Saturday, September 3, 2016
The Countdown is On!! One Week to Departure ...
One week to go!!! And the list of preparations seems to get longer every day. Is the house ready? Did I cancel the paper? Do we have our documents in order? Have we got our clothing organized? Layers for all seasons from below 0 in Siberia to tropical heat in the south of China.
Our flights are booked and so are our hotels. Some of you will be surprised by this and, perhaps, a bit relieved. That is a major change for us as we embark on this journey. We are either getting older or wiser, maybe some of each. The bookings ahead of time certainly provide a sense of security but they also limit our flexibility which is a feature of our travel that we have always valued.
The deepest personal reaction as the days count down is a sense of disbelief. Jim and I have held this adventure as a dream for so many years that it is difficult to believe our time has really come. We were in Russia in 1976, a full 40 years ago! And we vowed then to return and explore the country more fully. Who knew that 40 years would intervene between our first visit and our next one?
Our plan is this: we fly to Moscow and spend a few days there. Next we go to an eco-agricultural resort for a couple more days and then we board the railway. It is a long way from Moscow to Vladivostok - 9300 kilometres to be precise. The train makes 120 stops along the way. We have chosen 5 cities where we will disembark and spend some time to explore, refresh and sleep in a real bed. In each location, Jim has organized an English speaking guide who will provide a tour of the city/area. That will be a gift to be sure. We will be able to learn so much and ask as many questions as we like without the challenge of a language struggle.
From Vladivostok, we fly back to Irkutsk where we will board another train which will take us through Mongolia and into China. One stop planned for Mongolia, the capital city, Ulaanbaatar and three stops planned for China. The River Li, a panda sanctuary and a Yangtze River Cruise through the Three Gorges Dam. More about those later.
The final leg of the journey will find us on a fast train into Shanghai on October 25 with a flight home on October 26.
We are excited that you want to accompany us on our journey. Fasten your seatbelts ... our flight leaves in just one week.
Here is a link to a map that may make the journey clearer.
http://transsiberian.info/map.htm
All aboard!!!
The Countdown is On!! One Week to Departure ...
One week to go!!! And the list of preparations seems to get longer every day. Is the house ready? Did I cancel the paper? Do we have our documents in order? Have we got our clothing organized? Layers for all seasons from below 0 in Siberia to tropical heat in the south of China.
Our flights are booked and so are our hotels. Some of you will be surprised by this and, perhaps, a bit relieved. That is a major change for us as we embark on this journey. We are either getting older or wiser, maybe some of each. The bookings ahead of time certainly provide a sense of security but they also limit our flexibility which is a feature of our travel that we have always valued.
The deepest personal reaction as the days count down is a sense of disbelief. Jim and I have held this adventure as a dream for so many years that it is difficult to believe our time has really come. We were in Russia in 1976, a full 40 years ago! And we vowed then to return and explore the country more fully. Who knew that 40 years would intervene between our first visit and our next one?
Our plan is this: we fly to Moscow and spend a few days there. Next we go to an eco-agricultural resort for a couple more days and then we board the railway. It is a long way from Moscow to Vladivostok - 9300 kilometres to be precise. The train makes 120 stops along the way. We have chosen 5 cities where we will disembark and spend some time to explore, refresh and sleep in a real bed. In each location, Jim has organized an English speaking guide who will provide a tour of the city/area. That will be a gift to be sure. We will be able to learn so much and ask as many questions as we like without the challenge of a language struggle.
From Vladivostok, we fly back to Irkutsk where we will board another train which will take us through Mongolia and into China. One stop planned for Mongolia, the capital city, Ulaanbaatar and three stops planned for China. The River Li, a panda sanctuary and a Yangtze River Cruise through the Three Gorges Dam. More about those later.
The final leg of the journey will find us on a fast train into Shanghai on October 25 with a flight home on October 26.
We are excited that you want to accompany us on our journey. Fasten your seatbelts ... our flight leaves in just one week.
Here is a link to a map that may make the journey clearer.
http://transsiberian.info/map.htm
All aboard!!!
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