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Reviews

What our clients say

Long-term success in the travel business is about customer service and this is something that all of us here care about. Here are some examples of our recent customer feedback:

….can’t thank you enough for all your assistance. We will name you & Flower travel in a facebook post of how happy we are with everything you did to make our trip so fantastic .. let me know if there is anywhere else we can put positive feedback.

David & Elaine

ACT

Hi Heidi

We are close to finishing our trip. Off to Helsinki tomorrow and then a few days in Hong Kong before NZ.
Its been a tremendous trip – lots of fun, great memories etc. The organisation was spot on and all the local agents and guides turned up on time etc.  Thank you very much for arranging it.
We loved Mongolia and may well return to the western side of the country and do some trekking and camping in the Gobi and Altai mountains – and we continue to enjoy Russia as in previous visits. We are back here again in August, to Franz Josef Land and we look forward to it already.
For us it is a good time of year to come – we like the cold and ice and not too many tourists. Living in Queenstown we get sick of seeing other tourists – so it was great to come off season.
Many thanks again for your advice and expertise; it has been terrific.

All the best.

Geoffrey & Caroline Hughes

TAS

Hello Heidi
We had a wonderful Trans Siberian journey thanks to you and all of your team.
It was practically seamless (apart from only one miscommunication … as to where we were meeting our guide in St Petersburg) … which was quite easily resolved with a phone call.
I especially enjoyed our trip to the Ger camp as our guide for that trip was exceptional and the scenery superb. Definitely the highlight for me.
Dad enjoyed himself immensely during the Trans Siberian, but the trip as a whole (particularly all the family catch ups during the last 2 weeks of our trip) was extremely tiring for him. However in the big picture, I knew this was a possibility right from the beginning.
Again I can not thank you enough for having given us this opportunity to have such an extraordinary adventure together … we could not have done it without you.
I highly recommend your services on all levels. From the initial itinerary suggestions and visa process and the quality of the guides and drivers right through to the choices and locations of all the hotels and accommodation, we have both been very satisfied.
So once again, thank you Heidi and I will certainly be recommending your services to anyone who shows any interest.
Katie Steven

VIC

Hello Heidi

Today is our last day in Russia and with regret that we are leaving our month journey through the country was most enjoyable I love it here so much. I think this would not be possible without your amazing schedule and tour companies here in Russia please pass on our sincere thanks to all.
We will recommend you and winter travel to all our family and friends it was wonderful to escape the hot Australian weather.
Thank You….. I love Russia.

Joyce Clifford

VIC

Hello Heidi,

Thank you for touching base with us as soon as we arrived home, we had a wonderful Trans Siberian journey thanks to you and all of your team.

It was practically seamless (apart from only one miscommunication … as to where we were meeting our guide in St Petersburg) … which was quite easily resolved with a phone call. I especially enjoyed our trip to the Ger camp as our guide for that trip was exceptional and the scenery superb. Definitely the highlight for me. 

Again I can not thank you enough for having given us this opportunity to have such an extraordinary adventure together … we could not have done it without you. I highly recommend your services on all levels. From the initial itinerary suggestions and visa process and the quality of the guides and drivers right through to the choices and locations of all the hotels and accomodation, we have both been very satisfied.

So once again, thank you Heidi and I will certainly be recommending your services to anyone who shows any interest.

Warmest Regards

Katie Steven

VIC

Hi Heidi,

Russia was great! I was really glad i booked with flower travel as you helped me with the airport transfers, paperwork and visa process. Many thanks for your efficiency and professionalism.

I will definitely use flower travel for my next trip! ?

Many thanks ?

Mary Chua

SA

Hi Heidi

Thanks for checking in with us on our return and asking for feedback.

What an amazing trip! There was so much to see, so much to learn about the countries we visited and so many people to meet.

After taking the week to recover from the 24 hour flight home, I don’t know what I was thinking on that one, it is just beginning to dawn on me what an amazing trip we have had. Your organisation went very smoothly, I must admit at the beginning of the trip I took on the group leader role, I made sure everyone was consulted and was up to date with our movements and any minor changes we made on the way.

