As promised on my last post, I am going to introduce you to Siberian life after spending it with locals for nearly a month. We're going to go bit by bit though as my experiences here were so varied and different from one day to the next. To start things on this Siberian adventure, I was headed with my friend out…
Travel to Irkutsk Russia – My First Week
November 6, 2012
Leaving out of Beijing at 1AM, I was headed for the airport to travel to Irkutsk, Russia. I had actually wanted to take the train to Irkutsk by traveling through Mongolia however, the cost of the train vs. the flight was about the same cost believe it or not. In addition to that, the train would have been about a 2…
Irkutsk to Ulan Bator, Mongolia on my Trans-Mongolian Trip
December 21, 2011
This next leg of my Trans-Mongolian trip was probably the most crazy. We had to go through two border crossings. The first was on the Russian border. This was the part where they bring on the dogs, check under seats, look under the train, etc. They're looking for everything from smuggled Russian dolls filled with drugs to border jumpers. The process…
Next Stop on the Trans-Mongolian Trip – Irkutsk, Russia at Lake Baikal
December 20, 2011
Next stop on the Trans-Mongolian Trip... Arrival in Irkutsk, Russia, population 587,000. As I mentioned before, Irkutsk is one of the most popular stops for travelers on the Trans-Siberian. The main reason for this is Lake Baikal which is only about a forty five minute drive from the city and is the oldest and deepest freshwater lake in the world. Some…
The Next Leg of My Trans-Mongolian Trip – Moscow to Vladimir
December 19, 2011
The next leg of my Trans-Mongolian Trip... Moscow to Vladmir. Today would mark the 'official' start of my train trip through Siberia although the 11 hour train ride from St. Petersburg to Moscow could be claimed as the starting point. As the world's longest journey by train, many know it as Trans-Siberian but since I'd be travelling through Mongolia with a…
2nd Stop on Trans-Mongolian Trip – Moscow, Russia
December 18, 2011
So after an interesting night train which started out my Trans-Mongolian trip from St. Petersburg, a friend and I arrived in Moscow around 8AM. The train we took was a hard sleeper carriage which means the entire train has open area beds with the main ones stacked three high and the ones along the wall having two. I actually slept quite…
St. Petersburg – The Start of my Trans-Mongolian Trip
December 3, 2011
So I finally make it to Russia and about to embark on my Trans-Mongolian trip. It was a crazy flight too as I didn't get in till 11PM to St. Petersburg leaving from Stockholm. I was glad to have finally arrived though especially since it was so difficult to initially get a tourist visa into the country. I can remember back…