Part 1 is at http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=93644
Thu 2013-09-19
Suburban train from my flat in the 20th district to Vienna-Schwechat airport:
After checkin for my LOT-flight to Warszawa my friend Oliver (who booked a flight from Zurich via Warszawa to Beijing, we planned to fly together from Warszawa to Beijing) called me and told me that he just got the message from LOT that our flight from Warszawa to Beijing was cancelled.
I immediately contacted the service staff at Vienna airport. They confirmed the cancellation (probably it was due to technical problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which should have operated that flight), but fortunately they could re-book me to another flight with Lufthansa and Air China via Frankfurt. Oliver's alternative route was a Swiss nonstop-flight from Zurich to Beijing. Fortunately LOT belongs to a big alliance (Star Alliance), so it was no problem for us get to Beijing using other Star Alliance members.
Vienna marshalling yard as seen from the plane:
At Frankfurt airport:
Air China to Beijing:
Across Russia:
The entertainment system also offered some touristic information about Pyongyang (Air China has direct flights to Pyongyang):
The flight was OK, but I didn't sleep at all. No wonder, we landed at Beijing at 05h15 local time, that's only 23h15 local time in Austria.
Fri 2013-09-20
Monorail connecting the terminals at Beijing airport:
At the baggage claim we had to find out, that our luggage didn't make it to Beijing, obviously due to the change of our itinerary at very short notice.
We had to go to the lost luggage office, where we were told that our luggage would arrive the next day. We had to do some paperwork and hoped that the luggage would really arrive and be delivered to our hostel. As the direct Vienna-Beijing flight, with which my luggage would be transported, only arrives at 9h00 and we had our train to Pyongyang leaving at 17h27 on the same day, I was a little bit afraid, that this might not work... next time I will take the train again!
We then took a taxi to our hostel (Beijing Downtown Backpacker Hostel):
We had breakfast there and as we were very tired, we got some hours of sleep after our room was available. We both have been to Beijing two times before, so we were not feeling that we miss something, if we wouldn't do any sightseeing.
In the evening we had a welcome dinner organized by Juche Travel Services. The welcome dinner was held in a North Korean restaurant (Haedanghwa restaurant). We went there by underground.
We had the opportunity to get to know our fellow tour members and also some final details about the trip were told, as well as the "Dos and Don'ts while in North Korea. And the final payment of the tour was done here (in EUR cash), for those of us who didn't transfer the open balance before (300 EUR had to be transfered when applying for the tour).
Spending holidays in North Korea isn't cheap - but an unique experience:
Of course we also enyojed a music show by beautiful North Korean singers at the restaurant (similar performances are usual in North Korean restaurants outside the country - see my video of the restaurant Pyongyang in Vladivostok, which I've visited in 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqcKKwa2jdI)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfGlKpoJjHo&feature=youtu.be
Sat 2013-09-20
Fortunately our luggage was delivered to the hostel at lunch time.
A walk in the neighborhood of our hostel:
In the afternoon we took a taxi to the train station. Before meeting our group I picked up the tickets for our later trips from Shenyang to Harbin and then to Heihe. We have bought them from http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/ and they booked online-tickets for us, which we had to exchange for paper tickets at any station in China.
Beijing train station:
Ticket hall:
I queued at one of the lines for a few minutes; getting the tickets was quite easy, alltough I don't speak any Chinese and the ticket officer didn't speak any English. An interesting feature of the ticket counters were some buttons, with which the passenger could rate the service quality (by pressing one of them). There were four or five buttons (from "poor" to "very good", it was written also in English) - some kind of "on the spot feedback".
Online tickets:
Actual paper tickets:
Inside Beijing station:
The K27 is our train:
The sleeping cars for Pyongyang are provided by the North Korean State Railway:
Oliver and me in front of our sleeping car to Pyongyang:
Train Y509/510 from Qinhuangdao:
Our train tickets - we were 16 and had 2 tickets with group discount (one ticket for 10 of us, one for the other 6):
Ticket no 1 - passenger information sheet (not official part of the actual ticket):
Ticket cover:
Route ticket:
Sleeper reservation:
...and the same for ticket no 2:
The timetable:
We left Beijing on time.
Just after leaving Beijing station:
Corridor of the North Korean sleeping car (with 4-bed-compartments):
In the evening we had dinner at the Chinese restaurant car.
Sat 2013-09-21
I slept well during the night. In the morning we were approaching the Chinese border town Dandong. Here a new (highspeed?) line is being built - or is it a new road?
We arrived at Dandong station at 7h53 - about 35 minutes late.
We copuld get off and walk on the platform for a while. Only the last two cars are going to Pyongyang. The rest of the train is just for domestic travel within China. However, the Beijing - Pyongyang cars were coupled to some Dandong - Pyongyang cars (1 Korean luggage car, 1 Korean sleeping car, 2 Chinese hard-sleeper cars), so it's a train of about 6 cars, which crosses the border.
Chinese diesel engine:
After some shunting - that's the train which will go to Pyongyang:
Korean diesel locomotive no. 103:
Korean luggage car:
Korean sleeping car:
One of two Chinese hard-slepper cars Dandong - Pyongyang:
Finally we had to get on the train again for the Chinese border formalities. This took about 40 minutes.
We left Dandong at 10h15 Chinese time (11h15 Korean time), so we were 15 minutes late.
Crossing the Yalu river into North Korea:
....to be continued!
