The Trans-Siberian Insider

The Trans-Siberian Insider

A journey along a railway more than 130 years old, is a journey through an era that reshaped civilizations and the course of history of the old and new worlds. This journey is not your usual Trans-Siberian trip where the train is the theme and the focal point for the trip. Our journey focuses on the cultures and rich histories of the people whose lives have been touched by the railroads, the modern ‘Silk Roads’, connecting east and west.

This trip is designed for those who are not only seeking to impress with the mention of their Trans-Siberian journey, but for those who are really curious about the lives of the people that are seen all too often only as scenery through the train windows.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Beijing

Pass By: Summer Palace (Yiheyuan), No.19 Xinjian Gongmen Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100080 China
We arrive in Beijing, the fascinating capital of the world’s most populated country. This city mirrors both China’s fast-growing economy and the people’s struggle to make it through another day. Skyscrapers rise only a few steps away from the ancient hutongs, the latest cars glide past rickshaws, and traditions thousands of years old continue to be observed alongside the new economy and a modern way of life. This coming together of the old and the new makes Beijing one of the world’s most impressive cities. From the airport, and if time permits (depending on time of arrival in Beijing) we drive to the Summer Palace. Built during the Qing Dynasty as a resort exclusively for the Imperial Family, this enormous site comprises of various temples, the world’s longest decorated corridor, and today offers Beijingers a place where they can escape the hustle and bustle of the city. We tour the site on foot and enjoy a boat ride on the man-made Kunming Lake. We then drive to the heart of the city and take a tour around Tienanmen Square. It is the world’s largest central city square and it is said that no one could rule China without first gaining control of it. It is surrounded by important buildings, among them the National Museum and the Great Hall of the People (the Chinese parliament). At the heart of the square there is a mausoleum for Chairman Mao who reshaped the country, leading the People’s Republic of China from its foundation in 1949 until his death in 1976. From Tienanmen Square, we continue to Wangfujing Pedestrian Street where, behind some of the world’s largest shopping malls, we visit the night food market. For the brave of heart, a delicious meal of various insects cooked in several ways awaits! After checking in at our hotel, we enjoy a traditional Beijing roast duck dinner before settling down for the night.

Meals included:
• Dinner: We enjoy a traditional Beijing roast duck dinner.
Accommodation included: Overnight in 4 star hotel in Beijing.

Day 2: The Great Wall of China

Pass By: The Great Wall at Badaling, Badaling, Yanqing District, Beijing 102112 China
After breakfast at the hotel, we drive out of the city to the famous Great Wall, China’s most prominent landmark. What we in the West know as The Great Wall of China is a system of walls built over centuries by different emperors. The Wall is considered to be some 2700 kilometers in length, but if we include all the sections that were built throughout its history, there are some 10,000 kilometers of this enormous man-made structure. We walk on part of The Wall and hear about its history, including how it failed to fulfill its intended goal of stopping the Mongols from invading the country. On our way back to the city, we visit the Ming Dynasty Tombs at Changling. This site is where most of the Ming Emperors were buried, following the transfer of the imperial capital by the Ming Emperor Yongle from Nanning in southern China, to Beijing in the north. We then proceed to the Sacred Road where the Imperial Families were given their last resting place. The name derives from the Chinese belief that a road with several gates leads the souls of the ‘heavenly families’ to the sky. If time permits, we'll stop by the Olympic Village, the venue of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Here we visit the aptly named ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium, with its unique architecture, and the ‘Water Cube’, the Olympic swimming pool, marveling once again at the unique and innovative design, typical of all major buildings which were erected for this special event. We then drive to one of Beijing’s three train stations as we board the night train to Datong.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: We spend the night aboard the train in a Soft Sleeper compartment.

