Central and East Asia - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 282

Polo, but for anyone looking to muck in, make
some new friends and journey as far along the
Silk Road as time allows, there's no better way.
Need to know Accommodation is in tents or
homestays. Dragoman runs a variety of Silk Road
itineraries, including special family trips and small-
group trips in minibuses rather than trucks. For
more see W www.dragoman.com; T +44 (0) 1728
861 133.
376 By train
Most people wanting to travel from Moscow to
Beijing take the Trans-Mongolian or Trans-
Manchurian trains. But you can also head
south on trains such as The Kazakhstan or The
Uzbekistan out of Moscow towards Tashkent
and Almaty, and then travel east through
Uzbekistan, visiting Bokhara and Samarkand
en route. The journey is similar to the
aforementioned trains - there are two- and four-
berth sleeper wagons, plus you can step off at
stations and buy everything from local sausages
and vegetables to home-made dumplings or
vodka. But it's much less frequented by tourists,
as there isn't one train going the whole way
through - you need to take at least three. This is
no bad thing, with so many fascinating cities to
stop in along the way.
For those with more to spend, there are also
two luxury trains: the Golden Eagle from
Moscow to the Kazakhstan/China border and
then the Shangri-La from the Chinese side of
the border to Beijing. With a DVD player in the
cabin, power showers, two restaurant cars and
even a bar with a pianist it's a different world
from the borscht and boiled water out of the
samovar on the public trains, but the spectacular
views from the window are still the same.
Need to know Information on planning the
journey, including guidance on visas, is at W www.
seat61.com/SilkRoute.htm. The Golden Eagle and
Shangri-La trains are run by GW Travel ( W www.
gwtravel.co.uk).
(Clockwise from top) Typical Kazakh scenery; An Uzbekistani
market; A boy on a horse in Kyrgyzstan; Outside a mosque in
Uzbekistan