If you do not enjoy taking a train ride for long hours or days (mind you without any baths or showers for 4-5 days or even longer if you are taking the express Trans-Siberian train from Moscow to Beijing or vice versa, normally 7 days 6 nights), then this trip maybe too stressful for you! Never mind, should you one day change your mind, I will be more than delighted to give my advice on my experience in this trip.
Taking underground train in St Petersburg & Moscow can be very stressful ! I got a shock in my life when I arrived at the Eurolines bus station near one of the train station in St Petersburg. As I had to board an underground Metro train to Moskovsk Vokzal station where my hostel is located, I was put off by the sheer number of passengers inside the underground train station, hopping in and off the incoming and departing trains. The Chinese has a proverb to describe this incredible sight when you are faced with a huge crowd in front of you. The 4 Chinese Cantonese words are " People Mountain People Sea ". Asked a Chinese educated friend if you do not understand these translated words in English . In Malaysia, it simply means " packed like a can of sardines "
To cut the story short, I paid 3,117 rubles = Euro$76 for a 3rd class train ticket for my 5 days 4 night Trans-Siberian train ride from Moscow to Irkutsk. The 2nd class is a 4 berth compartment (called coupe in Russian) and for the 3rd class, no compartment, just many berths in a car (called platzcart ). Indeed it was an interesting experience for me from the moment I found my seat/bed number. For this trip, I had the most interaction with Russians and tourists from ex USSR countries and China. I had to use sign language to communicate as most could not speak English - this makes the trip an unforgettable experience ! The rest is now history ..... so enjoy looking at the various pictures I had taken during this train ride.
I should also advise that Security Police in the train checked on my passport twice while I was about to sleep. Thank god all my immigration and visa documents were in order so no KGB style of interrogation ensued ! What a relief !
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1) Moscow Railway Stations
2) Russian train - 2nd & 3rd class - better facilities, more comfortable beds and less crowded in 2nd class compartments .
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| 3rd Class |
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| Sleeper beds , 3rd class |
3) Food kiosks & petty traders in train stations selling local food & wares to passengers - you can easily buy bottled water, beer, vodka, dried noodles, bread, snacks, hard boiled eggs, soft toys, wooden household wares & souvenirs in local prices from the traders. Longer stopovers (20-30 mins) allow passengers to come down from the train to take a short break or stretch their legs.
4) Stopover train stations along the Tran-Siberian route from Moscow to Chita , Russia - some 30 stopovers (covering all minor towns and bigger cities along the route) over a 5 day trip (normal train) lasting 5-30 minutes intervals for each station . For express trains, the number of stopover is less, they stop only in bigger cities to pick up transit passengers.
5) Russian country side - Birch trees, wooden village houses, unbounded open lands, grazing cows, rivers & bridges - you can see all these through the train windows, so just relax and admire the landscape passing by.
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" Something to ponder on the Tran-Siberian train ride: If you are taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Vladivostok (the far eastern Russian city), you will have to pass through 8 time zones, 16 Eurasian rivers, 14 provinces, 3 regions, 2 republics and 1 autonomous region of Russian Federation - a total distance of over 9,289 km. Do you dare to take the challenge ? For this trip, I did not finish in Vladivostok but took the Mongolian route from Irkutsk for a stopover in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia and then continued the train ride to Erlian , a border town in Inner Mongolia under China - a total of 5,966 km. So there is another challenge awaits me to complete the Trans-Siberian train ride from Irkutsk to Vladivostok ! Talking about Tran-Siberian train ride, isn't it exciting & fun for first time travelers ! "
" A famous writer in The Lonely Planet made the following remark - The Trans-Siberian is the big train ride. All the rest are peanuts - the total distance is equivalent to a third of the globe ! So if you have the time and enjoy travelling , my advice it is time, high time to be travelling along the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The Secret of Life - Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it "
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