Best Eastern Hotel Ob Novosibirsk

Glad to be out of Moscow, I woke the next morning to the gentle rocking of the train and the quiet lull of the engine. Over the next 4 days so much happened (surprisingly) that it would be hard to write about it all so below is a few dot points of the goings on of our Trans-Siberian experience.<br><br>- Within the first day, (at the first stop) Owen was accosted by two undercover police wanting to know why he was on the platform with ...

... but the whole journey was filled amass with trees, usually white birch. And since it was autumn it was very beautiful, most of the scenery was golden and yellow, some lime green and others still dark green like the conifers of Scotland. Occasionally we saw the odd settlement with houses that look like sheds, thinking how on earth they survive in the depths of winter.<br><br>Most of the travellers we have met had strange and not very nice experiences with the ...

C'est pas du Prevert mais de moi ; l'aventure se termine deja, voila pourquoi... Il est 5h, Novossibirsk s'endort, Enfin, non, pas tout a fait encore, On peut encore voir le soleil dehors, Mais diable, que le vent souffle fort. Voila 6 mois que j'avais pris le pari, De partir a la decouverte de l'Asie, En compagnie de Laura, une amie, Tout droit arrivee des Etats-Unis. De Russie en Thailande, Sans passer ...

... staight into his dining room. So, after three weeks and two Presidents, we bade farewell to Russia. Throughout the trip we tried to get an insight from Russians into what they think of the current state of their country...thier opinions it seems are as diverse as the landscape. Many older Russians are nostalgic for the Soviet days- some simply as it reminds them of thier childhood, but others spoke of a loss of national pride and above ...

... see what it actually was. Also the glass on many display cases was poor making the contents look distorted, and many had smudges and looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a while. The biggest letdown though was that the state rooms were closed. But, we won't complain too much because we actually got in for a discounted price. We were approached in the courtyard before the ticket office by a lady claiming to be a tour guide operator. She explained we could go in ...

... Room, Italian Renaissance art (with works by DaVinci) and French Impressionism (with works by Matisse and Van Gogh). We then did a quick walking tour to the Summer Palace and Gardens. This was built by Peter and was okay. It is a small palace that was closed but unguarded. We were able to look through the windows to get an idea of the rooms themselves ...

... that says "City Reality." Both of us are like...umm...okay...but it was correct. EXPRESS TO RUSSIA = CITY REALITY. That might have been useful information to have. We got our train tickets, then asked if she knew where the Belarussian Consultate was...our train goes through Belarus, so apparently we need a transit visa. After trying to tell us there wasn't one in St. Petersburg and then spending a considerable amount of time on the phone, she wrote down an ...

... concept going on right now in the city. The cathedral itself was spectacular as well with ornate baroque style murals. It was beautiful. After the cathedral I headed back towards the hostel but of course got lost and ended up in the major shopping district complete with huge malls and everything. I found a really nice supermarket which was a good find and then a place to download my photos onto a CD. I finally figured out where I was and headed back in the right direction (which I as ...

... given the confined galley space. Vladimir is a bear of a man with a great appetite for humour and camaraderie. He also offers a money changing service. To supplement the restaurant menu, we punctuate our journey with the gathering of little delicacies like perodski, tea bags and cigarettes. During scheduled stops. And so we roll into Irkutsk station five days and 5,153 kilometres later. We have whistled through cities with awe-inspiring ...

... apparent that there is a large stock of vodka aboard the Baikal, in various degrees of strength and excellence. At 9 o'clock-ish, we make the first stop of about 15 minutes, at Kirov. There I buy some freshly baked bread from one of the many platform sellers. Who become an endearing part of the adventure. It's a lazy start to the day and as we move around the carriage, we begin to meet our neighbours. A charming ...