Day 3: Beijing to Datong

Pass By: Hengshan Hanging Temple (Xuankong si), Hengshan, Datong China
We arrive in Datong very early in the morning. At the train station we meet our local guide, and drive to the hotel in the city to complete our night’s sleep. After breakfast at the hotel we go to discover Datong and its surroundings. Until recently, Datong was known throughout China as the “City of Coal”. However, due to China’s ongoing mission to reduce air pollution, and the decline in real estate development, the city’s glory has been dimmed. In Datong we witness a phenomena common to many of China’s cities, where new construction projects are being built over the old (and some would say “authentic”) residential areas, to provide modern dwellings. The local and central governments keep on subsidizing the coal industry, to provide for the thousands of families whose livelihood depends on these mines. Looking back to more glorious times in the city’s history, we take the hour and a half drive to explore the marvels of the Xuan Kong Hanging Temple. Hanging some 50 meters above the Jinxia Gorge of the Hengshan Mountain, this architectural wonder of over 1400 years is a clear testimony to ancient Chinese craftsmanship. No less exciting is the dedication of the temple to three very distinct sets of beliefs that co-exist in the temple’s caves. Here, we find altars dedicated to Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, and even figures of the main characters in each of these different religions lying side by side, a very uncommon sight.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodation included: We spend the night in a hotel in Datong.

Day 4: Datong – Jining – Overnight train to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Pass By: Yungang Grottoes, Wuzhou Mountain, Urban Area, Datong 37000 China
In the days when the Chinese capital and center of power was in Nanning in southern China, Datong was one of the most significant trade centers throughout northern China, later turning into a major trade point on the legendary Silk Road. This is where our route crosses the ancient Silk Road for the first time, with the second time being towards the end of our long journey. With such a significant role on the ancient trade routes, Datong was a major attraction for traders from the entire region, as can be seen from its splendid cultural and historical relics and monuments. Today, we explore two of Datong’s most significant and impressive sites. We begin with a visit to the Yungang Grottoes. Like its ‘sister’ sites of the grottoes at Dunhuang and Bazeklik (among a few others), this site tells the story of the advance of Buddhism into China. The earliest carvings on the walls are of distinct Indian style, describing famous tales and figures from early Buddhist mythology. Later carvings show a developing influence of Chinese art, with precise descriptions of Chinese social and religious events and characters. After exploring the caves, we return to Datong where we stop, if time permits, at the Nine Dragon Screen. Though built some 600 years ago, the wall, one of very few remaining in China and the largest of them all, has been perfectly preserved. Like other sites around Datong, and faithful to wonderful Chinese traditions and history, this is another significant remnant of the superiority of Chinese attention to detail and unique design. After lunch, we take the two hours’ drive to the city of Jining, where we board the Trans-Mongolian train on our journey into Mongolia. We arrive late at night at the border crossing between China and Mongolia. Here, all wagons are lifted up in the air in order to change the bogies to fit the different rail gauge between Mongolia and China. Bogies changed, and passports stamped on both ends of the border, we begin our ride into Mongolia and journey through the night on board the train.
Note: all bathrooms will be locked for the entire process of changing the bogies, please make sure you are ‘prepared’ in advance.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: We spend the night on board the train.

Day 5: Arrival in Ulaanbaatar

Pass By: Gobi Desert, Mongolia
We wake up to see the vast open Gobi Desert. We might see a camel caravan crossing the desert, or the white spots marking a Mongolian Ger, the felt-made dwelling of the Mongolian nomad. In the afternoon we arrive in Ulaanbaatar, meet our guide and driver at the train station, and drive to our hotel in the city center. After checking into our hotel, and if time permits, we will have an orientation tour of the city through the central square, which was recently renamed after Ghengis Khan, the nation’s forefather. Right at the heart of the square we see the figure of D. Sukhbaatar, one of the heroes of the communist revolution of 1920’s, boldly raising his arm towards the statue of the Great Khan, whose name wasn’t allowed to be mentioned during the 70-year communist reign. We then visit the National History Museum, which holds a permanent exhibition on the different civilizations that have inhabited the territory of Mongolia from prehistoric times to the present. This exhibition includes a significant display of objects from the era of the Great Mongol Empire. From here we take a short walk to the drama theater where we attend an impressive folk concert, featuring some traditional Mongolian art forms. After a welcome dinner, we drive back to our hotel for a good nights sleep.

