Thread by @susanpoupard

Next month I’m going on a railway adventure, travelling from Edinburgh to Hong Kong by train. 🚂

8,246 miles including part of the Trans-Siberian, and the Trans-Mongolian railway. I can’t wait!!!

susanpoupard.com/edinburgh-to-h…

#edinburghtohk #lessflying #transsiberian #traintravel

I’m off - Day 1 of my #trainadventure travelling from Edinburgh to Hong Kong! 🚂

Train #1 from Edinburgh to London was cancelled 😕 so I get two trains instead of one... first to Carlisle on @TPExpressTrains, next stop London with @AvantiWestCoast 🙂

#edinburghtohk

Up early at pretty London St Pancras for the @Eurostar to Amsterdam 🇬🇧 🇳🇱

The 3rd train on my epic train journey from Edinburgh to Hong Kong! 🚂

#edinburghtohk #trainadventure #traintravel #lowcarbontravel #lessflying #flyless

Views from the @eurostar train this morning from London to Amsterdam 🚄 — travelling from the UK through France, Belgium and the Netherlands

Left London at 7.16am, arrived in Amsterdam for lunch 🍴 🇳🇱

#edinburghtohk #traintravel #lessflying #eurostar

Enjoying the @DB_Bahn Amsterdam to Berlin train — 4th train on my journey from Edinburgh to Hong Kong! 🚂

This train has spacious seating, lots of leg room, and enormous windows to watch the world go by...

#edinburghtohk #lowcarbontravel #traintravel #railwayadventure #flyless

Now on the @RuRailways Russian Railways train from Berlin to Moscow 🚂

Super clean, spacious compartments with electronic key cards... and even a teapot! ☕️

#russianrailways #berlin #berlintomoscow #edinburghtohk #traintravel #slowtravel #trainadventure

Berlin to Moscow is train #5 on my #trainadventure from Edinburgh to Hong Kong! 🚂

Departing Berlin 07:26am on day 3 of my trip, arriving in Moscow 11:44am on day 4.

We travel through Germany 🇩🇪 Poland 🇵🇱 and Belarus 🇧🇾 (transit visa required for Belarus!)

#edinburghtohk

View from the train just before the border with Poland 🇵🇱

#berlintomoscow #edinburghtohk #traintravel #slowtravel

Lunch in the Polish restaurant car on the Berlin to Moscow train (part of the ‘Paris-Moscow Express’ train route)🍴

Meat and cheese dumplings 🥟 , mint tea ☕️, cappuccino, chocolate cake & cherry preserve 🍒

#berlintomoscow #traintravel #slowtravel @seatsixtyone

I love the details on this train! Such as the time / indoor & outdoor temperature / destination display in the corridor. It’s dark and cold outside now but colourful and cosy on the train🌈🚂

#russianrailways #berlintomoscow #edinburghtohk #traintravel #moscowexpress

Berlin to Moscow by train... the journey continues! 🚂 🚂 🚂
susanpoupard.com/edinburgh-to-h…

#berlintomoscow #edinburghtohk #trainadventure #lessflying #flyless

Last night at the border with Belarus our train rolled into a big shed, where all the carriages were raised up and the bogies (wheels) were changed from standard gauge to Russian gauge, while we we on the train! 🚂

#traintravel #belarus #brest #bordercrossing #edinburghtohk

We were welcomed into Moscow this morning with rousing music on the train loudspeaker, which contrasted somewhat with the view 🎶

#berlintomoscow #moscow #edinburghtohk #traintravel #trainadventure

Sightseeing today: Moscow is home to some of the most amazing metro stations 💛

#moscowmetro #moscow #russia #metro #edinburghtohk

Day 4 of my #trainadventure from Edinburgh to Hong Kong 🚂

Our train from Berlin arrived in Moscow this morning, it’s looking very Christmassy here! 🎄

#edinburghtohk #christmasmarkets #moscow #lowcarbontravel

I’m now on the Trans-Siberian railway! On the Rossiya, on the Moscow to Vladivostok route. This train feels quite quaint with a certain Russian charm 🚂

Day 5 of my #trainadventure and my 6th train from Edinburgh to Hong Kong.

#transsiberian #russia #rossiya #edinburghtohk

View from the train across the frozen Vyatka river near Kotelnich, the 10th longest river in European Russia ❄️

It’s -6°C outside but a cosy 23°C on the train 🚂

#transsiberian #traintravel #russia #rossiya #edinburghtohk

A 26-minute stop at Balezino – time to change the locomotive, get some fresh air (-6°C) and say hello to some friendly dogs on the platform. 🚂❄️ 🐕

#transsiberian #russia #russianrailways #edinburghtohk

Dinner in the eerily empty 1970s-looking Russian restaurant car on the Trans-Siberian Rossiya.

Ordered Siberian beer and beef stroganoff – got served Stella and what seemed to be pork & mash 🙄 tasty though!

