Accommodation Review – Marins Park Hotel Ekanterinburg, Russia

After a couple of hostels and a yurt, I found myself in the rather wonderful business hotel 'Marins Park Hotel' in Ekanterinburg. Okay, it wasn't the most amazing stay I've ever had, but it ticked all the main boxes and I left feeling pretty satisfied with my stay and choice. I had a basic double …

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Train Journeys – Irkutsk to Ekanterinburg (Trans-Mongolian Leg 3)

After three days in Irkutsk it was mid-afternoon and I was back on the rails again headed roughly due west towards the city of Ekanterinburg, the city which saw the demise of the last Tzar of Russia, Nicholas the Second. Again, it was realrussia.co.uk through which I got my ticket for this train. 180 pounds …

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PanRussia Panorama – Irkutsk, Baikal and Ekanterinburg

Howdy folks and welcome again to another feast of wide photos! I’m splitting my Russian Panoramas into two sections, and today it’s, well, everything bar Moscow. The border town (with Mongolia) of Naushki was not a place to remember, but I feel this photo shows the viewer why. Irkutsk was a surprisingly pretty town which …

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Train Journeys – Ulaan Baatar to Irkutsk (Trans-Mongolian Leg 2)

After four days in Ulaan Baatar and Terelj, it was very quickly on again by rail travelling a further 1114km to the Siberian city of Irkutsk, not far from Lake Baikal (around 60km). This, it turns out, was the shortest journey of the four legs of my Trans-Mongolian as far as distance covered. However, it …

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Train Journeys – Beijing to Ulan Bataar (Trans-Mongolian)

Okay. Well here I am ready to start reviewing the four segments of my journey from Beijing to Moscow, around 8000 kilometres away, via Mongolia. The trip to the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bataar was 1426 kilometres, crossing the border at Erlian (China) passing through Jinignan, Zhurihe and Dzamynude and other towns that perhaps I …

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Pan-Asia Panorama – Beijing and the Great Wall

Well, following my series of panorama shots from South America I now have another well to dip into of shots from my latest trip. Starting with Beijing and the Great Wall of China. I was surprised to find that I didn’t take nearly as many as I thought I might have. Still, how many photos …

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