9 - 26 JULY 2014

Day 13 Monday 21 July
VLADIVOSTOK
This evening after dinner you pull in to
famous Railroad Square in Vladivostok,
a beautiful building and end point of the
incredible Trans- Siberian journey of
almost ten thousand kilometres from
Moscow. Disembark and transfer to
your hotel for a night of slumber in a
stationary bed.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Vladivostok
Day 14 Tuesday 22 July
VLADIVOSTOK - SEOUL
This morning you check out and board a
waiting coach for a tour of the once
described ‘Wickedest City in the East!’
This infamous port city on the Sea of
Japan is the most far flung outpost on
the south- eastern most tip of Russia and
only a stone’s throw from Manchurian
China. It has a great naval and military
history, rich architecture and striking
monuments and landmarks, many of
which you see today. You begin with a
funicular ride up Eagle’s Nest Mount for
fabulous views of Vladivostok,
expansive Golden Horn Bay and the
world’s longest span bridge built in 2012
to Russky Island. Your city tour also
includes the grand monuments of the
Memorial to the Fighters for the Soviet
Power in the Far East and the National
Triumphal Gates, historical
Svetlanskaya Street, the heart of the city
named after the frigate Svetlana and old
Aleutskaya Street. Later in the afternoon
you take a Korean Air flight from
Vladivostok to Seoul. On arrival you are
met by your local guide and are taken to
E&OE
a buffet dinner before checking in to
your hotel for the next three nights.
Breakfast ● Dinner
Overnight Seoul
Day 15 Wednesday 23 July
SEOUL
Today is a day of sightseeing in Seoul
with your local guide. See the changing
of the guard at magnificent
Gyeongbokgung Palace. Translating as
‘Palace of shining Happiness’
Gyeongbokgung
is the largest of
the five grand
palaces built by
the Joseon
Dynasty. Have a
guided tour at
the National
Folklore Museum of Korea, the Blue
Palace and Myeong-dong Cathedral, the
most imposing Catholic church in South
Korea with a lovely Gothic interior. In
the afternoon
you take a tour
of the Bukchon
Hanok Village
in Samchongdong to admire
the antique
beauty of Korean traditional houses. It is
here that the aristocratic classes resided
during the Joseon Dynasty. Dinner this
evening features a spread of delicious
Korean dishes traditionally served to
royals and aristocrats at the pristine
Palace of Samcheongak.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Seoul
heart of this most appealing city. In the
afternoon enjoy some free time to
continue browsing the shops, markets,
museums or
gardens at
your leisure.
Meet this
evening for a
Farewell
Korean BBQ
dinner.
Breakfast ● Lunch ●Dinner
Overnight Seoul
Day 17 Friday 25 July
SEOUL - SYDNEY
You have a free morning in Seoul for some
last minute shopping and sightseeing. You
check out after breakfast and leave your
luggage at the concierge. In the afternoon a
coach will collect you and transfer you to
Seoul Airport for your direct return flight to
Sydney.
Breakfast ● Meals in flight
Overnight in flight
Day 18 Saturday 26 July
SYDNEY – ADELAIDE
Arrive in Sydney this morning, clear customs and connect with your domestic
flight to Adelaide, arriving home midmorning.
Day 16 Thursday 24 July
SEOUL
Tour
Deoksunggung
Palace this
morning before
heading to
Gwangjang Market, Seoul’s oldest
covered marketplace and one of the
largest herbal and ginseng markets in
South Korea. Stroll through Insadong the
charming antiques market place and walk
the beautiful Cheonggyecheon Stream, an
oasis of natural beauty featuring charming
bridges and fine marble sculptures in the
EDUCATIONAL and CULTURAL TOURS
223 Angas Street, Adelaide SA 5000
T (08) 8223 1272 ● F (08) 8232 3690 ● E [email protected]
Please remember that on WEA Tours you may be travelling to remote and less
visited places so please have an open mind and embrace the differences.