The guides along the way were excellent. They were professional and knew their city and were courteous to all. They were generally accommodating to minor changes such as stopping for a cuppa. We also liked to stop for lunch before boarding an afternoon train. Business lunches for around AUD$7 were excellent value. The stand out guide was our guide in Mongolia.

The accommodation was very good and always central so that we could make our own way once the guide left us.

The activities we most enjoyed:
The Old Believers village, the lunch with the family and the singing and entertainment. Very amusing.
The cultural show in Mongolia and everything we saw in Mongolia.(Loved Mongolia)
The stay in the Ger camp and the visit to the family in their ger.
The ballet and opera not only in Moscow and St Petersburg but also in Yekaterinburg and Ulan Ude. We saw Swan Lake performed in St Petersburg which was amazing.

Would I use Flower Travel again – yes certainly. I’m interested in your trip to Croatia next year.

Kind regards and many thanks

Ann & Diana

NSW

Dear Heidi,
I have just returned home after 5 weeks away . I have to say the Trans -Siberian journey was fabulous. I didn’t have any expectations and had let others(who I didn’t know) do all the organising with you. I really loved Mongolia and Russia and both places exceeded my expectations. There was many highlights but The Great Wall, Mongolian Ger Camp, and the Hermitage have left lasting impressions in my mind. We were always met by our guide at stations which was a welcome face in a strange place. Accommodation was very good as was the position of all of them.
Many people have asked me who was the travel agent and I am happy to recommend you highly for your work with the presentation of the agenda, Visas, and all the information you passed on which made it a very happy memory for me.
Thank you and I look forward to liaising with you again in the future.
Kind Regards
Susan Dal Broi

NSW

Hi Heidi,
Yes we’re still travelling. We are currently in Japan for 6 weeks, after having spent 2 weeks in China once we got off the train.
I want to thank you very much for organising a great trip for us. All of the guides were fantastic. Please say thank you very much to Natalya, Julia, Constantine, Serge, Rada, Aurjun, Otgoo. All of the accommodation was great, and the train cabins were fine. We were glad to have the additional space of 2 cabins for the long 53 hour stretch from Yekaterinburg to Irkutsk.
In Moscow Natalya suggested we go to a performance of dance & music from all the different regions of Russia. She even organised the tickets for us. We really loved it. We really enjoyed the local food along the way. The wooden museum was good, especially as we got to eat elk burgers, and drinks bites- made from Buckberry, honey, ginger, and cinnamon. Rada took us to the local market in Ulan Ude, where we were able to buy pine nuts in the shell. The day with the Old Believers was also great. The stay in the ger was amazing. We had rain for the 3 days we were at Lake Baikal, and a beautiful sunny clear day at the Terji National Park. So we were wishing that we had opted for 2 nights in the ger instead of 1. To top it off as our train left Ulaanbaatar it started to snow, and the passing landscape was lightly dusted with snow. It was again spectacular!!
Again, as you know I don’t do organised tours. This was just the right amount of support & doing it as & when we wanted to.
Thank you very much. You can use us as an endorsement of your service at any time.
Kind Regards
Laj & Mark Soper

NSW

Dear Heidi
Just a short note to say that we have arrived in Beijing this afternoon safe and sound. Everything you organised on our behalf went like clockwork. Transfers were punctual guides were excellent and gave us more time than we expected, hotels good and the schedule manageable. The trip was not what I expected on many levels and was a deep learning and opinion changing experience. I would thoroughly recommend Flower if asked by anyone and the Trans Siberian, whilst not for everyone, is a must for the inquisitive travellers “bucket list”. Thank you again for all your efforts on our behalf.
Cheers
Di and John Walton

