Day 22. VladivostokOnce a top-secret naval base of the Soviet Union, Vladivostok was sealed off from the outside world. Nowits doors are open for business and the city is booming as Russia's gateway to the Far East. For 100 years thishas been the legendary eastern terminus of the Trans Siberian Railway, its historic railway station recentlyrestored to its former grandeur. Discover the city and port at the end of the railway before we board ourferry to take us to Japan.

Day 23. Ferry to JapanWe mingle amongst the guests on board this ferry to Russia, often businessmen travelling between theneighbouring countries and we start to adjust to the change in culture and language allowing time tocontemplate what we have already seen and wonder what is still in store on this adventure.

Day 24. Arrive KanazawaOur first tantalising destination in Japan is Kanazawa where we will visit Kenrokuen, one of the Three GreatGardens of Japan, once the outer garden of the city’s castle. We marvel at the horticultural creativity and thecontrast to what we have seen in wilds of Russia and Mongolia.

Days 25-26. Kyoto and day trip to NaraKyoto, one of Japan’s oldest capitals unlocks her treasures of the Golden Temple, the Geisha district of Gionand Kiyomizudera temple set on a hillside overlooking the city. The possibilities are endless and there isnever enough time to explore everything. We also journey to Nara, the first permanent capital of Japan toTodaiji Temple, reputedly the largest woodent building in the world housing the Great Buddha. We havetime to explore the surrounding deer filled park before returning to Kyoto.

Days 27-28. Kyoto and to TakayamaAfter the hustle and bustle of Kyoto take the time to relax in this town of wooden houses and have theopportunity to stay in a traditional ryokan where samurai would have stayed. We wander the streets and thelattice bayed windows entice us in to sample some sake or view the wooden and Japanese handicraftstraditional of the region. You will perhaps catch a glimpse of one of the many colourful festival floats thatare paraded through the streets in spring and autumn. We visit the Hida Heritage Folk Village full of handthatched farmhouses and take a step back in time.

Day 29. TokyoWe take the express train to Nagoya and from there the shinkansen whisks us away from the tranquillity ofTakayama to end our adventure in the exhilarating capital city. We take in a highlights tour of Tokyo, amodern city of awe inspiring skyscrapers, an impressive modern metro system and limitless technology andtake time to reflect on all that we have seen and done.

Day 30. TokyoThe last day has arrived too soon. The adventure is complete, the legendary rail journey that started manydays ago has taken you across Asia, through lands and cultures literally worlds apart.

The EssentialsGroup Size15 maximum, plus Group Leader.

AccommodationHotels - 12 nights (twin share).Mongolian Ger - 1 night (shared)Siberian Guesthouse - 1 night (shared)Trains - 11 nights (4 berth)Ferry - 2 nights (4 berth)Ryokan - 2 nights (traditional JapaneseInn dating from the Edo period (1603-1868).

Meals19 in total. Breakfast (17), dinner (2).

Travel byTrain: Comfortable 4 berth sleepers.There are 5 rail sectors on this journey -St.Petersburg to Moscow to (1 night),Moscow to Irkutsk (4 nights), Irkutsk toUlaanbaatar (2 nights), Ulaanbaatar toUlan Ude (1 night) and Ulan Ude toVladivostok (3 nights).Other: For ‘Scheduled Sightseeing’ wegenerally use a small minibus, and for‘City Exploring’ we use local taxis, publictransport, underground metro and go onfoot.

2 Berth Rail (Optional)Available for a supplementary price onlywhen two people book and traveltogether. Available on all rail sectorsbetween St.Petersburg and Vladivostok.

SightseeingScheduled Sightseeing is part of theitinerary and includes all transport,entrance fees and English speaking localguide. This journey enjoys a greaternumber of included sights that otherswithin this brochure.St.Petersburg: City tour, Palace Square,Hermitage Museum. Moscow: City tour, St.Basil's Cathedral,Red Square, Kremlin, ArmouryChamber.Irkutsk (Siberia): City tour, Museum ofWooden Architecture, LimnologicalMuseum, Lake Baikal.Ulaanbaatar: Zaisan Memorial, NationalHistory Museum, Gandan HiidMonastery, Terelj National Park.Ulan Ude: Ethnographical Museum,Ivolginsk Datsun.Vladivostok: City tour and museums.Kanazawa: Kenrokuen Garden.Takayama: Hida Folk Village.Nara: Todaiji.Kyoto: Kinkakuji, Sanjusangendo,Kiyomizudera, walk of Gion.Tokyo: City tour.City Exploring is further sightseeingoutside the itinerary guideline but withthe Group Leader.