Meals included:
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in a 4 star hotel.

Day 6: Ulaanbaatar – Terelj National Park

Pass By: Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
We check-out of the hotel, and embark on an hour and a half drive to Gorki-Terelj National Park. The park features unique rock formations, scenic valleys, a winding river, and restful groves of trees. Many nomads live in the park itself, where they find good grazing for their animals. Upon arrival in the park, and after checking into our gers (the felt-made dwellings of the steppe nomads), we take an easy hike to the famous Turtle Rock, a symbol of wisdom and longevity to the Mongolian people. We then continue hiking to Ariabal Temple. The temple has been recently reconstructed after the original temple was destroyed during the communist purges of the 1930’s. A site of great tranquility, it functions today as a meditation center to Buddhist monks. In the evening we return to our camp for a relaxing evening under the Mongolian sky of a million stars.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: We will spend the night in a ger camp in the park.

Day 7: Terelj National Park - Overnight train to Irkutsk, Russia

Pass By: Genghis Khan Statue Complex, Tsonjin Boldog, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
After breakfast we leave the park and drive to the newly constructed Ghengis Khan Monument. Rising 40 meters in height over the surrounding steppes, this mighty structure is a major symbol to the renewing Mongolian nation, after more than 300 years of foreign sovereignty over its people and territory. We then head to the Mongolian Capital for our overnight train journey. The section of the Trans-Mongolian railway which stretches between Ulaanbaatar and Irkutsk is considered to be one of the most beautiful on the entire trip, initially crossing the narrow valleys of the northern Khan-Khentii Mountain Range, where fertile grass-steppes attract nomadic families to set up camp. The railway then follows the course of the Selenge, one of Mongolia’s mightiest rivers. After the inevitable border formalities on both Mongolian and Russian sides of the border, the train runs beside small Siberian villages that seem to have been frozen in time. The train stops at Ulan Ude, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Buryatia, before reaching the shores of Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: We spend the night on board the train.

Day 8: Arrival in Irkutsk – Listviyanka

Pass By: The Great Baikal Trail, Listvyanka Russia
We arrive in Irkutsk in the afternoon and, from the train station, drive directly to Listviyanka on the shores of Lake Baikal, a summer retreat popular with Russians and foreigners alike. As we arrive in Listviyanka, we visit the Baikal Ecology Museum, with its permanent exhibition on the rich, and mostly endemic, flora and fauna. If we have time, we'll take a stroll through the narrow streets of Listviyanka, which are mostly unpaved and run between high wooden fences. We visit the local church and continue to the bustling market on the lake’s shores.

Meals included:
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Our overnight stay is in a hotel in Listviyanka.

Day 9: Listviyanka – Excursion by the CircumBaikal Railway - Irkutsk

Pass By: Circum-Baikal Railway Steel, Kultuk Russia
After breakfast, we embark on a train journey on the Circum-Baikal Railway, a true engineering marvel with 38 tunnels, 15 stone galleries, and 20 bridges, allowing this unique railway to travel along the shore of Lake Baikal, providing magnificent views over the lake and its surroundings. We end our journey at the remote and tiny village of Poloviniya and take a hike to a charming but simple guesthouse at the edge of a lush green valley, where we enjoy a traditional Russian lunch. In the afternoon we walk back to the small bay of Poloviniya, close to the train station, where we board a boat for a marvelous three-hour private cruise on the crystal-blue lake. If we are lucky, we'll occasionally see the heads of Nierpas, one of the world’s few species of freshwater seal. We arrive late in the afternoon back in Listviyanka and board our vehicle, as we head back to Irkutsk for an overnight in the city.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in a hotel in Irkutsk.