NSW

HI Heidi, We are back home now from our amazing trip and I want to say a BIG THANK YOU, for putting it all together for us. Everything went to plan and all worked out so well. The Guide pick up and drop off at each railway station was excellent and if I could pass on one tip to anyone thinking of doing the Trans Siberian Rail Trip , it would be to get those guides. It saves so much time, and takes the time and worry out of thinking “Where do we go now? , How do we get there? and even , Where are we now? And before you know it we are safe in our Beautiful Hotel and ready to explore the city. All of the Guides on the trip were excellent, very informative , knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. We really got to see, enjoy and learn about the town we were in and to hear about the History . Most guides gave us information on how to make the most out of our free time as well. LOVED LOVED LOVED, ALL the Hotels, don’t think I could pick a favorite because they were all my favorite. We loved Moscow and could have done with another day here to see a museum or two. The Trans Siberian Train was excellent, I had done so much research on this Train , but it was way better than I expected, the cabins that we had were great, and clean, the toilets were always kept clean and well stocked, and the Cabin attendants were friendly, ( 2 actually gave me a hug and a kiss as I got off the Train). The Border crossings were way better than I expected especially the intense Russian Border.  We would gladly recommend your company to any one thinking of going on the Trans Siberian Train, Well, we already have actually. Once again, A BIG THANK YOU, you made this trip so easy and most enjoyable,. It really was a great Journey and quite an Adventure.
Julie and Richard

VIC

Hi Heidi, Thankyou so much for a job well done. The trip went so smoothly thanks to the good organisation. It was fantastic. We really relied on the guides who all did a first class job. A couple of little snippets of information…on the train in each carriage is a noticeboard with the timetable of where and for how long the train stops. The conductor always made sure we were on board if within range…no fear of being left on the platform. Mongolian – Chinese border. Everyone vacated their carriage complete with all luggage and spent three hours in the station until the train returned. Boarding was 12:15am. The Mongolian train was the most comfortable. Dining car first class but rather expensive. Hot water was provided in a thermos jug in each compartment. Hope we may be able to use Flower Travel again. I would not hesitate to recommend the company to other traveller’s.
Many thanks again
Regards. 
Judy and Graham Stevens

QLD

We had a wonderful trip. All the hotels were in good locations,  the guides were friendly and helpful and we had plenty of time to explore on our own. We were concerned about the 4 night stretch on the train but it was very relaxing and great to really experience the rhythm of a train journey. We managed to walk along the great wall (on a clear day) and actually see it stretching into the distance; that was a bonus.  We have been recommending the trip and Flower Travel to friends and family.
Debbie Scott

QLD

We have been back for one week following our trip and Mum and I were looking at some photos today and reflecting on what a magnificent adventure and experiences we had. Firstly there were no incidents and we didn’t get sick which laid the foundation for a good trip. In addition everything worked well and all connections were made as scheduled. However what really made it for us was the guides at each location. We really appreciated their knowledge, experience and their communication with us – it absolutely made the trip for us! So thank you Heidi for setting it up at fairly short notice. We are very happy customers and are thankful we can look back now in October to the trip we have completed.
Jean & Paul

Camberwell, VIC

What a great holiday. Everything fell into place, there was not a glitch. The guides were good fun to be with and made sure we had full information and history of places visited. Accommodation was first class and in some cases close to important sites. I didn’t realise that 3 people could live and sleep in about 10 square meters of space (on the train), good fun, slept like a baby. The trip was one out of the box. Highlight for me was Mongolia, loved the cities, lake and countryside. It was the trip of a lifetime.  A big thank you to Heidi and Flower Travel for looking after me.  
John Jolley

Mooroolbark, VIC

Back yesterday.  Great trip.  Russia as fascinating as it is different.  Every arrangement went perfectly.  All guides very knowledgeable, not at all pushy and each arrived 5 to 10 minutes early with onward tickets in hand then later saw us to departure platforms.  The Metropole and two Kempinskis greatly exceeded our expectations.

Shall recommend Flower and yourself to all and sundry.

