The Trans Siberia trip has a different character from the other Djoser trips. Major parts of the scheduled daily activities are not negotiable due to the many days traveled by train. Djoser’s usual theory of freedom and choices may be somewhat limited on this trip due to the nature of travel, especially during the seven-day camping trip in Mongolia.
Djoser’s Land Program begins in Moscow and ends in Beijing. The days on this program are numbered to match the Djoser Netherland’s program so that travelers from North America and the Netherlands will all be on the same schedule. Additional travel days from the United States and back are denoted as +1, +2.
TRANS SIBERIA EXPRESS - Russia, Mongolia, China
1 Depart US
2 1. Arrival Moscow (NL group arrives at 5:25 PM)
3 2. Moscow
4 3. Moscow, train to Irkoetsk
5 4. train
6 5. train
7 6. train
8 7. arrival in Irkoetsk
9 8. Irkoetsk
10 9. Irkoetsk, train to Ulaanbaatar
11 10. train
12 11. train, arrival Ulaanbaatar
13 12. Ulaanbaatar - Midden Gobi
14 13. Gobi Desert
15 14. Gobi Desert - Bayanzag
16 15. Bayanzag - Khujirt Valley
17 16. Khujirt Valley - Orkhon Valley
18 17. Orkhon Valley
19 18. Orkhon Valley - Khar Khorin - Mongol Els
20 19. Mongol Els - Ulaanbaatar
21 20. Ulaanbaatar, train to Beijing
22 21. arrival Beijing
23 22. Beijing
24 23. Beijing
25 24. Beijing - Arrival US. NL group departs at 11:40 AM
Moscow
+1 Day Depart USA
Day 1 Arrival Moscow
Day 2 Moscow
Day 3 Moscow - departure by train to Irkoetsk
We arrive in the capital of the former Soviet empire where you will meet the Dutch participants and guide at our hotel in Moscow.. Historical buildings are still plentiful in the most ancient section of Moscow. Especially inside the oldest defense structure, the “Kremlin”, are many churches and palaces. Moscow is a large metropolis yet our hotel is centrally located within walking distance of this old center. We will take the metro in order to admire the beauty and splendor of the stations. In the old Soviet days, Moscow had an uninviting reputation due to its gray atmosphere and its vastness, but that has changed rapidly of late. A lot has been accomplished in Moscow center, all churches are rebuilt or renovated, open spaces have been filled, and the enormous Manege Square is now accessible to pedestrians only. All over town you will find plenty of restaurants, vendors and kiosks to buy something to eat or drink. Your first steps into town naturally lead you to the best-known spot in Moscow and the former Soviet Union, the famous Red Square, Krasnaja Plosjtsjad. The car-free square in front of the Kremlin has undergone tremendous change in recent years: a medieval chapel and 18th century gateway, which had perished to make way for pompous military parades, have been reconstructed and the facade of the GUM department store has been sandblasted from gray to beige. The Lenin-mausoleum with the preserved body of the former Soviet leader inside is still there. Don’t miss the museums with their invaluable art from many former private collections.
The Poesjkin Museum mainly exhibits 19th century West European impressionists; the Tretjakow Gallery is famous for old icons. Also the elegant Nowodewitsji Monastery is worth a visit. At the cemetery we find the graves of many Russian celebrities, generals, politicians, authors and actors. Gorky Park is where the Russians have congregate. This amusement park with grandiose fountains, water organs, merry-go-rounds and a giant Ferris wheel dates back to Soviet times, but has already been expanded with two roller coasters. Opposite Gorky Park is a sculpture garden honoring downed Soviet heroes. If you have some free time you may want to stroll down the Rabat, a promenade with lots of shops, restaurants and souvenir stands. Besides T-shirts you will find typical Russian souvenirs such as religious icons and wooden matrjosjka-dolls. Nowadays modern versions are for sale as well, representing all rulers from Nikolaj II (the smallest one inside) to Putin (the outer one). You can’t help but notice the contrast between modernly dressed young women with heavy make-up, and the older women in their faded coats and babushkas.
