I re-edited this post to enter The Daily Telegraph’s “Just Back” competition. It subsequently became selected in the best monthly blog feature at Lonely Planet.I woke with a jolt to the bright daylight streaming through my frozen compartment window on the train bound for Vladivostok. Outside there are snow-covered trees illuminated by the low winter sun as far as the eye can see. As I head down the carriage to make a cup of coffee I pass a Russian boy travelling with his mother. He smiles at me and tells me in perfect English “it’s a beautiful forest”. It’s probably […]
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I have had far too short a stay in Vladivostok. Thanks to some faultless organisation by my local agent, I was off the train, cleaned up and having dinner in my Korean hotel “nightclub” within an hour of arriving at the city’s historic station. The Rouble exchange rate allowed me to have a blow out meal with much beer for £25. But the perils of wifi meant I was up for several hours, and despite staying in a very comfy bed I only managed about three hours sleep. Priority number one the following morning (after a reasonable breakfast) was to […]
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Slightly cruelly for my sleep, the longest stop of this journey – some 43 minutes – was at 07.43 this morning at the city of Khabarovsk. This marks the eastern most point of the journey, as we now travel mainly south and two degrees west towards Vladivostok. It’s at this moment that I get the map out and realise the progress of my journey. From Moscow to here is 9289 km. I then add the 3962 km from Edinburgh to Moscow, so 13250 km so far. In longitude this is 135 degrees round the world, taking me to GMT +10. […]
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I finished up last night visiting Taeguan in the plaskart wagon after dinner. It’s another world – a hot, hot place where people speak in hushed tones, drink vodka and live together with very little personal space. It looked clean and tidy though. Eating in the restaurant remains a little unpredictable. There can be random shortages of key foods, so you need to work out how best to play it. No great drama with my chicken dinner, other than a small fire that set off the alarm when Chef tries to make me some fried potatoes (which turn out like […]
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I managed to haul myself out of bed and complete my ablutions before we arrived into Khilok this morning. Outside it is bright and sunny, but of course a tad chilly. The platform is perilously narrow and heavily loaded train rumbles by inches from your feet. There seems to be a lot less banging of the underside of the train today. My guess is that the problem comes from loose snow forming into compacted ice. There is probably less snow around now, as it is too cold and dry. I have noticed though that the carriage brakes have started to snatch a bit, […]
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It’s been a great end to the day, but tinged with sadness as we say goodbye to Alex here, who is getting off to spend a couple of days exploring Lake Baikal before travelling on to Vladivostok. He has been a welcome member of our 002 Trainspotting Club. It’s properly cold now. As you breathe the air you feel it drying out your windpipe and chilling any unwrapped extremities pretty fast. I haven’t seen a thermometer this evening, but will keep an eye out. Last year I encountered – 38 C here, but it’s nothing like that tonight, maybe – […]
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I’m a bit annoyed with myself this morning. My plan was to rise early in time for our 22 minute stop in Ilanskaya. Today is devoid of any long daylight stops so I thought it would be a good start to the day. But at 03.13 Moscow time (but 07.13 local) it was still dark and I lacked the self motivation to leave my comfy berth. This is a very subtle form of torture as you have to continually refer to two time zones growing further apart – it’s not like going on a foreign holiday and just changing your […]
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There is a kind of long distance trainspotting club that now forms on the platform outside of carriage no 7. We don’t have much in common – other than a shared experience of coping with life on the train. The English speaking members of the club are currently just Taegeun, Alex and myself. We are actively recruiting though. Other potential members of the club are a young Russian girl (always dressed in a tracksuit) who sometimes has dinner in the restaurant, and a middle aged, middle class, Russian couple with who I’m now on “Dobroye Utro” terms – that’s “Good […]
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Morning! 06.53 Moscow time. Happy Christmas from Barabinsk, where it’s lightly snowing but pretty warm at -3 C. I didn’t plan to be in Barabinsk on Christmas morning, but that’s only way to make my connection with the ship in Vladivostok.. I’m doing my best to be Christmassy here today, but it’s a fairly solitary experience. “Official Train Christmas” is actually not until next week, as the Russian Orthodox Church has varying dates. I have a bottle of Russian champagnski on ice and also some mince pies (Marks & Spencer’s finest!). Chef has cooked me some chicken but I’m getting all excited […]
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I am led to believe that Yekaterinburg is one of the great railway stations of Siberia. I’m winding my watch on an hour a day after two hours forward yesterday, so 15.00 Moscow time, and it’s dark.. I’m at 18.00 local, which means I can now visit the restaurant carriage (aka “Robin’s Nest”) for a cold Zhiguli beer. They are playing some mildly irritatingly middle of the road rock music. We have stopped only three times today, just once in daylight. Most of the stops are for 22 minutes, I assume that this is to facilitate a locomotive change, to […]
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