Neil & Lydia Bodsworth

Sydney

We had a great time – thank you. All the local guides we had were excellant & we even survived minus 30 degrees in a couple of places !!!!! We were glad that we upgraded to a 2 berth cabin as some of those train legs were very long & much more comfortable to have our own space. We also met an english couple who were doing same itinerary as us & have kept in touch & will visit them when we get to England. All the information you gave me in the lead up to the trip was great & the assistance was visas made it very stress free. Would be happy to recommend flower travel to others. We are currently in eastern europe – made a detour to lapland & even saw the northern lights!!!! 

 

Maree & Peter

QLD

Hi Heidi, We have arrived home ( to the heat!) after a fabulous time. A few hiccups that were easily fixed by the great people that looked after us. The tour guides that picked us up from the train and showed us their beautiful cities and country were absolutely all wonderful, knowledgeable and passionate about the places where they live. This was a bonus and added greatly to our enjoyment of our trip. There are some places we would definitely return to. Thanks for organising a wonderful itinerary. Could you send us the email address for the tour company in Mongolia, Assa and her wonderful driver went to great lengths to make our stay really memorable and we would like to send them some photos and our thanks again.
Thanks again for a great tour.
Deb and Glenn

QLD

We had a great time.   We enjoyed the whole trip and everything ran according to plan.  It was good to have the train  carriage to ourselves and we chatted with others on the train.  It was wonderful and made life so easy to be met at the stations and taken to the place we were going to.  It is hard to have a favourite spot but I think  Mongolia was just such an interesting place.  So poor but everyone was  helpful and kind. The Gers were great, being out in the countryside and I also have a very soft spot for camels so we got to have a camel ride on the double humped camel. Wonderful.

 Thank you again for your help and patience when we got a little nervous at times. Much appreciated and we would recommend you and your company to anyone and everyone.

Carol Moss

Adelaide

Dear Heidi, We had a fantastic holiday. Thank you for everything that you organised for us. Every booking, transfer & tour happened without us having to worry about anything.  

We loved all the different foods we tasted & our guides made everything very easy for us. We also enjoyed using the different currencies, meeting so many different people and being at places that have such a long history. Thank You.

Rod & Linda Chalmers

Barham, NSW

This was our best overseas trip – we loved travelling on the train. I don’t think we would have visited Russia or Mongolia otherwise – and they are great corners of the world to experience.

All booked components – planes, trains, transfers, hotels, guided tours – happened as planned. The UB-Beijing segment had the best sleeper – a Mongolian SV with a shared toilet between two compartments. The 4 berth buy-outs are a great idea and we managed the usual basic toilet configuration of Russian SV & Kupe carriages.

No pressure to tip drivers or guides in Russia but somehow in Mongolia & China you just become aware that a tip would be appreciated.

Sally & I give you & Flower Travel 10 out of 10.

Peter & Sally Downey

Burnside, SA

Moscow has turned out to be full of surprises. It is a much more sophisticated and visually stunning city than I expected. I thought there would be lots of drab Soviet style architecture but it’s turned out to be the complete opposite. The streets are wide and there is magnificent building after magnificent building interspersed with numerous awesome statues and monuments. Red Square is fringed but the GUM on one side (after dark picture attached) St Basils (which is even more impressive both inside and out than could be anticipated) and the Kremlin Wall and Lenin’s Tomb. By the way Lenin is looking good. 

Even bumped into “Lenin and Starlin” in the subway. The Metro Stations are all works of art in their own rights. Huge and made of marble with massive statues or mosaics and light fittings you could hang in a palace, and what’s more the trains are frequent and efficient and cheap!  The weather took a nose dive yesterday, max of 7 but with the wind chill factor was reported as feels like 1.8. I would agree. The specially purchased and agonised over selection of coats, hats and scarves has paid off. So far have been plenty warm enough and haven’t even broken out the really warm coat yet or all the layers. Had masses of fun on the train and made lots of friends.

