Transport - Central Asia - page 478

SILK ROAD BY RAIL
Silk Road romantics, train bufs and nervous lyers can cross continents without once
having to faten their seatbelt or turn of their mobile phones. The 'iron Silk Roads' to
Central Asia don't have quite the romance or the laid-back feel of the Trans-Siberian
Railway, but they allow Eurasia to unfold gradually, as you clank through endless plains,
teppe and desert.
From Moscow (or even St Petersburg) you can watch Europe turn to Asia on the three-
day, 4000km train trip to Tashkent or Almaty. From here you can add on any number of
side trips to Samarkand, Bukhara or even Urgench (for Khiva), the lat two of which are
on spur lines. Then from Almaty it's possible to continue on the train to Ürümqi in China
and even to Kashgar or Hotan.
From Ürümqi you can continue along the Silk Road by train eat as far as Beijing, Hong
Kong or even Lhasa or Saigon, making for an epic transcontinental ride. It's not always
comfortable and it will take some time, so why do it? Because like Everet, it's there.

¨ Moscow-Astana
US$295/180
¨ Moscow-Bishkek
US$320/205

soft sleeper in Ürümqi or
US$125/195 in Almaty. Soft
sleepers are only available
on the Kazakh train (departs
Almaty on Sunday and
Ürümqi on Tuesday). Book
trains at least a few days
ahead.
There is also a less reli-
able weekly Astana-Ürümqi
service (US$130, 39 hours).
To/From Iran
From the Caspian Sea a rail
line crosses Turkmenistan
along the Trans-Caspian
route. No international
trains currently run to or
from Turkmenistan, though
there are several future pos-
sibilities.
A line connects Mash-
had in Iran with Ashgabat in
Turkmenistan, but no pas-
senger trains run along this
line at present.
A new railway between
Bereket in western Turk-
menistan and Gorgan in
northeast Iran is under con-
struction, with a second line
from Bereket to Zhanaozen
(Uzen) in western Kaza-
khstan. If and when passen-
ger services start, this could
be a wacky option across
Turkmenistan between Iran
and Kazakhstan.

sible way to enter and leave
Central Asia.
There are also irregular
cargo boats every week or
10 days between Baku and
Aktau (US$55 to US$75,
24 hours) in Kazakhstan.
One of these ferries sunk in
October 2002, killing all 51
people aboard.

ONLINE RESOURCES
For a useful overview of
international trains to/from
Central Asia see www.seat61.
com/silkroute.htm.
For online timetables
and fares, try the following
websites:
¨ www.poezda.net/en
¨ https://poezda.gdbilet.ru
¨ http://pass.rzd.ru/main-
pass/public/en

¨ For the Baku-
Turkmenbashi boat, once
on board you'll likely
be offered a cabin by a
crewmember, for which you
will pay around US$50.

¨ The best cabins have
private bathrooms and
are comfortable, although
some can be cockroach
infested.

PURCHASING TICKETS
To buy tickets from Moscow
try Way to Russia (www.
waytorussia.net), Real Russia
(www.realrussia.co.uk/trains)
or G&R International (www.
hostels.ru).
To/From China
Completed in 1992, after
being delayed almost half a
century by Russian-Chinese
geopolitics, is a line from
China via Ürümqi to Almaty
and Astana in Kazakhstan,
joining the Turksib for con-
nections on to Siberia.
The 1363km Silk Road
train between Ürümqi and
Almaty leaves twice a week
and takes about 32 hours,
which includes several
hours at the border for cus-
toms checks and to change
bogies. Sleeper tickets
cost Y804/1225 for hard/

¨ Boats leave around
four times a week in both
directions, but there is no
timetable. You'll simply
have to arrive and wait until
the ship is full of cargo.

¨ Leave a couple of days
(longer for Aktau) left
on your visa in case the
boats are delayed, which is
common. Some travellers
have found themselves
waiting for a couple of days
to dock in Turkmenbashi,
using up valuable time in
their fixed-date visa.

¨ Stock up on food and
water beforehand, as there
is little or no food available
on board. Crossings can
end up taking 32 hours or
longer.

Sea
The Baku (Azerbaijan) to
Turkmenbashi 'ferry' route
(US$100, 12 to 18 hours)
across the Caspian is a pos-