Advice - Trans-Siberian railway

I decided to travel home from Nepal overland (rather than flying like Adrian). There are many ways of doing this - one good way is to travel to Beijing and then catch one of the Trans-Siberian trains to Moscow. This section gives some advice on how to do it.

Routes
There are 2 train options from Beijing. Confusingly, neither are called 'Trans-Siberian'.

Tickets
You can book either independently or through an tour package agency. I opted to go for the cheaper option and booked independently through the CITS in Beijing (a nationwide tourist service in China). This is the cheaper way and a Trans-Mongolian ticket costs $195 USD (one-way) and the Trans-Manchurian costs about $220.
The main travel agency that deals with Trans-Siberian tickets is called Monkey Shrine, based in Beijing (monkeyshrine.com). They are more expensive, but a lot simpler because they arrange everything (including visas and accommodation in Moscow). They can also arrange stopover packages with minimal fuss (but loads more money).

There are different classes on the train itself - I went for hard sleeper. This is what most people seem to go for. You will be in a small cabin with 4 bunks. Each bunk has a thin mattress and is fairly comfortable. There is plenty of luggage space.

Stopovers
Stopovers are possible along the way, for example at Ulan Bator, Mongolia or Irkutsk, Russia. These make the journey price much more expensive.

It is not possible to buy a ticket from Beijing to Moscow with stopovers through the CITS. Instead you have to book two (or more) separate tickets from, for example, Beijing to Ulan Bator and then Ulan Bator to Moscow. Also (and this is a problem) you cannot buy the second stage ticket from the CITS in Beijing i.e. the Beijing CITS will sell you tickets for trains that depart from Beijing only. You would need to buy the next ticket from the stopover destination itself.

Bike Transportation
It is possible to transport a bike on the Trans-Siberian. It cost me about $25. The bike travels on the same train as you, but in the cargo carriage at the very front or rear of the train.

You would need to take your bike to the train station in Beijing the day before departure. Go to the luggage section and fill in all the relevant paperwork. They will then take your bike and load it onto the train the next day - although I was advised to get there early and check that it really was on the train. It is also easy to check that the bike is ok whilst enroute by visiting the train's luggage carriage at one of the many 20 minute platform stops enroute.

At Moscow you should be able to take the customs paperwork to the luggage carriage and reclaim your bike on the spot. But you must do this quickly, or else the bike will be taken to a luggage storage hangar.

If this happens then you need to find the luggage storage hangar, which is about 10 minutes walk from the train station itself. If you just say the word 'baggage', but with a French accent, then the locals will understand and point you in the right direction. Once there you should be able to hand over the paperwork you received in Beijing and reclaim the bike.

However, my bike (for some unimaginable reason) ended up in a locked 'Special Customs Area' cage at the back of the luggage storage hangar. It then took me 4 hours to get permission to get it out, but the staff there helped a load.

The best thing to do is to get to the luggage compartment on the train as soon as you get into Moscow. If you can't retrieve your bike there, then follow it to see where it ends up. Remember that this is Russia and the normal laws of common sense sometimes do not apply.

Type	Transit Single Entry
Duration	48 Hours
Validity	As stated on train ticket
Cost	$30 USD (3 day service) $60 USD (1 Day service)
Issued at	Mongolian Embassy, Beijing, China
Time taken to issue	Same day
Extensions available?	?
Notes	A very simple and straight forward visa to obtain. Just need to fill the form in and supply 2 passport photos. US citizens do not need a visa to enter Mongolia. I went for a transit visa because I was just passing through in a day on the train. A tourist visa is also easy to obtain if you plan to stop off in Ulan Bator and need more than a transit visa.

Type	Tourist Single Entry
Duration	As defined at application
Validity	As defined at application
Cost	$52 USD (5 Working Day Service) $82 USD (3 Working Day service) $102 USD (Same Working Day Service)
Issued at	Russian Embassy, Beijing, China
Time taken to issue	Same day
Extensions available?	Apparently possible, but difficult
Notes	For a Tourist visa you need an 'invitation' and 'tourist voucher'. This is basically proof that you have accommodation booked in Russia before you get there. For this you need a hostel/hotel that gives a visa support service. I used the G+R Hostel in Moscow (see hostels.ru and click on Visa Support). The procedure is: Look at hostels.ru and print off the visa support form and credit card charge form Fill in your passport and credit card details on these forms. Remember that the Card Verification Code (CVC) is the 3 digit number printed on the rear of your credit card Fax these forms off to Moscow - maybe using a hotel fax or the International Post Office fax service in Beijing (expensive - about $3 per page) Wait about 1 day for the Invitation and Tourist Voucher to return (via fax). You need to supply an incoming fax number. You can receive faxes at the International Post Office in Beijing (for a fee - about $1.50 per page) Take all paperwork to the Russian Embassy An alternative is to use the visatorussia.com website. You will also need photocopies of your passport, the train ticket and health insurance certificates. Alternatively you can try for a Transit Visa. For this you do not need a tourist voucher or invitation. You do need proof of an onward ticket from Moscow. A Transit visa is currently valid for 10 days. Once in Moscow (or St Petersburg) you need to register the visa (tourist or transit). The G+R Hostel does this for free if you use their visa support service.

General Info
For a lot more information see the Monkey Shrine website at monkeyshrine.com. I spoke to them and they were very friendly and helpful. There were also a couple of Americans on my train who used them and they were very happy with the service. Their website is a bit confusing, but there is a lot of information on there.
If your really keen, it is a good idea to take an old rag and a stick. The windows get very dirty, especially after going through a desert, and need a clean from the outside.

And finally....I suggest taking a few $1 notes for food whilst on the journey - it's a lot easier just to pay in dollars, rather than converting money to the local currency at each border. An average dining car meal costs $3-6.

I enjoyed the ride. It was a long way, but comfortable enough. The scenery was not spectacular, but still pleasant and interesting. The highlights are the platform stops when Chinese/Mongolian traders on the train try to sell cheap Chinese goods to Russian people on the platform. It's a great experience especially meeting all the local people on the train, and a most excellent overland adventure.