On a journey card, the trip itself matters more than the destination: the transport, the conditions, the people on the way. Unlike "Describe a place you visited", here you describe movement and feelings.
The cue card
Describe a memorable journey you have made.
You should say:
where you went
how you travelled
who you went with
and explain why it was memorable.
One-minute notes
- where: Moynaq, the old Aral Sea port, two summers ago
- how: overnight sleeper train to Nukus (20 h), then a hired car (3 h)
- who: three friends from university
- why: cards and shared food, ships on the sand, sea far away
Model answer (about 2 minutes)
I'd like to describe a trip I took two summers ago to Moynaq, in the far west of Uzbekistan, which used to be a port on the Aral Sea.
We went by overnight train from Tashkent to Nukus, which took about twenty hours. It was an old sleeper train with four bunks in each compartment, no air conditioning and windows that only opened halfway, so it was boiling, but it was also brilliant fun. We played cards, shared food with an elderly couple in the next compartment and watched the desert go by for hours.
There were four of us, all friends from university, and from Nukus we hired a driver for the last stretch, which was another three hours across almost empty land.
What made the journey unforgettable was arriving in Moynaq and seeing the old fishing boats lying on the sand, rusting, with no water anywhere near them. Our guide told us that when he was a boy the sea came right up to the town. Now the shore is well over a hundred kilometres away.
It was a strange mix of feelings. The trip itself was full of laughter, but standing there made me understand an environmental disaster in a way no textbook ever had. It's the one trip I always tell people about.
Useful words and phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| an overnight train | an overnight train |
| bunks in a compartment | bunks in a compartment |
| boiling | boiling |
| watch the desert go by | watch the desert go by |
| the last stretch | the last stretch |
| rusting | rusting |
| an environmental disaster | an environmental disaster |
| get over with | get over with |
How to answer
- Describe the conditions on board: it brings new vocabulary ("bunks", "compartment", "boiling").
- Add your companions and the people you met: the story comes alive.
- Give what the guide said in reported speech.
- Mixed feelings make a strong ending: "a strange mix of feelings".
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Part 3: follow-up discussion questions
Why do people enjoy travelling by train?
Trains are relaxing in a way planes aren't. You can move around, look out of the window and talk to people, so the journey becomes part of the trip rather than something you just want to get over with.
Will people travel less in the future because of the environment?
Probably not less, but differently. I can imagine more people choosing trains for medium distances, especially as high-speed lines expand, like the one between Tashkent and Samarkand.
What problems can tourists cause in the places they visit?
Is it better to travel with friends or with family?
Part 2 strategy: the cue card guide. Next step: the Part 3 guide.
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The AI examiner asks you these questions, listens to your answers and shows your mistakes.