Trans Siberian Express
Day 3 Moscow - departure by train to Irkoetsk
Day 4 Train
Day 5 Train
Day 6 Train
On the third day we head for the train station. There it seems that everybody simultaneously tries to get on the train to find their seats. Our tour guide has assigned seats for the group and the provodnik, the train steward, will direct you. You will sleep on mattresses in four-berth-compartments; the provodnik will provide bed linens. At a number of stations the train will stop long enough for you to stretch your legs. To check the wheels, they are hit with a bar at every stop. At the stations and on the train Moscow-time is kept, but the dining car will serve meals at local times, so your stomach will stay on a daytime schedule. The food on the train has a variety in quantity and quality, but is generally acceptable. For about $12 you can get a complete meal including soup, bread, a main dish and a drink. Usually you can buy some chocolate, noodles or a drink from a small shop in the dining car. However, it’s cheaper to buy your snacks during stops. On the platform locals will offer a variety of foods from “blini’s” (filled pancakes) to dried fish. For these purchases you need to bring along enough change in rubles, because larger bills may be a problem for these vendors. Also don’t stray away from the train too much. The train will depart without notice. There will be no whistle. And never cross another track without a bridge, because you won’t be able to get back on time in the event of the passing of a goods-train, which seems to go for miles.
During the course of the day we ride through Jekaterinaburg, where in July 1918 the Romanov family spent their last days, and Tjoemen, the first town in Siberia founded in 1586. In the course of the third day, on the train we will have a stop in Omsk, the industrial city. In the meantime, outside of the train, time has moved three hours ahead of Moscow-time. Then the train will travel through the vast Barabinskaja-steppe, where you see only grass to the horizon. Just before Nowosibirsk the train will cross the river Ob on a 700 meters long bridge dated from the beginning time of the railway construction. You will have a quarter of an hour at the station of Nowosibirsk to view the grand structure. The fourth day on the train is spent traveling through vast birch forests, highlighted by the white obelisk at kilometer marker 3932, marking the halfway point between Moscow and Beijing. Especially the cabins of the village Minino around kilometer marker 4070 are picturesque. The train will cross over the wide Jenisej just after the stop in Krasnojarsk, which used to be forbidden territory for foreigners in Soviet times because of the nuclear industry. After that the landscape turns hilly with many bridges.
Irkoetsk
Day 7 Arrival in Irkoetsk
Day 8 Irkoetsk
Day 9 Departure from Irkoetsk to Ulaanbaatar
Day 10 Train
After 5185 kilometers we arrive at Irkoetsk, which originated from a garrison- and trade post in 1651. The trade of tobacco and hides made the town wealthy and many of the old homes continue to show that wealth. The churches, such as the 18th century Spaskaja, are the oldest stone buildings in Siberia. The White House was built shortly after 1800 in classicist style for the hide trader Sibirjakov. Later it became the governor’s residence, and now it houses the university library. Irkoetsk has neighborhoods full of completely wooden homes. You will have two days to visit the city. You may take a look at the Baikal Lake, the largest fresh water body in the world. In 45 minutes you can reach Listwjanka, the village at the mouth of the river Angara on (draagvleugelboot) a boat with wings. An open-air museum with wooden homes is nearby.
After two days we will take the train again from Irkoetsk and travel along the south bank of the Baikal Lake. At Oelan-Oede the railroad bends southwards in the direction of Mongolia. At Naoesjki we will cross the border of this country, which has always been squeezed between Russia and China. The pink painted station of the Mongolian border town Sukhbaatar represents an unimaginable mixture of architectural styles.
Ulaanbaatar
Day 11 Arrival Ulaanbaatar
Early in the morning we arrive in Ulaanbaatar, where a representative of our agent will await the group to take us to our hotel. After the rooms are assigned everybody will have time to take a shower and to refresh. Then we will explore the capital, which houses a quarter of the Mongolian population. Here, new Japanese cars share the road with horses. From the Zaisan monument on a hill south of the city, you will have a beautiful view of Ulaanbaatar and surroundings. On the Red Square of Mongolia, Sukhbaatar Square, you can see clearly that most buildings were built under Soviet influence. For example, the unfortunately inaccessible mausoleum of the revolutionary Sukhbaatar is almost a copy of Lenin’s mausoleum in Moscow. One excursion leads to the museum of natural history, where you get a good overview of the flora and fauna of rural Mongolia. Furthermore, here are two complete dinosaur skeletons found in the twenties of the 20th century in the Gobi desert. For the remainder of the day in Ulaanbaatar there will be several opportunities for excursions among which is a visit to the Gandantegchinien Chiid, the largest and most important monastery of Mongolia. It escaped destruction because the government wanted to save it as an example of religious suppression. Among several temples a new 82 feet high Buddha statue stands here, replacing the one that the Russians melted in the thirties. It is recommended to visit this monastery before 11 AM because the temples will be open and you can see the monks praying. Another excursion possibility a short distance from the town’s center is the winter palace, where up to 1924 the Buddhist leaders with the title Bogd Khan lived. It is an extended complex with many temples in a walled yard. The museum of history will offer you an overview of the history and traditions of Mongolia.