Day 10: Traveling through Irkutsk

Pass By: Angara River, Russia
The entire day is dedicated to traveling through Irkutsk and its surroundings. With its history running back to the mid-16th century, when the city was a mere fortress collecting taxes from the Buryat people, Irkutsk has played a role in Russian history and even more so in the history of Siberia. At times, it has been the seat of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia. Later, it became a magnet for exiles of all walks of life, from noblemen and artists who took part in the Decembrists Revolt against Tsar Nicholas I to Bolsheviks, and then, Counter-Bolsheviks. These political and artistic influences have combined to create a city with a unique fusion of cultures and social classes. Although most of the city was destroyed in a massive fire in July 1879, it was quickly restored as a major trade point between Russia and the emerging Chinese giant to the south-east. We begin the day with a short drive out of town, to visit the Taltsy Open-Air Museum of Wooden Architecture, which is considered the best museum in the Irkutsk region. It's a place where you can experience the history and traditions of the peoples of Siberia: Buryats, Evenks, and Russians. Back in the city, we stop at the old city center, where we see the historic wooden houses along the main streets. This is a window into the lives of the Decembrists - those who led the failed revolt to abolish serfdom and diminish the power of the Russian monarchy. The Decembrists were exiled to Siberia, leading to the implantation of Russian culture in the Far East. We stop at the local farmer’s market, before visiting the Bogoyavlenski Cathedral, known for its spectacular interior decoration. From here, we continue to the Saviour’s Church, Eastern Siberia’s first stone-built church, which dates back to 1705. We wrap up the day with a stroll along the embankment on the Angara River, the only river leaving Lake Baikal. Finally we stop at a supermarket to buy supplies for our train ride tomorrow morning.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight a hotel for the second night in Irkutsk.

Day 11: Overnight train ride to Novosibirsk

Pass By: Train Station, Sovetskaya Ulitsa, 61, Vikhorevka, Irkutskaya oblast', Russia, 665792
After rising early in the morning, we drive back to Irkutsk train station, where we board the train to Novosibirsk. This section of our train journey takes us through typical Siberian landscapes, with its famous Taiga, the stretch of forests that cover the high northern latitudes around the globe, from Alaska and Canada in the west, through northern Europe, across Siberia, and all the way to the island of Hokkaido in Japan.

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: We stay on board the train overnight.

Day 12: Arrival in Novosibirsk

Pass By: Lenin Square, Khabarovsk Russia
In the morning, we arrive in Novosibirsk. The third most populous city in Russia, it is commonly dubbed the ’Capital of Siberia’. Here, we meet our local guide and driver, as we drive out of town to visit the open-air Locomotive Museum. This collection of locomotives and train cars shall provide us with an insight on the history of the railway. We will see, and walk into train cars that served as mobile hospitals during WWII, prison cars used to send convicts to the infamous Siberian labor camps, lavish first-class cars from the beginning of the 20th century, and snow plowing locomotives. We will learn about the people that envisioned and built the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and the fascinating story of the railway serving as a major engine of the Russian advance into Siberia. We then drive back to the city, and to our hotel for check-in. After lunch we visit the Novosibirsk’s Natural History Museum. We then walk to the city’s central square, Lenin Square, and the Opera House, one of the world’s largest of its kind. If possible we’ll enjoy a delightful opera performance.

Note: Attending an opera performance would depend on Novosibirsk Opera House schedule, and whether a show is performed on this evening.

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Novosibirsk.

