Vladivostok to Moscow and St Petersburg with George Negus
4 September - 26 September 2012
The Golden Eagle
The 12 new, fully en-suite sleeping cars feature state-of-the-art amenities. Gold Class cabins have everything from modern, separate shower cubicle and underfloor heating to a DVD/CD player, LCD screen and individual air conditioning – and at 7 sqm, they are among the largest rail cabins anywhere in the world. Silver cabins are more compact at 5.5 sqm and have similar facilities with a fully en-suite bathroom.
A particular delight of the Golden Eagle are the two beautifully appointed restaurant cars, where the chefs serve carefully prepared meals using only the finest local ingredients. Whether it be the world-renowned 'Borsch' or Omul – a fish unique to Lake Baikal – we offer a culinary experience representing the very essence of Russia. Meals are complemented by wines from around the world, as well as vodka.
The social heart of the train is of course the bar car, a great place to relax and settle into the unhurried pace of life on board. Unwind in comfortable surroundings and watch the world go by as you get to know your fellow passengers. Enjoy the sounds of the pianist playing in the evenings, and the bar stays open until the last person leaves. Be one of the first to travel on one of the great railway journeys in absolute luxury!
George Negus
George Negus is excited to be returning to what was the old Soviet Union – for this journey with you across the new Russia. He travelled the same territory in the late 1990s by road and rail and was caught in the depths of Siberia when Michael Gorbachev, "the man who changed the world," lost his Presidency in a bloodless coup. George and Kirsty Cockburn (Negus Media International) will join us for this Russian train adventure. Their two-part film and book about a similar trans-Siberian trip, dubbed "Across The Red Unknown," has turned out to be a rare reminder of the last of the "bad old" Communist days of the USSR and the so-called "red menace" that dominated Western paranoia. "Boy, how things have changed and how history moves on," says George. "An ideology that for decades split the world into left and right, East and West, is to all intents and purposes no more. Russia is no longer Communist. That said, the rest of us are still asking, what is it these days? The best way to find out, is to go there and see for yourself." George remembers the Russians as "a phlegmatic mob" – a bit like Australians, the Irish and even the Italians. They love food, politics, a good argument, football and they've even been known to enjoy a drink! They are great company and it will be fantastic to see how they are coping with the brave new Russian world. "Crossing that giant nation – with its eleven time zones and myriad of cultures – from East to West via this railway journey, has got to be the most interesting and relaxing way to traverse a place like Russia in a single bound."
Throughout George's extensive journalistic career, his passion for international affairs has never diminished. And since George's many years on the global road began with Australia's most watched television current affairs program, Sixty Minutes, Negus Media has consistently thrived in the global media world via its interviews and books, including best-sellers The World From Italy; The World From Islam and George's most recent The World From Down Under – A Chat with Recent History which pulls together the world's most pressing issues including the global financial crisis; global warming; terrorism, religion and rise of China. This journey through Russia will provoke lots of questions and demand explanations. So who better to have around for that conversation, than self-professed political animal, purveyor of ideas and media icon, George Negus.
George's broad experience in Australian and international media offers his fellow travellers plenty of stimulating discussion and perspective – at the same time, enjoying some of the most magnificent landscapes and one of the most intriguing societies in the World. See www.negusmedia.com.au for more details about the Negus Media story over the past few decades of a monumentally changing world. As you'd expect, that story includes a poultice of fascinating interviews, destinations and productions including exchanges with celebrities like Bob Dylan and their neighbor and piano maestro David Helfgott; financial wizard and political philanthropist George Soros and world leaders like Tony Blair and former Russian President Gorbachev himself. The Negus Media world has no boundaries-- from Coffs Harbour to Caracas, Como to The Kimberley, Muscat to Moscow! This upcoming journey through Russia is a long-awaited return to one of the world's most enthralling, still mysterious destinations.
The Trans-Siberian Railway
Undisputedly one of the world's greatest railway journeys, the Trans-Siberian Railway runs from Moscow, over the Urals, across the magnificent Russian steppes and alongside the shores of the world's largest freshwater lake, Lake Baikal. It passes through eight time zones, and travels almost 10,000 km; one third of the way around the world. Our Trans-Siberian Express tour is a leisurely journey, making sure you get plenty of time to take in and enjoy this voyage of a lifetime. In Vladivostok we will have time to explore and tour round this rarely visited city, which until recently was relatively unknown to foreigners. We will stop off at Lake Baikal to visit a traditional fishing village and enjoy a barbecue at the water's edge.
As a major highlight, our train will branch off the Trans-Siberian main line to take a trip into Mongolia for a visit to the capital, Ulaan Baatar, before we return to Russia for the remainder of the trip. We will visit the Irkutsk, the 'Paris of Siberia', Ulan Ude, capital of the Buryat Republic, Yekaterinburg – where the Romanovs were executed, and Kazan, with its beautiful Kremlin before we arrive in Moscow. We spend three nights in Moscow where we see the old and new in this amazing city before we travel to St Petersburg, the glittering city of the tsars. The main attraction has to be the gradually changing scenery, from the climb through the Ural Mountains (the boundary between Europe and Asia), to the wide open steppes and the broad rivers we cross. Travelling on the Trans-Siberian is the only way to truly take in the vastness and grandeur of the world's largest country.
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