ST PETERSBURG - MOSCOW - IRKUTSK - ULAAN BAATAR - BEIJING ( 29 AUG TO 26 SEP 2003 )
St Petersburg, RUSSIA (30 Aug to 5 Sep 2003)
29/8 (Fri)
Fly by Air France AF253 at 11pm (airfare S$1171). Reach Paris at 6.15am to take the 9.50am connecting Flight AF2698 to St Petersburg. Reach St Petersburg at 3.15pm.
30/8 (Sat)
Check-in International Hostel Holidays (dorm bed US$14 with breakfast). Meet Sana from Finland who teaches me how to take the metro, an underground train.
31/8 (Sun)
Visit
The Hermitage, the most famous museum in the world and The Winter Palace (entrance 320R). You will need a few days to view all the paintings, sculptures as there are nearly 3 million exhibits from fine arts to archaeological finds. Visit the Church on Spilled Blood with many colourful domes and scriptural paintings on the outer wall.
1/9 (Mon)
Take a one-hour boat trip (200R) to see the canals and the
beautiful bridges, decorated with sculptures, elaborated lamppost and wrought-iron work. Walk along the beautiful street of Nevskiy Prospekt lined with great church buildings like the majestic Kazan Cathedral, old buildings and shops.
2/9 (Tue)
Visit
Peter and Paul Fortress (entrance 120R). This cathedral has marbled columns, glittering chandeliers and painted decoration. You can find the tombs of Peter the Great and the dukes. Watch ballet at 8pm (ticket 100R) at a theatre next to the popular Mariinskiy Theatre.
3/9 (Wed)
Visit
Peterhof, the Great Palace of Peter (entrance 250R). This park has many dazzling water fountains including The Grand Cascade built in 1715 – 24. (From Baltiskaya metro, take bus no 404, 20R for one way. About 45 min from town.)
4/9 (Thu)
Visit
Pavlovsk Park (entrance 50R). Quite a neglected park but the old Visconti Bridge and Cold Baths have their charm. (From Moskoskaya metro, take bus no 286 or 299; 20R for one way. About 30 min from town.)
5/9 (Fri)
Visit St Isaac’s Cathedral, the world largest cathedral designed in 1818. You will have to stand about 150 m away to take a picture. Leave for Moscow by an overnight Train No 3 at 11.59pm. Train fare is US$45. It is an 8-hour train journey.
Moscow, RUSSIA (6 to 9 Sep 2003)6/9 (Sat)
Reach Moscow at 8.00am. Check-in Hostel Sherstone (dorm bed US$17 per night with breakfast). It is city day. There is a big party and performance in town. Many policemen are patrolling which make me feel very safe to be in Moscow on that day. I take the opportunity to take photo of the 9 best Moscow metro stations. The sculptures, chandeliers and lavish mosaics make each metro an artistic monument. I spend only 7R as train fare to get to all these 9 metro stations. Rush to the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall to discover that there is no performance till end September.
7/9 (Sun)
Visit
Red Square - the setting for public announcements and executions. At the southern end is the
St Basil’s Cathedral designed by architect Postnik Yakovlev and completed in 1561. This cathedral is one of the best I have seen so far. Go for one-hour boat trip (160R) to enjoy the surrounding views of the Moscow River. It is not as interesting as the one at St Petersburg.
8/9 (Mon)
Visit the State Armoury at Kremlin (entrance 350R). It has a great collections including Catherine the Great coronation dress, golden crowns,
diamond crown and throne, summer carriages and others.
9/9 (Tue)
Visit the old Arbat Street lined with antique shops, boutiques, souvenior stalls, cafe and pub. It was the haunt of poet like Alexander Pushkin and composer, Aleksandr Skyrabin. However, this street is nowhere comparable to the Nevskiy Prospekt at St Petersburg. Leave for Irkutsk (Eastern Russia near the popular Lake Baikal) by Baikal Express
Train No 10 at 11.24pm. Train fare is US$184.
This train segment is the highlight of my trip as I will be travelling on the world famous “Trans Siberian Rail”.
9 - 13/9(Tue - Sat)
The Trans Siberian Rail ride takes about 88 hours from Moscow to Irkutsk. The distance is 5,153 km. With the numerous train stops, I have to spend 5 days and 4 nights. My cabin mate is a rich Russian lady. We cannot communicate due to language barrier. So I go to the other cabin to chat with other European backpackers, Gabby, Ronald and Guilder. The scenery for the last 2 days of the train ride is really breathtaking as the trees come in yellow, green and pink colours being the autumn season. The small houses with garden of grown cabbages and sunflowers together with the little streams on the hilly slopes make it very scenic indeed. One German engineer says that it is like watching a “live” plasma TV programme everyday. I find the long train ride to be very relaxing though I cannot have showers throughout the whole train journey. I have to adjust my time on my watch almost every day as the time of the train follows the Moscow time which is very different from the local time.
