For some reason the bags look bigger in real life! Apologies if this post is a bit “anoraky” to non train types amongst you, but if you reading this as a prospective first time Trans-Siberian traveller I hope it might be of some help. If however you are just reading this to see if I’ve been detained somewhere cold yet, there is nothing to see here, so please move along to another post. This is my revised and I think final list for my trip. It is designed to work for a two to three week train journey followed by […]
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All I need now is a sherpa! It crossed my mind the other day that with a temperature difference of over 60 degrees between some of the cities, its no surprise that I’m struggling to fit my wardrobe into just one bag. Ulan Bator will be be -32 C on Friday, and on the same day Bangkok will be +32 C. The ideal solution is a full time porter who speaks seven languages and can carry 100 kg balanced on his head, but I think he might be hard to find. Then there is the issue of getting “Passepartout” his […]
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Now that I have most of my tickets, here is an update on the final plan. I remain hopeful that its a plan so cunning that you can brush your teeth with it. Here it is: Leg 1 Edinburgh – Newcastle East Coast 150 km/93 miles 1 stop Leg 2 Newcastle – Amsterdam DFDS “Princes Seaways” 494 km/251 miles Leg 3 Amsterdam – Warsaw […]
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EN447 composition Amsterdam – Warsaw Having spent much time trying to work out what sort of train I might be boarding in Amsterdam, and then in Warsaw, I have made a bit of a breakthrough today. There is actually a “specialist” (anorak) site that can tell you the exact make up of most European trains, carriage by carriage. Its called vagonWEB. It actually has a lot more information the the timetables can tell you. So here goes – my train from Amsterdam is the EN447, popularly called the “Jan Kiepura”. With the new timetable, its a no longer a Russian […]
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The DB Bahn booking system – vital trainspotting intel! Some frustration here at “Toad Hall” today. It seems that the simplest part of my journey is proving the most troublesome to arrange. Although I have my ticket for the Trans Mongolian now ready to collect, its still not yet possible to issue a ticket from Amsterdam to Moscow. I can’t really see why, but those I have spoken to think its to do with the change over to winter timetables the week before I leave. I saw a video of the E447 arriving back Amsterdam on YouTube and its a […]
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Typical First Class layout I had some top news on Friday – my Trans Mongolian train ticket has been confirmed and I have (as planned and hoped for) sole use of a 1st class compartment, known as “SV”. This is the most comfy way to do the journey, but there is another big plus, hidden to anyone in 2nd or 3rd class. On train No. 4 (which is Chinese) the SV class is even better than normal first class, having private showers shared between every two 1st class compartments. If you were wondering why I am surprised to get what […]
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It’s November, and that means its my “visa month”. That’s a 24 day window when I know I can’t travel anywhere special as my passport is shuffling between the consulates of several countries to complete my Trans Mongolian official paperwork “full house”! A couple of weekends ago I spent the best part of a day completing all the forms and getting the paperwork together. I need a visa for travel to Belarus (in transit), the Russian Federation, Mongolia, and China. All the usual questions, and quite a few less usual ones are in the forms – especially for Russia! I […]
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Is it a plane or a spacecraft? (Image – Wikipedia) Still recovering from man flu, so some time to plan my trip to Moscow today. I have discovered that as well as “Star City”, it is also possible to visit the Central Air Force Museum, which is at the Gagarin Air Force Academy, 40 km outside of Moscow. From what I have read this place was totally off limits a few years ago, but you can now arrange a visit as long as you give 10 days notice, provide a copy of your passport and get “special permission”. I get […]
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My Leica D Lux – small, and perfect for photography on the go I woke this morning with a confirmed case of man flu (although I thought might be Congo fever at first!). It crossed my mind that I probably picked up the bug on the train last week, which in turn reminded me of “The Cassandra Crossing” (see my “Great Train Flicks” blog). Anyway, I’m trying to do something semi productive today, even though I would rather be in bed, so I’m going to talk about my camera. I gave up lugging a big camera on my travels decades ago. […]
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Trans-Siberian eating gear Back from a five hour train trip to London yesterday. Five hours seemed a fair while, so wondering how five days might feel, or two weeks? I don’t think its comparable as I didn’t have all my stuff, and lets face it, there is hardly much interaction with other passengers on the 13.00 East Coast service from Kings Cross! I thought you might like to see my small arsenal of eating irons. A minor Trans-Siberian packing point you might think, but not something I’m going to leave to chance. Left to right – Swiss Army ‘Climber” knife, […]
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