THE ROUGH GUIDE to - Parallels Plesk Panel

desert of northwest China. It takes around
five days. The trains are comfortable and
clean: second-class compartments contain
four berths, while first-class have two, and
even boast a private shower. There are two
direct trains a week, but it’s also possible to
break up the journey with stops in, for
example, Irkutsk or Mongolia.
Meals are included while the train is in
China. In Mongolia, the dining car accepts
payment in both Chinese and Mongolian
currency; while in Russia, US dollars or
Russian roubles can be used. It’s worth
having small denominations of US dollars as
you can change these on the train
throughout the journey, or use them to buy
food from station vendors along the way.
Note that trains via Dongbei arrive in Beijing
at 5.20am, so remember to change money
at the border stop if you’re using this route.
You’ll need tourist visas for Russia, and
if you use the Trans-Mongolian train you
may have to apply for visas for Mongolia as
well (US citizens don’t need these). For
detailed, up-to-date information on all
ways to get tickets, check Wwww.seat61
.com/trans-siberian.htm.
You’ll need to reserve at least a couple of
weeks ahead to ensure a seat, with tickets
for winter travel easier to get hold of than for
the peak summer season. Sorting out your
travel arrangements on your own from
abroad is a complex business and almost
certainly more trouble than it’s worth, and
simply turning up in Russia and buying a
ticket from a train station is unlikely to
succeed as tickets sell out quickly. British
travellers can cut the complications by using
the online booking system offered by Real
Russia (Wwww.realrussia.co.uk); they mark
up prices about 20 percent but do save you
a lot of hassle. A second-class Moscow to
Beijing ticket booked with them costs around
£870 – and of course they will then help you
sort out your visas for a small fee (as will all
other agencies). They also offer tours, as do
a number of Russia-based agencies. For
details of these and companies at home that
can sort out Trans-Siberian travel, see p.22.
If you’re planning to take the train home,
you could buy your train ticket in Beijing, at
the CITS office on the ground floor of the
International Hotel on Jianguomennei Dajie,
just north of the train station (daily 8.30am–
5pm; T010/65120507; see p.78). You can
check fares at Wwww.cits.net. BTG Travel,
on Fuxingmenwai Dajie (see p.25) have a
desk for Trans-Siberian tickets that charges
about the same. These are the inexpensive
options (tickets for Moscow start at about
US$600), but involve a certain amount of
hassle as you’ll have to get your visas
yourself.
Airlines, agents and
operators
Airlines
Aeroflot Wwww.aeroflot.com
Air Canada Wwww.aircanada.com
Air China Wwww.airchina.com.cn
Air France Wwww.airfrance.com
Air New Zealand Wwww.airnewzealand.com
Alitalia Wwww.alitalia.com
All Nippon Airways (ANA) Wwww.anaskyweb
.com
American Airlines Wwww.aa.com
Asiana Airlines Wwww.flyasiana.com
Austrian Wwww.aua.com
British Airways Wwww.ba.com
Cathay Pacific Wwww.cathaypacific.com
China Airlines Wwww.china-airlines.com
China Eastern Airlines Wwww.chinaeastern.co.uk
China Southern Airlines Wwww.cs-air.com
Continental Airlines Wwww.continental.com
Emirates Wwww.emirates.com
Finnair Wwww.finnair.com
Garuda Indonesia Wwww.garuda-indonesia.com
Gulf Air Wwww.gulfairco.com
JAL (Japan Air Lines) Wwww.jal.com
KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) Wwww.klm.com
Korean Air Wwww.koreanair.com
Lufthansa Wwww.lufthansa.com
Malaysia Airlines Wwww.malaysia-airlines.com
PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) Wwww
.piac.com.pk
Qantas Airways Wwww.qantas.com
Qatar Airways Wwww.qatarairways.com
Royal Brunei Wwww.bruneiair.com
Royal Jordanian Wwww.rja.com.jo
SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) Wwww.flysas.com
Singapore Airlines Wwww.singaporeair.com
Swiss Wwww.swiss.com
Thai Airways Wwww.thaiair.com
United Airlines Wwww.united.com
US Airways Wwww.usair.com
Vietnam Airlines Wwww.vietnamairlines.com
BASICS |
Getting there
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