alternative.

we had to travel lighter than normal. each of us carried a slightly bigger than cabin-sized bag. as it was summer, we did not have to pack thick woollens, long johns, scarves and gloves. however, up in the mountains, it could get quite cold. the alps are covered with snow all year round.

from interlaken we took the cogwheel train to jungfraujoch, the highest train station in europe. of all the places in switzerland, zermatt left the deepest impression in me. i like zermatt, where you can see the majestic matterhorn, for its smoke-free environment - no petrol driven vehicles.

yes, if you do not enjoy being herded around in a conducted tour group, travelling by train on your own is a good way to see switzerland. you do not need two weeks; one week is enough for you to take in all the touristy places.