TTA 183
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9 - 26 JULY 2014
...enriching lives through cultural exchange
Ulan Bator ● Naadam Festival ● Train Ulan Bator to Irkutsk
Siberia ● Lake Baikal ● Trans Siberian Railway ● Vladivostok
Seoul ● South Korea
N
ever before has this combination of countries and cultural highlights been put
together in one exclusive tour. The departure has been carefully planned to
coincide with Naadam Naadam, the colourful and culturally significant celebrations of
Mongolia’s National Day. Observe the spectacle of the opening ceremony, grand
parades, glorious costumes and Mongolian feasts and stay in traditional nomadic styler
Gers. In Siberia you cruise phenomenal Lake Baikal and board the Trans-Siberian
railway. Travelling from East to West in first class cabins you embark on a journey of a
lifetime on undisputedly the world’s greatest rail adventure. A fitting finale to this grand
odyssey is the addition of sightseeing in South Korea. Here you can wonder at the grand
palaces of the Josean and Silla dynasties with such glowing names as ‘the palace of
shining happiness’, peruse traditional medicine and antique markets and be delighted by
the beauty and sophistication of magnificent gardens, architecture and ancient culture.
Tour Leader: Ian Finlayson’s background is in avionics and training. He has wealth of
experience and knowledge of Asian countries and has worked, lived and guided tours to
the region for many years. He is well travelled and exudes a great understanding and
empathy for Asian customs and cultures.
Tour Includes: Airfares ● Full escorting Adelaide to Adelaide ● All meals as per
itinerary ● Accommodation ● All internal flights and rail tickets ● All entrance fees
and Local Guides ● Pre and post tour get togethers ● visa service ● comprehensive tour
pack and study notes.
Based on twin share + airline taxes ($516 as of Sept 2013) + visas Mongolia $125: Russia $135
Single Supplement $ 1010 ● Balance due 16 April 2014
Day 4 Saturday 12 July
ADELAIDE - SYDNEY
Depart Adelaide this afternoon with
Qantas to Sydney and overnight at an
airport hotel.
Overnight Sydney
Day 2 Thursday 10 July
SYDNEY – ULAN BATOR
Depart Sydney with Korean Airlines this
morning on a direct flight to Seoul. You
then connect to Ulan Bator the capital of
Mongolia . Here you check in to your
hotel for a good night’s sleep.
Breakfast Box ● Meals in flight
Overnight Ulan Bator
Day 3 Friday 11 July
ULAN BATOR
Naadam! Naadam! Mongolian National
Day is celebrated throughout the country
and this tour has been carefully timed to
take in much of the culture and spectacle
of this colourful celebration. The festival
is officially opened this morning by the
President of Mongolia. You are viewing
the Opening Ceremony from the National
Stadium as soldiers on horseback deliver
the nine white horsetail banners from
Parliament House. The ceremony also
features a colourful show of folk music and
dancing, followed by highly contested
wrestling and archery competitions. In the
late afternoon you visit Bogd Khan’s
Palace Museum. This most authentic late
19th century palace was the winter home of
Bogd Khan when ‘Outer Mongolia’ was
declared an independent state in 1911.
Later, Zaisan Hill lookout affords you
panoramic views over this windswept city
on the edge of the Gobi Desert.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Ulan Bator
Day 5 Sunday 13 July
KHUSTAI NATIONAL PARK TERELJI NATIONAL PARK
This morning you return to the park to
spot more of the wild horses before
heading back to Ulan Bator to enjoy
‘Deeltei Mongol’ a famous festival where
thousands of
locals put on an
amazing show of
wearing
traditional
costumes. After
lunch in a local restaurant you continue to
Terelji National Park about 65 kilometers
from the city. The park protects a
wonderful landscape of giant rocky
mountains surrounding green valleys and
the famous landmark called Turtle Rock.
You overnight at a traditional nomadic
Ger camp.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Ger
Day 6 Monday 14 July
18 days $9,795
Day 1 Wednesday 9 JUly
incorrectly called a ‘yurt’ by most
westerners.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight traditional Ger Camp
ULAN BATOR
This morning you travel to Khuu Doloon
Khudag, the horse racing venue for the
Naadam Festival. Horse racing is an
integral part of Mongolian living cultural
heritage, dating back to medieval times
when Mongol armies rode on horseback
to faraway places. Bring binoculars to
observe the riders however the most fun
will be observing
the locals! A traditional
‘Khuushuur’ (Mongolian dumplings)
lunch is arranged for you at the venue
before departing for Khustai National
Park and an introductory presentation.
After dinner you travel in to the park to
observe wild Mongolian horses. Your
overnight accommodation is in a
traditional Ger, commonly, although
TERELJI - ULAN BATOR
This morning you drive to the statue
complex and museum of Genghis Khan in
a beautiful setting on the banks of the
River Tuul. The museum has exhibitions
relating to the Bronze Age and Xiongnu
archaeological cultures in Mongolia. You
then visit a nomadic family to learn about
traditional life and culture. The friendly
nomads welcome you to their Ger home
and offer you
a genuine
Mongolian
BBQ called a
‘khorkhog’.
