# Trans-Siberian Railway to Beijing



## drozdz (May 21, 2007)

Hello everyone.

My whole life dream is to go to Asia by train. I am planning to take a trip to Beijing from Moscow in summer 2009 using Trans-Siberian Railway. My plan is to have only one stop during the journey in Irkutsk, Russia to see the famous lake Baikal, I would like to stay there for two nights and take another train to Beijing. In Beijing I would like to spend few days and then take a fast (Z class) train to Shanghai. After spending some time in Shanghai I will take a ferry to Japan, spend some time in Tokyo and head back to Poland by Plane.

Does anyone of you has any experience with this kind of trip? Some photos would be nice. I have already read two books about Trans-Siberian Railway, the Trans-Siberian Handbook written by Bryn Thomas and Trans-Siberian Railway by Mark Elliot (Lonely Planet) and I recommend both.


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## Purple Dreams (Jan 31, 2007)

I took the trans-Siberian from Irkutsk to Khabarovsk.


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## khan_tengri (Dec 29, 2006)

Hej, looknij na moje zdjęcia z trasy do Pekinu


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## nuevo-chicago (Nov 24, 2007)

khan_tengri said:


> Hej, looknij na moje zdjęcia z trasy do Pekinu


I don't believe anybody understood what you just said?
Translation=not possible?


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## CrazySerb (Aug 22, 2007)

^
Just because its not in English, doesn't mean that "nobody" understood it
He simply pointed his Polish countryman to look at his signature :



> Pogrzeb Jana Pawła II - Rzym 2005
> Kazachstan 2005
> Brześć, Moskwa i okolice, Sankt Petersburg 2006
> Praga 2006
> ...


...for some useful photos & info about the Trans-Siberian.


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## drozdz (May 21, 2007)

khan_tengri said:


> Hej, looknij na moje zdjęcia z trasy do Pekinu


Thanks man, some really nice photos you got there. The funniest thing about taking the trans-siberian trip is that most people think that the asian part of Russia looks like a 3rd world country when actualy the trip is quite comfortable ofcourse depending what kind of a train you will take. A am going to take eather Rossia or Baikal train to Irkutsk.


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## sarflonlad (May 13, 2005)

drozdz said:


> Hello everyone.
> 
> My whole life dream is to go to Asia by train. I am planning to take a trip to Beijing from Moscow in summer 2009 using Trans-Siberian Railway. My plan is to have only one stop during the journey in Irkutsk, Russia to see the famous lake Baikal, I would like to stay there for two nights and take another train to Beijing. In Beijing I would like to spend few days and then take a fast (Z class) train to Shanghai. After spending some time in Shanghai I will take a ferry to Japan, spend some time in Tokyo and head back to Poland by Plane.
> 
> Does anyone of you has any experience with this kind of trip? Some photos would be nice. I have already read two books about Trans-Siberian Railway, the Trans-Siberian Handbook written by Bryn Thomas and Trans-Siberian Railway by Mark Elliot (Lonely Planet) and I recommend both.


I did this trip this year. Please PM if there is anything in particular you would like to know.

Otherwise, you don't really need a trans-siberian book! It's useful but not much. As for Lake Baikal - do not stay is Listvanyka (spelling?) - try to find out about other villages around the lake that are far more beautiful. 

Good luck!


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## nuevo-chicago (Nov 24, 2007)

sarflonlad said:


> I did this trip this year. Please PM if there is anything in particular you would like to know.
> 
> Otherwise, you don't really need a trans-siberian book! It's useful but not much. As for Lake Baikal - do not stay is Listvanyka (spelling?) - try to find out about other villages around the lake that are far more beautiful.
> 
> Good luck!


What were the costs and do you need to speak Russian?


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## Луиc (Oct 4, 2007)

awesome!!!!


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## sarflonlad (May 13, 2005)

nuevo-chicago said:


> What were the costs and do you need to speak Russian?


If you can obtain a ticket in Russia then it is much cheaper. This is difficult however as tickets sell out very quickly - try contact someone in Russia if you can (do a google search for tickets)... Otherwise agencies might charge you about 1000 euros for a basic trip in 2nd class with taxi transfers and accommodation on route. It's a lot of money, but it much less hassle and you'll still have an authentic tiem.

As for Russian. I learnt a few phrases - make sure you know how to say basic things like Thank you, you're welcome, yes, no, beer and vodka. If you can learn the alphabet, that will be very useful as many words sound like European languages. Russians appreciate their language is hard and seemed to respond well to foreigners trying their best. Russians are possibly the world's most sincere people and will always help you if you're in trouble.


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