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Siberian BAM Guide: rail, rivers & road

Siberian BAM Guide: rail, rivers & road

Excerpt:
Contents list


Contents list | Introduction | Planning your trip | Itineraries | Sample route guide


PART 1: PLANNING YOUR TRIP

Getting information 9

Getting there
To Russia 11 - The visa 11 - To the north-east and the BAM 12

Itineraries
Six-day tour of the BAM 13 - Tour of the Lena and Yakutsk 15 - Along the AYaAD and AYaM from Yakutsk to Tynda 16

Travel arrangements
Travel agents 17

Travelling conditions
Costs 19 - Money, travellers' cheques and credit cards 20 - When to go 20 - Health 22 - Russian language 24 - Electricity 24

What to take
What to take checklist 26

PART 2: EN ROUTE

Train travel
Types of trains 27 - Life on a passenger train 27 - Passenger carriages 31 - Buying railway tickets 35 - Changing your ticket 40 - If you can't get a ticket 40 - Getting off in the middle of nowhere 40

Other methods of transport

Road transport 41 - Air transport 41 - River transport 42

Around a town
Orientation 46 - Getting around 46 -ñ Where to stay 47 - Eating 49 - What to see 51 - Post and telecommunications 52

Security and police
Types of police 55 - The Passport Bureau 57 - Crime on the railways 57

Customs and manners 57

Part 3: BAM MAINLINE ROUTES

Taishet-Bratsk 61
Bratsk-Ust-Kut 67
Ust-Kut-Severobaikalsk 76
Severobaikalsk 84
Exploring North Baikal 91
Severobaikalsk-Novaya Chara 100
Novaya CharañTynda 124
Tynda-Novy Urgal 135
Novy Urgal-Komsomolsk-na-Amure 157
Komsomolsk-na-Amure and region 167
Komsomolsk-na-AmureñSovetskaya Gavan 187

Part 4: BAM BRANCH LINE ROUTES

Khrebtovaya-Ust-Ilimsk 206
Bamovskaya-Tynda (The Little BAM) 207
Izvestkovaya-Novy UrgalñChegdomyn 210
Khabarovsk-Komsomolsk-na-Amure by train 215
Khabarovsk-Komsomolsk-na-Amure-Nikolaevsk-na-Amure by river 224

Part 5: REPUBLIC OF SAKHA

Sakha and Yakutsk via the Lena River and AYaM 229
The AYaM: Tynda-Neryungri-Aldan-Yakutsk 262
The Kolyma Highway: Yakutsk-Magadan 279

APPENDICES

A: History of the BAM 291 - B: Life in the north-east 317
C: Russian language guide 347 - D: Glossary 351
E: Further study 355 - F: BAM Mainline Timetables 361

ROUTE MAPS 365-72


Siberian BAM Guide: rail, rivers & road

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