Tuesday 23rd May – Moscow

• Check into our centrally located hotel in Moscow and meet the group at 1pm in the hotel lobby.
• Kick-start the tour YPT style with a city tour of Moscow. We will see where some of the most crucial and chilling moments of the last few centuries of Russian history have been played out at the famous Red Square, pay a visit to Lenin in his mausoleum and overload on Soviet nostalgia.
• Head for dinner at a chain restaurant called Varenichnaya with traditional Russian fare and a soviet decor. Drinks in Moscow in a Druzhba, or vodka shot bar and enjoy our last night of freedom!
• Overnight in our centrally located hotel in Moscow.

Wednesday 24th  May – Moscow

• Breakfast and then head out to further explore Moscow.
• We will go for a stroll around Fallen Monument Park to check out the statues of Stalin as well as other Soviet relics from the past.
• Head to the Park Pobedy dedicated to the victory of Russia against Germany, there, we will have a look at the museum dedicated to the Great Patriotic War
• We then head to a shooting range nearby where we will have the chance to fire off one of the world’s most iconic weapons, the Kalishnikov. (Optional extra – 50 euro per person) Other weapons, such as WWII machine guns and SVG snipers are also available (prices vary)!
• Lunch at a local Solichnaya, or soviet-style canteen, for tasty Russian classics.
• In the afternoon, we will head to the newly restored VDKh, the USSR’s answer to the World Expo, home grandiose pavilions dedicated to each republic of the USSR,  the memorial museum of Cosmonautics and the legendary statue of the Worker and the Kolkhoz Women.
• We’ll stop at a mall by our hotel to have dinner and also buy groceries to prepare for our train ride!

Thursday 25th May – Trans-Siberian

• Catch the 00:35 100 train from Moscow Pavelskaya Station to Ussuriysk in Russia’s deep East, our mammoth Trans-Siberian adventure starts now!
• Settle in for the journey, we will have supplies of bread, cheese and sausages as well as a fair bit of vodka, or we can go to the dining car on the train for dinner.
• Pass through Nizhny Novgorod, formerly Gorki and a famed city of exiles.
• Overnight on the train.

Friday 26th May – Trans-Siberian

• In the morning we’ll pass Perm, already getting close to the Ural Mountains.
• Arrive in Yekaterinburg; we’ll be making the most out of these stops to step off onto the platforms and stock up on supplies from the platform salesmen. From here on we’ll be entering Siberia.
• Overnight on the train.

Saturday 27th May – Trans-Siberian

• In the morning we’ll reach Novosibirsk, Siberia’s largest city.
• We’ll be passing through the Altai mountains and scenery gets more and more impressive. Here’s where human settlements, let alone cities, start to get scarcer and scarcer, so we sit back and watch the world go by!
• Overnight on the train.

Sunday 28th May – Trans-Siberian

• In the evening we’ll be passing Irkutsk and then the famously stunning Lake Baikal. This is where the Trans-Mongolian line heads down through Mongolia to Beijing, but we stay on course for the entire Trans-Siberian and Ussuriysk.
• Overnight on the train.

Monday 29th May – Trans-Siberian

• We pass the city of Chita where the Trans-Manchurian line soon heads south through China’s northeast to Beijing, but we continue heading east!
• By now we will have thoroughly befriended everyone on the train, including staff, and the vodka will have been well and truly flowing.
• Overnight on the train.

Tuesday 30th May – Trans-Siberian

• In the evening we’ll be crossing the Amur river and passing through Birobidzhan – the USSR’s answer to Israel, or Soviet Zion! It was here that an autonomous Jewish oblast was created in Stalin’s times, and it remains as the centre of Jewish life in Russia today.
• Overnight on the train.

Wednesday 31st May – Trans-Siberian

• Our last full day aboard the Trans-Siberian! By now we will know all the conductors by name, how many children they have and get special treats in the food carts.

Thursday 1st June- Ussuryisk – Group B commences

• Enjoy the last few hours on the train before we pull into Ussuriysk at 4:00 am local time.
• We will head to hotel Gostinitsa Ussuryisk and get a few hour’s sleep in an actual bed!
• Members of Group B join us
• Breakfast at our hotel’s pirate-themed canteen, because, why not?
• Once we are refreshed,  we’ll head out to the Korean Culture Centre, where we can learn more about the Korean diaspora in Russia and its history.
• Lunch at Kazan-Mangal,  a restaurant that offers delicious food from Mongolian and other nomadic Russian cultures.
• After lunch, we’ll head out to the nearby ghost town of Vodvizhenka. Vodvizhenka was an airbase used by the soviet union throughout World War two and the Cold War. Here, we can see two planes exposed in town.  One is an SU-7 supersonic jet prototype and another a TU-16 bomber which was recovered after crashing in the Sea of Japan. We will also try to visit the actual airbase for some urban exploration,  provided the local authorities don’t mind.
• We head back to Ussuriysk for dinner in a Korean restaurant to introduce ourselves to what will be our food like from tomorrow on!
• Drinks at a local Stolichnaya , keeping in mind that we’ll start early the next day.
• Night at the hotel.

