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boreothegoldfinch · 3 years ago

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chapter 10 paragraph v

Almost three hours later I was still sitting in a red vinyl booth in the Polack bar, flashing Christmas lights, annoying mix of punk rock and Christmas polka music honking away on the jukebox, fed up from waiting and wondering if he was going to show or not, if maybe I should just go home. I didn’t even have his information—it had all happened so fast. In the past I’d Googled Boris for the hell of it—never a whisper—but then I’d never envisioned Boris as having any kind of a life that might be traceable online. He might have been anywhere, doing anything: mopping a hospital floor, carrying a gun in some foreign jungle, picking up cigarette butts off the street. It was getting toward the end of Happy Hour, a few students and artist types trickling in among the pot-bellied old Polish guys and grizzled, fifty-ish punks. I’d just finished my third vodka; they poured them big, it was foolish to order another one; I knew I should get something to eat but I wasn’t hungry and my mood was turning bleaker and darker by the moment. To think that he’d blown me off after so many years was incredibly depressing. If I had to be philosophical, at least I’d been diverted from my dope mission: hadn’t OD’d, wasn’t vomiting in some garbage can, hadn’t been ripped off or run in for trying to buy from an undercover cop— “Potter.” There he was, sliding in across from me, slinging the hair from his face in a gesture that brought the past ringing back. “I was just about to leave.” “Sorry.” Same dirty, charming smile. “Had something to do. Didn’t Myriam explain?” “No she didn’t.” “Well. Is not like I work in accounting office. Look,” he said, leaning forward, palms on the table, “don’t be mad! Was not expecting to run into you! I came as quick as I could! Ran, practically!” He reached across with cupped hand and slapped me gently on the cheek. “My God! Such a long time it is! Glad to see you! You’re not glad to see me too?” He’d grown up to be good-looking. Even at his gawkiest and most pinched he’d always had a likable shrewdness about him, lively eyes and a quick intelligence, but he’d lost that half-starved rawness and everything else had come together the right way. His skin was weather-beaten but his clothes fell well, his features were sharp and nervy, cavalry hero by way of concert pianist; and his tiny gray snaggleteeth—I saw—had been replaced by a standard-issue row of all-American whites. He saw me looking, flicked a showy incisor with his thumbnail. “New snaps.” “I noticed.” “Dentist in Sweden did it,” said Boris, signalling for a waiter. “Cost a fucking fortune. My wife kept after me—Borya, your mouth, disgraceful! I said no way am I doing this, but was the best money I ever spent.” “When’d you get married?” “Eh?” “You could have brought her if you wanted.” He looked startled. “What, you mean Myriam? No, no—” reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket, punching around on his telephone, “Myriam’s not my wife! This—” he handed me the phone—“this is my wife. What are you drinking?” he said, before turning to address the waiter in Polish. The photo on the iPhone was of a snow-topped chalet and, out in front, a beautiful blonde on skis. At her side, also on skis, were a pair of bundled-up little blond kids of indeterminate sex. It didn’t look so much like a snapshot as an ad for some healthful Swiss product like yogurt or Bircher muesli.