Glenys Addison

Bushgrove, NSW

The whole trip was wonderful experience  – a  very well organised itinerary  , the trains & flights, the transportation  transfers , the hotels , the home stay & Gur camp  ,  the town tours & excursions with  knowledgeable  guides. Great service !!!   Thanks Heidi !!!!!!!!  When chatting to friends about  our trip  they are surprised that what we experienced can be organised  without having to be in a large group  & without being extremely expensive.
Bryan & Janice Lillis

Perth, WA

Hello Heidi,  I had a fantastic time on the train, the late night train stations, the breaks in Mongolia, the people, the food, the vodka, everything.  I wrung every last bit of experience from that trip and I had a real hoot!

Got a selfie with the cabin attendants before I left Moscow even….they were great from then on!

Greg Stock

Curl Curl, NSW

Just wanted to say thank you very much. The trip was fabulous and all went to plan, was amazed all transfers etc were perfect,  very well organised, hotels terrific and in great locations. Would recommend it to anybody.
Edith Theodore

Victoria

We had a great time.   We enjoyed the whole trip and everything ran according to plan.  It was good to have the train  carriage to ourselves and we chatted with others on the train.  It was wonderful and made life so easy to be met at the stations and taken to the place we were going to.  It is hard to have a favourite spot but I think  Mongolia was just such an interesting place.  So poor but everyone was  helpful and kind. The Gers were great, being out in the countryside and I also have a very soft spot for camels so we got to have a camel ride on the double humped camel. Wonderful.

 Thank you again for your help and patience when we got a little nervous at times. Much appreciated and we would recommend you and your company to anyone and everyone.

Carol Moss

Adelaide

Just a quick note to say thank you for all your efforts in putting together my trip in Siberia. Everything went as smooth as clockwork! Everyone was helpful, caring and hospitable.
Peter Kaldor

Katoomba

Just wanted to thank you for the great organisation that went into the trip- everything went to plan!      We enjoyed the whole experience – I loved being on the train for four days straight just being able to sit and look out the window in between a bit of reading and watching everything going on!    Not very often that we get to sit and relax!    The provodnitsas on our trains were great- kept everything spotless and were very friendly- even though they did not speak much English.

We enjoyed every stop -the cultural show in Ulaanbaatar was excellent- just long enough and gave a good glimpse into the culture of Mongolia.

Our hotels in Moscow and St Petersburg were in great locations- would not have wanted to stay anywhere else.

We will not hesitate in recommending you to any one that we know who wants to do the same trip-just having you arrange visas was fantastic, let alone anything else!

Jenny & Chris Bashford

Camden Park, SA

Arrived home safely. Everything you guys arranged worked perfectly. Tired but very happy with our trip.
Bronte Earl

Montacute, SA

In my opinion a lot to do with the success of a holiday is non-hassle preparation particularly with regard to the bookings, both for the tour and airline, support with required visas and contact regarding both “up-to-date” booking status and the financial aspect is essential. You ticked all the boxes in this regard and I would have no hesitation in using your services again and recommending them to any prospective travellers looking for a conscientious and personable travel agency who does their job extremely well.

 

June Cahill

Melbourne

The trip (Golden Eagle) was wonderful thank you- the trip of a lifetime. Well organised and comfortable. Highlights were permafrost wastelands, Mongolia, Lake Baikal swim, Kazan, steam engine into Moscow and a few days in the great european city of St Petersburg.

 

 

Elena and John

Gold Coast

We have just arrived in Moscow and the trip has been FANTASTIC! Everything has run like clockwork. The Elstei Ger Camp in Mongolia was simply amazing, we wished we could have stayed longer, the guide was fabulous and the family that runs the camp couldn’t have been more welcoming. Also Leana at Lake Baikal was brilliant and very helpful. The Trains have been good as well and we were fortunate enough to meet a Canadian couple on the same tour so we have been sharing a cabin on the last 3 legs of the journey and again tomorrow when we make our way to St Petersburg. Lovely people and I’m sure we’ll all keep in touch. We also met Katie and Mark from Adelaide who I believe you know, like us they had nothing but good things to say about you and Flower travel.
Dino and Celene

