3 days and 4 nights - that’s how long it took to get to Irkutsk on board the Baikal express. Plaskarte (3rd class) is the class that most Russian travellers use and most guidebooks warn you to avoid, describing it as resembling a refugee camp after several days onboard. In plaskarte you have a bunk bed and the cabin is open plan, so that all the passengers can move about freely. In each section, there are 6 beds, separated by partitions. Sharing our compartment, were 4 women, Kalina, Oxanna, Alex, and Oliba. Oxanna (18) had been on holiday to Moldova with her brother and was returning home. Alex (27) was on her way to meet her fiancés parents, and was visiting Irkutsk for the first time. As for Kalina and Oliba, we didn’t really learn their
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