I looked up at him stunned. He glanced away, with a Russianate gesture of old: yeah, well, it is what it is. “Your wife? Seriously?” “Yah,” he said, with a lifted eyebrow. “My kids, too. Twins.” “Fuck.” “Yes,” he said regretfully. “Born when I was very young—too young. It wasn’t a good time—she wanted to keep them—‘Borya, how could you’— what could I say? To be truthful I don’t know them so well. Actually the little one—he is not in the picture—the little one I have not met at all. I think he is only, what? Six weeks old?” “What?” Again I looked at the picture, struggling to reconcile this wholesome Nordic family with Boris. “Are you divorced?” “No no no—” the vodka had arrived, icy carafe and two tiny glasses, he was pouring a shot for each of us—“Astrid and the children are mostly in Stockholm. Sometimes she comes to Aspen to the winter, to ski—she was ski champion, qualified for the Olympics when she was nineteen—” “Oh yeah?” I said, doing my best not to sound incredulous at this. The kids, as was fairly evident upon closer viewing, looked far too blond and bonny to be even vaguely related to Boris. “Yes yes,” said Boris, very earnestly, with a vigorous nod of the head. “She always has to be where there is skiing and—you know me, I hate the fucking snow, ha! Her father very very right-wing—a Nazi basically. I think —no wonder Astrid has depression problems with father like him! What a hateful old shit! But they are very unhappy and miserable people, all of them, these Swedes. One minute laughing and drinking and the next—darkness, not a word. Dziękuję,” he said to the waiter, who had reappeared with a tray of small plates: black bread, potato salad, two kinds of herring, cucumbers in sour cream, stuffed cabbage, and some pickled eggs. “I didn’t know they served food here.” “They don’t,” said Boris, buttering a slice of black bread and sprinkling it with salt. “But am starving. Asked them to bring something from next door.” He clinked his shot glass with mine. “Sto lat!” he said—his old toast. “Sto lat.” The vodka was aromatic and flavored with some bitter herb I couldn’t identify. “So,” I said, helping myself to some food. “Myriam?” “Eh?” I held out open palms in our childhood gesture: please explain. “Ah, Myriam! She works for me! Right-hand man, suppose you’d say. Although, I’ll tell you, she’s better than any man you’ll find. What a woman, my God. Not many like her, I’ll tell you. Worth her weight in gold. Here here,” he said, refilling my glass and sliding it back to me. “Za vstrechu!” lifting his own to me. “To our meeting!” “Isn’t it my turn to toast?” “Yes, it is—” clinking my glass—“but I am hungry and you are waiting too long.” “To our meeting, then.” “To our meeting! And to fortune! For bringing us together again!” As soon as we’d drunk, Boris fell immediately on the food. “And what exactly is it that you do?” I asked him. “This, that.” He still ate with the innocent, gobbling hunger of a child. “Many things. Getting by, you know?” “And where do you live? Stockholm?” I said, when he didn’t answer. He waved an expansive hand. “All over.” “Like—?” “Oh, you know. Europe, Asia, North and South America…” “That covers a lot of territory.” “Well,” he said, mouth full of herring, wiping a glob of sour cream off his chin, “am also small business owner, if you understand me rightly.” “Sorry?” He washed down the herring with a big slug of beer. “You know how it is. My official business so called is housecleaning agency. Workers from Poland, mostly. Nice pun in title of business, too. ‘Polish Cleaning Service.’ Get it?” He bit into a pickled egg. “What’s our motto, can you guess? ‘We clean you out,’ ha!”

I chose to let that one lie. “So you’ve been in the States this whole time?” “Oh no!” He had poured us each a new shot of vodka, was lifting his glass to me. “Travel a lot. I am here maybe six, eight weeks of the year. And the rest of the time—” “Russia?” I said, downing my shot, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “Not so much. Northern Europe. Sweden, Belgium. Germany sometimes.” “I thought you went back.” “Eh?” “Because—well. I never heard from you.” “Ah.” Boris rubbed his nose sheepishly. “It was a messed up time. Remember your house—that last night?” “Of course.” “Well. I’d never seen so much drugs in my life. Like half an ounce of coka and didn’t sell one stitch of it, not even one quarter gram. Gave a lot away, sure—was very popular at school, ha! Everyone loved me! But most of it— right up my nose. Then—the baggies we found—tablets of all assortments— remember? Those little greens? Some very serious cancer-patient-end-of-life pills—your dad must have been crazy addicted if he was taking that stuff.” “Yeah, I wound up with some of those too.” “Well then, you know! They don’t even make those good green oxys any more! Now they have the junkie-defeat so you can’t shoot them or snort! But your dad? Like—to go from drinking to that? Better a drunk in the street, any old day. First one I did—passed out before I hit my second line, if Kotku hadn’t been there—” he drew a finger across his throat—“pfft.” “Yep,” I said, remembering my own stupid bliss, keeling face-down on my desk upstairs at Hobie’s. “Anyway—” Boris downed his vodka in a gulp and poured us both another—“Xandra was selling it. Not that. That was your dad’s. For his own personal. But the other, she was dealing from where she worked. That couple Stewart and Lisa? Those like super straight real-estate looking people? They were bankrolling her.” I put down my fork. “How do you know that?” “Because she told me! And I guess they got ugly when she came up short, too. Like Mr. Lawyer Face and Miss Daisy Tote Bag all nice and kind at your house… petting her on the head… ‘what can we do’… ‘Poor Xandra…’ ‘we’re so sorry for you’… then their drugs are gone—phew. Different story! I felt really bad when she told me, for what we’d done! Big trouble for her! But, by then—” flicking his nose—“was all up here. Kaput.” “Wait—Xandra told you this?” “Yes. After you left. When I was living over there with her.” “You need to back up a little bit.” Boris sighed. “Well, okay. Is long story. But we have not seen each other in long while, right?” “You lived with Xandra?” “You know—in and out. Four-five months maybe. Before she moved back to Reno. I lost touch with her after that. My dad had gone back to Australia, see, and also Kotku and I were on the rocks—”