Perth

I cannot recommend your itinerary and company enough as we get near to the end of our trans sib trip. The guides were all extremely accomplished and obliging, and at many points in the trip we were upgraded and well looked after at every transfer point. I did not even realize that Ogi was going to accompany us to the ger camp. She is a world class guide in comparison to all other trips I have been on through Europe with Trafalgar, insight, and others I have been on.
When we return I shall personally let you know the highlights and any issues we have encountered, and some additions we have enjoyed, but I am very very happy with the smooth operation And coordination particularly as we are such a small group.
I am very glad we did not choose intrepid or the like, after seeing the size of the group, and the freedom we had in many destinations. Thank you for what we have done up to this point, and we shall contact you on our return to Melbourne.
Louise Walsh

Melbourne

I meant to do this much earlier but once you get back from a trip, life seems to take over. Anyway, I wanted to say how much I enjoyed my trans-Siberian trip. Everything went really well and I was very pleased. , I was very impressed with my trip and I am more than happy to recommend your services and travel company.

 

Meaghan Shaw

Melbourne

“I must admit that I am so grateful for all of your assistance with these travel arrangements. You have been exceptionally helpful with everything and from my end it was almost effortless. I will certainly recommend your services to any family/friends who may consider making a trip to Russia/Mongolia or any of the other destinations that you offer.”
Paul Knight

Perth

“Thank you for your help: we found you very good to deal with and you provided all the necessary information and documentation that was required, a pleasure dealing with you and if you need any recommendations please contact us”
Keith and Lydia Evans

Adelaide

We have now returned from a wonderful holiday!

After assuring me that there will be tickets arriving at our accommodation as we went from one place to another, I still was not absolutely comfortable with the procedure but as I discovered there was nothing to worry about. Not having vouchers or tickets before I leave Australia was something new for me.

After arriving in St Petersburg and there was no one to meet us. I did not feel confident but I did use the emergency number and was told that there would be someone there very soon, and there was. The next day I found out that the driver was a witness to a car accident and the police would not let him go.

All our ‘buddies’ were good and helpful. We were a little unsure of catching the trains in St Petersburg and Harbin but we were successful each time. The hotels we stayed at in Russia were good but the one in Harbin I would have liked to have been closer to the city centre. Even with daytime temperatures of -26C in some places we really enjoyed ourselves.

I have no reservations in recommending your company to others for their travel as you were very prompt in replying to my questions right through to our departure and there was no problems with travel tickets and accommodation.

Sharon Kachovich

Sydney

Without a doubt the journey was exciting and went as planned. All the arrangements in so far as being met and placed on the next leg was carried out without a problem. It was a wonderful journey and I enjoyed every bit of it except if I never see another birch tree in my life it will still be too early. Thank you very much for putting it all together especially given the time frame I gave you to work with. Please be assured if I can refer people on to you for this experience I will.
Ray Ward

Perth

“Just to say we are back after finishing our transiberian journey. Thanks for organising it for us. It all went very smoothly and we had a fantastic time…. we could not have had a better trip”
Sophie Krivinskas

Sydney

“I have conducted a lot of research into the trip and realise that you provide expert services at a reasonable price”

 

Linda Studley

Brisbane

We arrived back safely, had an amazing time with no dramas. Thanks for all your hard work preparing the trip, it was a magical experience and one we will never forget. Highlights were the Ger Camp in Mongolia, train travel was heaps of fun also………. Met awesome people and great experience, will have to look at completing the entire journey in the future.
Gavin Parker

Brisbane

Yes back home and back at work ,busy doing a major shutdown at work . So will contact you next week on my days off. The holiday was great and we had no problems during the trip …….thank you and Fiona for all your assistance in making a trip enjoyable cheers for now.
Russell Masters

Perth

“Just to let you know that Sue and I arrived home safely after the most wonderful 12 weeks seeing the world. Owe you a H U G E thank you for the fabulous job you did organising our trip – not a single detail was overlooked and it was oh so stress free. A special thank you for fixing up the problem we had with the standard of accommodation in London. You’re a gem!”
Desanka Stanley

