Blogs from Siberia, Russia, Europe - page 13

We loaded up with instant noodles, baby wipes and beer and headed to Moscow train station for our longest leg on the Trans-Siberian railway (“railroad” for all our new USA friends :)) not quite knowing what the next 75 hours held in store. We shared our cabin with two Russians, a guy called “Timos” who spoke no English at all and a girl called “Shaska” who spoke some English... first few hours where pretty awkward but after Timos shared his vodka with us we become best of buds! We already knew about 10 people traveling with us we’d meet along the way at hostels, so we spent most of our time in the dinning cart playing cards, drinking beer & vodka shots (when in Rome...), eating caviar – uuuugggghhhh, and watching Russia turn into Siberia, the ... read more

"Don't go to Tuva. I heard its full of drunks sometimes they attack tourists." We hear these words for the first time when we arrive in Vladivostok from a fellow backpacker who has just ridden his motorbike across Russia. "Don't go to Tuva. They don't know how to handle their alcohol and they often attack Russians. You won't be safe there. " says Luba, our masseuse in Abakan. "Don't go to Tuva. They drink too much and kill each other" lecture a number of locals in Abakan, the capital of Khakassia the bordering Russian region to Tuva. Firstly where is this Tuva they speak of? A region in Russia, in southern Siberia, Tuva is located near the geographic centre of Asia. The historic region of Tannu Uriankhaai of which Tuva was apart was under Mongol control ... read more

Day 46 – Wednesday 1st August 2012 to Day 57 – Sunday 12th August 2012. Hello from Russia Comrades……. These last 14 days have seen us cover 5 times zones across the largest country in the world to now only be 1 hour behind Australia (East Coast Time). We travelled 5,990kms (let’s call it 6,000km) from St Petersburg to Irkutsk via Moscow on our first leg of the Trans-Mongolian railway. Leg 2 is from Irkutsk, Russia to Ulaanbaatar, UB for short, in Mongolia and the final stage is from UB to Beijing, China. The Trans-Siberian remains in Russia the entire journey from St Petersburg all the way to Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan. The actual trains the ‘Trans-Mongolian’ and the ‘Trans-Siberian’ don’t actually exist unlike the ‘Orient Express’, the ‘Ghan’ and the ‘Indian Pacific’. They ... read more

The guides aren't drunk, the sun is out, there's hardly a breeze in the air and were all sitting in a Russian minivan. We're traveling to the north part of the island, having managed to successfully secure some sober tour guides. The cape itself is ominous and surrounded by white cliffs. It is due to these cliffs that the cape received its ominous name as Khoboy means white fang in Buryat. The cliffs act like a fortress to the island and provide the best views of the Maloe and Bolshoi sea. On the way to the Northern part of the islands we stop at the three brothers rocks. The three brothers are all sons of Father Baikal and were turned into beautiful stones for disobeying their father. At the northern part of the island, Angelique meets ... read more

"I'm sorry your tour guide got drunk last night so your tour has been cancelled." Natalie looks at me defeated by the situation. She is exhausted. Exhausted with having to work seven days a week, deal with tourists all day long and local tour guides getting drunk and not showing up for their shifts. "That's Ok" I reply. "How about a horse riding tour around the island?" I ask. "Horse riding tour?" Mum chimes in realising what's about to happen. "I've never been horse riding. Lets go for no more the 2 hours." Two hours I think to myself, that's nothing on a horse. Like a small trail ride. "Ok mum will go for 2 hours the rest of us are happy to go all day." I say,and I note that Ange and two other Russians ... read more