Advertisement
Published: October 8th 2007
Edit Blog Post
I left on the train from Moscow in the evening on Sunday 23rd Sep. The driver picked up another man, George, who was going to be on the same train as me. It turned out we were in the same cabin together as well. I am glad the driver helped us to the right platform and made sure we got onto the train, or god knows where I would have ended up. The one thing I found difficult in Moscow was the cyrrillic language, which makes no sense to people that speak the alphabet. An the Moscovites reluctance to help, or even attempt to help you is anything but gratifying.
I made myself at home on the train. It was me, George and two Germans called Holger and Thomas. They were funny chaps, their English was so-so and their hygiene was even worse. They slept in their clothes, got up, had them all day then slept in them again. They did this for 4 days and after a while they stank. I tried as much as I could to change clothes and keep fresh, as there is no shower or similar on board. I realise one is supposed to get
a bit grimey and rustic on this trip, and I am certainly not one that is afraid to get my hands dirty, but there has to be limit. Anyway, they were funny guys and we ended up spending time in the Russian dining car playing cards such as shithead and a German game called Mao- mao. Very funny! Time goes by quickly on the Trans- Siberian train. Mainly because you pass 5 time zones and lose 5 hours and so the days seem shorter. Mind you, the Germans slept almost all day because they drank the whole night and snored like pigs so I couldn't sleep. I was exhausted during the days, it can be tiring doing nothing sometimes. But I liked spending time alone, to read and write my diary or sometimes just look at the countryside. It was a good experience to have done it overland and I am pleased I did it.
After the train I arrived in Irkutsk and was taken by car to Bolshoe Goloustnoe, a village of 500 people by the shores of Lake Baikal. I stayed in a homestay, ie in someone's home, with another guy from Sheffield called Ewan. It was
The train (and me)
One of the times I actually got off the train. Think this was in Omsk..... only the two of us in the whole village that were tourists, which made it feel really good and calm. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in the world and it contains one 5th of the world's freshwater reserve. It is so clear that you can see up till 40 meters down. There are 544 rivers going into the lake, but only one leading from it, Angara river. In the beginning of the river is the large Shaman rock. Legend has it that Baikal had 544 sons but only one daughter. She fell in love with the Enisei river and tried to runaway. Baikal got so angry he through a rock at her but missed. Hence the rock that is now situated at the beginning of the river. The Angara river leads to her beloved Enisei river.
I spent three days by the river, hiking and having banyas. A banya is a steam bath that they have in wooden huts, and it's also the only means of cleaning yourself. The food that was prepared by my host, Galina, was lovely, but contained meat. The word vegetarian does not exist in Siberia, they could not survive without meat.
I also spent two days in Irkutsk, the city itself. I stayed in a homestay with a single lady with cats (read: spinster). She was lovely, but quite messy. I was just happy to have a proper shower (strange how those things can make one happy when you're travelling). Mainly because I had gotten a bit of a cold whilst on the train, so I stayed in to cure myself and finish my book. I knew I was going to be on a local service between Irkutsk and Ulaan Baatar, and I also knew that none of the people I had met was on the same train as me. It was quite a frightening thought to be alone again, after being with other people for almost a week. Most of the people I had met so far had booked their trip through the Russia Experience and it just so happened that we had the same ground handlers in pretty much all destinations we went to, which meant we kept on bumping into one another.
I am fearing the border crossing, I've heard it's quite tedious......will let you know what happens.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.106s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 41; dbt: 0.0536s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Evaliz
non-member comment
Hej!
Hej eva! Vilken spännande resa du verkar göra! Häftigt att åka transsibiriska, det har jag alltid velat göra. Vad roligt med mattlägenheten! ha det fantastiskt! kram evaliz