Trailblazer Guide Books

Engagingly written… all the guides from this stable are first class
 - Traveller

INTRODUCTION

PART 1: PLANNING YOUR TRIP
 Routes and costs
 Route options 11 – Costs 11 – Breaking your journey 15
 When to go
 Climate 15 – Public holidays and festivals 16
 Bookings and visas
 Organised tours or individual itineraries? 18 – Route planning 19
 Visas 22 – Making a booking: in Britain 27, in continental Europe 29,
 in North America 32, in Australasia 33, in South Africa 34, in Japan 35,
 in China 35
 What to take
 Clothes 37 – Luggage 38 – General items 38 – Money 41
 Background reading 42
 Health precautions and inoculations
 Inoculations 45 – Medical services 46

PART 2: RUSSIA
 Facts about the country
 Geographical background 47 – Historical outline 48 – Economy 55
 The people 57 – Government 57 – Education and Social Welfare 58
 Religion 58
 Practical information for the visitor
 Essential documents 60 – Crossing the border 60 – Where to stay 61
 Tours 64 – Local transport 64 – Electricity 65 – Time 66 – Money 66
 Post and telecommunications 67 – Magazines and newspapers 69
 Toilets 69 – Food and drink 69 – Russian customs and etiquette 73
 Where to eat 74 – Entertainment 75 – Shopping 76 – Crime and
 annoyances 78

PART 3: SIBERIA AND THE RAILWAY
 Historical outline
 Early history 80 – The 19th century 83 – The Exile System 84
 Early travellers
 Victorian adventurers 89 – The Great Siberian Post Road 89 – SS Hill’s
 Travels in Siberia 94 – Jefferson’s Bicycle Jaunts 94

Building the railway
 Plans for a Trans-Siberian railway 95 – The decision to build 96
 Railway construction (Phase One 97, Phase Two 100) – The first rail
 travellers 101 – The railway in the 20th century 106 – Steam locomotives
 in Siberia 107 – Other railway lines linked to the Trans-Siberian 108
 Riding the Trans-Siberian today
 The train 111 – Life on the train 117 – Buying a train ticket in Russia 120
 Buying a train ticket in China 124