“That must have been really weird.” “Well—sort of,” he said restlessly. “See—” leaning back, signalling to the waiter again—“I was in pretty bad shape. I’d been up for days. You know how it is when you crash hard off cocaine—terrible. I was alone and really frightened. You know that sickness in your soul—fast breaths, lots of fear, like Death will reach a hand out and take you? Thin—dirty—scared shivering. Like a little half-dead cat! And Christmas too—everyone away! Called a bunch of people, no one picking up—went by this guy Lee’s where I stayed in the pool house sometime but he was gone, door locked. Walking and walking—staggering almost. Cold and frightened! Nobody home! So I went by to Xandra’s. Kotku was not talking to me by then.” “Man, you had some kind of serious balls. I wouldn’t have gone back there for a million dollars.” “I know, it took some onions, but was so lonely and ill. Mouth all gittering. Like—where you want to lie still and to look at a clock and count your heartbeats? except no place to lie still? and you don’t have a clock? Almost in tears! Didn’t know what to do! Didn’t even know was she still there. But lights were on—only lights on the street—came around by the glass door and there she was, in her same Dolphins shirt, in the kitchen making margaritas.” “What’d she do?” “Ha! Wouldn’t let me in, at first! Stood in the door and yelled a long while —cursed me, called me every name! But then I started crying. And when I asked could I stay with her?”—he shrugged—“she said yes.” “What?” I said, reaching for the shot he’d poured me. “You mean like stay stay—?” “I was scared! She let me sleep in her room! With TV turned to Christmas movies!” “Hmn.” I could see he wanted me to press for details, only from his gleeful expression I was not so sure I believed him about the sleeping-in-herroom business, either. “Well, glad that worked out for you, I guess. She say anything about me?” “Well, yes a little.” He chortled. “A lot actually! Because, I mean, don’t be mad, but I blamed some things on you.” “Glad I could help.” “Yes, of course!” He clinked my glass jubilantly. “Many thanks! You’d do the same, I wouldn’t mind. Honest, though, poor Xandra, I think she was glad to see me. To see anyone. I mean—” throwing his shot back—“it was crazy… those bad friends… she was all alone out there. Drinking a lot, afraid to go to work. Something could have happened to her, easy—no neighbors, really creepy. Because Bobo Silver—well, Bobo was actually not so bad guy. ‘The Mensch’? They don’t call him that for nothing! Xandra was scared to death of him but he didn’t go after her for your dad’s debt, not serious anyway. Not at all. And your dad was in for a lot. Probably he realized she was broke—your dad had fucked her over good and proper, too. Might as well be decent about it. Can’t get blood out of a turnip. But those other people, those friends of hers so called, were mean like bankers. You know? ‘You owe me,’ really hard, fucking connected, scary. Worse than him! Not so big sum even, but she was still way short and they were being nasty, all—” (mocking head tilt, aggressive finger point) “ ‘fuck you, we’re not going to wait, you better figure something out,’ like that. Anyway—good I went back when I did because then I was able to help.” “Help how?” “By giving her back the moneys I took.”

“You’d kept it?” “Well, no,” he said reasonably. “Had spent it. But—had something else going, see. Because right after the coke ran out? I had taken the money to Jimmy at the gun shop and bought more. See, I was buying it for me and Amber—just the two of us. Very very beautiful girl, very innocent and special. Very young too, like only fourteen! But just that one night at MGM Grand, we had got so close, just sitting on the bathroom floor all night up at KT’s dad’s suite and talking. Didn’t even kiss! Talk talk talk! I all but wept from it. Really opened up our hearts to each other. And—” hand to his breastbone—“I felt so sad when the day came, like why did it have to be over? Because we could have sat there talking forever to each other! and been so perfect and happy! That’s how close we got to each other, see, in just that one night. Anyway—this is why I went to Jimmy. He had really shitty coke— not half so good as Stewart and Lisa’s. But everyone knew, see—everyone had heard about that weekend at MGM Grand, me with all that blow. So people came to me. Like—dozen people my first day back at school. Throwing their moneys at me. ‘Will you get me some… will you get me some… will you get some for my bro… I have ADD, I need it for my homework.…’ Pretty soon was selling to senior football players and half the basketball team. Lots of girls too… friends of Amber and KT’s… Jordan’s friends too… college students at UNLV! Lost money on the first few batches I sold—didn’t know what to ask, sold fat for low price, wanted everyone to like me, yah yah yah. But once I figured it out—I was rich! Jimmy gave me huge discount, he was making lots of green off it too. I was doing him big favor, see, selling drugs to kids too scared to buy them—scared of people like Jimmy who sold them. KT… Jordan… those girls had a lot of money! Always happy to front me. Coke is not like E—I sold that too, but it was up and down, whole bunch then none for days, for coka I had a lot of regulars and they called two and three times a week. I mean, just KT—” “Wow.” Even after so many years, her name struck a chord. “Yes! To KT!” We raised our glasses and drank. “What a beauty!” Boris slammed his glass down. “I used to get dizzy around her. Just to breathe her same air.”