Late afternoon
you return to
Ulan Bator where there is time for
souvenir or perhaps cashmere shopping
and a farewell dinner.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Ulan Bator
Day 7 Tuesday 15 July
ULAN BATOR - IRKUTSK BY
TRAIN
After a buffet breakfast you visit Gandan
Monastery, the religious centre of
Mongolian Buddhists. This Tibetan style
monastery with its Tibetan name
Gandantegchinlen meaning ‘Great Place
of Complete Joy’ is state heritage
protected for its national significance and
has over 150 monks in residence. Here is
the statue of Megjidjanraiseg, one of the
largest standing Buddhas in Asia. Transfer
next to the railway station and board the
13-50 train from Mongolia to Irkutsk in
southern Siberia. Spend the afternoon
relaxing and enjoying the journey. Lunch
and Dinner can be purchased in the
train’s dining car. Please note that there
are no single sleepers on this train,
Twin Share is the only option.
Breakfast
Overnight on train
locally made souvenirs. The area’s scenery
and natural environment is beautiful. Return
to Irkutsk for dinner and to overnight.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Irkutsk
Day 10 Friday 18 July
IRKUTSK
After crossing the border in to Russia you
arrive in Irkutsk, the capital of Siberia,
mid- morning. Here you are met by your
local guide and escorted to your hotel
where lunch has been arranged. In the
afternoon you are
taken on an
orientation tour of the
city by your local
guide. View some of
the traditional Siberian wooden houses
dotted along ul Dekrabrskikh Sobyty and
visit the fairytale like
Bogoyavlensky
Cathedral and the much
newer and brightly
coloured Kazansky
Church as well as the pleasant Regional
Museum. This evening you enjoy dinner
together and are treated to some local
folklore entertainment.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Irkutsk
TALTSY VILLAGE &
TRANS- SIBERIAN TRAIN
This morning after checking out of your
hotel you drive half an hour from the city to
delightful Taltsy, an open air museum of
traditional wooden architecture. All of the
buildings are original houses, schools,
shops and churches built between the 17th
and 19th centuries by Russian Cossaks and
local ethnic minority groups. After lunch at
the Museum Café and time to explore you
return to
Irkutsk railway
station and
board the
legendary
Trans- Siberian
Railway.
Travelling
from East to West in first class cabins you
are about to embark on the journey of a
lifetime on undisputedly one of the world’s
greatest rail adventures. Meals are taken in
the dining car. Please note that Twin
Share on the train is the only option.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Trans-Siberian railway
Day 9 Thursday 17 July
Day 11 Saturday 19 July
LAKE BAIKAL
After breakfast you travel the short
distance out to Lake Baikal and Listvyanka
Village. At the
Baikal Museum
you have a
lecture on the
ecology, flora
and fauna of the
lake. You also
see ‘Nerpas’ the
world’s only fresh water seals and
collections of fish, animals and birds along
with large aquariums which allow viewing
of very rare animals and plants from the
lake. Baikal is the largest body of fresh
water in the world holding almost a quarter
of the world’s fresh water! Four thousand
times older than America’s Great Lakes it
is also the deepest lake in the world.
Nerpa, the indigenous fresh water seals are
the precious living symbols of the lake’s
uniqueness. Around midday you embark
on a long afternoon boat cruise out to
Tolstiy Cap. Lunch is served on board and
the captain keeps a close watch out for
Nerpas in the lake. You disembark at
Listvyanka Settlement, a wonderful old
style Siberian village and an ideal example
of Siberian country life and its dachas,
Siberian country homes. There is time to
visit the Flea market to try some local
smoked and salted fish and to purchase
TRANS- SIBERIAN RAILWAY
Enjoy a full day aboard the TransSiberian indulging in local customs and
culture and appreciating the vastness and
majesty of the changing landscape. Time
flies as you try calculating real time from
Moscow time,
participate in the
drama of station
stops, learn Russian
phrases, visit fellow
passengers, pour tea
from the elegant
Samovars and take meals in the dining car.
Breakfast ● Lunch ● Dinner
Overnight Trans-Siberian railway
Day 8 Wednesday 16 July
Day 12 Sunday 20 July
TRANS- SIBERIAN RAILWAY
A second full day aboard the legendary
Trans- Siberian sees you settling in to the
daily rhythms of life on board.
Breakfast ● Lunch ●Dinner
Overnight Trans-Siberian Railway