Local PaymentYour Local Payment is the final balancepayment of your tour price and is to bepaid directly to your Group Leader at thePre Departure Meeting on day 1 of yourtour. The Local Payment is utilised byyour Group Leader to pay for variouslocally provided services.

VisasRequired for Japan (depends onnationality), Mongolia & Russia.Sundowners Overland will provide allrequired invitation letters and full visasupport including detailed visaguidelines.

Trip DossierOur trip dossier provides furtherinformation about this journey and isavailable on request. Call SundownersOverland or your travel agent, or visitwww.sundownersoverland.com

PricesAUD - $10,330NZD - $13,080USD - $8,070CAD - $8,975GBP - £5,060EUR - €5,750

Local Payment(See Essentials)

from Tokyo

USD - $400

from St.Petersburg

EUR - €250

2 Berth Rail(Optional - SeeEssentials)

2 Berth Rail -AUD - $2,707NZD - $3,428USD - $2,115CAD - $2,352GBP - £1,325EUR - €1,506

DatesSt.Petersburgto Tokyo (code TSGS)

2009Start Finish14 Jun - 13 July12 July - 10 Aug02 Aug - 31 Aug06 Sep - 05 Oct

2010Start Finish06 Jun - 05 July04 July - 02 Aug08 Aug - 06 Sep12 Sep - 11 Oct

Tokyo to St.Petersburg(code TSGJ)

2009Start Finish18 Apr - 16 May23 May - 20 Jun20 Jun - 18 July25 July - 22 Aug29 Aug - 26 Sep26 Sep - 24 Oct

2010Start Finish24 Apr - 22 May29 May - 26 Jun26 Jun - 24 July31 July - 28 Aug21 Aug - 18 Sep18 Sep - 16 Oct

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Grand Trans Siberian Railway30 days

MONGOLIA + RUSSIA + JAPAN�

Days 1-4. St.PetersburgIt is the city on the water, the "Venice of the North", standing resplendent onthe delta of the Neva River. St Isaac's Cathedral, richly filled palaces andmuseums, wide boulevards and canals. The gilded halls of the HermitageMuseum hung with the works of Da Vinci, Rembrandt and many other greatmasters, and beyond the city lie the incomparable summer palaces of theTsars at Petrodvorets. Yet for all this, St.Petersburg remains one of Europe'sbest kept secrets. We join the overnight express to Moscow - our epic journeyis underway!

Days 5-7. MoscowMoscow will amaze you, its palaces and public buildings restored to theirformer glory. The echoing vastness of Red Square, the splendid twirledcupolas of St. Basil's across the cobblestones, and the Kremlin itself - thatfabled palace-fort. We ride the palatial underground rail system, adorned withchandeliers, mosaics and baroque bas-relief and perhaps a river cruise or amagical evening at one of Moscow's great theatres or State Circus.

Days 8-10. Aboard the Trans Siberian RailwayWe join the Trans Siberian Railway booming over the steel bridges spanningSiberia's nerve system of 5,000 rivers. We pass over the Ural Mountains whichdivide Europe and Asia, and we cross the Irtysh and Ob rivers. We travelthrough Ekaterinburg, well known for the execution of the Romanov familyin 1918 and the industrial cities of Omsk and Novosibirsk.

Days 11-13. Irkutsk and Lake Baikal (Siberia)Almost in the centre of Asia, Irkutsk - 18th century churches, bright paintedshutters and log houses decorated with wooden lacework. Modernadministrative blocks and soaring bridges reach out across the Angara Riverin this beautiful town known as the "Paris of Siberia". On our walking touryou will discover the city’s wonderful historic sights. We also enjoy a full dayat Lake Baikal and time to visit the village of Listvyanka with its traditionalhouses and beautiful wooden church and nearby Limnological Museum. Togain an insight into the traditional lives of Siberian people we also visit theMuseum of Wooden Architecture.

Day 14. Aboard the Trans Mongolian RailwayWe settle into life on board, enjoying the company of our fellow passengersand a picnic in our cabin. The train arrives at Naushki, the Russian bordertown where formalities are completed and then continue across no-man'sland to Sukhbaatar where Mongolian officials board the train for visaformalities before we continue on to Ulaanbaatar.

