Sanchez Jalapeno

Photo by Milli Vukovic

An abundance of borsch, cranky provanistas and desolate, snow capped pine forests that stretch forever. Riding the Trans Siberian rail is probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. I often recommend it to travellers I meet along the way, but Soviet bureaucracy (amongst other reasons) stands in the way of a lot of people thinking they can do this on a backpackers budget. There is a ton of paperwork you need to fill out, and even more companies willing do complete this for you in exchange for your life´s savings. The thing is, with a bit of forward planning you can do it yourself for a fraction of the cost that a lot of people pay to ride the worlds longest railway.

When I was planning my trip I looked into getting a company to handle all the details for me. The cheapest I could find was through Vodka Train – a subsidiary of Sunlanders travel. They would take care of everything for me, and if I paid them, they would courier my passport around to all the embassy’s required and organise my ‘invitation’ to enter Russia (A requirement of all foreigners). Basically all I would have to do is sign the paperwork, submit a few photos for visas and fork over the cash. I paid them a deposit and they gave me a dossier explaining my itinerary, the places I would be staying and a cost breakdown.

I took a close look at the dossier. The journey I wanted to take departed from Beijing, visited Ulaanbaatar, Irkutsk & Lake Baikal, Moscow and St Petersburg. The trip was for 21 days (which included arrival and departure days, so really 19 full days), would be in 4 berth 2^nd class carriages on the train and dorm accommodation when we stopped along the way. The group size would be somewhere between 8 and 15 and there would be guides at stops enroute in the form of ‘Honchos’ – local students employed by the company to take us around the sites.

All up to do this trip with Vodka Train, it would cost me $3,990AUD (including a mandatory local payment of $150USD, payable to the Honcho in Beijing). As a backpacker this was an incredible amount to fork out, considering it didn’t cover any visa fees or meals, but as I was pretty naïve and hadn’t been particularly fastidious in researching, I didn’t really know if this was a good deal or not. I noticed in the price breakdown the hostel dorm I would be staying at in St Petersburg was listed as costing $70 dollars. I knew Russia was expensive but thought this was crazy, I checked it out online and the cost through the hostels website was $35!

I decided to purchase the Trail Blazers Trans Siberian handbook, and the Lonely Planet Trans Siberian guidebook. These books gave detailed information on how to purchase the tickets at each leg, the chaepest way to travel – but you run the risk of not being able to get a train for days if not weeks on the busier lines, a risk I couldn’t really run due to time constraints. Both books gave excellent recommendations for independent tour companies in many countries that can organise train tickets and one company they both mentioned was Real Russia– Based in Moscow with an office in London.

I requested a quote and was it was prepared for me in a few hours. 1^st class tickets (in a comparatively luxurious two berth compartment, including meals on the train) and the Russian visa invitation letter came to $3000AUD. For a 2^nd class 4 berth compartment the cost would be about half this. I opted for first class – the equivalent of 7 days travel on the trains without stinky cabin mates appealed at the time, but in hindsight I do regret that I missed out on this opportunity to share food, beers and interesting conversations with other travellers.

I had to organise the visas myself, but all this involved was filling out a few forms and sending my passport off to the embassy’s. My accommodation for the trip came to about $400 dollars (all in private rooms, twin share) so in the end I saved over $400AUD, travelled in style and got to stay in some really cool guesthouses, in some of the most amazing cities I’ve ever visited, for duration that I chose, not one decided for me. If I chose the 2^nd class cabins, I would have saved $2000AUD, more if I stayed in dorm accommodation along the way.

I’m not saying these sort of package tours are bad. Obviously these companies need to make a profit otherwise they’d be bankrupt. If you are short on time and don’t want to do all the research yourself then go for it. But if you’re a budget traveller with a desire to step into the unknown and figure it out yourself, then forget the tour, do the research and plan yourself one of the best trips you’ll ever take.

Hints and Tips

• The Trailblazers and Lonely Planet guides compliment each other. Fork out the dough and get both. The maps are better in Lonely Planet and the format is familiar, with good recommendations for accommodation and the history of the route, but the Trailblazers guide is full of interesting sights to see and practical information (like if you are a UK resident, bring along your triangle gas meter key, it fits exactly to the toilet lock so if you find yourself busting to go during the 8 hour border crossings you can sneakily let yourself in. Just be warned that it all goes onto the train tracks below…) the Seat61 website is a great source of information for all things rail.

• Bribe the Provanistas– they’re the cranky carriage attendants that make sure the water in the samovar is always full and piping hot. Bring them with a gift from your country and they get a lot nicer, I was even allowed to use the toilet while we were at the Russian border as long as I promised it was only a number 1, and they gave me some great Russian chocolates (which are amazing, so don’t bother bribing with chocolates -even the crappy no name stuff in Russia is better than most in Australia)

• Sure bring a book, but don’t bother with War and Peace, there’s too much to see, you probably wont get through half of it. Though make sure you are stocked up on 2 minute noodles – you can pick them up from the Babushka’s on the station platforms along the way – they sell everything including icy cold Russian beer, home made soups and pastries. Awesome.

