OPPOSITE PAGE: Enjoy
beautiful scenery on the
Seven Stars; take part in
wine masterclasses on
board the Great Southern
Rail. THIS PAGE: Indulge
in a scrumptious meal or
a cocktail at the Golden
Eagle’s restaurant and barsome of the world’s most challenging
landscapes. They traded silk, spices and
perfumes and these trade routes, stretching
6,400km, became known as the Silk Road.
Adventurers such as Alexander the Great
and Marco Polo also plied the Silk Road and
now you can follow in their footsteps, but
in a lot more comfort and style.
The Golden Eagle is Russia’s only fully
en-suite private train. It is well known for
the iconic Trans-Siberian route as well
as the epic 21-day Silk Road journey
through Central Asia. You can choose to
go westwards, beginning in Beijing and
ending in Moscow, or eastwards beginning
in Moscow. Three weeks on a train is a
long time, so you’ll be pleased to know the
accommodation is luxurious albeit small.
The Silver Class cabins are 60sqft and the
Gold Class are 77sqft, both with private
bathrooms, toilet and shower, and lower
double bed and an upper single bed.
The eastwards journey begins in Beijing,
taking in some of the key sights such as
Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and
the Great Wall. From there it is to Xian to
see the terracotta warriors and then on
to Dunhuang for a stop at an oasis in the
Gobi Desert. Enjoy the dramatic mountain
scenery as you cross the border into
Kazakhstan and spend a day exploring the
old city. The train travels slowly through
Uzbekistan, stopping to see mosques and
the magnificent Registan Square. There’s thechance to see the famous gas crater known
as the ‘Door to Hell’ in Turkmenistan’s
Karakum Desert and then onto the ancient
city of Khiva in Uzbekistan and through
Kazakhstan. The train reaches Moscow on
the 19th day and it’s a chance to switch from
sleeping in a carriage to the luxurious Ritz-
Carlton to take in the city’s sights.
http://www.goldeneagleluxurytrains.comNovember/December 2017 AsiaSpa 107