“Did you sleep with her?” “No… God, I tried… but she gave me a hand job in her little brother’s bedroom one night when she was wasted and in a very nice mood.” “Man, I sure left at the wrong time.” “You sure did. I came in my pants before she even got the zip down. And KT’s allowance—” reaching for my empty shot glass. “Two thousand a month! That is what she got for clothes only! Only KT already has so many clothes it is like, why does she need to buy more? Anyway by Christmas for me it was like in the movies where they have the ching-ching and the dollar signs. Phone never stopped ringing. Everybody’s best friend! Girls I never saw before, kissing me, giving me gold jewelry off their own necks! I was doing all the drugs I could do, drugs every day, every night, lines as long as my hand, and still money everywhere. I was like the Scarface of our school! One guy gave me a motorcycle—another guy, a used car. I would go to pick my clothes from off the floor—hundreds of dollars falling out from the pockets—no idea where it came from.” “This is a lot of information, really fast.” “Well, tell me about it! This is my usual learning process. They say experience is good teacher, and normally is true, but I am lucky this experience did not kill me. Now and then… when I have some beers sometimes… I’ll maybe hit a line or two? But mostly I do not like it any more. Burned myself out good. If you had met me maybe five years ago? I was all like—” sucking in his cheeks—“so. But—” the waiter had reappeared with more herring and beer—“enough about all that. You—” he looked me up and down—“what? Doing very nicely for yourself, I’d say?” “All right, I guess.” “Ha!” He leaned back with his arm along the back of the booth. “Funny old world, right? Antiques trade? The old poofter? He got you in to it?” “That’s right.” “Big racket, I heard.” “That’s right.” He eyed me up and down. “You happy?” he said. “Not very.” “Listen, then! I have great idea! Come work for me!” I burst out laughing. “No, not kidding! No no,” he said, shushing me imperiously as I tried to talk over him, pouring me a new shot, sliding the glass across the table to me, “what is he giving you? Serious. I will give you two times.” “No, I like my job—” over-pronouncing the words, was I as wrecked as I sounded?—“I like what I do.” “Yes?” He lifted his glass to me. “Then why aren’t you happy?” “I don’t want to talk about it.” “And why not?” I waved my hand dismissively. “Because—” I’d lost track quite how many shots I’d had. “Just because.” “If not job then—which is it?” He had thrown back his own shot, tossing his head grandly, and started in on the new plate of herring. “Money problems? Girl?” “Neither.” “Girl then,” he said triumphantly. “I knew it.” “Listen—” I drained the rest of my vodka, slapped the table—what a genius I was, I couldn’t stop smiling, I’d had the best idea in years!—“enough of this. Come on—let’s go! I’ve got a big big surprise for you.” “Go?” said Boris, visibly bristling. “Go where?” “Come with me. You’ll see.” “I want to stay here.” “Boris—” He sat back. “Let it go, Potter,” he said, putting his hands up. “Just relax.” “Boris!” I looked at the bar crowd, as if expecting mass outrage, and then back at him. “I’m sick of sitting here! I’ve been here for hours.” “But—” He was annoyed. “I cleared this whole night for you! I had stuff to do! You’re leaving?” “Yes! And you’re coming with me. Because—” I threw my arms out —“you have to see the surprise!” “Surprise?” He threw down his balled-up napkin. “What surprise?” “You’ll find out.” What was the matter with him? Had he forgotten how to have fun? “Now come on, let’s get out of here.” “Why? Now?” “Just because!” The bar room was a dark roar; I’d never felt so sure of myself in my life, so pleased at my own cleverness. “Come on. Drink up!” “Do we really have to do this?” “You’ll be glad. Promise. Come on!” I said, reaching over and shaking his shoulder amicably as I thought. “I mean, no shit, this is a surprise you can’t believe how good.”