#transsiberian #railwayjourney #rossiya #edinburghtohk

A 20 min stop at Perm 2 in -6°C. People stock up on provisions from the little kiosk on the platform, the train gets checked and ice hacked off with an axe 🪓❄️

There’s no announcement when the train departs, it just starts moving!

#transsiberian #russianrailways #edinburghtohk

After an 880-mile, 25+ hour journey our #transsiberian train arrived on time into Yekaterinburg at 3.12am, in -10°C temperatures.

A day off the train today for sightseeing round the fascinating city, formerly known as Sverdlovsk

#yekaterinburg #traintravel #edinburghtohk

#Yekaterinburg was off-limits to tourists until 1991 due to its strategic importance to the Soviet Union.

These days it’s tourist friendly–a red line round the city marks the route of the sights. It’s compact & walkable, even in -6°C temperatures.

#edinburghtohk #sightseeing

#Yekaterinburg has the largest concentration of constructivist architecture in the world.

The Unit F #Constructivism #Museum gives an insight into the fascinating history of these buildings – of people & place
flatunitf.tilda.ws/english

#constructivistarchitecture #edinburghtohk

Final sightseeing in #Yekaterinburg before going back to the #transsiberian – the beautiful metro.

Constructed in 1991 it has one line with 9 stations. Journeys are a bargain 32₽ for a single ticket.

#edinburghtohk #yekaterinburgmetro #russia

Back on the #transsiberianrailway! Yekaterinburg station looked magical in the snow in the middle of the night ❄️

This is my 7th train on the journey from Edinburgh to Hong Kong. 🚂 Next stop Irkutsk in Siberia!

#transsiberian #edinburghtohk #yekaterinburg #rossiya #russia

Views from the #transsiberianrailway east of Tyumen, through a slightly grubby train window 😆🚂

Tyumen is one of the wealthiest cities in the region because of oil and gas discoveries in the Tyumenskaya Oblast.

#siberia #transsiberian #traintravel #slowtravel #edinburghtohk

Sunshine in Siberia ☀️❄️

Through the window the birch trees look like Christmas card scenes.

-12°C outside but it’s a cosy +23°C on the train.

#transsiberian #transsiberianrailway #trainadventure #siberia #russia #flyless #lessflying #edinburghtohk

A 15-min stop at Ishim: the platform was a hive of activity with ice being chiselled off the outside of the train, supplies loaded on.

One hardy person was wearing shorts & flip flops in -11°C 🥶

#transsiberian #transsiberianrailway #railwayadventure #siberia #edinburghtohk

Sunset over the frozen Irtysh river 🧡

The Trans-Siberian crosses over the 500m wide river before arriving into Omsk, Siberia’s second largest city.

#transsiberian #transsiberianrailway #railwayjourney #omsk #siberia #russia #edinburghtohk @seatsixtyone

No trip to the dining car for dinner this evening; the meal included in our ticket was delivered to the compartment by the provodnitsa.

A tasty borscht 🥣 followed by chicken (?) sausage & grilled vegetables.

#transsiberianrailway #rossiya #dinner #edinburghtohk #trainfood

I set off from Edinburgh Waverley bound for Hong Kong at 6.15pm last Wednesday, exactly one week ago.
🚂

📍Current location: Novosibirsk, Siberia 🇷🇺

#transsiberianrailway #edinburghtohk #trainadventure #flysgkam

We arrived at Krasnoyarsk approximately 4 mins ahead of schedule!

A 21-minute stop to stretch legs and check out the kiosk with its colourful “welcome” sign on the platform, and for parcels to be unloaded from the postal carriage ❄️

#transsiberianrailway #edinburghtohk

The outside of the train is checked with a hammer to knock off any ice... it sounds quite melodic 🔨🎶❄️

Although doesn’t seem quite so tuneful when this happens at stops in the middle of the night 😆

#transsiberian #transsiberianrailway #traintravel #siberia #edinburghtohk

Snowy Siberian scenery through the train window

#transsiberian #transsiberianrailway #siberia #russianwinter #traintravel #edinburghtohk

Coffee and freshly made fruit pancakes in the retro Russian dining car on the Rossiya 🥞

I love the colour-co-ordination here; the carriage decor even matches the coffee and the snowy scenery outdoors!

#transsiberian #transsiberianrailway #rossiya #diningcar #edinburghtohk

Crossing the Yenisei river outside Krasnoyarsk yesterday afternoon

#transsiberian #transsiberianrailway #viewfromthetrain #edinburghtohk

A stop at Ilanskaya was a chance to stock upon provisions at the biggest and best stocked station platform shop I’ve seen so far!

#transsiberian #traintravel #edinburghtohk

The train arrived on time into a very busy and snowy Irkutsk station at 7.43am this morning.

The current temperature is displayed outside the station, -11°C, not quite as cold as I was expecting it to be in Siberia!

#transsiberian #transsiberianrailway #irkutsk #edinburghtohk

A day off the train yesterday sightseeing in the snow in Irkutsk, Siberia.