Irkutsk, RUSSIA (13 to 15 Sep 2003)13/9 (Sat)
Reach Irkutsk at 9.06am. Mikhail Rybalko, a historian with Irkutsk State University picks me from the train station as he is providing the
home stay with a complimentary and noisy Siberian cat (US$15 per night). Mikhail tells me how to move around Irkutsk with the help of public transport. I specially enjoy traveling on trolley bus no 3 (5R) to the crowded Central Market. I see the beautiful but deserted lace-like carved wood decorated homes. Walk to the Angara River and town area.
14/9 (Sun)
Go to
Lake Baikal by mini van (70R). It is a very pleasant one-hour ride as I pass by some “golden forests” as there are many golden coloured trees coupled with gold colour grassland. Lake Baikal has almost one fifth of all freshwater reserves. The lake water is very transparent. The main resident at Lake Baikal is the omul fish. I eat a hot
smoked omul fish for 30R. The best meal so far since I have been surviving on bread, yoghurt, fruit juice and sometimes cup noodles. There is a small and beautiful tourist village, Listvyanka near the lake.
15/9 (Mon)
Visit the interesting departmental store which sells a great variety of products. Some products like coffee are displayed in an unbelievable way, imaging stacking a
few rolls of bottles on top of one another. Also, visit the nearby crowded Chinese market. My S$1.99 umbrella is stolen here. Leave for Ulaan Baatar by Train No. 264 at 8.27pm. The train ticket shows 3.27pm (Moscow time). Irkutsk is 5 hours ahead of Moscow. Train fare is US$85. It is a 36-hour train journey.
16/9 (Tue)
Arrive at the Russian border. Custom clearance takes 5 hours for the Russian border and 2½ hours at Mongolia border. So 7½ hours of patience with “excellent” human behaviour is expected so as to avoid unnecessary custom delay.
Currency Exchange Rate: 30 Roubles = US$1
Ulaan Baatar, MONGOLIA (17 to 20 Sep 2003)
17/9 (Wed)
Reach Ulaan Baatar at 6.00am. Ulaan Baatar is the capital of Mongolia. The driver of Nassan guest house takes me to the guest house (dorm bed US$4 per night with breakfast). This guest house is like a “United Nation” with many discussions taking place daily. Backpackers discuss on buying horses for their 8-day horse riding trip while others talk about bringing utensils for the Gobi Desert trip. A Japanese backpacker teaches us how to make fishing rod with a tree branch. He also gives us the very sour horse milk wine for tasting. Visit the National Museum of Mongolian History (entrance T2500). There are many outstanding collection of costumes, hats, jewellery of most ethnic groups and 12th century Mongol armours. Also, visit the largest and most important monastery, Gandan Khiid. In the monastery, there is a big Buddha statue of about 3 storeys tall.
18/9 (Thu)
Visit
Terelj National Park for a day with 3 other backpackers from Nassan guest house (transport cost US$12 per person). It is about 1½-hour ride from the city. We have lunch at the colourful ger. A ger is a nomadic dwelling made from long poles and felt cover. We have yak butter and bread. Yak butter is made from the milk cream of the yak, a hairy cow. Sticky fried rice with mutton and carrot together with yak milk drink are also being served. The scenery of the vast grassland, blue sky, streams, tourist ger camps and alpine forest is breathtaking. For dinner, we eat at the Chinese restaurant below the Nassan guest house. Each dish serves a big portion for at least 3 persons. It costs about T800 to T1200.
Our popular dish is fried eggs with tomatoes listed in the food menu of page 1, dish number 9. 
19/9 (Fri)
Visit the Winter Palace of Bogd Khaan (entrance T2500) where the last king Jebtzun Damba Hutagt VIII lived for 20 years. Not an impressive palace if not for the ger lined with the skins of 150 snow leopards. Watch a
traditional cultural show at the Mongolian National Song and Dance Academic Ensemble (ticket T6000). The dances are great. I enjoy hearing the music played on the morin khuur, a horse-head fiddle for the first time.
20/9 (Sat)
Leave for Beijing by Train No 24 at 8.05am. Train fare is US$68. It is a 30-hour train journey. The train passes by some very sandy and dry area which is the Gobi Desert area.
Currency Exchange Rate: 1,100 Togrog = US$1
Beijing, CHINA (21 to 26 Sep 2003)21/9 (Sun)
The train stops for 10 minutes to let us catch a glimpse of the Great Wall at Simatai area. What a privilege to see the Great Wall first before Beijing. Reach Beijing at 2.30pm. Check-in Far East International Youth Hostel (dorm bed Y45 per night). Enjoy a great dinner at a Shanghainese restaurant as I get to taste the skewer items of vegetables, tau poks, meat balls dip into the hot spicy soup for cooking. I also have meat pau. The dinner is Y12.
