Anyone Travelled The Trans Siberian Railroad?

[hilly]

The longest train journey in the world. My ex girlfreind did it.9 days on a train.

[brutus]

I have been at St.petersburg... but no balls go to Vladivostok... uh. Anyway, i heard that there are nice casinos... im wondering whos playing there?!

[Paparazzi]

That was one of my dreams when I was a kid to travel The Trans Siberian Railroad

How is it to travel with railroad in russia? Secure or do some gangs rob tourists on the train?

[hilly]

Vladivostok is so cold in winter your eye lashes stick together.
Gangsters play at the casinos, but they dont hurt you if you are foreign

[hilly]

Its very secure, so dont be afraid.

[pxxx]

I don't like taking trains.

[Paparazzi]

So they don't have guards on the train?

How much does cost? From Moscov to Vladivostok, right?

[Damian_Maxcash]

I really want to do London - Hong Kong by rail

I nearly did it the last time I went to Australia but the cost was massive

Maybe next time

[brutus]

Hilly - are you from Russia or do you know it well? If you wish, send me icq ... 160 552 707 - I will be back online after 8 hours need to sleep a bit.

[warlock5]

Funny, I was just reading about this yesterday, on my list of things to do in the next 20-30 years

[Mike Okitch]

Originally Posted by damian2001

I really want to do London - Hong Kong by rail

I nearly did it the last time I went to Australia but the cost was massive

Maybe next time

I'm curious. What was the cost?

[jimmyf]

No but I sure would like 2.

travel the trans siberian railroad

[brutus]

Hmm... Suer its an experience,,, but why not try before that fly over Neva with Mi-24 Hind
... sure better than rail road...

[brutus]

Have to explain... when i was there - i tried this - not as a pilot but i was at in that copter and it was incredible experience. !!!

[hilly]

Originally Posted by brutus

Hilly - are you from Russia or do you know it well? If you wish, send me icq ... 160 552 707 - I will be back online after 8 hours need to sleep a bit.

No, I am not from Russia. But I travelled on one of theiere trainns from Kiev to Sevastopol . You have to be prepaired to "rought it" It is a journey of a lifetime. Be freindlly You will learn along the way. It is part of the journey. Tell them you are American, and they will love you. No Shit.
As for prices, I dont know.
I got all my travell tickets dirt cheap, like I was a local. But if they know you are American, you will pay 100 times. Just look this shit up on the internet!
Fuck, anyone can do it!

[hilly]

Sorry, I did not make it plain.
My ex is a Russian Citizen

[mockingbich]

Wow that is so cool

ISn't there a train that goes right throught the center of Australia too?..through the outback?

Has anybody taken that ride?

[Kevsh]

Originally Posted by hilly

Sorry, I did not make it plain.
My ex is a Russian Citizen

I was in Russia last summer and I agree that you need to get a local to buy things like train tickets as the cost is far less - esp. for things like hotels in Moscow. As a foreigner, it is one of the 2 or 3 most expensive cities in the world to visit.

Not surprisingly, most modes of transportation outside the main cities is nowhere near (in terms of quality, speed, comfort) what you'd find here in N.America or most parts of Europe. Expect to lose a lot of "comforts" while in Russia!

[OzMan]

I did it in 1985 (I was 22) in the middle of Winter. Not all the way to Vladovostok as I went thru' China. It was indeed an amazing trip, especially since China was just opening up to the West and I had never really travelled before. It should be much easier to do now. I would do it again tomorrow.

Here's a "brief" summary

I flew Perth to Hong Kong, ferry to Guanghou, train to Beijing, a week in Beijing getting a Mongolian visa and seeing the sights and then Beijing to Moscow (about six days) First class was dirt cheap, about US$150 for private berth with shower. A few days in Moscow and on to Helsinki (Freedom after many days of Communism lol) a month around Europe and settled in London.

Some memorable highlights:

-Staying in a youth hostel in HK overlooking the harbor for a dollar a night

-Changing money on the black market in Guanghou with the local banana stand guy

-Trying to get out of an invite from a 17 yo girl in the Army to come stay with her, it was a 14 hour bus ride and I was on a schedule.

