Trans-Siberian Rail Trips?

Interesting that you are interested in food and culture and are planning on taking a long train trip through Siberia. Would you be doing the trans manchurian or the trans mongolian route?

Was considering the trans-Mongolian. But, if there would not be interesting food, perhaps not the best choice? That's the thing, we definitely want to do something cool, and we've got the money all saved and ready to go, now we just have to choose our trip. That is why we were considering this... Thanks for any info!

Well it is just me but I think the trans siberian is two amazing places for food and culture separated by days of endless travel through next to nothingness.

Have you considered more time in China? You could go spend months in China exploring all it has to offer.

Singapore to Hanoi overland is full of food, culture, and adventure and probably works out to be cheaper than the trans siberian.

Or you could do all of east asia overland. Fly into Tokyo, take the train to Kyoto, then boat to Busan, Korea, take the train up to Seoul and then another boat to China before ending in Beijing.

Or you could do Eurasia overland but go a little further south, taking in the silk road. Start in Istanbul, head east into Georgia, Armenia, or Azerbaijan, then take a boat across the Caspian to Kazakstan, then head down through the ancient towns of Khiva, Samarkand, and Bukhara in Uzbekistan before crossing into the alpine mountains of Kyrgicstan. Then into China's Xinjiang province. Skirt Tibet taking in Labrang Monestary in Gansu before heading to Xi'an and the terracotta warriors, and then a train to Beijing. I suppose that would take months but it would certainly take in more food and culture than the trans siberian.

I dont want to be a naysayer. Some people really like the Trans Siberian. Lake Baikal is beautiful and remote. You can go north of the Siberian are really get some adventure along the BAM railroad.

Wow, thank you... those are really good suggestions! Your points are very well taken... So, if we want to experience more of the different cultures, perhaps the train trip is not the best choice. It appealed because it sounded exotic and both Beijing and Moscow would be super cool to see and experience. :-)

SO glad I asked about it here! Thanks again, rpbourne!!

Wow, thank you... those are really good suggestions! Your points are very well taken... So, if we want to experience more of the different cultures, perhaps the train trip is not the best choice. It appealed because it sounded exotic and both Beijing and Moscow would be super cool to see and experience. :-)

Beijing and Moscow are indeed both exotic. The problem is over the trans Siberian they dont really melt into each other. You are in mini Moscow until you reach the border and then everything turns Chinese. Throw Mongolia in the middle and you get 3 distinct different cultures but the trip will take 3 weeks to even attempt to do well. 5 days in Moscow, 5 days in Beijing, 2 days Mongolia, 4 days stopping in Siberia, 6 days traveling on the train. It's a lot of Russia and not much of Asia.

Try to consider the following
How long do you have?
Are you committed to sticking overland for the WOW factor at the end?
How many annoying visas are you willing to apply for?(China and Russia are both annoying, not as much as Uzbekistan though)
How much of a language barrier are you willing to put up with?
Do you want the landscape/weather to change or just the culture? The transiberian in summer does go through some interesting climatic zones but it doesnt change TOO much. Hanoi to Singapore doenst much either. The Silk Road does change a lot if you skirt the himalayas.

I assume both being 40 you can probably make your budget work. But do you want a budget destination like Cambodia; where you can have just about anything you want or are places like Russia more your thing where you can more easily connect with the locals.

We have 18 to 22-ish days (flexible). It took us a bit to save for the trip (having kids is expensive!), but we have saved enough that we have the freedom to do what we like. With that said, making our dollar go farther is certainly a plus! In that respect, Vietnam was a draw... I don't know enough about Cambodia to know if we want to go there. Changes in weather aren't so important, but wouldn't be unwelcome... Just not a priority either way. Hmm... Maybe we should put two tours together and do an 8-day one in China, and then fly to Hanoi and do 10-ish days traveling to Bankok?

I guess that is the thing... There are SO many variables and choices. I guess we are just kind of feeling overwhelmed.

Cambodia is a mix of Vietnam and Thai, with the most amazing ruins and temples in SEA, perhaps enough to rival the world. Check out Ankor in a search browser, it is impressive.

8 days in China is not very much time. Beijing deserves 4 days minimum and then you have maybe time for 1 other place. There are trains from China to Hanoi, if you so desire. I think it stops in Zhengzhou, Changsha, Guilin, and Naning. Of those Guilin might be interesting, or Zhengzhou if you want a connection to Xi'an but then you are rushing around a lot.

With 22 days, I might just try SEA and be relaxed about it. Plenty of interesting stuff and the connections and lodging are all easy.

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