Day 13: Day train to Omsk

Pass By: Holy Dormition Cathedral, Vidova, 26, Novorossiysk 353907 Russia
After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and drive to the farm-market, where we have the chance to get supplies for our train ride. We then stop by the Ascension Cathedral, originally built as a wooden church in 1913, but later, in 1937, turned into grain storage as part of the counter-religion campaign of the Soviet regime. In 1944, religious services were resumed, and to date it still serves as the city’s primary place of worship. We then continue to the train station, for our eight hour train ride to Omsk.
First established as a frontier post in the early 18th century, Omsk gained its status as the capital of Western Siberia in the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, when the Trans-Siberian Railway began to operate, the city turned into a major transportation hub. It was not only where the northern and southern lines of the Trans-Siberian crossed, but also had its waterways leading to mines in Kazakhstan to the south and gas, oil and lumber production centers in northern Siberia. The pinnacle of Omsk’s history was when it was proclaimed as the capital city of Russia by the Tsarists White Russians, as they fled from the Bolsheviks during the Communist revolution, with the Tsar’s treasures deposited in the city’s central bank. The city maintained this dubious title for less than two years before the Tsarists had to retreat further along the Trans-Siberian route to Irkutsk. Together with its rival sister city, Novosibirsk, Omsk flourished as a major industrial center, especially during WWII, but, like much of Russia, its development was curtailed by the first stages of the formation of post-Soviet Russia.
We arrive in the early evening in Omsk and meet our local guide and driver. We then head to the West Gate of what was once a fortress, the very beginning of Russian presence in the Omsk region. From here we take a walking trip, stopping by a few monuments such as the monument dedicated to the mother who lost her seven sons in the war, or the monument dedicated to Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who spent eight years in exile here. We end our walk by the Dormition Cathedral, which was demolished by Gulag prisoners, but has now been restored. After dinner we again visit the Dormition Cathedral, which is beautifully lit after sunset.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in a hotel.

Day 14: Omsk – Overnight train to Yekaterinburg​

Pass By: Memorial to the Unknown Victims of Prisons and War Camps GULAG, Moskovskiy Tract, 12 km, Yekaterinburg Russia
Today, we set off for a long day of exploring Omsk and its surroundings. We begin with a visit to the Stumpf House. Now serving as a museum dedicated to the life and works of the great painter K.P. Belov, it was originally built as the residence of Fillip Stumpf, a self-made millionaire. His house served as the centerpiece of the lives of the Russian German community, until the time of the Bolshevik revolution. First arriving in Russia following the invitation of Catherine the Great, the Russian Germans settled along the south Volga basin. After the Bolshevik revolution, the region became the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, allowing its German descendants to preserve their culture, traditions and language. However, with the invasion of Nazi Germany into Russia, and with Stalin’s fear that Volga Germans would cooperate with the aggressor, the autonomous republic was dissolved and its inhabitants dispersed throughout Siberia, mostly to forced labor camps, from which only a few returned. We then embark on a 50km drive to Azovo, the administrative center and the unproclaimed capital of the Siberian Germans. Here in Azovo, we enjoy a hearty welcome from the Siberian German people, join them for a traditional lunch, and learn about their history. We then drive to Atchair Monastery which formerly served as a Gulag camp, and where an estimated 200,000 prisoners perished. We arrive back in Omsk and board our train to for the long journey overnight and through the morning to Yekaterinburg.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight aboard the train to Yekaterinburg.

Day 15: Yekaterinburg

Pass By: Church on the Blood, Svyatoi Kvartal, 1, Yekaterinburg 620151 Russia
Arriving in Yekaterinburg in the morning, we meet our local guide and driver, who takes us to our hotel. Yekaterinburg is named after Catherine I, the wife of Tsar Peter the Great. Located east of the Ural Mountain range, the city marks the border between Europe and Asia, and thus, between old and new Russia. In common with many other cities in what was then the eastern frontier, the city was established in the early 18th century as an industrial center for metal works. In July 1918, the entire Romanov family, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children, were executed in the city. We leave the hotel, and drive to the Church of Blood, built on the exact spot where the Romanov family members were shot to death. We then drive out of town to the small village of Iset, from there we embark on a 10 kilometers hike through the forests of the southern Ural Mountains. In the afternoon we climb to the top of the Black Cliffs of Chertovo Gorodische, dubbed as the 'Devil’s Town', for a magnificent view over the Ural’s forests. We end our hike back at the village of Iset, then taking a short drive to Ganina’s Pit, the place where the remains of the Romanov family were disposed of on the night of their execution. Over the site and its surroundings, a monastery was built, following the canonization of the Tsar’s family.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: We spend the night in Yekaterinburg.

