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Travel Notes on Trans-Siberian Railway
I keep a daily travel log and write a newsletter. That information is much more detailed. I made this page to collect some essential notes of problems, or variance to pay attention to in Trans-Siberian Railway.
TRAVELOGUE STARTED:
My Travel Log or Blog started: ? Not been there yetNEWSLETTER BLOG
SUBSCRIBE MY PHOTOSINFORMATION:
TRAVEL FROM MONGOLIA OR CHINA TO EUROPE:
RUSSIAN CROSSING OPTIONS
- Transit Visa through Russia.
- Tourist Visa through Russia
SKIP OR NOT TRAVEL IN RUSSIA OPTIONS:
- Fly to Europe from Ulaam Baatar. Berlin and price is around 600 U.S. Dollars one-way.
- Fly to South East Asia from Ulaam Baatar about 600. U.S. Dollars one-way.
- Go to Kazakstan and across the Caspian Sea.
COUNTRIES TO ENTER WHEN LEAVING RUSSIA
I will go to the CIA fact book and download the maps of the following countries so I can see or surmise the major cities and entry requirements for Americans.
- Finland - Entry easy and just cross the border for USA people.
- Latvia - Entry easy and just cross the border for USA people.
- Lithuania - Entry easy and just cross the border for USA people.
- Belarus
- Ukraine
- Poland
- Kazakstan
THE END GAME OR LANDING SITE IN EUROPE
1. Poland, Germany, Sweden, or any country that is base of flying for Ryanair.com or Easyjet.com to fly to Rome for warmer weather.
2. Possibly camp in Sweden.TRAVEL FROM EUROPE TO ASIA BY WAY OF TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY:
Start countries:
1. Finland - Entry easy and just cross the border for USA people.
2. Latvia - Entry easy and just cross the border for USA people.
3. Lithuania - Entry easy and just cross the border for USA people.
4. Belarus
5. Ukraine
6. Poland
7.
REAL Trans-Siberian Railway
WHY PEOPLE VISIT Trans-Siberian Railway?
DO NOT VISIT Trans-Siberian Railway IF?
THESE THINGS ARE GUARANTEED TO HAPPEN
NEED TO BRING
You may wish to also bring the stuff that you can buy immediately. If you are on a tourist trip you should bring both the need and what you can buy immediately.Trans-Siberian Railway ENTRY
- Sleeping Bag - Especially in winter as they do not heat or sometimes provide enough blankets.
- Toilet Paper -
BUY IMMEDIATELY
THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN OR IS A BIG PROBLEMS IN Trans-Siberian Railway
VISA OR STAMP:
It is definitely better to get your visa in your home country. You do not need to get rooms. The bordering countries will extort fees, and hold your visa for various reasons and on the average you will pay 200 U.S. Dollars more if you get the visa in the adjoining countries.
- Need Invitation from tour company. You can pay for this.
- Need TWO BLANK PAGES IN YOUR PASSPORT for the Russian stamp.
- Need to make a list of cities you wish to visit.
- Need to know the way you are exiting the country of Russia.
- Probably best to have minimum of 4 passport size photos.
- 14 Days is a good time or estimate of minimum time needed to get a passport anywhere in the world. Express is available.
TRANSIT VISAS
- NOTE: Flying into Moscow MAY require a transit visa.
LETTER OF INVITATIONS:
- From a Russian tour company.
- From online companies like http://www.gotorussia.net
The can e-mail or fax the invitation to you for 30 U.S. Dollars. This only seems to work good in your home country or non-interested countries. The closer you are to Russia the more difficult it will be to get a Visa.--- VISA OPTIONS COMING FROM CHINA OR BEIJING AREA?
RUSSIAN VISA IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY - Best option
- But... This LOCKS you in on travel dates
RUSSIAN VISA IN BEIJING - Possible, but still difficult
RUSSIAN VISA IN MONGOLIA - Worst Option
- Must have original invitation.
