On 23 October, after a church service in
Gatchina, the Tsesarevich went by train via
Vienna to
Trieste where he boarded the
cruiser Pamiat Azova (
Memory of Azov). This route was selected because of probable diplomatic difficulties with the
Ottoman Empire, which wanted to keep the straits of
Bosporus and
Dardanelles closed. From Trieste the expedition came to the port
Piraeus, where Nicholas met his uncle King
George I of Greece and his
godmother Queen
Olga of Greece, born a Grand Duchess of Russia. Their son
Prince George of Greece and Denmark was included into the flagship's crew as an officer. From
Greece the Tsesarevich sailed to
Port Said in
Egypt. While his ship passed through the
Suez Canal, Nicholas with his retinue travelled along the
Nile, going upriver to
Aswan. From Suez, they went to
Aden. On 11 December, they arrived in
Bombay where Nicholas started a long trans-
Indian trip, which ended in
Colombo,
Ceylon. In India, Nicholas visited many important places, including the
Taj Mahal and the
Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple) and bought numerous exotic works of art, later transferred to several Russian museums. ,
India, 1890. with
Crown Prince Maha Vajirunhis (left) and
King Chulalongkorn (right), March 1891 Leaving Ceylon on 31 January, the expedition continued to
Singapore, the island of
Java in
Dutch East Indies and
Bangkok. In
Siam the future Emperor spent a week as a guest of King
Rama V. Nicholas received an Order and precious gifts. On 13 March, he reached
Hankow in
China, where he visited tea plantations and factories. On 15 April 1891, accompanied by six ships of the
Imperial Russian Navy, Nicholas arrived in the
Empire of Japan. The Russian Pacific Fleet with the Tsesarevich first called on
Kagoshima, then
Nagasaki, and then
Kobe. From Kobe, the Tsesarevich went to
Kyoto, where he was met by a delegation headed by
Prince Arisugawa Taruhito. Prince Nicholas showed interest in the Japanese traditional crafts, had a dragon-shaped
tattoo on his right forearm, and bought an ornamental hairpin for a Japanese passer-by. On 29 April,
in Ōtsu, he was attacked by one of the Japanese police escort. The Japanese government apologised profusely, and
Emperor Meiji himself came to accompany Nicholas back to the Russian ships. in 1891, in honour of the visiting Tsarevich On 7 May Nicholas left Kobe, and four days later arrived in
Vladivostok, where he accomplished the official part of his mission. This leg of the journey was on the steam yacht St George of the
Royal Yacht Squadron in the company of its owner, Ernest Wythes, of
Copped Hall. He then returned across the entire length of Russia back to
Saint Petersburg. He travelled overland and by river boat via
Khabarovka,
Blagoveshchensk,
Nerchinsk,
Chita,
Irkutsk,
Tomsk,
Surgut,
Tobolsk,
Tara,
Omsk, and
Orenburg, and then returned by train to
St. Petersburg. A number of Siberian cities erected triumphal arches to celebrate the visit of the future emperor.
Timeline • : departure from
Gatchina; • : departure from
Trieste; • –: visiting of
Egypt; • : arrival to
Bombay; • –: voyage in
India • Bombay; •
Agra; •
Lahore; •
Amritsar; •
Benares; •
Calcutta; • Bombay; •
Madras; • : arrival to
Ceylon; • : departure from
Colombo; • : arrival to
Bangkok; • : departure from
Bangkok; • : arrival to
Hong Kong; • : arrival to
Wuhan • : arrival to
Nagasaki,
Japan; • :
Otsu Scandal; • : celebration of the 23rd birthday of Nicholas in
Osaka; • : departure from
Kobe; • : arrival to
Vladivostok; • : departure from Vladivostok; • : arrival to
St. Petersburg; ==Significance==