He leaned back with folded arms and regarded me suspiciously. “I think you are angry with me.” “Boris, what the fuck.” I was so drunk I stumbled, standing up, and had to catch myself on the table. “Don’t argue. Let’s just go.” “I think it is a mistake to go somewhere with you.” “Oh?” I looked at him with one half closed eye. “You coming, or not?” Boris looked at me coolly. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose and said: “You won’t tell me where we’re going.” “No.” “You won’t mind if my driver takes us then?” “Your driver?” “Sure. He is waiting like two-three blocks away.” “Fuck.” I looked away and laughed. “You have a driver?” “You don’t mind if we go with him, then?” “Why would I?” I said, after a brief pause. Drunk as I was, his manner had brought me up short: he was looking at me with a peculiar, calculating, uninflected quality I had never seen before. Boris tossed back the rest of his vodka and then stood up. “Very well,” he said, twirling an unlit cigarette loosely in his fingertips. “Let’s get this nonsense over with, then.”

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swanandcmiprs · 4 years ago

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VODKA MARKET ANALYSIS (2019-2027)

Vodka is an alcoholic beverage, which is made through distillation process. The raw material used for preparation of vodka include starches or sugar plants, such as wheat and vegetables such as potatoes. Vodka is a clear beverage with indistinguishable taste, which was originated in Russia and Poland and got its name from the Russian word ‘voda’ (water). Vodka is commonly used in cocktails as it’s colourless and has a clean taste which pairs well with any flavour. The market is expected to witness significant growth, owing to the increase in varieties of Vodka available out for consumers. Today, consumers prefer low-calorie products and superior ingredients due to the rise in health consciousness especially in the younger generation. Therefore, food & beverage industry is facing a challenge to continuously align itself to consumer preferences.

Market Outlook

Global vodka market is driven by the rising interest in cocktails culture among millennial consumers. Companies are now experimenting with innovative flavours for vodka cocktails which is drawing consumers towards exploring more expensive alcoholic beverages. Key players are launching new products to align with these rapid changes in consumer preferences. For instance, in 2019 Pernod Ricard launched, a Caviar-infused vodka called L’Orbe. Moreover, Hilton Head Distillery also launched ‘Aermoor’, a vodka that tastes like birthday cake.

In 2018, Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest growth, in terms of the revenue, owing to rising population, rapid urbanization, and rising per capita income in the region. According to the World Bank, India’s per capita income increased by 10% in 2019. Moreover, restaurants and bars in the region have benefited from the rising alcohol consumption and demand for premium vodka. For instance, in 2019 Pernod Ricard, a France-based company that produces alcoholic beverages had 12%rise in alcohol sales in Asia Pacific, owing to success of its vodka brand ‘Absolut’ and expansion of local whiskey brand ‘Seagram’ in the region. Especially in China and India their alcohol sales observed 20% rise in 2019.

Among Europe, Russia leads in per capita vodka consumption in the world. However, Russia is currently facing a drop in alcohol consumption. For instance, according to WHO, alcohol consumption in Russia has gone down by 43% from 2003 to 2016, owing to growing trend towards healthier living and government enforcement on minimum pricing. For instance, in 2011, Russia government restricted the availability of retail alcohol and instituted strict regulationsabout media advertising of alcohol.

Key players in this market are focusing on launching new products, owing to rising trend of Ready-to-drink vodka cocktails. For instance, in 2016, Diageo launched, canned premix cocktail versions of its vodka brand, Smirnoff & Cola. Moreover, Bacardi Limited also restored its existing brand Breezer in 2019 with Ready-To-Drink vodka mixes. Ready-To-Drink cocktails are specifically packed in brightly-patterned decorated cans and bottles which makes them more attractive and shareable on social media platforms. The major challenge for key players is to maintain taste, quality ingredients, and authenticity.

Among distribution channel, specialty stores segment held a dominant position in the global vodka market in 2018. Whereas, online stores are expected to have fastest growth attributing to rising internet penetration rate and consumers using e-commerce to buy groceries and other items. For instance, according to the International Telecommunications Union, internet usage has increased around 4% in 2019. Alcohol e-commerce leader Drizly experienced a high growth in online alcohol delivery revenue in 2018. Furthermore, according to the IMF’s report, global retail e-commerce sales reached around US$2.3 trillion in 2017. For instance, China’s online alcohol market is on rapid growth, owing to the rising demand of local wines among Chinese population.

Key Players

Key players operating in the global vodka market include Belvedere, Brown-Forman, Diageo, Gruppo Campari, Pernod Ricard, Russian Standard, Bacardi, Central European Distribution, Constellation Spirits, Tito’s Handmade, Grand Teton, and Deep Eddy.

