By Nora Dunn

I've always been a devout fan of long-distance train travel. This dates back to childhood, when I took the train 400 miles to visit my grandparents each summer.

So when I became a full-time traveler, it only stood to reason that I'd choose the train as my preferred method of travel. In fact, I've become something of an International Train Travel Evangelist, having taken the train through a good dozen or so countries.

So when Great Southern Rail gave me an Ausrail Pass to play with, I enjoyed using it to experience Australia's greatest world-class train trips. I started with The Ghan : a three-day trip from Darwin to Adelaide (and topped it off with the Overlander from Adelaide to Melbourne).

I had expected that three days would be long enough for me to get good and bored. I brought books, music, movies, and a long list of articles to write. But with the daily stops at interesting places, the excellent meals, engaging people to chat with, and the ability to lose hours gazing out the window, I didn't even come close to boredom.

So I decided to up the anti.

My next train trip was a mammoth journey from Melbourne to Sydney, to Perth – and then back to Sydney and Melbourne. All up it was 11,000kms in 11 days. I had only one night in Perth – the rest was solid train travel. Although I was excited to experience the remote Australian outback and this world-class train ride, my main motivation was to see if it's possible to become bored on a train.

So if 16,000kms through Australia wasn't enough to satiate my love of long-distance train travel, maybe my current adventure will be: During the month of September 2011, myself and a few other prominent travel bloggers will be riding approximately 25,000kms of trains from Lisbon to Saigon.

It's all part of the Ultimate Train Challenge Ultimate Train Challenge; you might call me a sucker for punishment, or you might envy this mammoth mission. Either way, you (and I) will have to stay tuned to see how it all goes!

To hear more from Nora and what shes up to check out her website at TheProfesionalHobo.com