-11°C but we even had some sunshine! ☀️

#edinburghtohk #siberia #transsiberian

Boarded the Trans-Mongolian train at Irkutsk this morning. The train arrived about 1 hour late – thankfully not 16 hours like the train to Moscow!

This is my 8th train on my #trainadventure from Edinburgh to Hong Kong, it’ll take me through Mongolia to China🚂

#edinburghtohk

The Trans-Mongolian is a Chinese train, it’s very different from the @RuRailways Trans-Siberian Rossiya train

It feels like a vintage hotel, with its dark red seating and shiny wooden panelling, and there’s a smell of coal in the air from the coal-fired samovars

#edinburghtohk

Lake Baikal looks like the sea! – the world’s deepest lake and about 400 miles long. The #transsiberian and #transmongolian train route runs alongside for about 110 miles.

As we made our way round the lake, the weather turned: colder, snowier and more icy...

#edinburghtohk

Snowy views across Siberia from the train today between Irkutsk and Ulan Ude

#siberia #edinburghtohk #transsiberian

Our Russian dining car is all decorated for Christmas!🎄

I got a more generous portion of pancakes than on the previous train 😊

The dining car on the #transmongolian train changes depending on the country, looking forward to the Mongolian and Chinese ones!

#edinburghtohk

Crossing the frozen Selenga river north-west of Ulan Ude

#edinburghtohk #siberia #transsiberian

A stop at Ulan-Ude where it’s a decidedly chilly -17°C, coal is unloaded from a little pick-up truck onto each carriage to fuel the samovar.

#edinburghtohk #transmongolian #siberia

Our train crossed the border into Mongolia late on Saturday night.

A 6.50am stop at Ulan Bator station on Sunday: our first stop after crossing the border into Mongolia 🇲🇳

An illuminated steam locomotive & Christmas tree decorate the platform! 🎄

#transmongolian #edinburghtohk

Amazing views from the #transmongolian train as we travelled across the vast frosty Gobi Desert...

It was chilly overnight, so much so that there was frost on the inside of our compartment window..though it was soon back up to 25°C inside, -20°C outside

#edinburghtohk

A brief stop at Choyr, where there’s a statue of the first Mongolian cosmonaut behind the station.

It’s very, very cold here (at least -20°C), our carriage attendants don’t seem too happy to have to stand around outside!

#edinburghtohk #transmongolian

In Mongolia our train has a Mongolian restaurant car, complete with Christmas and New Year decorations!

A very tasty Sunday lunch of chicken with teriyaki sauce, enjoyed with views across the Gobi Desert 🧡

#transmongolian #edinburghtohk #sundaylunch @_DiningCar

The Gobi Desert seen from our Trans-Mongolian train: a seemingly endless frosty landscape with herds of cattle, wild horses, gazelle, flocks of birds, even camels 🐫

#transmongolian #gobidesert #edinburghtohk

Sayn-Shand, Mongolia, may have been our coldest stop yet! There was a team of 6 people busy clearing snow from the platform.

Perhaps unexpectedly for a stop in the middle of the desert, the station building offers wi-fi and an ATM.

#transmongolian #edinburghtohk

Welcome to China! 🇨🇳 Our train crossed the border from Mongolia into China late on Sunday night.

At Erlian we had passport & immigration checks while the train bogies (wheels) were changed. The illuminated arrivals building had a slightly dystopian soundtrack...

#edinburghtohk

After crossing the border into China in the early hours of the morning, a Chinese dining car was attached to our train.

Complimentary meal vouchers were issued for breakfast at 6:30am. Unsurprisingly it was *very* quiet at breakfast time...

#edinburghtohk #transmongolian

After journeying through Russia, across Siberia, crossing the Gobi Desert through Mongolia to China, our Trans-Mongolian train arrived into Beijing Railway Station just 2 minutes late...that’s not bad! 🚂

#transmongolian #edinburghtohk

Sightseeing in Beijing before catching the very final train of my #trainadventure from Edinburgh to Hong Kong.

Beijing’s unique hutongs make for lovely wandering walks as a contrast with sitting on the train.

#edinburghtohk

Arrived at Beijing West Station this morning to catch the high speed train from Beijing to Hong Kong 🚅

The station is huge, with security checks and waiting rooms a bit like an airport.

#edinburghtohk

The G79 high speed train travels from Beijing to Hong Kong – over 1,500 miles – in less than 9 hours.

It’s the final train of my journey from Edinburgh to Hong Kong! 🚂

My 1st class seat includes a snack box, soft drinks, plus lots and lots of legroom 🙂

#edinburghtohk

Made it to Hong Kong! 🚂🚂🚂

From Edinburgh to Hong Kong by train, in numbers:
🚂 9 trains
🌍 10 countries
🗓 13 days (including sightseeing)
🧭 8,246+ miles by train

Just 2 minutes late arriving into Hong Kong on Christmas Eve🎄😀

#edinburghtohk