22/9 (Mon)
Step into Tiananmen Square, the world’s largest public square. In 1976 many paid their last respects to the late Chairman Mao Zedong. In 1989, army tanks and soldiers attacked the pro-democracy demonstrators. Take bus no 20 (Y2) to visit the
Temple of Heaven Park (entrance Y15) and another entry to the impressive Altar of Heaven “Tiantan” (entrance Y20). Tiantan was a sacred ground where emperor performed the major ceremonial rites. The temple is a perfect example of Ming architecture.
23/9 (Tue)
Visit the Summer Palace, the grand imperial garden (entrance Y50). There is a very big Kunming Lake. The palace temples, landscaped gardens, pavilions and
the popular Long Corridor “Chang Lang” are very impressive.
24/9 (Wed)
Visit the Forbidden City (entrance Y60). In olden days, this city was not open to commoners. Each palace and hall serves a different purpose. I like the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Gong), an audience hall for receiving foreign envoys and high officials.
25/9 (Thu)
Join a day trip to visit the Ming Tombs and
Great Wall at Badaling. The Chang Ling tomb is not impressive. These tombs are surrounded by many green and beautiful mountains. I have a cable car ride (Y30) to get to the midway of the Badaling Great Wall so that I do not have to climb. As I reach the top of the Great Wall, I tell myself that it is a great wall demanding very great effort to build it.
26/9 (Fri)
Take a subway to Xidan area (Y3) to buy souvenirs from a big shopping centre. Buy a pair of brown colour track shoes (Y100) and 2 pairs of socks (Y5). On the way back to the hostel, my wallet with Singapore dollars and Chinese Renminbi is stolen. Rush to lodge a police report. What a disappointment when I am about to take the airport shuttle (Y16) from the Aviation Building at Xidan to catch the Air China flight CA975 (airfare Y2,432; airport tax Y90) at 11.30pm to Singapore!
27/9 (Sat)
Reach Changi Airport at 5.25am, feeling very sleepy. I take SBS bus 27 home as I dream along the way, what is my next destination for the 5th backpack trip? Perhaps Peru and Bolivia of South America??
Currency Exchange Rate: 8.21 Yuan = US$1
13 Jun - Visited Chiangrai, golden triangle area (7.30am-8.30pm). About 4 hours ride on a mini-van with many sharp curves on a hilly road. A Singaporean guy sat next to me felt very uncomfortable with the ride. However, I enjoyed the ride. Saw 3 hot springs and took a speed boat ride on the Mekong River to see the Burma and Laos borders. In the afternoon, visited the long neck people - Karen hill tribe and the big ear people - Lahu hill tribe. Quite amazingly, the ladies from the Karen hill tribe put on rings of brass around their necks. The brass of rings could be as heavy as 5 kg. Saw a beautiful sunset on the mountain range. What a pleasant evening!
14 Jun - Visited Doi Inthanon National Park, the highest mountain in Thailand of 2565m with many species of birds and plants (8.30am-4pm). Was greeted by a magnificent Vachiratharn Waterfall. Next, visited two pagodas - one for the king and another for the queen. The surrounding landscape with gardens and flowers made it very lovely indeed. Visited another waterfall and bought 2 neck scarves from the Karen hill tribe. There were only 3 tourists, a Cambodian publisher, a Malaysian musician and me. The 2 tourists spoke Thai very fluently and I had to learn from them.
15 & 16 Jun – I was in for a shock. I had to trek with 10 travellers to a mountain called Huay Kub Kab, height 1050m located in Mae Tang area (9.30am-5pm the next day). I did not put on proper shoes. Thus difficulty in climbing up many slopes. Fortunately, my trekking guide, Nikorn, helped me by getting me a bamboo walking stick and carrying my heavy backpack along the way. He told me to take my time. Had shower at the waterfall. The most enjoyable shower in the muddy water!! After 
walking for about 4 hours, reached the Lahu village. For dinner, Nikorn cooked delicious green curry chicken and stir-fried vegetables. Some Lahu kids entertained us with their songs and dances. At night, played number game with other travellers and had faces painted when a mistake was made. Stayed overnight at the Lahu village. Next day was another shock for me. Going downhill was not fun as the slopes were steep and had to cross many rivers and walking on rocks. Later, had elephant ride. My pet elephant named Bullock gave me and a Canadian lady a comfortable ride. Next, water rafting on the rubber boat with a young Korean couple leading. Quite exciting as compared to the slow bamboo rafting. My legs and arms were aching. I threw away my worn-out shoes. 
AN UNFORGETTABLE TREK!!
17 Jun - Visited the handicraft centre at Sankampaeng and bought a small little wooden elephant, named it Khan Klauy. Khan Klauy was one of my favourite Thai animation movies about a brave elephant. Time to depart by the 6.25pm Tiger Airways TR129 to Singapore.
