Trans-Siberian Railway (Part 4: Ulan-Ude to Vladivostok)
Still high from our wonderful time at Lake Baikal, we eagerly anticipated the next stage of the train journey – a scenic tour around the bottom half of the lake and up towards the Buryat Republic’s capital of Ulan-Ude. We’d forgotten, however, that our seats were actually bunks back in Plastcart class, so the experience was a little more pungent and visually unwelcome than we might have liked – lots of sweaty individuals, the table taken up by a sudoku playing elderly lady and a gentleman who got on and promptly took his trousers off in front of our faces. Still, at least he kept his pants on. Best be thankful for small mercies.
Eight hours later, we arrived just in time to make a quick dash out for some pictures of the enormous statue of Lenin’s head, basking in the evening sunshine in Ulan-Ude’s central square. Built in 1970, this 42 tonne colossus is almost 8 metres high and sternly gazes out into the distance. Quite something, like a massive bronze manifestation of Orwell’s Big Brother…..
Heady days in Ulan-Ude
We had just a few hours in town the next day before starting our mammoth stint on the train to Vladivostok, though we did manage to get in a few sights. First, a trip to the railway station for more left-luggage fun, this time negotiating the rampantly over-zealous and over-staffed security protocols as you enter the main door. The scan of my bag clearly showed the presence of a pair of metallic binoculars (I don’t have any binoculars) so I was made to empty the entire contents onto a table in a dubious looking side-room. The guards, 3 of them, actually seemed more interested in the walking poles stashed upright in my pack and apparently forgot about the insidious phantom binocular crime. Clearly they were fellow hiking enthusiasts as it was all smiles from there on.
Ulan-Ude is quite a pleasant little city, with a cleaner appearance than most, though it was rather empty everywhere. We toured the local cathedral, its freshly painted brilliant white exterior literally making our eyes water. Like most churches in this part of Russia, the size of the outside belies the fact that the inside is relatively miniscule, with only a tiny space allocated to display the modern but beautiful iconostasis panel, leaving us feeling a wee bit short-changed. Some stunning old wooden houses just outside made up for it though. Unlike at Tomsk, it seems that preservation of the past is important here.
Ceremonial doorway, Ulan-Ude
Interior, Svyato-Odigitriyevsky Sobor cathedral Ulan-Ude
Svyato-Odigitriyevsky Sobor cathedral
Ulan-Ude
Leaving Helen behind for a half-hour, I sauntered off for a secret liaison with a sweet-shop to pick-up a birthday cake I’d ordered back in Krasnoyarsk. I’d asked for it to be decorated with the Russian equivalent of ‘Happy Birthday Helen’, which it was (‘С Днем Рождения, Хелен’), but the manager had a panic that I needed it in English and it took a good two minutes to convince her it was fine. She’d done a marvellous job to be fair.
Then, at around 5pm, we boarded the last train of the Trans-Siberian trip, an almost 3 day stint, albeit in First class, to the Pacific town of Vladivostok in Russia’s far east. Though well versed now, we were still a little apprehensive of going stir-crazy as we knew the opportunities to get off for fresh air and walk about were likely to be limited. Most of the lengthier stops were due in the middle of the night and we’d only identified 3 places with stops of 15 minutes or more.
On board the train to Vladivostok
To be honest though, our time on board flew by. We didn’t go mad, we didn’t fall out and we celebrated Helen’s birthday as best we could. We’d brought along enough food to last the whole trip, some of it reserved for our celebration on the 28th. Bought in the GUM department store back in Moscow, out came a pot of beaver pate (yes really, with a tiny picture of a buck-toothed little beastie on the side), a jar of roasted red pepper & cheese tapenade and a can of olives. An inexpensive tin of caviar (alas, only Red, no pricey Beluga for us), a large jar of gherkins and half a salami completed the picture, supplemented by a hunk of black bread and crackers. Some robust Russian red wine, a Shiraz bought on recommendation from a lovely guy in Krasnoyarsk, and the remains of our Baikal vodka were also present, though you have be discreet with booze here as it’s strictly not allowed……All this plus humongous slices of cake and we were, unsurprisingly, well stuffed.
