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Published: September 22nd 2007
Jaroslavskij Station
Our starting point in Moscow.11.55pm we start our journey from Jaroslavskij Station - Train No.20, it's gotta be better.
Loaded up with pot noodles, cuppa soups and biscuits, we boarded the Trans Siberian Express, hoping against hope that it it wasn't anything like the Plaz-Carts train - It wasn't.
Four berth cabin sharing with Russians, our home for the next six and a half days.
Met Victor and Vovol, russian vodka drinkers who were fond of the dried fish the ladies on the stations sold.
They were also fond of Skim who they followed around the train and attempted to teach her russian (Much to their amusement)
This helped to break the monotomy of the journey.
I think they learnt more english than Skim did russian.
Even though their english was limited we were able to have lots of laughs.
After the first 2 days of looking at trees, the country side changed for the better.
Small villages, hills and rivers.
Then the big cities, on the outskirts were the wooden shacks and garages (a bit like shanty towns).
At each stop there were old ladies plying their goods from bags
Oh the comfort!!!
My bed for the next 6 days...
Yeah.. I made Skim take the top bunk. Tee Hee and boxes.
We were thankful to see them as pot noodles were quickly losing their appeal.
With the help of Vovol and Victor, we managed to find some tasty treats.
With only unlimited hot water available on the train, you are limited to what you can eat.
Although we did venture down to the restaurant carriage on the second day, but we found the food was not that good.
(Felt we would be safer with the noodles).
On the fourth day we passed through a tunnel and Baikal lake came into sight - A sight to behold.
This lake is enormous and freezes over in winter - They used to run the train track over it in winter until they started to loose a few trains.
At our next station we lost our friends Vovol and Victor.
Vovol was met by has girlfriend and mother who he hadn't seen for four weeks,
We were able to say hello to them before our train pulled away again.
New women cabin mates joined us for the rest of our journey (Russian again, but not so friendly).
Also a british tour
Our Corridor
Welcome to our home... group boarded to complete their journey to Beijing after spending some time in Irkutsk.
It was great to hear english voices again and have a chat instead of using sign language.
They told us a couple of their group had been robbed of a lot of cash on the first leg of their journey.
Fortunately we were with a good group of people on our journey.
On the fifth day we hit the Russian border control.
We were able to walk about, visit a few shops, but it was dusty, dirty and full of flies - so you didn't want to buy anything unless it was shrink wrapped.
We were able to watch as the wheels on the trains were changed to smaller gauge ones.
That killed a bit of time.....
8 hours later...........
After being searched, stamped and questioned, we left for the Chinese border.
We hit the Chinese border soon after. What a difference.. ......
So friendy, clean, lovely waiting area with a market selling fresh fruit and food.
There was a market upstairs selling alsorts from T shirts to suitcases.
We made out like
Taking in the view
Oh! They provide a fold down seat... Joy joy bandits and loaded up with tasty fruit etc, then headed back to our cabin for a feast.
3 hours later.............
We continued our journey into the the bright lights of China.
In the morning all we could see were drills for miles around, pumping oil.
Then came the paddy fields, then fields of corn with little villages here and there.
Then vast cities, with their bright neon lights.
All to soon, we arrived at our destination, on time and ready for the next part of our adventure.
Lesson of the day, Pot noodles are horrible.
During our trip we consumed;
3 pot noodles and 2 cuppa soups each - God forbid if we ever have to face these ever again.
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Jane
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Brief Encounter - NOT!
Wonderful pics of wonderful experiences! If we place our slipper orders with you, can you bring back a wide selection of colours for us here??? Just a thought... Keep on keeping on! We all need a fix of your blog here as we slide into autumn. Need any spinach??