- The man that works at the desk of the Russian Embassy more or less said,
"If you do not buy a tour from LEGENDS tour company here in Ulaan Baator you will have problems."--- VISA OPTIONS COMING FROM EUROPE?
- The closer to Russia it appears to make it more difficult.
- Note that Belarus and Ukraine are hard to enter and probably require lots of Visa problems.
- Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania are countries relatively easy and cheap to enter and cross to enter Russia.
Trans-Siberian Railway ENTRY:
TOILETS AND SHOWERS:
- No showers
- Toilets are for the whole carriage.
ENTERTAINMENT
- Bring books as railways are good for reading.
TRANSPORTATION:
ANNOYANCES:
- People drinking alcohol on trains.
- Spitting or snoring.
SAFETY:
COMMUNICATION:
COMPANIONS OR TRAVEL MATES
- Best to have a travel mate for conversation.
CULTURE:
LUGGAGE
GEAR:
BUSINESS
GOSSIP
SOCIAL PROBLEMS:
SEASONS:
TRASH AND RUBBISH DISPOSAL
FOOD:
TERMS OR DEFINITIONS:
FOOTNOTES:
1. From Encyclopedia Britannica - I have made BOLD some key words.
Ulan-Ude: hotel Odon cheapest room 320roubles, Gagarina street(ulitsa). The street is parallel to the street in front of the train station hotel Zolotoy kolos cheapest dirty room 105 roubles, shady place but safe if you don't open your door to the drunks.
Irkutsk: baikal hostel 8euro dormitory. Lermontova Street, very hard to find, far from centre. German-Russian student joint venture. Jake's homestay, 20bucks a night, private rooms. Very nice place only 3 rooms. INternet, laundry and all that shit (tours and more). Right downtown, on Lenina Street (ulitsa). Website www.baikaler.com or .ru Owner is guide for baikal lake and surroundings, Can't stand him but nice and very helpful.
Novosibirsk: No cheap place whatsoever. Biggest city in Siberia, worth seeing. Very very soviet. Even have a metro. Only gigantic soviet hotels. Cheapest one is right across the train station (around 40$), can't miss it. You also have a booth that arranges homestays for cheaper on the lower level of the train station, I think they only speak russian but they can still get what you want with a little sign languagee. You also have women offering rooms (komnata) outside the train station on the square. Only in russian but always check where the place is , you could end up in the suburbs (eta dalyeko? is it far?). Asking price is around 700 roubles. BARGAIN HARD!!! There are also rooms in the train station but they are usually always full, can always ask. I personaly slept in the seating area upstairs in the train station with the sleeping babushkas.
Moscow: Very expensive city. Cheapest I found is south of the city, 15 minutes in the subway from downtown. The hotel of the uzbek friendship. Hotel Asia. There is a "hostel" on the 15th or 14th floor of the hotel. They speak english and are very helpful. C-cards accepted. Bed in a 4 bed room with washroom for about 600-650roubles. You will not find any cheaper. When you step out of the metro, it is the only big building with a parking near the metro.
Sankt-Peterburg: Tons of expensive hotels. Soviet monoliths. There is one international hostel but its not the cheapest in town. There is a university dormitory on Korablestroyiteley Street (ulitsa) metro primorskaya who can provide you with a bed in a two bed room for between 6 and 10 depending who is working that day. Lots of foreign students live there so there is always someone that speaks whatever language you speak. There is also a cheap hotel by european russian standart called hotel(gostinitsa) Kyevskaya south of the moskovski train station. Its on a small street off the avenue that passes on the right side of the train station. Ask any tourist oriented place or taxi and they will tell you where it is. From Nevsky prospekt, you should not pay more than 80roubles for a taxi to the hotel. Very simple rooms with a bed and a sink will cost around 600-700roubles again depending on who is working that night.
With trains you can avoid long queus by going directly to the wagon attendant (provodnik) and bribe him. That way you wont have to buy a ticket.
