Summary

A trip across Siberia on the longest continuous railway track in the world is undoubtedly the journey of a lifetime. It's also a convenient way to reach China, Mongolia or Japan. Tickets are not expensive or difficult to arrange. This acclaimed guide shows you how to organise a trip, where to get tickets, where to stay and what to see. ? Practical information - planning your trip; what to take; getting to Russia from Europe, North America and Australasia ? Kilometre-by-kilometre route guides covering the entire routes of the Trans-Siberian, Trans-Manchurian, Trans-Mongolian and Siberian BAM railways with 40 strip maps in English, Russian and Chinese: see where you are as you travel. ? City guides and maps - the best sights, places to stay and restaurants for all budgets: Moscow, St Petersburg, Ulaan Baatar, Beijing and 25 towns in Siberia; plus Lake Baikal and nutshell information on Minsk, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Helsinki, Hong Kong & Tokyo. ? Siberia and the railway - the detailed history of Siberia, the construction and the running of the railway today are of great interest not only to visitors but also to armchair travelers. ? This 8th edition now also includes a section on the Siberian BAM Railway side route ? With 76 maps - plus timetables, fares, Russian & Chinese phrases.

Author Biography

Originally written by Bryn Thomas, Trailblazer’s founder, this 8th edition was updated by Anna Kaminski, a Russian-UK national who also works for Rough Guides.

INTRODUCTION (1) PART 1: PLANNING YOUR TRIP – Routes and costs (Route options, Costs, Breaking your journey, Internet resources), When to go, Bookings and visas, Organized tours or individual itineraries?, Route planning, Visas, Making a booking (in Britain, in Continental Europe, in North America, in Australasia, in South Africa, in Asia), What to take (Clothes, Gifts, Money, Background reading), Health precautions and inoculations (Inoculations, Medical services) (2) PART 2: RUSSIA Facts about the country (Geographical background, Historical outline, Economy, The people), Practical information for the visitor (Documents, Crossing the border, Where to stay, Tours, Local transport, Buying rail tickets, Electricity, Time, Money, Post/telecommunications, Magazines and newspapers, Holidays, Festivals, Food and drink, Buying your own food, Where to eat, What to do in the evening, Shopping, Crime) (3) PART 3: SIBERIA AND THE RAILWAY Historical outline (Early history, The nineteenth century, The exile System, Early travelers), Building the railway (Plans for a Trans-Siberian railway, The decision to build, Railway construction, The first rail travelers, The railway in the twentieth century), The Trans-Siberian today (The train, Life on the train, Steam locomotives in Siberia, Other railway lines (4) PART 4: CITY GUIDES AND PLANS St Petersburg (History, What to see, Excursions from St Petersburg, Local transport, Orientation and services, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on), Moscow (History, What to see, Excursions from Moscow, Local transport, Orientation and services, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on), Sergiev Posad (History, What to see, Practical information), Rostov-Yaroslavski (History, What to see, Practical information), Yaroslavl (History, What to see, Practical information), Vladimir (History, What to see, Excursions from Vladimir, Orientation and services, Where to stay and eat, Moving on), Suzdal (History, What to see, Practical information), Nizhny Novgorod (History, What to see, Practical information), Vyatka (Kirov) (History, What to see, Practical information), Perm (History, What to see, Practical information), Yekaterinburg (History, What to see, Practical information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on), Tyumen (History, What to see, Practical information), Omsk (History, What to see, Practical information), Novosibirsk (History, What to see, Practical information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on, Excursions from Novosibirsk: Akademgorodok, Tomsk), Krasnoyarsk ((History, What to see, Practical information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on, Excursions from Krasnoyarsk), Irkutsk (History, What to see, Practical information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on), Lake Baikal (Getting to Lake Baikal, Listvyanka, Port Baikal, Bolshie Koty), Other Siberian excursions (Bratsk, Severobaikalsk, Nizhneangarsk, Yakutsk), Ulan Ude (History, What to see, Ivolginsk Datsan, Orientation and services, Local transport, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on), Chita (History, What to see, Practical information), Birobidzhan (What to see, Practical information), Khabarovsk (History, What to see, Practical information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on), Vladivostok (History, What to see, Practical information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Ferries, Moving on), Ulan Bator (History, What to see, Practical information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on, Excursions), Harbin (What to see, Practical information), Beijing (History, What to see, Practical information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Moving on) (5) PART 5: ROUTE GUIDES AND MAPS Using this guide, Trans-Siberian route (Moscow – Vladimir – Nizhny Novgorod – Vyatka – Perm – Yekaterinburg – Tyumen – Omsk – Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Ulan Ude – Chita – Bureya – Birobidzhan – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok (Maps 1-27)), Trans-Monglian route (Ulan Ude – Naushki – Sühbaatar – Darhan – Ulan Bator – Erlyan – Datong – Beijing (Maps 28-30)), Trans-Manchurian route (Chita – Zabaikalsk – Manzhouli – Angangxi – Harbin – Changchun – Shanhaiguan – Tianjin – Beijing (Maps 31-35)) Siberian BAM Route (Tayshet – Bratsk – Severobaikalsk – Severomuysk – Tynda – Novy Ugal – Komsomolsk-na-Amure – Vanino – Sovetskaya Gavan) (6) PART 6: DESTINATIONS AND DEPARTURES Tokyo, Hong Kong, Helsinki, Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw , Minsk, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius) (7) APPENDICES Alternative route via Yaroslavl, Timetables, Siberian fauna, Bibliography, Phrase lists) (8) INDEX

