2019 is the year that we would put ourselves completely out of our comfort zone. This journey began in January with a 3-week stay at a permaculture farm with an American family in rural Minas, Uruguay. We found this family on Workaway, and this was our first experience with an …
12 trains, 115 hours, and 14,645km. This Trans-Siberian Railway journey took us 27 days. What an incredible experience, and it all went by in a flash. I could have easily double the time for this trip, and dig deeper into each of the places that we visit. If this trip …
Preface Xavier (French) and I (Taiwanese-American) were living in Shanghai at the time of this trip prep. I was staying in China on my Taiwanese ID, but will be traveling on my US Passport, so I needed to obtain Russian visa in Hong Kong. US citizens do not need a …
The last part of Trans-Siberian journey through Europe was fairly rushed since we needed to be back in France by mid-July. After two days in Warsaw, we took a 6-hour train to Berlin, stayed overnight to celebrate France’s win in the World Cup, then headed for Strasbourg, our final destination. …
Journey to Warsaw We boarded our final sleeper train of this journey in Moscow, heading to Poland to spend 2 days in Warsaw. This train was one of the most Soviet-era-esque trains we’ve taken, likely because most people in their right mind would take a low-cost airline flight, and not …
Hello Europe After bidding farewell to Russia, we began the journey towards Europe. The overnight train went by quickly. A nice middle-aged lady communicated with us through body language, and shared her snacks. We followed French’s advance to the World Cup final via Google updates on 3G, and drifted to …
Journey to Moscow After hours upon hours of long-distance train travel, we hopped on a high-speed rail to reach Moscow. The train was impeccably new yet comfortable. Somehow, having been used to the luxury of spreading out on our beds during train journeys, the 4-hour ride on a seat felt …
Journey to St. Petersburg After 3 wonderful days in Kazan, we headed back on the train for St. Petersburg. For this 22-hour journey, we shared our cabin with a young man who looks like he was in the military. His parents sent him off at the platform. I snapped a …
Journey to Kazan Our train left for Kazan from Yekaterinburg early in the morning. The 13-hour journey was our first non-overnight train; the perfect time to do some good old-fashioned reading without the distraction of Internet. I read Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and completed Hillbilly Elegy in one …
During my planning, I had read that Yekaterinburg is a good stop point to break up the Trans-Siberian route, but that it was an industrial city not worth lingering. I took that silly advice and only allowed for less than 24 hours in this lovely city. Self-Guided Walking Tour If …