Gobi Desert, Bayanzag, Khujirt Valley
Day 12 By bus through the Gobi Desert
Day 13 Gobi Desert
Day 14 Bayanzag
Day 15 Khujirt Valley
Little buses will take us to the Gobi Desert, which consists of a combination of sand plains and rocky mountains. As soon as we leave town the desolation of the desert is striking. There is only 700 miles of blacktop in the whole country of Mongolia even though it is three times as large as France. Most roads are unpaved. Especially in the beginning of the trip we will spend long days on these roads, but the view makes up for a lot: green hills, rocks, empty plains, cranes, guinea pigs, herds of camels, horses or goats, and an occasional ger. The first part of the trip goes through the Dundgov region, the mid-Gobi. We camp in the wild in the area of Mandalgov in the tent that we bring along. After a night of camping we continue to Ömnögov, the south Gobi. This is the hottest and driest region of Mongolia and consequently the least populated. Many camels are still on this plain, which is divided by the Goervansaichan Mountains. Along the way you see rural life go by and you can well imagine that two thirds of the Mongolian population lives in their ‘gers’, which you see along the entire route. Gers are tents of nomads in which Mongolians lived of old and with which they still cross the land. They consist of a wooden framework covered with felt and canvas. We spend the night in the area of Dalan-zadgad in the Juulchin Gobi ger-camp. In each ger are four beds and the bathrooms are in a separate building as at campgrounds. In Goervansaichan National Park are many native animal species. The landscape near Yolyn Am (= eagle’s beak) is full of surprises: here is a spectacular canyon in the middle of the desert. Sometimes a short hike will take you to an ice layer that’s several meters thick. In the afternoon we arrive in Bayanzag, where many dinosaur fossils were found in an environment of rock and red sand. Here we will spend the night in tents nearby a forest of knee high trees. We leave the Gobi traveling north and we will travel through dry steppes. We may take a lunch break near the ruins of the Ongiin monastery that was destroyed in the thirties. At the end of the day we arrive at the Khujirt Valley, where we will spend the night in our tents again.
Orkhon Valley, Karakoroem
Day 16 To Orkhon Valley
Day 17 Orkhon Valley
Day 18 To Karakoroem and Khögnö Khan
Next we leave for the Orkhon Valley, where we will stay a whole day. There are various sights in the Orkhon valley, where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have created an impressive landscape, the Ulaan Tstgulan waterfall being the highlight. In this region we will pitch our own tents for the last time. The following day we will travel 11 miles further to the ruins of the city that Ödögei Khan had built to be the capital from 1235. In that time there were imposing buildings such as the Palace of World Peace. In 25 years Ghenghis’ grandson Koeblai Khan had left Karakoroem already for Beijing, slowly abandoning Karakoroem to the rough climate and plundering nomads. From 1586 the left over stones were used to build Erdene Zoeoe Chiid. This monastery was also destroyed in later centuries by invading Mantsjoes. During Stalin’s rule only three of the former hundred temples were left undisturbed. Within the huge walls are 108 stupas left, which is a holy number for Buddhists. Near Khögnö Khan Oel, the almost 6561 feet high mountaintop, we will spend one night in a ger camp.
Ulaanbaatar
Day 19 From Khögnö Khan to Ulaanbaatar
Day 20 Departure from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing
A 175-mile drive on a blacktopped road brings us back to the capital. In the afternoon you will have time to go into town and buy some souvenirs at the State Department Store or the Sky shopping center and to stock up for the last two days on the train. The next day in the early morning the Trans Mongolian Express departs for Beijing. At the border with China passports and luggage will be checked on the train. At the same time the axels are changed to match a different rail width.
Beijing
Day 21 Arrival at Beijing
Days 22, 23 Beijing
Day 24 Beijing – Depart - Arrive in US
Around 3 PM the train arrives in Beijing, the capital of China. The city’s center is located around the Square of Heavenly Peace, along with the famous Forbidden City, Mao’s Mausoleum and the Great Hall of the People. Of the numerous temples that used to grace the city, a few are very much worth visiting. Beijing is a huge city and the easiest way of transportation is a taxi or taxi-bus. For example: it will easily take you a half hour by taxi to get from one sight to the next. On the first day in Beijing you will have time to visit the area of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. At night you may feast on the famous Peking duck. The next day’s program features an excursion to the Great Wall, where you have time to take a walk on part of the wall. This transport is included in the trip, but the entrance fee is additional. A suitable close to the day would be a performance of the Peking Opera. The next morning you will split from the group to return to the United States.
