Day #47: A day on the Trans-Siberian railway

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The train journey I took from Novosibirsk to Irkutsk was 32 hours long: a night, then a full day on the train, then another night and arrive in Irkutsk early morning. This was the longest train journey I plan to make, at least as far as I have planned ahead!

Apart from sleeping, I occupied the day with reading, staring out of the window, eating and listening to music. I enjoyed it for the first few hours but then started getting a bit stir crazy around 4pm in the afternoon. There was only one other person in my kupe carriage, an older Russian lady who spoke no English, so we traveled along in comfortable silence, or so I thought, until she started playing "Troublemaker" by Taio Cruz on repeat on her phone. After 15 or so listens she asked me if I knew about the radio (all Trans-Siberian carriages have their own music, for some reason, and the volume is controlled within the carriage) and proceeded to turn it up to maximum volume. The bass practically shook the carriage. The music was strange too - lots of Europop interspersed with the occasional Rat Pack-style crooner (in Russian). After about half an hour I had to go and stand elsewhere.

I did then manage to have a 30-minute conversation in Russian (slow and simple Russian) with the same woman, and we ended the journey on friendly terms. I can't say I will miss the long train journeys though: I have met people who did the entire journey from Moscow to Irkutsk without stopping (a journey of 3 1/2 days) and absolutely loved it, but for me 24 hours is about the maximum I can tolerate.

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