Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
I spent two days on a Russian train, covering some 3,200 kilometres & crossing from Siberia (& Asia) into European Russia in the process, to get here to Nizhny Novgorod, a major transport & industrial centre & my first stop in European Russia on this,...
A 2-Day Trans-Siberian Railway Journey Diary || Riding The Rails
A 2-Day Trans-Siberian Diary Recapping A Trip On The Trans-Siberian Railway Russian third class, or platzkart, en route from Irkutsk to Tomsk, Siberian Russia. November 10, 2012 ; It’s approaching noon on November 12 & I’m 40 minutes out of Tomsk. I’m...
Tomsk, Siberian Russia
November 10, 2012, was one of those memorably forgettable travel days. Coming off a 28-hour train trip, I found Tomsk not to be the most welcoming of places to be at 2:00 a.m. One of many closed Siberian cities during the Cold War years, Tomsk felt very closed to me...
Irkutsk to Tomsk, Russia (2012) || Riding The Rails
I’m riding the rails today. The Trans-Siberian rails. I’m en route to Tomsk, my next stop in Russia (still in Siberia), one time zone & approximately 1,700 kilometres west of Irkutsk on this, my second Trans-Siberian odyssey. I’ve been, and will...
Listvyanka, Siberian Russia
There’s plenty of snow here in the village of Listvyanka on the shores of Lake Baikal, Siberian Russia. And it’s still coming down. Is it ever. It has been like this since I stepped off the bus from Irkutsk earlier this afternoon so I don’t know when...
Irkutsk, Siberian Russia (2012)
I was really looking forward to my return to Irkutsk in Siberian Russia which, & just like back in 2006, was to be my first stop in Russia on my ongoing journey west to Europe. I was looking forward to getting reacquainted with Russia, its distinctive...
Ulan Bator, Mongolia to Irkutsk, Russia (2012) || Riding The Rails
I’ve only now just figured out the timetable for this train, the one posted at the end of my carriage. As a result I now know I’ll be arriving in Irkutsk, my first stop in Russia, early tomorrow morning having spent not one but two nights on this train getting...
Ulan Bator, Mongolia (2012)
A pictorial look at a return to Ulan Bator, the sleepy, unkempt capital of Mongolia & the centre of the Mongolian universe.
Terelj National Park, Mongolia
Few places on earth scream of the great outdoors like Mongolia. The very word conjures up visions of the untamed – Genghis Khan, nomads wandering the Gobi Desert with their livestock, & wild horses galloping across the endless steppes. Yes, the land without...
Hohhot, China, to Ulan Bator, Mongolia (2012) || Riding The Rails
It was deja vu all over again. Just like seven years ago, I eventually made it out of China and after two nights of riding the rails in a well-worn Mongolian train carriage I arrived earlier today, October 31 2012, in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator. It’s...
Beijing, China (2012)
Beijing is the mammoth capital of China, the world’s most populous country, & has been, for much of the past eight centuries, the political, educational, and cultural centre of the country. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, gardens, tombs,...
Shanghai To Beijing, China || Riding The Rails
The last time I travelled the 1,200+ kilometre distance between Shanghai & Beijing, China, was back in 2004 & I did so by the fastest possible train connection available at the time – a 15-hour overnight sleeper train. Now one can make the trip in 5 hours 30...
Shanghai, China (2012)
It might surprise a few to know that Shanghai is actually the largest city in China. It might also be fair to say that not a lot of people know a lot about the city – it’s one of those under-the-radar destinations, one that travellers don’t seem to give much...