Thu 2013-09-19
Suburban train from my flat in the 20th district to Vienna-Schwechat airport:
After checkin for my LOT-flight to Warszawa my friend Oliver (who booked a flight from Zurich via Warszawa to Beijing, we planned to fly together from Warszawa to Beijing) called me and told me that he just got the message from LOT that our flight from Warszawa to Beijing was cancelled.
I immediately contacted the service staff at Vienna airport. They confirmed the cancellation (probably it was due to technical problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which should have operated that flight), but fortunately they could re-book me to another flight with Lufthansa and Air China via Frankfurt. Oliver's alternative route was a Swiss nonstop-flight from Zurich to Beijing. Fortunately LOT belongs to a big alliance (Star Alliance), so it was no problem for us get to Beijing using other Star Alliance members.
Vienna marshalling yard as seen from the plane:
At Frankfurt airport:
Air China to Beijing:
Across Russia:
The entertainment system also offered some touristic information about Pyongyang (Air China has direct flights to Pyongyang):
The flight was OK, but I didn't sleep at all. No wonder, we landed at Beijing at 05h15 local time, that's only 23h15 local time in Austria.
Fri 2013-09-20
Monorail connecting the terminals at Beijing airport:
At the baggage claim we had to find out, that our luggage didn't make it to Beijing, obviously due to the change of our itinerary at very short notice.
We had to go to the lost luggage office, where we were told that our luggage would arrive the next day. We had to do some paperwork and hoped that the luggage would really arrive and be delivered to our hostel. As the direct Vienna-Beijing flight, with which my luggage would be transported, only arrives at 9h00 and we had our train to Pyongyang leaving at 17h27 on the same day, I was a little bit afraid, that this might not work... next time I will take the train again!
We then took a taxi to our hostel (Beijing Downtown Backpacker Hostel):
We had breakfast there and as we were very tired, we got some hours of sleep after our room was available. We both have been to Beijing two times before, so we were not feeling that we miss something, if we wouldn't do any sightseeing.
In the evening we had a welcome dinner organized by Juche Travel Services. The welcome dinner was held in a North Korean restaurant (Haedanghwa restaurant). We went there by underground.
We had the opportunity to get to know our fellow tour members and also some final details about the trip were told, as well as the "Dos and Don'ts while in North Korea. And the final payment of the tour was done here (in EUR cash), for those of us who didn't transfer the open balance before (300 EUR had to be transfered when applying for the tour).
Spending holidays in North Korea isn't cheap - but an unique experience:
Of course we also enyojed a music show by beautiful North Korean singers at the restaurant (similar performances are usual in North Korean restaurants outside the country - see my video of the restaurant Pyongyang in Vladivostok, which I've visited in 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqcKKwa2jdI)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfGlKpoJjHo&feature=youtu.be
Sat 2013-09-20
Fortunately our luggage was delivered to the hostel at lunch time.
A walk in the neighborhood of our hostel:
In the afternoon we took a taxi to the train station. Before meeting our group I picked up the tickets for our later trips from Shenyang to Harbin and then to Heihe. We have bought them from http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/ and they booked online-tickets for us, which we had to exchange for paper tickets at any station in China.
Beijing train station:
Ticket hall:
I queued at one of the lines for a few minutes; getting the tickets was quite easy, alltough I don't speak any Chinese and the ticket officer didn't speak any English. An interesting feature of the ticket counters were some buttons, with which the passenger could rate the service quality (by pressing one of them). There were four or five buttons (from "poor" to "very good", it was written also in English) - some kind of "on the spot feedback".
Online tickets:
Actual paper tickets:
Inside Beijing station:
The K27 is our train:
The sleeping cars for Pyongyang are provided by the North Korean State Railway:
Oliver and me in front of our sleeping car to Pyongyang:
Train Y509/510 from Qinhuangdao:
Our train tickets - we were 16 and had 2 tickets with group discount (one ticket for 10 of us, one for the other 6):
Ticket no 1 - passenger information sheet (not official part of the actual ticket):
Ticket cover:
Route ticket:
Sleeper reservation:
...and the same for ticket no 2:
The timetable:
We left Beijing on time.
Just after leaving Beijing station:
Corridor of the North Korean sleeping car (with 4-bed-compartments):
In the evening we had dinner at the Chinese restaurant car.
Sat 2013-09-21
I slept well during the night. In the morning we were approaching the Chinese border town Dandong. Here a new (highspeed?) line is being built - or is it a new road?
We arrived at Dandong station at 7h53 - about 35 minutes late.
We copuld get off and walk on the platform for a while. Only the last two cars are going to Pyongyang. The rest of the train is just for domestic travel within China. However, the Beijing - Pyongyang cars were coupled to some Dandong - Pyongyang cars (1 Korean luggage car, 1 Korean sleeping car, 2 Chinese hard-sleeper cars), so it's a train of about 6 cars, which crosses the border.
Chinese diesel engine:
After some shunting - that's the train which will go to Pyongyang:
Korean diesel locomotive no. 103:
Korean luggage car:
Korean sleeping car:
One of two Chinese hard-slepper cars Dandong - Pyongyang:
Finally we had to get on the train again for the Chinese border formalities. This took about 40 minutes.
We left Dandong at 10h15 Chinese time (11h15 Korean time), so we were 15 minutes late.
Crossing the Yalu river into North Korea:
....to be continued!
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