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Excerpts

Introduction

After the classic film of Boris Pasternak’s love story,Dr Zhivago, there can be few people unaware of the magic of crossing Russia and the wild forests and steppes of Siberia on the longest railway journey in the world, the Trans-Siberian. The distances spanned are immense: almost 6000 miles, a seven-day journey, between Moscow and the Pacific port of Vladivostok (for boat connections to Japan); just under 5000 miles, five days, between Moscow and Beijing.

Since a rail service linking Europe with the Far East was established at the turn of the 19th century, foreign travellers and adventurers have been drawn to it. Most of the early travellers crossed Siberia in the comfort of the carriages of the Belgian Wagon Lits company, as luxurious as those of the Venice-Simplon Orient Express of today. Things changed somewhat after the Russian Revolution in 1917 as it became increasingly difficult for foreigners to obtain permits for Siberia. It was not until the 1960s that the situation improved and Westerners began to use the railway again for getting to Japan, taking the boat from Nakhodka (it now leaves from Vladivostok) for the last part of the journey. In the early 1980s, travel restrictions for foreigners visiting China were eased and now many people have found the Trans-Siberian a fascinating and cheap way to get to or from both the Middle Kingdom and Mongolia.

Rail travel is not only far more environmentally friendly than flying but inevitably passengers absorb something of the ethos of the country through which they travel: on this train you are guaranteed to meet local people, for this is no ‘tourist special’ but a working service; you may find yourself draining a bottle of vodka with a Russian soldier, discussing politics with a Chinese academic or drinking Russian champagne with a Mongolian trader.

Russia is undergoing phenomenal changes after decades of stagnation. While the ending of the Cold War may have removed some of the mystique of travelling in the former USSR, Russia’s increasing accessibility means that there are new travel opportunities right across the country. With foreigners no longer obliged to stay in overpriced state-run hotels, visiting the country is more affordable than ever before.

Although travel in Siberia today presents few of the dangers and difficulties that it did earlier in the last century, a journey on the Trans-Siberian still demands a considerable planning and preparation. Now in its seventh edition with even more detailed information than its predecessors, this book helps you cut through the red tape when arranging the trip, gives background information on Russia and Siberia, and provides a kilometre-by-kilometre guide to the entire route of the greatest rail adventure – the Trans-Siberian.