ORIENTAL ASIA - STA Travel Hub
ORIENTAL ASIA - STA Travel Hub
ORIENTAL ASIA - STA Travel Hub
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VODKATRAIN<br />
Trans Mongolian Railway & the Silk Road<br />
what’s included<br />
• Honcho services in every city stop<br />
• All your train tickets<br />
• Accommodation on shared basis<br />
• Arrival / departure transfers en route<br />
• All Trans Mongolian journeys include a<br />
stay in a traditional Mongolian ger<br />
• Visa support for pre-booked tours<br />
extend your journey<br />
Vodkatrain has a range of VodkaPack<br />
city breaks and RailPacks through<br />
Europe, China, Japan and Vietnam<br />
to help you plan your journey. If<br />
Vodkatrain is part of a bigger trip<br />
and you are leaving or returning<br />
to Europe we’ve even made sure<br />
that the tour dates match up with<br />
those at Busabout (see our Europe<br />
brochure) so you won’t have to get<br />
on a plane between Hong Kong and<br />
London. That’s 12,000km overland!<br />
Experience the Trans Siberian Railway, Mongolia and the Silk Road at ground level. <strong>Travel</strong><br />
with the locals, explore cities with your local Honcho, decide what you want to see and do<br />
and pay local prices along the way!<br />
Vodkatrain brings together young, like-minded individuals with different backgrounds from<br />
all around the world to travel together through some of the most unique and interesting<br />
destinations on routes less travelled. You’ll be travelling with the locals wherever you go and<br />
will discover each new city with the help of your local Honcho.<br />
Vodkatrain is a great combination of independent backpacking and small group travel at<br />
affordable do-it-yourself prices. If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional tour<br />
groups with fixed schedules and regimented sightseeing, Vodkatrain gives you the chance to<br />
do your own thing or let your Honchos show you around the cities they live in and love!<br />
<strong>ORIENTAL</strong> <strong>ASIA</strong><br />
You might like<br />
Project Vodkatrain<br />
Complete a full Trans Mongolian journey<br />
and spend a week discovering Mongolia’s<br />
wilderness, learning the nomadic life and<br />
assisting with an environmental project.<br />
(19 days) (PVMB) Fr $2,895<br />
TRANSPORT & ACCOMMODATION<br />
The trains are a destination in themselves,<br />
especially the dining car! These are not<br />
chartered trains but regular scheduled<br />
services and they ferry families, traders,<br />
students, soldiers, business people,<br />
travellers and monks, so there is always an<br />
interesting mix of people. Overnight trains<br />
have comfortable bunk-bed style, mixed<br />
gender, four-berth compartments (sleeping<br />
configurations and facilities differ for some<br />
journeys) and they have bedding, reading<br />
lights, a big window, a small table, room for<br />
your backpack and constant hot water so<br />
you’ll never run out of instant noodles!<br />
At each stop a local Honcho will meet<br />
you and transfer you to and from your<br />
accommodation. They’ll also take care of the<br />
train tickets and make sure you’re on the<br />
right train and going in the right direction!<br />
You’ll stay in a mixture of hotels, hostels,<br />
guesthouses and traditional Mongolian gers<br />
(a real highlight); some accommodation<br />
may be multi-share but most will be twins.<br />
All are centrally located (or really close to<br />
public transport) and clean.<br />
GROUP TRAVEL AS INDIVIDUAL AS YOU<br />
Vodkatrain is 18-35 only, so you’ll be<br />
sharing your adventure with like-minded<br />
and independent travellers from across the<br />
globe. These are not ‘escorted’ tours but it<br />
is group travel. This means you’ll have other<br />
CALL 1300 676 561 TO BOOK<br />
travellers around to share experiences with<br />
and to provide a support network so you<br />
don’t have to tackle any hard bits alone!<br />
Vodktatrain is a travel revolution born out<br />
of the bureaucracy and challenges of travel<br />
through some of Asia’s most incredible,<br />
unique and unusual destinations.<br />
HONCHOS<br />
Honchos have grown up in their city and<br />
love showing you around, not only to the<br />
tourist sites (they are important too) but to<br />
the real heartbeat of the city, its people and<br />
those underground places you normally need<br />
weeks to find! They can show you how to<br />
use local transport, where to change money,<br />
their favourite cafés, bars and restaurants,<br />
can translate all the latest gossip and if<br />
there is something they don’t know they<br />
have the language skills to find out.<br />
Your Honchos are available from 9am ‘til<br />
9pm each day and some choose to stay<br />
out later for a drink. All their expenses<br />
are covered to ensure they’ll only take<br />
you to the places they would want to go<br />
themselves so there’s no funny business!<br />
Your Honcho probably has some ideas about<br />
what you should see in their city - but<br />
there is no pressure to do any suggested<br />
activities; if you want to do your own thing,<br />
they will help you with directions, a few local<br />
sayings or maybe scrawl a basic map on a<br />
napkin - then leave you to it...<br />
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