After leaving Riga our next stop was Poland - first stop Warsaw. We stayed in a Youth Hostel which of course was up on 4th floor (these hostels always seem to be upstairs). We dumped our gear, had a shower and headed out to check out Warsaw - did the usual initial wander around taking photos but we were quite tired after the overnight bus ride - not much sleep!! Next day we headed off looking for various monuments and then went to a palace with a huge park. There were peacocks everywhere and eveyone was trying to get their photos with their tails up. We managed to get a couple. We also saw squirrels running around and ate a very tasty waffle with cherries and cream - yum. Next stop was Krakow and the trip ... read more

St Petersburg onwards OK guys - here's the latest update. I believe I left you having got the Red Arrow to St Petersburg. Before I head into the next section, let me just give you a quick overview of the journey so far. China - high - Great Wall - we did Mutianu but the better one to do is where you walk one of the old sections for about 4kms. The section we did was one of the more touristy parts and had been restored. Still a fantastic thing to see though. Lows - the smog and the heat. Quirky saying - Lady, Lady, you wan ride in Hutong? Mongolia - high - staying out in the Gers and doing the horseriding even though it was bloody freezing. People were absolutely lovely - UB was ... read more

After all the hassles of buying the tickets it was incredibly easy to catch the train. We left the hostel at 6.30am and were at the station by 7am. Found the platform easily and the train and our bunks - we had hoped to have the four bunks to ourselves but there was already a norwegian installed. We got ourselves set up and the train pulled away from the station. There's not a lot to do on the train - we looked out the window for a while, had a bit of a sleep and checked out the dining car. The food left a lot to be desired - we thought we'd hit lucky when we got two meal vouchers - wrong!! Lunch was carrot and celery, rice and a few bits of meat in gravy ... read more