Friday 2nd June – Ussuriysk

• Catch the 5:29am 652э train to Rason – The special economic zone of the DPRK – arriving at 11:45am local time.
• Go through border checks on the Russian side in Khasan and the DPRK side in Tumangang
• We will be met by our local Korean guides in Rason and head straight to check into our hotel

Afternoon

• Visit the Mosaic Pictures of President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il.
• Rason Revolutionary Museum
• Rason Art Gallery
• Visit the souvenir shop combined with a foreign language bookshop
• Visit Golden Triangle Bank – it is permitted to exchange foreign currencies into Korean Won at an unpublished rate and to open a local DPRK bank account. Here you can use and keep your local DPRK debit card as a souvenir
•  Visit the only private market where tourists are able to visit in the DPRK. Here it is possible to see what’s available for normal citizens to buy and sell. Tourists can use local DPRKorean Won as well as other hard currencies. This is one of the best and cheapest places on the planet to buy some great seafood, soviet clothing, cigarettes, alcohol and other goodies.
• Dinner in the Rason International Travel Agency Restaurant
• Evening drinks at an outdoor barbecue
• Overnight in Rason

Saturday 3rd June – Rason

• Say goodbye to our two local guides and depart Rason on the 10:30am train to Pyongyang!
• We will pass through 5 provinces of beautiful untouched landscapes and rural towns.
• The train is a hard sleeper, so there are bunks, but there is no dining car on the train, however, we will be able to buy snacks, drinks and prepared meals at stations along the way.
• Overnight on the train

Sunday 4th June – Pyongyang

• We continue our journey through gorgeous and rarely seen Korean countryside before finally arriving in Pyongyang at 10:00pm
• Check-in at the Sosan Hotel for a well-earned rest.

Monday 5th June – Pyongyang – Korean Children’s Union Foundation Day Morning

• Kumsusan Palace of the Sun – The mausoleum of President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il.
• Revolutionary Martyr’s Cemetery – the resting place of the greatest anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters, each grave features a bronze bust of the hero laid to rest within.

Afternoon

• Lunch at the Korean Hot Pot Restaurant.
• Unique visit – Attend celebrations at a local primary school for Korean Children’s Union Foundation Day.
• Visit the Grand People’s Study House – the country’s largest library and adult education centre with spectacular views over Kim Il Sung Square
• Stop by Kwangbok Department store – one of the busiest stores in Pyongyang where we can buy local goods using the local currency
• Munsu Water Park- With indoor and outdoor pools and amazing waterslides, the park also features plenty for those who don’t want to swim, including a Haemaji coffee shop, a beer bar, table tennis, billiards, massage, or a beauty salon (various services extra charge, swimming and access to the gym, table tennis and billiards is 80RMB or 10 euro).
• Dinner at a local Korean restaurant on Ryomyong Street.
• Overnight at Sosan hotel.

Tuesday 6th June – Pyongyang Morning

• Up nice and early to drive to Kaesong and the DMZ.
• The DMZ- See one of the tensest places on earth complete with a friendly KPA officer who will not only give you a guided tour but also keep you safe. Also the only place you can take photographs of and even with a soldier!
• Koryo Museum- Korea’s first university and now a museum of history and culture. Also home of the best stamp and propaganda poster shop in the DPRK, so don’t forget your wallet!

Afternoon

• Lunch at the Thongil Restaurant in Kaesong city – try your hand at traditional Korean Pansangi – a series of dishes served in bronze bowls. (Optional extras – Dog soup 40RMB)
• Head back to Pyongyang on the way stopping at Sariwon city – explore the local folk custom park and view the city from the mountain top pagoda. A great spot to try Makkoli, a local specialty beverage consisting of rice and alcohol.
• Photo opportunity of the Monument to the Three Charters of National Reunification, standing over the Reunification Highway.
• Get back to Pyongyang for dinner at Duck BBQ restaurant
• Overnight at the Sosan Hotel

Wednesday 7th June – Pyongyang Morning

• Morning walk along Pyongyang’s main avenue from Pyongyang Grand Theatre down towards Kim Il Sung Square
• Explore Kim Il Sung Square
• The Foreign Language Bookshop- A great place to buy books, pins, posters and Korean DVD’s
• Walk through Mansudae Fountain Park and see the mosaic pictures of President Kim Il Sung and the Leader Kim Jong Il.
• Visit Mansudae Grand Monument – the two large bronze statues of President Kim Il Sung and Leader Kim Jong Il overlooking the city. (Optional extra – you can present flowers if you wish: 40RMB or 5 euros).

Afternoon

• Lunch in the KITC restaurant. Here’s your chance to try Pyongyang’s famous Pyongyang Cold Noodles or traditional Korean Bibimap mixed rice dish.
• Pyongyang Metro – ride 5 stops on the famous Pyongyang Underground!
• Exiting at the Arch of Triumph – the largest Victory Arch in the world, built to celebrate the triumphant return of Kim Il Sung after the anti-Japanese war.
• Visit the recently renovated Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum (Korean War Museum)– with captured American weapons, tanks, air planes and unique dioramas from famous battles and much more!
• USS Pueblo – the only US Naval Vessel held captive by another nation and the centre of a major incident in 1968.
• Juche Tower – a monument to the everlasting Juche Ideology (optional 40RMB or 5 euros to go to the top).
• Monument to the Party Foundation – built-in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the worker’s party
• Stop by the local Mansugyo Beer Bar for refreshments – here there are seven different types of locally brewed beer! Soft drinks, coffee and juices also available
• Dinner at the National Restaurant with performance!
• Overnight at the Sosan Hotel

Thursday 8th June – Pyongyang – Beijing Morning

• Flight members depart at 9:00am for Beijing on Air Koryo arriving at 10:0am Beijing time.
• Train members depart at 10:25am for the overnight train to Beijing and enjoy the peaceful countryside of both the DPRK and China

Friday 9th June – Beijing

• Train members arrive into Beijing Railway Station at 9:00am

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