Day 15. UlaanbaatarBounded by Lake Baikal to the north and the Great Wall to the south is theMongolian Plateau and Gobi Desert. This was the homeland of the brilliant,tough, well-drilled horsemen who, for over 500 years from the 13th century,plundered and occupied lands and cities from the Yellow River to theDanube. At daybreak, classic scenes of traditional nomadic life greet us as thetrain winds impressively across the Mongolian Steppe and into the capital.Ulaanbaatar is a contradiction - a metropolis amid endless grass steppes, withdonkeys and motorbikes, concrete apartment blocks and traditional gers.

Days 16-17. Ulaanbaatar & the Mongolian SteppeAfter breakfast we visit the Zaisan Memorial from which the entire city isvisible. Also to the country’s largest remaining monastery, Gandan Hiid whereyou can mingle with Buddhist monks. In the afternoon we travel out acrossthe grasslands through the countryside where we spend a night in atraditional Mongolian nomad tent or ger set amongst spectacular rockformations and wild rolling hills. Among nomadic families and their grazinglivestock we can explore nearby valleys or just relax and enjoy the area. Wereturn to Ulaanbaatar to catch our train north to Buyatia and Ulan Ude.

Day 18. Arrive Ulan Ude Welcome to Buryatiya, centre of Russia’s Buddhist community. Reminiscent ofold Siberia, Ulan Ude is located in the middle of the vast Siberian steppes, onthe 5640th kilometer of the Trans-Siberian railway. It is a very unusual andcharming city. The local open air ethnographic museum tells and interestingstory about the life and traditions of the native Siberians (Buryats and Evenks)as well as the colonisers (Cossacks and Old-believers).

Days 19-21. Trans Siberian RailwayWe settle into life on board, getting to know our travelling companions. Relaxin the comfortable four-berth compartment that is home for the three daysand nights it takes to cross eastern Siberia to the to the once-secret Pacificport of Vladivostok.

Itinerary - St.Petersburg to Tokyo

1. Mongolia

2. Trans Siberian ExpressThe world’s longest and

most spectacular railjourney

3 & 4. JapanTraditional dress and city

lights of Tokyo.

5. Small GroupOn board the train towards

Mocow.

6. Mongolian Local faces and a welcome

smile.

7. UlaanbaatarTh largest monastery in the

capital is Gangan Hiid.

8. Relaxing on the train

9 & 10. SiberiaRelaxing in Siberia

11. MoscowSt.Basil’s Catherdral set

amidst Moscow’s infamous Red Square

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The original and classicGreat Rail Journey. Fromthe Pacific Coast to the

nation’s capital you crossthe world's biggest country

and largest landmassaboard the world's longest

railway, spanning 7 timezones & almost 10,000

kilometres, from the FarEast to Europe.

From Japan’s temples andthe Great Buddha at Nara,across the Sea of Japan to

the once top-secret port ofVladivostok. Through the

spectacular scenery ofeastern Siberia, to

magnificent Lake Baikal andthe historic Siberian town of

Irkutsk. Crossing massivebridges over huge rivers,

through forests and acrossplains, aboard the train you

experience Russia as fewtravellers ever can.

R U S S I A

M O N G O L I A

C H I N AJ A P A N

St. Petersburg

MoscowIrkutsk

Vladivostok

Kanazawa

Lake BaikalUlan Ude

Ulaanbaatar

J AP A

N

KanazawaTokyo

Takayama

KyotoNara

Reverse Itinerary

Tokyo to St.Petersburg (29 days)

Day 1 - TokyoDay 2 - TokyoDay 3 - TakayamaDay 4 - TakayamaDay 5 - Kyoto. Day trip to NaraDay 6 - KyotoDay 7 - KanazawaDay 8 - Ferry to RussiaDay 9 - Arrive Vladivostok Day 10 - Trans Siberian RailwayDay 11 - Trans Siberian RailwayDay 12 - Arrive Ulan Ude Day 13 - Trans Mongolian RailDay 14 - Arrive UlaanbaatarDay 15 - Terelj (ger stay)Day 16 - UlaanbaatarDay 17 - Trans Mongolian RailDay 18 - Irkutsk (Siberia) Day 19 - Lake Baikal (Siberia) Day 20 - Trans Siberian RailwayDay 21 - Trans Siberian Railway Day 22 - Trans Siberian Railway Day 24 - MoscowDay 25 - Moscow Day 26 - St.Petersburg Day 27 - St.Petersburg Day 28 - St.Petersburg Day 29 - St.Petersburg

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