You can read about my travels on the Trans Siberian here

A city that surpasses every expectation. It doesn’t happen all that often. Sure, you would have travelled through some really impressive cities and had a great time, but how often can you say that you enjoyed every aspect of the place you’ve visited? The local inhabitants, public transport, funky bars, delicious restaurants, and the travellers you’ve met along the way. It’s not very often you can give the tick of approval to each and every one of these criteria which make for a fantastic city. Having said that, we’ve all been to at least one (and if you haven’t, turn off the computer, pack your bag, and head straight for the bus station. As long as your ticket doesn’t say Canberra, you should be ok)

To celebrate all those really cool places that we just stumbled into, every few weeks I’ll be asking some fellow travel writers what their absolute favourite city is from a different viewpoint.

This week I asked “What is your favourite ‘couple of days’ hangout spot?”

Paris

Photo by Milli Vukovic

When thinking of a place I would always love to pop over to and just hang out in, my thoughts easily turn to the eternal city of Paris, France.

While this beautiful city has many world famous sights and even more queuing tourists to view them, there is so much more to entice someone back again and again.

I love to discover another quirky little bookshop or funky boutique (window shopping only), and I will always attempt to master more of the scores of art galleries along leafy cobblestone streets.

Then I often end up just walking around slowly taking in the different architecture of the buildings and churches, or even stumbling on some extravagant gothic stonework found in shady cemeteries, interspersing this with stops for a coffee of course.

Be it summer walks in the immaculate parks or sitting in a warm café with a hot chocolate for winter there is always something I love to do here.

At some point in the trip I will endeavour to sit outside an eatery where the chairs are set up facing the street, and with a wine or a pastry in hand I will become a voyeur along with others  beside me, watching as the fashionable Parisians strut down the street while the afternoon sun warms us all.

Then the evenings pose quite the predicament – out to a glorious dinner and some theatre or find a tiny bar and listen to some jazz?

Being such an expensive city and me a poor backpacker it has never been somewhere I have been able to stay too long in, and not knowing the French language could never really see me get a good career here and call it home, but Paris is definitely a place I can return to and dream in for just a few days.

Milli Vukovic is a freelance photographer currently in Mexico, but is just as likely to be in Morocco this time next week. Backpacking around the world in search of the weird and wonderful, Milli is always on the look out for a the perfect shot, an amazing beach and the worlds best laksa. You can follow Milli on twitter or read her travel blog.

Casa Katy

My favourite hang out spot is perhaps not one you might expect of an article such as this one.

I know this is far too vague an introduction for an article on a website entitled ‘Sanchez Jalapeno – Spicy Travel’. I should really be documenting my exotic adventures in Spain, or describing in great detail the various blisses that come from lounging on a Thai beach whilst my colleagues back in Australia are grumbling about early starts and long hours at the office.

But the truth is that I have never been to Spain or Thailand. I did go to Italy whilst studying Italian in VCE, and loved Rome – in spite of the fact that my travel buddies (teachers included) left me stranded in a strange hotel because they were unaware that I was taking a nap. However, as I’ve only been to Italy once, I have come to the conclusion that it does not qualify as my ‘favourite place to hang out for a couple of days’.

How on Earth have I completed two paragraphs and one sentence without actually disclosing my favourite hang out joint? Would it be possible for me to captivate a travel audience for 300 words without this all-important piece of information?

I won’t deny that it would be a literary risk to embark on such a journey with my readers. And whilst I do like to take measured risks, as a budding publishable author, I have just enough fear and desire inside of me to let you know where my favourite travel spot is. I truly hope that my credibility within the fringe markets of writing is not lost as a result of my blatant audience-pleasing tactics!

I have 50-or-less words to inform you that my favourite place to hang out for a few days is at home. I recently bought my own house, you see, and I love nothing more than to fall asleep at night in solitude, knowing that I am at one with where I am at right at this moment.

It’s simple, and it’s me. One day I will explore Spain – I met a travelling busker from England who will be eventually settling in Spain with his wife. I have to meet their babies! They’re gonna make gorgeous babies. And a psychic once told me that England is where I will truly feel at home, although there are some definite holes in this theory. I am a complete wuss when it comes to the cold, and from all accounts, England seems to have one season, and it’s not summer, spring or autumn. Who am I to argue though? – psychics can tell the future, and this lady was a psychic. So she should know.

But for now…I’m setting up my life where I’m at. And where I’m at is enjoying my favourite hang out – home. Yep.

Sucre

Photo by Shane Brown

The judicial capital of Bolivia, isn’t La Paz, it’s Sucre. I didn’t know that before I arrived in the country, and from the moment I set foot in Sucre after 12 hours of dodgy buses I was enchanted by the place. All the buildings are white washed, the streets are clean, and the locals take pride in their town – They’re more than happy to recommend to you their favourite museums and art galleries (of which there are many) and the owner of a bar we were drinking at even gave me her bicentennial ‘collectors’ calendar, which catalogued for each month a significant piece of local history.

It’s a very affluent town, lots of cool clothing and department stores, and an abundance of funky cafes and bars, of which quite a  few have some Dutch influence (or owners); which means pomme frittes, European coffee and a good selection of imported beers. There’s heaps of Chinese restaurants which proves a good respite from the normal fare, and plenty of bars have wifi (at decent speeds too) which helps when you’re trying to update your blog and catch up with friends on Skype. One café even has a cinema upstairs showing the latest in Bolivian comedies (The white lama) as well as a few other alternative movies, like The Motorcycle Diaries.

This only scratches the surface of what Sucre has to offer, but as far as being just a place to hangout for a couple of days and recharge, you’d be hard pressed to beat here.