Melbourne

We survived the Trans Mongolian in winter! What a great experience! Thanks for all your help. Actually winter was a fascinating time to travel and it didn’t matter about the cold and snow.
Andrew Kay

Melbourne

I just thought I would drop you a quick line to let you know that Larry and I are home now and had the best time – the Trans Siberian trip that we booked with you guys was excellent. It all ran so smoothly, each of the local guides and drivers were perfect for that place and all accommodation from hotels, homestays and ger camps were great. We really had the time of our lives.
Karen Pither

Gold Coast

“everything has gone according to plan & I give it 5 stars. Thank you again for all your help.”
Margaret Judd

Melbourne

And for a detailed, warts n’all, opinion of the trip see this……….

Yes, were back and unscathed. The trip certainly was a trans-siberian experience. It was what I was expecting and more!! Just having the short night stop in Beijing before boarding our first train kept us on our toes but we managed to find our way with the aid of other trans-sib travellers. The Chinese train was probably the least desirable of the trains we travelled on – the toilets were really dirty. One needed gumboots to go and they ran out of paper etc, but we were forewarned about that. The Mongolian train was an improvement and we settled in quite nicely, meeting very nice like-minded people who I’m sure will remain firm friends. Our guide in U/B was nice and friendly and made sure we were comfortable.

Spending time in the ger, being entertained by Mongolian musicians, singers (including throat) horse riding across the steppe were all highlights (Mongolian saddles are not the most comfortable in the world – wouldn’t do for the Queen!!) That is not a complaint, it added to the fun. Worth noting that pick-pocketing is rife in U/B. Every second tourist you speak with has been touched. An Australian woman in another tour group had her prescription glasses stolen off her face! Our guide was very pleasant and entertained us but somtimes we found her English a little hard to understand! eg we all thought we were visiting The Nemmitt’s but in actual fact we were going to see ‘The Nomads!’ but again this added to the fun of new languages etc.

Mongolia to Irkutsk sector was quite an experience with the Mongolians trying to hide clothing thoughout the train for sale in Russia and the customs coming on board trying to discover where it was all hidden!

Lake Baikal was another of the highlights- even the swim was exhilerating! The Banya at the homestay, the hospitality including food was exceptional. We could have spent another day in Irkutsk as we only had about forty minutes to see the city (only because overnight rain had made the dirt road a little muddy which slowed the taxi driver coming to pick us up). 

Food along the way was plentiful and an experience chosing what to buying from the ladies on the stations some of their delicious Russian cuisine. There really is no need to stock up on dried noodles – the MSG is no good for you anyway!

Irkutsk to Ekaterinburg train even better than the last. Our guide was fine and showed us all that we wanted. It was also very cold here in the evening on our walk around the city as it had been for our son about 4 years ago at the same time of year so we were well prepared and enjoyed the feeling of walking in this nice chilly weather. We were also late arriving in Irkurstk and our walk 5pm-8pm due to the plane crash into the rail line necessitating trains to be diverted and a build up of freight trains etc on this very busy transport route.

The final two sectors were uneventful and we got to see almost all the major sights in Moscow and St Petersburg. The hotel in Moscow was possibly a little too far out of town but we presume that any closer and the rates would increase quite markedly. Our guide (Lena, sp?) was first class, so helpful, down to earth, knowlegeable, she gave us quite an insight into living in Moscow today….. a very nice person – we are sorry we did not have the opportunity to thank her properly. The guide in St.P was fine but could not hold a candle to Lena in Moscow. The hotel was wonderful being so central.

Contrary to previous advice, it was not necessary to bribe anybody on the whole trip so my bundle of US$1.00 notes just took up space. Also there is no charge for bed linen on the trains. My advice to would be travellers is not to take the single supplement but to experience and join in with miriad fellow passengers both locals and tourists.

Thanks for your (and Fionas) service. No hitches – everything went smoothly – we could not ask for anything more it was a wonderful experience! We want to do ‘The Silk Road next! Kind regards.

Warwick and Janice Wilson

Sydney

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The Trans-Siberian Railway Specialists