Europe, Russia, Mongolia & China May 2009

" The Young Once forever singing The Young Ones. The Old Once forever singing The Summer Holidays " 

" The true wisdom of living is living moment to moment "

" Success is not getting rich at once. It is achieved through day to day, moment to moment progress " 

My 45 days solo visit to Europe, Russia, Mongolia & China - My first Spring experience in Europe, Baltic states and taking a Tran-Siberian train ride from Russia to Mongolia and China ( 3/5 - 16/6/09) - It only takes one pair of eyes to see the world; two will be wonderful !

After my Middle East trip ( Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Turkey - see my earlier travel blog: www.km-travel.blogspot.com ) in Sept/Oct 08, I started planning for my trip to Europe and the Tran-Siberian train ride from Moscow to Mongolia / China. It took a few months for me to firm things up especially on matters relating to hostel bookings , transport arrangement and Russian visa application & protocol etc.

On 3rd May 09, my younger son drove me to the LCCT KL airport terminal. On arrival at the airport, I had this queer feeling in my mind. 45 days in Europe, Baltic states, Russia, Mongolia as a first timer ? Am I ready after all the homework I had done for this trip ? What was it like entering Russia from Tallinn, Estonia by bus via the Russian border ? KGB or Mafia roaming the Russian streets ?

Like an athlete, as soon as you enter the sport arena, I believe you are ready for a challenge awaiting for the referee to shout the following words before blowing the whistle :

"On your mark .... Get set .... Go" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Did I finish my race in 45 days ? Where did I go ? How was it ? 

Thank god I came home with all my arms and limbs in original and natural proportions !!! So once again my mental, physical and spiritual strength were stretched and put to test in this memorable 45 day trip !

For this free and easy trip, I travelled solo but my faithful travel buddies were: 1 luggage trolley, 1 medium size back- pack, 1 small day- pack and 1 sleeping bag !!! Oops, I should also mention that I brought along a mini Panasonic rice cooker, learning to prepare my own meals in the hostels during the trip. This had considerably reduced my food bill a lot !

How time has flown, I started my trip on 3rd May and returned to Malaysia on 16th June 09. I lost 1.5 kilos of my body weight for this trip. But became wiser in travelling to that part of the world especially in Russia, of late warming up to welcome more travellers to this ex-communist country but the fear of KGB or Mafia is always lingered in one's mind the moment you set foot on this bureaucratic country , once upon a time called Soviet Union or U.S.S.R.

My travel trophies were 3,500 pictures taken on 12 countries and I take the pleasure of sharing some of these interesting photos with you ! The 12 capital cities I visited were:

1) London, UK

2) Amsterdam, Netherlands

3) Brussels, Belgium

4) Paris, France

5) Prague, Czech Republic (also visited Cesky Krumlov & Ceksy Budejovice)
6) Budapest, Hungary

7) Krakow, Poland (took a train from Krakow to Warsaw but did not visit the city)

8) Riga, Latvia

9) Tallinn, Estonia

10) Moscow, Russia (also visited St Petersburg, Irkutsk & Lake Baikal)

11) Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia

12) Beijing, China

In my previous trips, I focused my visits to places which fall under the UNESCO world heritage sites or the civilised or natural wonders of the world category. For this trip, I was able to visit the following:

UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

1) UK
-Tower of London, UK
-Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey & Saint Margaret's Church
2) France
- Palace & Park of Versailles
- Paris, Banks of Seine
- Notre Dame Cathedral
3) Belgium
- Grand Place, Brussels
4) Czech Republic
- Historic Centre of Prague
- Historic Centre of Cesky Krumlov
5) Hungary
- Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter & Andrassy Avenue
6) Poland
- Krakow's Historic Centre
7) Estonia
- Historic Centre ( Old Town) of Talinn
8) Latvia
- Historic Centre of Riga
9) Moscow
- Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg
- Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow
- Lake Baikal
10) China
- Imperial Palace of the Ming & Qing Dynasties in Beijing

Travel highlights:

1) London, United Kingdom (A warm welcome ! Thanks to Air Asia for flying from KL to Stansted, UK)

2) Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sitting on an extraordinary large Dutch clog to admire the surrounding canals & cobbled streets of Amsterdam)

3) Brussels, Belgium (Manneken Pis - The world famous peeing boy !)

4) Paris, France (The tall and mighty Eiffel Tower of Paris)

5A) Prague. Czech Republic (The Old Town of Prague)

            

5B) Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic (Have you ever been to Alice the Wonderland or Fairyland - so picturesque, how not to fall in love with this place ! )

5C) Cesky Budejovice, Czech Republic (A small country town , 25km from Cesky Krumlov)

6) Budapest, Hungary (Is Buda town infested with hungry pests in Hungary ?)

7) Krakow, Poland (I skipped Warsaw and picked Krakow for my Poland visit - did I make the right choice ?)

8) Riga, Latvia (A far away city near the Baltic Sea - never dream that I set foot on this place !)

9) Talinn, Estonia (Getting close to southern Russian border - my nightmare is about to begin !)

