“Welcome to Sarajevo. My name is Kovacs and I will be your adopted Papa. I reek of charisma, you know.”

- He wasn’t kidding. More charming than anyone I’ve met before, Kovacs introduced himself to us while we were exploring the Baščaršija – the Turkish quarter of Sarajevo, following our noses around alleyways into pastry shops selling Burek and tiny cafes brewing Bosnian coffee. I was in love with Sarajevo and had been devising business plans in my head, ready to write to my mother telling her I wasn’t coming home, when I was brought back to planet earth by the sight of this tiny man, waving at us and dancing in the street.

We spent 10 minutes (or was it 20?) standing in the middle of the street talking to this interesting man about his life (born in Turkey, lived around the world and had been working in Sarajevo as a waiter for 3 years), the languages he can speak (10, thanks for asking) and would his boss mind if he snuck off for a beer? (“Fuck the boss, lets drink”).

Kovacs led us through the maze of the Baščaršija, past men in workshops belting metal into shape, women chatting in the drizzling rain outside of silk shops and teenagers sipping coffee on tiny stools in hole-in-the-wall coffee shops, until we arrived at the ‘Balkan café’ – a funky bar/live music venue that later that night would be hosting an evening of jazz meets Sevda (local Bosnian music – a bit Soviet, a bit Middle Eastern, very cool). We sat down and ordered some beers. Kovacs explained how he understood his religion “Mine is heart. We’re all people, so just love with your heart”. He then belted out a few acapella versions of some blues songs – he’s a singer and guitarist – much to the dismay of the über cool crown that came to hear the jazz band upstairs. He promised to serenade us if we came to his restaurant the following night. We sipped šljivovica (local brandy) from the mini flask around his neck – a gift from a travelling Scottish lady who though he was hilarious (modest, he is not).

Kovacs was prone to going off on a tangent, which made it hard to follow what he was talking about; I gave up the notion of taking notes. Instead, we drank beer and laughed. Soon after he ran off to work hoping to get back there before his boss noticed he was gone, and we stayed at the Balkan café and chatted with the owner- he introduced himself to us when he noticed we were admiring the cool artwork on the wall. The café had only been open for a month, but it was packed with alternative 20 something’s sporting wild, unkempt hair and dressed in black turtleneck tops.

All we need is šljivovica

We watched the first band take the stage in the upstairs smoke filled room, they played a mix of songs, some big band hits from the 20’s and 30’s mixed and then some slow jazz versions of more popular songs like Radiohead’s Creep. Before I realised it was after midnight so we retired to the hotel, there was a lot of sight seeing to do the next day.

Some beautiful Mosque’s can be found in the Baščaršija. I sat in a café adjacent the biggest Mosque in Bosnia, and listened to the call to prayer, which was just as breathtaking as the ones, I’ve heard in Turkey and Malaysia. Sarajevo is a melting pot of religions; there are Mosques, churches and synagogues around every corner. I spent the remainder of that day walking around the city, with a stray but happy dog following me around. That night we went to see Covaks at the restaurant, where true to his word, he serenaded us while we sipped red wine and ate trout and grilled veggies drowned in olive oil. A midnight drink at the Balkan Café followed, the crown danced and couples kissed in the dark corners and I wished I could stay longer. All good things come to an end I guess, but I hope that’s not true. I’ll be back soon to find out.

Learn Chinese Mandarin on your iPod

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

Learn Russian on your iPod

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