Market Taxonomy

On the basis of flavor type, the global vodka market is segmented into:

Flavored

Non-flavored

On the basis of distribution channel, the global vodka market is segmented into:

Restaurants and Bars

Specialty Stores

Supermarkets and Hypermarkets

Online Stores

Others

On the basis of region, the global vodka market is segmented into:

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

ASEAN

Australia

South Korea

Rest of Asia Pacific

North America

U.S.

Canada

Mexico

Europe

U.K.

Germany

France

Italy

Russia

Rest of the Europe

Latin America

Brazil

Argentina

Rest of South America

Middle East

GCC

Israel

Rest of Middle East

Africa

North Africa

Central Africa

South Africa

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karlosharrison-blog · 5 years ago

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As far as trips of a lifetime are concerned, well, I think it’s possible to have many of them to be honest! But certainly one of my most memorable trips was taking the Trans-Mongolian train from Beijing to Moscow. To go through three countries, through different climates, surrounds, encounter different cuisine, meet different folk, see Asia turn into Europe bit by bit, is a special experience, and to do it by train is extra special.

Beijing Train Station Interior

The train invokes a sense of community with your cabin mates, and those you meet. It’s like a small, long, thin town shifting its way across the planet. You can marvel at the way it’s run, the way they change the gauge at the Mongolian/Chinese border, be impressed by the fact that people managed to lay track along such a long path (and maintain it!) and all while you sit back, relax and take in the scenery, a book, or indeed a new TV series on your iPad if it so takes your fancy. Yes, it IS 2019!

You’ll meet plenty of people – some, like these cabin mates on my last leg to Moscow, shared their vodka!

Choosing Your Trans-Mongolian Route and Direction

From Beijing to Moscow, or Moscow to Beijing there are two main routes. Then there are options that only stay within Russia, taking you all the way east to Vladivostok, as well as another option now possible that takes you further north in East Siberia. The Trans-Mongolian is the only one to take you through three countries. And that’s great, but also presents challenges because you’ll need three visas.

So you’ve chosen to go through Mongolia. The direction is the next question. I’m Australian, and it seemed to make most sense as I was heading to Europe to travel Beijing to Moscow, that is east to west. However, either way requires a flight back home, and also will if you’re departing Europe or the Americas.

Unless of course you are travelling around the world and keep going in one direction, or plan the unlikely return trip by train as well. From Europe you may want to train it all the way to Beijing and then fly back. This has the advantage of starting the journey in Russia, which may make visa formalities a touch easier. I think every tourist on the train was worried crossing into Russia that there might be a visa issue, and you’d then be stuck at the border for… the rest of your life! Having said that, I doubt many do have visa issues.

All aboard! – Beijing

A Trans-Mongolian Tour or Not a Tour, that is the Question

Some companies will book you in as a tour. This has a big advantage because everything will be – or should be – looked after for you and a lot of the planning will be eased from your mind. However, travel independently and who knows what you might discover, and you will certainly be able to afford yourself more flexibility. Which brings me to the next topic –

To Stop or Not to Stop?

And this will greatly depend on the time you have to take this amazing journey. And what you want out of it! Some people actually choose to take the entire journey – Beijing to Moscow or Moscow to Beijing, in one hit. This takes around six days in total. As a sense of achievement and survival, well you’ve certainly put yourself through a challenge. And you will have probably met others doing the same thing and had a real sense of comradery at the end of it all.

On the official ‘Trans-Mongolian’ train.

However, you have missed the chance to discover some of the world’s more remote and potentially interesting places along the way. When I was planning there was no way I was going to miss out on the chance to stop in Mongolia or make at least one or two stops in Russia east of the Ural Mountains.

Now what this means, if like me you wish to cut the trip up into legs, is that you’re not going to be on the same train the whole way through. There is a weekly train that is the official ‘Trans-Mongolian’. But there are other trains that connect you through as well if you get off And you won’t be on the official ‘Trans-Mongolian’ train if you spend a few days in Ulaan Baatar and then move on because the next Trans-Mongolian is a few days away yet. I broke my trip into four sections – Beijing to Ulaan Baatar, Ulaan Baatar to Irkutsk, Irkutsk to Ekaterinburg and Ekaterinburg to Moscow. Two of the legs were on the ‘Trans-Mongolian’, the other two on Russian trains.

How to Book Individual Trans-Mongolian Legs Independently

Then you have to book the individual trains. If you are coming FROM Moscow to Beijing with stops along the way, you can probably do it all with one online Russian company. I booked with a company called Real Russia who were great, but there are others out there. In Russia you take a printed voucher/receipt you have emailed to you and exchange it at the railway station for a ticket. You should be able to do all your tickets inside Russia at once.

