Russia and The Trans-Siberian

MOSCOW: Europe's fastest-growing and third largest city wears three hats-capital of medieval Muscovy, as capital of the ex-USSR, and as capital of today's new Russia. Moscow is Pleasure Central; alongside the nightclubs and bars is every possible kind of food and music too. And all this is grafted onto the medieval citadel, the Kremlin, the museums, galleries, concert-halls and the Bolshoi.

EKATERINBURG: Straddling the Europe/Asia divide, Ekaterinburg got rich on an C18th gold-rush here. The mixture of high-tech industry and high-flying educational institutes makes for a young population and it has a mojo all its own. Most infamously, the Tsar
and all his family were murdered here in 1918- the new Cathedral marks the spot. In the heart of the Ural Mts, there's countryside and villages all around.

ALTAI: Siberia's best-kept secret-a massive National Park area of mountains and rivers, offering amazing rafting, riding, and hiking… the 7/8-hr drive from any rail or airport helps protect its wilderness status. A growing New- Age Lifestyle movement is spreading here-inspired by ancient cave paintings, and legends of the Lost Mountain Kingdom of Belovodia. We take our own vacations here.

IRKUTSK: One of Siberia's oldest cities, a furtrading centre since the C17th. The city's regarded as the “home of the Trans-Siberian” since the trackbuilding from East and West met here, and the first Trans-Sib train went through.

LISTVYANKA VILLAGE: Just an hour from Irkutsk, Listvyanka's the most accessible point on Lake Baikal-both in distance and facilities. Amidst the timber-house village there are now some cafes and bars-but the wilds of Baikal open-up at the end of the village footpath if you want. Baikal is the world's largest lake-the London-Edinburgh road won't reach from its top to toe, and with 1.5 miles to the bottom, it's the world's deepest too.

BOLSHOE GOLOUSTNOE: So near to Listvyanka, but so different in characteralmost
unchanged from the C19th, due to poor road access. Bolshoe Goloustnoe village appeals
to seekers of a lifestyle not yet quite past, and has a timeless serenity-fishing is still the main livelihood here, and except for a tiny village store, there's little intrusion of C20th values.

ULAN-UDAY: Perhaps the most surprising halt on the T-Sib? Nomadic native Asian peoples of Siberia were not an image the USSR cared for-the Buryats were “collectivised” by Stalin. Yet native song and tradition survived even Stalin's policies. The soviet-era city contrasts with life in remote villages and Buddhist monasteries-so we include all three aspects in our trips. Who ever imagined Buddhism in Siberia? Yet it's been the native
religion here for centuries.

PERM: It's surprising what you knew about PERM without knowing it-it's the real-life city that was "Yuriatin" (where Dr Zhivago met Lara in the book, and the film), it was the start of the Great Siberian Post-Road, and Permian-era dinosaurs are named after geological discoveries near Perm. A charming little city in the Urals, with a famous ballet troupe.

VLADIVOSTOK: Vladivostok is a double surprise. First is that it's so small-less than 500,000 inhabitants, giving a charming compact feel to the place. Next is the weather-hot coastal sunbathing in summer, deep-frozen in winter. For those able to cope with poor onward connections, it's the end-point of the original Trans-Sib route.

MONGOLIA: Mongolia is an ancient Buddhist Kingdombut the capital is a flourishing mixture of bars, nightclubs, patisseries and internet cafes. Ulaanbaatar is fun to visit, but it isn't especially Mongolian. The sparse pasture of the steppes kept Mongolians on the move-the idea of “cities” is fundamentally alien to Mongolian tradition. A great way to experience life in the Mongolian ger is to stay at Elstei Ger- Camp. The accommodation is entirely in traditional gers. Showers and toilets are available from April-October meeting modern standards. There is a café serving both traditional Mongolian meals and a choice of other food (including vegetarian). The location, although only one hour from Ulaanbaatar, is as remote as anywhere on the steppes, and there are great opportunities for walking-or riding, with local nomads as your instructors. You have to be ready for off-road jeep travel for long journeys-Mongolia has tracks rather than actual roads. Most Mongolians still live in gers-the traditional wood framed felt tent of the steppes, whose design has not changed in thousands of years. Mongolia has only been open for tourism since the fall of the Soviet Union. It’s not to be missed.

HUHEHOT: Imperial China divided Mongolia into two when it came as conqueror-Inner Mongolia, ruled as part of China, and Outer Mongolia… so distant and barren that only martial law was possible. Huhehot, capital of Inner Mongolia, was historically richer, but still today lies inside the borders of modern China. Must sees are: The Grand Imperial Lamasery, the old Islamic Quarter & Mosque, and unique Wuta-Si Pagoda of a Thousand Buddhas.

HARBIN: Harbin's an unfairly neglected Trans-Siberian stop. In the far north of China, it's quite unlike the rest of the country-partly because it was built-up in the 1920's by Russian nobles who'd fled Communism. The main (pedestrian) street is more like Petersburg than Peking. Harbin is most famous for the Ice Festival (Jan-Feb)-a huge outdoor event, which attracts visitors from all over the world.

BEIJING: Is well-known as China’s capital-but did you know that it began as a Mongolian stronghold, and its original name was neither Beijing nor Peking, but Khan-Baliq?. You’ll need 3-4 days to see everything in Beijing, even briefly-the great temples like the Lama Temple or the Temple of Heaven, the royal legacies at the Summer Palace.

The good news is that Beijing doesn’t have bars-it has whole streets of bars, where every doorway’s a different drinking-hole. With your days jam-packed, its just as well there are night-markets for snack-food, great-value silk clothes, and much much more.