10A) St Petersburg, Russia (Built by Peter the Great in 17th century , renamed to Leningrad in 1924. The Hermitage & Winter Palace - both are stunning)

10B) Peterhof, Russia (The Russian Versailles) - stunning and most impressive Grand Cascade fountains , 25km from St Petersburg)

10C) Moscow, Russia (the famous St Basil Cathedral, Kremlin & Red Square, awesome & magnificent to see !)

10D) Irkutsk, Russia (The 3rd largest city in south east Russia - a stopover to Lake Baikal)

10E) Lake Baikal / Olkhon Island , Russia (The world's largest & deepest fresh water lake, over 20 million year old)

11) Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia (The Great Empire of Temujin - Genghis Khan)

12) Beijing, China (Forbidden city - off limits for 500 years - my 3rd visit since 1997)

Travel Itinerary:

Kuala Lumpur > London > Amsterdam > Brussels > Paris  > Prague > Prague > Cesky Krumlov > Cesky Bedejovice > Budapest > Krakow > Warsaw > Riga > Talinn > St Petersburg > Moscow > Irkutsk > Lake Baikal > Ulaan Battar > Erlian > Beijing > Kuala Lumpur 

Airline Flight Itinerary:
Booking Date: 19-2-09
Flight No: D7 2008
Depart LCCT KL on Sunday 3-5-09 at 17.00
Arrive Stansted Airport, London on Monday 4-5-09 at 00.05
Return: D7 2613 Depart Tienjin airport on Tuesday 16-6-09 at 23.00 (delay by 6 hrs due to bad weather)
Arrive LCCT KL on Wednesday 17-6-09 at 05.00

A) Air Tickets (include taxes & meals, insurance) : Rm793 (UK)+ Rm381(Tienjin) = Rm1,174
B) Travel insurance: Rm188
C) Russia Visa Support fee: US$30=Rm105
D) Russia Visa application fee: Rm140
E) Russia Visa registration fee : 600 rubles (Rm70)
F) China Visa application fee: Rm30
G) Land Transport ( trains, buses, trams): Rm1,284 + Rm1,617 +Rm560= Rm3,461

By train: Polish, Russian & Mongolian train tickets: Total Rm1,284
1) St Petersburg > Moscow (3rd class - 1 night) : 633 Rubles (Rm76) + US$10 (agency fee) = Rm114
2) Moscow > Irkursk (3rd class - 4 nights) : 3,117 Rubles (Rm374) + US$27(agency fee) =Rm469
3) Irkutsk > Ulaan Baatar (2nd class - 2 nights) : 3,828 Rubles (Rm444)
4) Ulaan Bataar > Erlian, China (2nd class - 2 nights) : US$36 + US$5 (agency fee) = Rm144
5) Krakow > Warsaw train ticket (2nd class - 3hr) : Rm113

By coach & sleeper bus: Total Rm1,617
1) Eurolines bus 15 day pass (7 cities expiring 22/5/09) : Euro$240 (Rm1,200)
2) Riga > Talinn ( Eurolines bus) : Euro$12=Rm60
3) Talinn > St Petersburg (Eurolines bus): Euro$30=Rm150
4) Erlian > Beijing (private taxi - day trip): CNY200 (RM107)
5) City transport - 12 countries (bus , metro, tube & trains ): Total Rm560

H) Hostel (dorm bed) : Total Rm1,994:
1) London (3 nights): Euro$35 (Rm175)
2) Amsterdam (2 nights): Euro$49 (Rm245)
3) Brussels (2 nights): Euro$40 (Rm200)
4) Paris (3 nights): Eur0$69 (Rm345)
5) Prague (1 night): Euro$15 (Rm75)
6) Budapest (2 nights): Euro$28 (Rm140)
7) Krakow (2 nights): Euro$11 (Rm55)
8) Riga (1 night): Euro$9 (Rm45)
9) Talinn (1 night): Euro$10 (Rm50)
10) St Petersburg (3 nights): 1,420 (Rm165)
11) Moscow (3 nights): 2,480 rubles (Rm290)
12) Irkutsk (2 nights): 1,000 rubles (Rm116)
13) Ulaan Bataar (1 day): US$6 (Rm21)
14) Beijing (3 nights): CNY140 (Rm72)

I) Tour package ( Lake Baikal 3 days 2 nights incl transport & meals ) + North Olkhon Island day tour : Rm463
J) Entrance fees ( Versailles + Peterhof + Russian concert ) : Rm205
K) Food & groceries: Rm400 ( own prepared meals )

Total Expenses incurred (45 days): Rm8,230

" I took Eurolines bus from London to 10 capital cities in Europe and the last stop was St Petersburg (a total distance of 3,759km) ! From St Petersburg to the rest of the Russian cities, Mongolia and China, it was trains all the way (a total distance of 8,947km) - I had enough of travel on Eurolines bus & Russian & Mongolian trains on this single trip for the rest of my life !

The Secret of Life - If worries can cure your sickness, then go ahead worry; If worries can prolong your life, then go ahead and worry; if worries can change for happiness, then go ahead and worry !"