They also provided my ticket from Ulaan Baatar in Mongolia. In this case, I had to pick the ticket up from a travel agency in the Mongolian capital.

As I was starting in Beijing though, I had to buy the first leg through a Chinese company, of which there are fewer. But it was relatively simple and they sent it to my hotel in Beijing three days before the train was due. But if you have no trains starting in China, you won’t need to book through the Chinese system.

I like a challenge and so I booked it all myself. With the bookings I had made, Real Russia could organise the invitation letter for the Russian visa. The other two were relatively simple to organise through consulates in Australia.

20-Day Trans-Mongolian Itinerary

So, if you’re looking at around 20 days/3 weeks Beijing to Moscow, here’s the itinerary I recommend. Of course, if you’re looking to go Moscow to Beijing, reverse it.

Days 1 & 2 – Beijing

Beijing is a huge city, needless to say. If you want to really explore Beijing, give yourself a week. For the purpose of a two-week itinerary, lingering and exploring anywhere is going to be difficult. The best part of half of the fortnight is going to be spent on the rails.

Beijing has a couple of absolute must sees though, and if you haven’t been there before it would be a pity to go to the Chinese capital without taking in the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China.

Days 3 & 4 – Beijing to Ulaan Baatar

And so it’s time to hop on board the Trans-Mongolian Express! Well, it’s not quite an express but it moves well enough. It’s the train entitled ‘K3’, and it leaves just before 1130am. You’re on a Chinese train at the moment, although some carriages make it all the way to Moscow. There are coupons or tokens for meals, lunch and dinner. There’s only one dining car, and so you may need to wait. It’s simple fare, noodle soup, some vegetables and the like. But this is the only time the food is complimentary.

Beijing Train Station

Otherwise, little stalls on station platforms are your best bet, and that’s probably going to mean noodles anyway if you’re looking for hot food. You may find a place that serves hot food that you don’t need to cook, if you’re lucky, but all in all you’ll be heading to the samovar at the end of the carriage to fill up your noodles cup plenty of times.

The Chinese countryside whizzes past you. It’s pretty impressive. It gets sparser and sparser as you get closer to the border with Mongolia at Erlian. You hit there in the middle of the night. There are border formalities to go through, and the changing of the gauge. The Chinese gauge is slightly thinner than the Mongolian gauge (the Russian gauge is the same as the Mongolian). Gauge being the width of the tracks.

The incredible bogey change at Erlian.

So the carriages are raised in a big shed and one set of wheels is replaced by another. It takes a bit of time, and it’s not until after 2am or even later that the train finally rolls on into Mongolia. You wake perhaps a few hours later and it’s all desert either side of the desert. It’s just incredible – you are in Mongolia!

Alighting at Erlian.

Beijing from train

You don’t see cities, the towns are quite small. The dining car has been replaced with a Mongolian one. No more free meals, and the décor is quite different. More decorative, more colourful. Somewhere around lunch time or just after you arrive in Ulaan Baatar, the Mongolian capital, and the first stop on this Trans-Mongolian itinerary.

Here is a short video I compiled of the journey from Beijing to Ulaan Baatar.

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Days 5 to 7 – Ulaan Baatar and Mongolia

Taking a few days to get a little taste of Mongolia was for me the biggest of many highlights on this incredible journey. If you are afforded more time, take it because I can only imagine the more you discover, the more fascinating Mongolia is.

The capital Ulaan Baatar is a strange place. Mongolia has experienced the rural abandonment more than most countries in the world, and Ulaan Baatar is taking in thousands and thousands and thousands, and it is struggling to keep up with apartment blocks going up everywhere these days. Its certainly an interesting place, with a few worthwhile things to see. The Palace of Bogd Khan for example, Ghandan Khiid Monastery is also worthwhile, and the main square is grand too.

Ulaan Baatar – Parliament House

You are in the land of Ghengis Khan and so you will find statues aplenty. City tours usually include a drive out of the city to this giant statue of him, which you can climb the inside of and walk out for a view of the steppe.

View of Ulaan Baatar

Then there is Terelj, a place where you can stay in a ger, also known as a yurt, and experience a somewhat traditional life on the steppe. You get fed by a local family, and there’s an interesting temple to visit too. Yes, they have been taking in tourists for quite a while now, but for an overnight getaway from Ulaan Baatar it’s a good deal.