-Staying in a coed dorm type hotel with hot and not shy Swedish girls

-Getting acupuncture treatment from an amazing woman about 90 years old

-Making the cab driver take shortcuts up one way streets the wrong way and paying his $1 fine as the cops would catch us every time

-being followed around by about 200 people everywhere I went in China like I was a movie star. They had hardly seen Westerners, especially tall ones.

-almost missing the train in Outer Mongolia. I came out of the station store and the train was moving off, all the steps were up. I ran along til I found an open door and the guard pulled me up just like in the movies.

-Managing to really piss off Mongolian soldiers by insulting their national animal, some weird buffalo looking thing.

-Getting woken at 3AM by a Soviet guard saluting me and demaning to see my passport, which I couldn't find for about 3 VERY long minutes as several more soldiers squeezed into my cabin.

-Arguing with (more) Soviet soldiers in minus 37 degrees as they confiscated my Michael Jackson cassettes (I had bought in HK to sell in Russia)

-being advised not to run on the platform to warm up as I would be shot by a trigger happy young soldier who would think I was running away from him for a reason.

-Setting my watch back one hour every day as we passed through another time zone

-Trying to order Russian food on a 35 page menu when only three items were available.

-Selling my walkman for in Moscow for so much profit, I ate at the best restaurants for the next few days. Thr rouble was about 1-1 for US$ then

And of course the ultimate highlight, meeting many amazing people locals and tourists along the way.

[Forkbeard]

OzMan, I am so jealous. I was supposed to do Moscow to Nahodka (Vladivostok was still a closed city) in 1998, after I wrapped up four months of Russian study at the Moscow Steel and Alloy Institute. But my travel agent "forgot" to book my tickets after many assurances (I assume he booked them and and then resold them to somebody willing and able to offer a premium). I didn't have the money or skill or vlyat to get it fixed, so I had to fly home. :-(

It's one of my main regrets in life that I couldn't make that trip happen. I expect to still do it one day, but it won't be the adventure it would have been in late Soviet times.

[OzMan]

Originally Posted by Forkbeard

OzMan, I am so jealous. I was supposed to do Moscow to Nahodka (Vladivostok was still a closed city) in 1998, after I wrapped up four months of Russian study at the Moscow Steel and Alloy Institute. But my travel agent "forgot" to book my tickets after many assurances (I assume he booked them and and then resold them to somebody willing and able to offer a premium). I didn't have the money or skill or vlyat to get it fixed, so I had to fly home. :-(

It's one of my main regrets in life that I couldn't make that trip happen. I expect to still do it one day, but it won't be the adventure it would have been in late Soviet times.

I am sure your travel agent did just that, anything for a buck/rouble

Back then the official Soviet tourist agency was called Intourist I believe. They were assumed to be 100% KGB (so they could watch all these suspicious foreign spys with backpacks).. I was met at the train station by one and escorted to my Hotel and told to notify the desk whenever I went out.

God I love the Russian accent, very sexy on a woman. I would have loved to have spent more time in Moscow like you did especially learning the language. It seemed foreigners were very popular there. I sat on a park bench there in minus 10 with four very business savvy teenagers trying to negociate the sale of everything I had. I kept my clothes and boots.. it was too cold

[reynold]

nope i've never gone there before

[reynold]

Nine days??? That's like forever.

[Rui]

One of the best threads of 2005

/me bookmarks and takes notes

[Damian_Maxcash]

Originally Posted by Mike Okitch

I'm curious. What was the cost?

I cant remember, around the $5500 mark and that was 10 years ago. I got the quote via an agent and I have learned since it can be cheaper to organise it all yourself.

[Damian_Maxcash]

Originally Posted by mockingbich

Wow that is so cool

ISn't there a train that goes right throught the center of Australia too?..through the outback?

Has anybody taken that ride?

Thats "The Ghan" from Adelaide to Alice Springs and more recently on to Darwin..... I have done that trip, again pretty pricey. I really like Darwin as a cityl, a very tropical Asian feel.