PART 4: CITY GUIDES AND PLANS
 St Petersburg  History 130 – What to see and do 138 – Excursions from
 St Petersburg 147 – Practical information (Arriving in St Petersburg 148,
 Local transport 150, Orientation and services 150, Where to stay 152,
 Where to eat and drink 154, Bars and nightlife 155, Cultural life 157,
 Shopping 157, Moving on 157)
 Moscow  History 160 – What to see and do 162 – Practical information
 (Arriving in Moscow 182, Local transport 183, Orientation and services 183
 Where to stay 186, Where to eat 189, Bars and nightlife 191,
 Cultural life 191, What to buy 192, Moving on 192)
 Sergiev Posad  History 195 – What to see and do 198
 Practical information 199
 Rostov-Yaroslavski  What to see and do 200 – Practical information 204
 Yaroslavl  What to see and do 205 – Practical information 210
 Vladimir  History 212 – What to see and do 212 – Orientation and
 services 214 – Where to stay and eat 214 – Excursions from Vladimir 216
 Suzdal  History 217 – What to see and do 217 – Practical information 219
 Nizhny Novgorod  What to see and do 223 – Practical information 226
 Excursions from Nizhny Novgorod 227
 Perm  What to see and do 228 – Practical information 230
 Excursions from Perm 231
 Yekaterinburg  History 232 – What to see and do 234 – Orientation and
 services 238 – Local transport 238 – Where to stay 239 – Where to eat 239
 Bars and nightlife 240 – Shopping 240 – Moving on 240
 Excursions from Yekaterinburg 241
 Tyumen  What to see and do 242 – Practical information 242
 Tobolsk  What to see and do 245 – Practical information 246
 Omsk  What to see and do 249 – Practical information 252
Novosibirsk  History 253 – What to see and do 254 – Orientation and
 services 256 – Where to stay 258 – Where to eat and drink 258
 Entertainment 259 – Moving on 259 – Excursions from Novosibirsk 260
 (Akademgorodok 260)
 Tomsk  What to see and do 261 – Practical information 262
 Krasnoyarsk  What to see and do 266 – Orientation and services 267
 Where to stay 267 – Where to eat 270 – Bars and nightlife 270 – Moving
 on 271 – Excursions around Krasnoyarsk 271
 Irkutsk  History 272 – What to see and do 275 – Orientation and
 services 277 – Local transport 280 – Where to stay 280 – Where to eat 281
 Bars and nightlife 281 – Moving on 282
 Lake Baikal  Lake Baikal 283 – Around Baikal 286 – Listvyanka 286
 Port Baikal 290 – Bolshie Koty 291 – Hikes around Lake Baikal 291
 Olkhon Island 292
 Ulan-Ude  History 294 – What to see and do 295 – Orientation and
 services 296 – Local transport 297 – Where to stay 297 – Where to eat 298
 Moving on 299 – Excursion to Ivolginsky Datsan 300
 Chita  What to see and do 303 – Practical information 304
 Birobidzhan  What to see and do 306 – Practical information 307
 Khabarovsk  History 308 – What to see and do 309 – Orientation and
 services 310 – Where to stay 311 – Where to eat 314 – Moving on 314
 Vladivostok  History 316 – What to see and do 318 – Orientation and
 services 320 – Local transport 321 – Where to stay 321 – Where to eat 324
 Bars and entertainment 324 – Moving on 325
 Ulaanbaatar  History 327 – What to see and do 328 – Naadam Festival 332
 Orientation and services 332 – Local transport 338 – Where to stay 339
 Where to eat 340 – Nightlife 343 – Moving on 344
 Excursions from Ulaanbaatar 345
 Harbin  What to see and do 350 – Practical information 352
 Beijing  History 356 – What to see and do 357 – Arriving in Beijing 363
 Local transport 363 – Orientation and services 363 – Where to stay 370
 Where to eat 373 – Nightlife 375 – Where to shop 376 – Moving on 377
 The Great Wall of China 378
 The Baikal Amur Mainline (BAM) region
 Bratsk  What to see and do 380 – Practical information 380
 Severobaikalsk  What to see and do 381 – Orientation and services 382
 Where to stay and eat 382 – Moving on 383 – Around Severobaikalsk 383
 Yakutsk What to see and do 385 – Practical information 386 – Excursions
 on the Lena River 387
Tynda  What to see and do 387 – Practical information 388
 Moving on 389
 Komsomolsk-na-Amure  What to see and do 389
 Where to stay and eat 390 – Moving on 390
 Vanino & Sovetskaya Gavan  What to see and do 391
 Where to stay and eat 392 – Moving on 392

PART 5: ROUTE GUIDE AND MAPS
 Using this guide 393
 Trans-Siberian route 395
 Moscow–Vladimir–Nizhny Novgorod–Perm–Yekaterinburg–
 Tyumen–Omsk–Novosibirsk–Krasnoyarsk–Irkutsk–Ulan-Ude–Chita
 Bureya–Birobidzhan–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok
 Trans-Mongolian route 451
 Ulan-Ude–Naushki–Sühbaatar–Darhan–Ulaanbaatar–Erlian–Datong–
 Beijing
 Trans-Manchurian route 460
 Chita–Zabaikalsk–Manzhouli–Angangxi–Harbin–Changchun
 Shanhaiguan–Tianjin–Beijing
 The Baikal Amur Mainline (BAM) 467
 Bratsk–Severobaikalsk–Tynda–Komsomolsk-na-Amure–Vanino &
 Sovetskaya Gavan

APPENDICES
 A. Alternative route via Yaroslavl 474
 B. Timetables 476
 C. List of Siberian fauna 484
 D. Bibliography 486
 E. Phrase lists (Russian 487 – Mongolian 492 – Chinese 493
INDEX 497