Terelj Valley

Days 8 to 10 – Train Ulaan Baatar to Irkutsk and Irkutsk

It’s onto the train, and one of the most interesting journeys of the lot from Ulaan Baatar, Mongolian capital, to Irkutsk, Siberia (Russia). Once you’re in Russia you’re done with the borders, the passport checks and the formalities. Yes, in many ways they are a hassle and an annoyance, but they are also an interesting experience.

Following the route I took [Train 263 И], you leave Ulaan Baatar at 2030 for the second longest journey of the adventure – taking two nights and arriving early in the morning on the third day. After speeding off across Mongolia in the evening, a night of hopeful sleep awaits. Until you hit the border that is in the early morning. It’s a Russian train, and the compartments are much more comfortable on this train.

Our carriage at Naushki

My experience was a series of people getting on and off the train, checking passports and visas. I think some bags here and there were searched. Naushki is the town on the Russian side of the border where we all got off the train, after the passport control etc was finished. You alight to the surprise to find you are just a train of one carriage.

Then you have a few hours to kill in this little border town. And there’s not much to do to keep you entertained. The roads are all dirt bar one, and there might be one restaurant in town, which is more of a café. The carriage is joined to a new train (I believe the journey is still known as 263 И) and it speeds off mid to later afternoon. The sun goes down. Night has fallen when you pull into Ulan-Ude for a stop. And then the next morning, quite early – around 7am.

Naushki Station

Irkutsk is actually pretty nice. From here take a day trip to Lake Baikal, Russia’s biggest lake. Plenty of interesting cathedrals in town, historic houses, an interesting ship-cum-museum as well, it was darned cold but you could fill a couple of days.

Angara Ice Breaker, Irkutsk

Karl Marx Ave, Irkutsk

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Days 11 to 14 – Irkutsk to Ekaterinburg and Ekaterinburg

A little over two days on the train makes this the longest journey of them all, all across Russia. From Siberia we head eastwards to this interesting city on train 33. Ekaterinburg also has a number of churches worth seeing, an Icon Museum (which again is quite church related), and also has a high view on top of a tall building of the city. But it is most known for the location of where the Romanovs – the last Tsarist family of Russia, were taken an executed in 1917. There is a museum to them here. If you’re on the ball and prepared one day may be enough to take in all that’s worthwhile here.

High view of Ekaterinburg

Church in Ekaterinburg

Russian train cabin

Days 15 to 20 – Ekaterinburg to Moscow

The final journey on Train 109MA is to the final stop, the finish of the journey, and the incredible Russian capital. You cross through the Ural Mountains on this final leg which has you leaving in the early hours of the morning and arriving the next day at 1030am. It’s a picturesque leg, although I think the best views are probably passed at night.

The final video of the journey:

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The Russian Capital is deserving of as long as you can give it. Really, it’s a brilliant city, with great shopping, sights and entertainment. You have the Kremlin, Red Square with St Basil’s Cathedral (you have probably seen its image before and might have wondered what it was), you can catch a glimpse of a waxy Lenin too as his mausoleum is there at Red Square too. There are a host of museums in Moscow too worth checking out – the Gulag Museum is one I highly recommend. Then you have famous Gorky Park, the impressive Moskva River, the somewhat ghoulish statue of Peter the Great, and so much more. It’s one of the world’s great cities, and it doesn’t disappoint.

Arrival in Moscow

And now your journey is done. You have covered some 7,621 kilometres through three countries since departing Beijing, and no doubt had on heck of an adventure. And if you’re like me, you’ll look back and it will feel like it all happened so quickly. No train ride feels like it’s as long as the time you actually spent on the train.

And you’ve gone from the ‘Far East’ to Europe! It’s a journey that is rewarding, exciting, inspiring and everything that goes along with those words, and personally one of the most satisfying travel experienced I’ve ever had.

Resources for Planning Trans-Siberian Itinerary

Some websites I found to be invaluable –

Seat 61 Trans-Siberian Page.

This website is incredibly detailed and has so much information on trains around the world, it is usually my first stop for any information when planning a rail journey in another land!

Real Russia

So this is a travel agency, and I’m not pimping for them or anything! But they were helpful and useful and seemed to have a good booking system. Will take care of tickets for journeys beginning in Russia or Mongolia.

China Highlights

One company in China recommended to me, I booked my first leg through them from Beijing to Ulaan Baatar. For booking trains beginning China.

You may also find the Lonely Planet Website and it’s Thorn Tree Forum helpful, and I travelled with the Lonely Planet guide book to the Trans-Siberian (which covers all routes) which was helpful from time to time.

So, if you love rail travel, if you have an interest in Russia, Mongolia and even China, this might just be the journey for you!

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