Day 16: The Ural Mountains – Overnight train to Kazan

Pass By: Leaning Tower of Nevyansk, Demidovyh Square, 3a, Nevyansk Russia
We leave Yekaterinburg and drive some 100 km to the town of Nevyansk. This is where one of the oldest metal factories of the Urals was established under the decree of Peter the Great in 1710. Nevyansk is the cornerstone of Russian settlement, in the Urals and eastern Russia, across the massive mountain range. We begin our tour around Nevyansk, with the town’s undeniable trademark, the Leaning Tower, which serves as magnificent testimony to the region’s industrious history with doors, stairs and bars cast in local iron, forming the framework of the tower. We proceed to the 17th century church in the village of Bynghii, which was populated by Russian Old Believers in the 18th century. From there we drive to visit the workshop of a potter who maintains a hundreds of years old family tradition. This is one of the last traditional pottery workshops in the region, which has turned into a pottery center due to the high quality clay dug from the river bank. Here we shall not only have the chance to see this talented artist working the clay, but also an opportunity to do some pottery ourselves. After a hearty homemade lunch with the potter’s family, we drive back to Yekaterinburg.
In the afternoon we take a walking tour along the City Pond and the Weir on the River Iset, a beautiful urban park in the heart of the city. The City Pond not only offers magnificent views of the city itself, but is where the city’s first metal works were built. At the end of the tour we stop at a local supermarket to get supplies for our next train ride.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: We spend the night aboard the overnight train to Kazan.

Day 17: Kazan

Pass By: Sad Baumana, Staraya Basmannaya St., 15, Moscow 105064 Russia
We arrive in the afternoon in Kazan, meet our local guide and driver, and drive to our hotel to freshen up. Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. The Tatars are a cluster of Mongol-Turkic tribes. When the Mongol Empire collapsed, the Tatars remained the sovereigns of the region until it fell under Russian occupation following a series of battles in the 16th Century. Although today nearly half the population comprises of ethnic Russians, in many ways it preserves its Muslim heritage as Islam is the main religion practised by the Tatars. Here in Kazan we cross for the second and last time the ancient route of the Silk Road, symbolizing a sort of closure on the old versus new, connecting east and west.
After checking into our hotel, we walk to Baumana, the city’s main trading center and pedestrian street. With all sorts of shops along its length, it's a favorite place for the people of Kazan to meet and talk. From here we walk to the university where Vladimir Lenin once studied, and before him, Leo Tolstoy, amongst many other prominent Russian figures. We continue along the city’s old streets and remarkable historical buildings, to Kazan Kremlin in the historical part of the city (‘Kremlin’ means ‘fortified complex’ in Russian). As we are likely to arrive in the Kremlin rather late in the evening, we will enjoy a romantic evening walk in the compound which is beautifully lit during evening time.

Meals included:
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in Kazan.

Day 18: Kazan – Overnight train to Moscow

Pass By: Kazan Kremlin, Kazan 420014 Russia
In the morning we walk from our hotel to Kazan’s main market. With its long trading traditions going back to the times of the Silk Road, this market is vibrant and colorful. We then go to visit an old Tatar District, with its old wooden houses and beautiful mosques. Around noon we drive again to Kazan Kremlin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was built by Ivan the Terrible on the ruins of the ancient palace of Kazan Khans. Within the Kremlin wall, we visit Qol Sharif Mosque, which, at the time of its construction, was the largest mosque in Europe and Russia outside of Istanbul. Early in the evening we stop at a supermarket to get supplies for our last train ride, and then return to Baumana Street for our last dinner of the trip. From here we drive to the train station as we board the evening train to Moscow, the last train ride of our long journey.

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodation included: We spend the night aboard the train to Moscow.

Day 19: Arrival in Moscow, and departure

Pass By: Moscow-City, Presnenskaya Embankment Presnensky District, Moscow Russia
We arrive in Moscow early in the morning. Upon arrival, we meet our driver who will transfer us from the train station to the airport, for our return flight home.

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.