Practical guidebooks for the more adventurous traveller.
 — The Herald

Trans-Siberian Handbook

Trans-Siberian Handbook

Excerpt:
Contents


Contents | Introduction | Individual itineraries or organised tours? | Route planning | What to take | Sample Route Guide: Trans-Siberian Route and map 1 | Other railway lines linked to the Trans-Siberian | Best of Trans-Siberian


 

INTRODUCTION

Why take the train?  7    Routes and costs 10         

When to go  15

PART 1: PLANNING YOUR TRIP

Bookings and visas
Individual itineraries or organised tours? 17 – Route planning 18
National holidays and festivals 20 – Visas 23 – Making a booking 28

What to take  37

Health precautions and inoculations 44

PART 2: RUSSIA

Facts about the country 46

Practical information for the visitor  58
Essential documents 58 – Arriving in Russia 59 – Where to stay 60 – Local transport 62 – Electricity 64 – Time 65 – Money 65 – Post & telecommunications 66 – Food and drink 68 – Where to eat and drink 73 – Toilets 74 – Magazines and newspapers 75 – Photography 75 – Crime and annoyances 76 – Entertainment 77 – Shopping 79

PART 3: SIBERIA AND THE RAILWAY

Historical outline  81

Early travellers  90

Building the railway  96

Riding the Trans-Siberian today
The train 112 – Life on the train 121 – Buying a train ticket for Russia 124 – Buying a train ticket in Mongolia – 130 – Buying a train ticket in China 130

PART 4: CITY GUIDES AND PLANS

St Petersburg  136
Moscow  168
Sergiev Posad  206
Rostov-Velikiy 211
Yaroslavl  217
Vladimir 224
Bogolyubovo 229

Suzdal  230
Nizhny Novgorod  237
Perm  244 – Kungur Ice Cave 249
Perm-36 250 – Khokhlovka 251
Yekaterinburg  251
Tyumen  262
Tobolsk  266

Omsk  271
Novosibirsk  274
Akademgorodok 282
Tomsk  282
Krasnoyarsk 288
Stolby Nature Reserve 295
Irkutsk  297
Lake Baikal  308
Listvyanka 311 Hikes around Baikal 316 – Olkhon Island 317
Ulan-Ude  319
Ivolginsky Datsan 326
Chita  327
Birobidzhan  332
Khabarovsk  334
Vladivostok  342
Ulaanbaatar  353
Excursions 373
Harbin  377
Beijing  384
Day trip to the Great Wall 407
Bratsk  409
Severobaikalsk  410
Around Severobaikalsk 414
Yakutsk 415
Lena River excursions 417
Tynda  418
Komsomolsk-na-Amure  420
Vanino  424
Sovetskaya Gavan  425

 

PART 5: ROUTE GUIDE AND MAPS

Using this guide  426

Trans-Siberian route  428
Moscow–Vladimir–Nizhny Novgorod–Perm–Yekaterinburg–
Tyumen–Omsk–Novosibirsk–Krasnoyarsk–Irkutsk–Ulan-Ude– Chita 2–Birobidzhan–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok

Trans-Mongolian route  482
Zaudinsky–Naushki–Sühbaatar–Ulaanbaatar–Erlian–Datong–Beijing

Trans-Manchurian route  491
Chita 2–Zabaikalsk–Manzhouli–Angangxi–Harbin–Changchun–
Shanhaiguan–Tianjin/Tientsin–Beijing

The Baikal Amur Mainline (BAM)  498
Bratsk–Severobaikalsk–Tynda–Komsomolsk-na-Amure–Vanino–
Sovetskaya Gavan

MAP KEY  504

APPENDICES

A  Alternative route via Yaroslavl  505    B  Timetables  507
C  List of Siberian fauna  512        D  Bibliography  514
E  Phrase lists (Russian 515 – Mongolian 520 – Chinese 521)

INDEX  524  

METRO PLANS  Moscow 530  Beijing 531

Trans-Siberian Handbook

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