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Hi from Moscow we arrived yesterday after 5 nights and 6 days on the train.The good news is that we are still talking - well at least James is still listening! Our only incident was at the Sino Soviet border when James discovered his US trip was booked on the wrong dates. No one on the train had Internet. James asked this Czech-Soviet if he could make a phonecall on his mobile to Hong Kong. This did not work but the guy phoned a Russian concrete contractor at the border post. The train was anchored for three hrs. as they have to change the undercarriage due to a difference in rail gauge between China and Russia. This car arrived with a big Russian driver and he said he would only take the Czech and James and would not take me. I asked James for his money belt ( no use dying on a full money belt!) and away he went to get Internet access. As soon as James was gone I thought the worst. After an hour no sign of James. There was a Russian soldier on the platform with a pistol in his belt and he looked the type that
would not be afraid to use it. I thought of creeping up on him from in front and asking him to help but they don't even speak pidgin English in those parts. In fact I don't think anyone in Eastern Russia has anything to do with English or Englishers. I had taken down the reg of the car but I now reckoned it was only good for recovering the body through the Australian Consulate. So what was I to do? Take the train? Hang around in this godforesaken El Paso where there was no overnight accommodation? Go to the next city? Jump in front of the train?
Then in my darkest hour James reappeared in time for the 8900km train trip. The Soviet guy had a tiny office (that was why he didn't want
to take me as well in the car). James got his email away and was very happy. It was a scary situation. James bought me a beer afterwards in the train to settle me down. He even had a glass himself!
And so we trundled across Siberia. At least we had given up chop sticks after two weeks of that carry on. We moved across the
northern border of Mongolia and on to Lake Bakail which holds 20% of the world's fresh water. It was still frozen over. We travelled along it's southern border for hours on end and finally sopped at Irkutsk - now there's a town if you want to get away from it all. Brief stops and onwards and onwards forever westward through snow and frozen lakes, across the Steppes and into the fantastic silver birch and pine forests that stretch forever. Little wooden villages so isolated and old. All we needed was Dr Zchivago and Julie Christie to complete the photo album.
There were only a handful of Westerners on the train. There were none in our carriage. We had two North Koreans in the cabin next door. They couldn't speak pidgin and looked like army officers. They kindly gave us some lovely tourist type brochures on N Korea featuring their symphony orchestra, some fancy high rise buildings and attractive scenery. Any of you that are interested please contact me when, and if, I ever get home.
I don't really want to get into toilet talk about the trains but I did ask James why the stainless steel toilet seats have studs around the bowl when you lift the lid- an arrangement even I have not been privy to in previous adventures. Apparently you climb up on the bowl while the train is moving and the studs stop your feet slipping. I think this technique was employed by the N Koreans as thet are quite small and of acrobatic disposition. I better not be anymore descriptive lest I lose my female readership.
Food was interesting on the train. We did the chop stick thing with sweet and sour whatever to the border and then it changed radically with our new Russian chef, a big fat smoker that stunk of vodka and cleaned his kitchen with dirty rags. He could't understand why we stayed in our cabin and dined on spam and kitty cat in preference to gourmet omelets and stew to the tune of his very loud catchy Russian
music collection.
And so the days and weeks and years went by as James and I adjusted to life in the train gulag. We washed ourselves in handbasins with flannels. Like submariners we breathed each others air and listened to gentle snores and fidgets during the Siberian nights. We talked of distant loved ones and past loves (dogs and cats of course).
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Winnie
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Hi Brian, Just got your latest blog. Love reading them but don't always have access to laptop. You are having great fun!!!! Have had an absolutely wonderful time in Sydney. Off to Shanghai on Tuesday and then home next Saturday. We will write more then. Love, Winnie