the trans-siberian railroad

33. Oblique View, Trans-Siberian Railroad, Russia

In this early spring view over Russia, the thin black linear extension of the Trans-Siberian Railroad contrasts sharply with the snow-covered ground. Only a small section of the 9340-kilometer railway is seen here extending westward toward the horizon. Major cities dot the route at intervals, corresponding to the refueling distances for coal-fired locomotive engines. The city of Omsk is the large black spot in the foreground. It is located at the intersection of the railway and the Irtysh River. The dark spot in the distance on the Trans-Siberian Railroad is the city of Petropav-lovsk. Transport of people and goods by rail is generally less expensive than by airplane or auto, but still more expensive than by ship. In the vast landmass of northern Russia and Siberia, where the northern route by sea can be blocked by ice for many months, the Trans-Siberian Railroad serves as a critical lifeline.

April–May 1994, image STS-59-215-30.

Location: 55°N, 41°30'E

I've decided that I want to go to the Faroe Islands for my next holiday. It seems cheaper than going to Siberia.

I want to go to an Island. And I want to go somewhere that isn't too hot or sunny. And preferably Vikings would be involved.

Careful with you cover, Kate!... Ah, late. Ya 'ready blew it :(

And I want to go somewhere that isn't too hot or sunny. And preferably Vikings would be involved.

Valhalla??

I want to go to Scandinavia but I can only afford to go as far as the Faroes. :-(

The Faroe Islands

You can make your case for your particular Valhalla there!

it is also insanely cheap if you can get tickets from the station in moscow (kazanskii, if i remember right. maybe yaroslavl). i paid 40 quid moscow to irkutsk, a 5000 mile journey.
moscow to beijing is a good un, cos you go thru mongolia, and at the border of mongolia and russia, they hoist the train up and put new wheels on it.

if you do it, i recommend spending a lot of time on it. make stop offs, so that you have have a shower at least once. Stop in irkutsk and visit lake baikal. make plans to visit olkhon island in baikal. if you miss ouyt on baikal then you might as well go home there and then. seriously. it is (possibly) the most amazing place on earth. you can get a hydrofoil from one end of the lake to the other (10 hrs) which is pretty good. unfortunately you end in in a town called severobaikalsk which is like a very crap small hemel hempstead.

other russian highlights:

bratsk - biggest HE Dam in thw world. there was a rave on here when i passed thru (?!)
yekaterinburg is meant to be nice.
there isnt much else about. stop at krasnoyarsk and either go south to the altai, the mountains where all the shamans are and where nikolai roerikh hung out. or get on a ferry up the yenisei to the arctic!

obviously there is shit loads to do. thats all i know about.

ulaan baator is unprepossessing. mongolia is probably better if you mess about on horseback somewhere for days on end with a ger.

china: dont know nothing bout that. looks pretty frm the train.

but yeah it is wicked basically.

no, it's okay! my disco concept album is going to have vikings. keep talking.

if you are in the uk, STA do a sort of transiberian package but cant find much about it on the website

the first time i went, we did everything thru intourist, which is pricey, but sort everything out. check

was planning on doing this in june (moscow-->beijing) but apparently the chinese gov't is blocking TSR trains into the country from june-september because of the olympics. feh.

I really really want to take this from Moscow - Beijing.

http://markdoughty.co.uk/wp-content/TransSiberianmap.jpg

http://www.travelgrove.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/irkutsk.jpg

http://image.internetautoguide.com/f/auto-news/mazda-to-ship-cars-to-russia-via-trans-siberian-railroad/11001678/mazda-to-ship-cars-to-russia-via-trans-siberian-railroad.jpg

i would LOVE to do this sometime. i met a lady from novosibirsk once who i told that to and she was just like "why why why you will be so bored" but clearly she doesn't get it.

i met a finn who'd done it and he said to be careful when you get off the train, not to get too far away at short stops, not to take pictures of government buildings (security will demand a bribe), that kind of stuff. didn't scare me off though, sounds even more romantic.

they're building a branch line thru the permafrost a few hundred miles to the north in the far-east region, just in case the chinese annex the rest of it

http://www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/higherleague09/Ulan-Ude-train-station-on-the-Trans-Siberian-Railway.jpg

this

its very boring. but also pretty cool.

sounds like most things i enjoy!

<3 buryats

My friend & I wanted to do this! I love trains!!! there was one package I saw that even billeted you with families along the way.