Random thoughts from Moscow

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So it's been a while since we last blogged, but we have not been idle. There's a lot we could say, but some will have to wait until a later date. For now, some random thoughts from Moscow.

Throughout our travels, the trans-siberian railway has been our friend. We hop on, we stay for a day or so, and we hop off. It has also been at times a gruelling experience.

Beijing to Mongolia was our first experience of the train, and it was exciting and romantic. We travelled first class, so there were only 2 of us in the compartment. We bought scrummy instant noodles from our hostel in Beijing and added hot water from the boiler which each carriage is required to have. Delicious! In the next compartment were 4 athletic looking types in team GB track suits. Most exciting.

Ulan Bator to Irkutsk was also first class travel, in other words we had a compartment to ourselves. Hardships were creeping in nevertheless, such as the 5 hour wait at the border, the toilet being locked for this time, and the lack of a restaurant car. We had our instant noodles so we thought we would be fine. But several days in Mongolia eating nothing but mutton had left our stomachs feeling rather fragile, and instant noodles rapidly lost there appeal.

From Irkutsk onwards we travelled second class to save money, which meant sharing a 4 berth compartment. As we were breaking our journey so often, we were no longer on tourist trains, but on local trains with Russians for companions. We had a number of companions and it was always interesting to see who we would get. There was the lovely Sergei from Irkutsk who talked to us non-stop in part Russian part English. He told us all about his life and asked us about ours. He shared his fresh blackcurrants with us, and told us how beautiful the Siberian countryside is in winter. At minus 30 degrees C he says it is not cold at all and somehow convinced us to do the journey again in winter. Then there was Mr Grumpy who made up his bed on the bottom bunk so that we could not sit on it, then disappeared for most of the journey. He seemed decidedly unimpressed at sharing the compartment with a couple of foreigners. Most were somewhere in between - polite, friendly, but acknowledging the communication barrier and left us to our own devices for most of the journey.

For the last leg of the journey we travelled Russian style 3rd class. This means a whole carriage crammed floor to ceiling with bunks, maybe one hundred in a carriage. We both had top bunks, and once you are in there is no room to move. Fine if you are sleeping, but the bunks are there all day too, and there is nowhere to sit. Luckily it was only an 8 hour journey, and being rich foreigners we were able to go and kill time in the buffet car.

The train has been sometimes basic, but like an old friend. Every time we have had to get off, it has been partly with a sense of relief, and partly also with a sense of fear for leaving the secure and comforting environment. I'm sad that our train travels are over, but also quite relieved not to be getting back on that train for now.

If you do the journey end to end without getting off it takes around 6 days. We both agree that is far too long to be confined on a train. Unless of course it is mid-winter and too cold to get off. Our train journey is only just over, but we are already dreaming of taking the train again mid-winter and visiting Lake Baikal when it is frozen over.

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