Helen’s birthday feast. Note naff Russian birthday cards from yours truly
Three days of calm. An easy time. Just writing, reading, sleeping, eating and watching the world go by (the world being trees, trees and just for good measure, more trees). Alas, our ‘cinema-night’ didn’t work out as the Netflix downloads we’d sorted in Mumbai had expired (aargh!) and our trip to the restaurant car didn’t quite go as planned, largely as the train didn’t have one, but aside from that it was great. Our own little private enclave and a haven of peace and tranquillity, if you discount the constant clunking of the train.
Then, 25 days after we set out from Moscow, we glimpsed the Pacific Ocean for the first time on this trip and trundled slowly into Vladivostok station. There’s a wonderful old steam locomotive here and a small but poignant monument proclaiming itself as the end of the line for the Trans-Siberian Railway, along with the number 9288 in italics on all sides (the number of kilometres to Moscow) and an imperial double headed eagle to crown it all. Simple, but effective. We were quite emotional. A long held ambition realised and a growing sense of achievement, coupled with regret it was all over. Not always easy, not always pleasant but always very Russian and always an ‘experience’.
9,288 kilometres later, we arrive in Vladivostok
Our final few days in Russia were sunny and relaxed as we basked in the Vladivostok sunshine. A very agreeable city indeed and one that felt the most modern and cosmopolitan of our stays here. There’s an understandable, historic connection to the countries of the far east and we saw more oriental tourists here than anywhere else. Streets ring with the sound of Chinese and Korean voices as well as Russian. There are bars and restaurants all over the place and we were lucky enough to be staying on a lively street – the town’s equivalent to Moscow’s ‘Arbat’ street, pedestrianised and frequented by some extremely talented buskers, from solo cellists to hard rock guitarists. This was definitely a place to simply wander around and not try to cram-in museums and art galleries, for once. Our locale was once a seedy mix of opium dens and thieves’ hideouts and the streets are full of small alleys leading to enclosed high courtyards with hidden drinking joints (notably the ‘Wet Rat’ bar where several beers were sunk). This was also a stronghold of the local mafia in the crazy days of post-communism in the 1990’s.
Bortsov Revolyutsii Square, Vladivostok
Millionka side-street, Vladivostok
Vladivostok promenade
Bram Stoker’s Vladivostok Station
The marvellous Zolotoy Most
The bay in which the city is situated is probably its most impressive asset and we made a special trip on a charming old funicular to view the immensely impressive suspension bridge, the Zolotoy Most, with its elegant spires and gleaming white cable-work. It’s not for nothing that Vladivostok is dubbed the ‘San Francisco of the East’ with a bridge to (almost) rival the Golden Gate and steep hills rising from the bay.
Footnote: Our original plan for the next leg of the trip was to fly out of Vladivostok to North Korea for a few days on an organised tour. Alas, Kim has still not opened his doors to anyone other than Russians wanting a holiday in the DPRK’s version of Benidorm, so we’ve had to shelve that idea. As an alternative we’ve decided to visit Shanghai on a temporary Chinese visa before scooting off to our next major destination – South Korea.
Footnote: We’ll be publishing another post soon on the overall experience of train journeys themselves, where I’ll try not to get too excited about engines and locomotives….
Simon (2nd October 2025)
Happy belated birthday Helen!
Thanks Alison!
Wow, what a trip through Russia, Matthews impressed with the Lenin head!!
The birthday feast looks fab but where’s the cheese 🧀
Glad you’ve made it all the way to the Pacific.
Shame about north korea but also a little relieved. Enjoy Shanghai !!
Glaring cheese omission error I know….. Out of Russia now & in Shanghai. Got out with no bother at all, amazingly!!
Lenin’s head even more impressive up close!!
Well by the looks of it Helen’s birthday meal was rather exotic. Lovely cake. Super pictures. Another great experience on the Russian Railway Enjoy South Korea, we’ve been there they made us welcome in the restaurants.. love mum ❤️
It was a bit fancy, but totally gorgeous. Looking forward to Seoul
Belated Happy Birthday Helen x x
How organised are you Simon to find a bakery & order a cake, and then get it plus all the food onto the train!
Not so sure about beaver pate though….
Take care & enjoy the next leg of your adventures x
Organised chaos tbh…. Anyway, don’t go dissing my beaver Clove, it was a triumph of creamed rodent loveliness….