Flip Flop Caravan

This is my submission for the ’3 Things in the City’ I Love contest by Velvet Escape, Traveldudes and Wimdu.co.uk Envisioning Siberia, I pictured dirt roads, small towns and a complete lack of modern amenities. So color me surprised when the train pulled up in Ekaterinberg, Russia; a vibrate metropolis, home to over 1.2 million people. [...]

Or, the Trans-Mongolian route as it were… 1. Get Cultured – Take in a ballet at the Bolshoi in Moscow, a throat singing performance in Mongolia or a Chinese opera.  A little too classy for ya? Then sing along to accordion music in a Russian pub, try a hit of snuff with your hosts in [...]

The journey into Mongolia required an entire day of travel in the form of trains, cabs and buses. We hopped an overnight train from Irkutsk to Ulan Ude, Russia and then cabbed to a bus stop just off the city’s main square, which houses the world’s largest bust of Lenin. Boarding the bus, we encountered [...]

If you’re planning on traveling through Russia anytime soon, be prepared for some awful roadways; the one constant throughout the country – from Moscow to Vladivostok – is that the roads suck! Harsh weather and remote locations make road upkeep inherently difficult.  But add to that the government practice of using sub-standard materials for repairs [...]

Nikita’s Homestead was unlike any hostel I had ever stayed at. Located in Khuzir – Olkhon Island’s sole settlement – Nikita’s is basically an all inclusive resort (they even took care of planning all excursions around the island). As there are no restaurants in Khuzir, all guests are provided three meals a day. Meals were served [...]