PIne forests, shimmering lakes, forests of birch trees, marshy bogs and open prairies of shrubs, flowers and wildlife; this is Siberia!! A land known for it bone-chilling winters, harsh living conditions and it's untamed wilderness. One of the most open areas in the world, with vast amounts of wildlife found nowhere else in the world and a dark history of exile and human suffering. Why am I here, you might ask, well, because why not, it is there, so I might as well see it.

The truth is, I have wanted to ride the Trans Siberian Railway ever since my last trip to Russia in 2006. I talked to a lot of people in my hostel and they were taking the trip. It aroused my curiosity and so I started to do a little research on it. The more I looked into the more I found that I sounded like an extremely interesting and exciting trip. It is one of longest train trip in the world, through one of the most vast areas and in the largest country in the world.

In America, we are used to flying for long distances and hardly ever think about train travel. I never really thought about it until my first trip to Europe in 2004. That's when I realized just how nice and convenient train travel can be. It is so easy to jump from country to country in Europe because of it's extensive train systems. Due to that experience, I have always like train travel and so a long distance train in Russia, just sounded like so much fun. Besides, trains are cheaper and more comfortable than flying. They do take longer, but that is also what can make them so enjoyable. You don't have to be in a rush and can just relax.

Traditionally the Trans Siberian Railway runs from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean and takes a whopping 6 days to complete. Some people will do the whole 6 days without bathing an eye, but I believe that most will break up their journey by stopping at different cities along the way. Which is what I have done. However, stopping in Vladimir, Kazan and Yekaterinburg does break up the trip, but also makes me feel like I am not actually on the Trans Siberian journey, just hopping around Russia. Now, I am on a trip from Yekaterinburg to Irkutsk, which takes 50+ hours, and I definitely feel like I am on the Transsiberian.

Once I get to Irkutsk, however, I will be leaving the traditional route and heading down into Mongolia, so technically I will be on the Trans Mongolian railway. Either way, it still a fun and exciting trip. You may think, well what could you do on a train for 2 days straight? And I did think the same thing, but so far it hasn't been too bad all. Basically, you can do what you want. You can sleep, relax and watch the scenery go by, read a book, eat, talk with your bunkmates or even write in your journal, as I have been doing a lot of. It is quite relaxing! Yesterday, I was looking out the window and watching the Siberian scenery go by and I just realized just how happy I was. This is just one of those experiences that will live with you forever. It doesn't matter that I won't be showering for a couple of days or won't have internet access. Everything is simplified and it gets you away from things like that, that can bog you down.

You can also meet some wonderful Russian people. The thing about the Trans Siberian Railway is that it is not a touristy thing. It is an entirely normal way of transportation for the Russian people. I was talking to my host in Yekaterinburg, Tatiana, and she was telling me how strange she thinks it is when travellers come and complain about the length of travel on the train, because to Russians, it is normal to ride on the train for great lengths of time. They don't necessarily enjoy it, but are used to it. She informed me that is really the best way to travel in Russia, because the airlines are unreliable and, unlike in the States, do not go everywhere.

When I got on the train in Yekaterinburg, I was asked to switch bunks with some college age kids. They were a group of 4 and wanted to bunk together. It was a reasonable request and I honestly didn't want to be the fourth guy in the compartment that didn't let their buddy stay with them. That could have gotten uncomfortable. So, I switched and it really wasn't a big deal. They all got off at Omsk, so I had to switch back, lest I took someone else's bunk that might have been getting on at Omsk or after.

In the first compartment, I met a middle-aged Russian. We talked a little with broken English and Russian. He actually worked on the railroad and was taking the six day trip from Moscow to Vladivostok He was very nice and helpful. He even gave me some cookies and made me some tea and then later gave me a magazine and a newspaper to read. Unfortunately, it was in Cyrillic, so I couldn't really read it.

Omsk was only about 12 hours into the trip, so I switched compartments relatively quickly. All the college kids were gone and in there place was a lovely, young family of three. The husband, Anton, is a Major in the military and his wife, Nina, was engineer and they had the cutest little 2 year old boy, Alexander or Sasha, as they would call him. They didn't really speak much English, but we found a way to communicate. The little boy would talk to me a little bit and show me pictures in his coloring book. It is really cool to see a Russian family like this and it just reminds me just how similar we all our, no matter what country you live in. The only difference between this family and an American family is that they speak Russian. The mother is very loving and attentive of her son. At this moment, she is currently reading a book to him. The father is also very attentive and it is very apparent that he absolutely adores his son. I told him that he had a beautiful family, to which he replied that his wife and his son were beautiful, but that he was just average!

On the second day, we talked a little bit more. Anton showed me a bunch of pictures and videos on his laptop and we talked about American life versus Russian life. We eventually got on the topic of Syria and he told me that he knew some things about the situation, because of being in the military, but of course he couldn't talk about it with me. He was also a big admirer or Vladimir Putin. He told me that he was a very strong man, not just as a leader, but also physically, as he has a black belt in Judo. It was very interesting to hear a normal Russian's views on their leader. I have heard many varying views on my journey through Russia, some disagreeing with Putin and other's agreeing, but I believe this is first time I heard real admiration for the man.

Meeting this little Russian family really made the two day journey very enjoyable. It was nice to see the family values of Russians firsthand. Plus, little Sasha was just so cute. I would play peek-a-boo with him once in awhile and sometimes he would go on walks with his mom and as he left he would always say "Bye-bye"! When I got off at Irkutsk, Anton helped me carry my bags off the train and we stopped to take a picture before I left. We said our goodbyes and good lucks and then I left them. And as I was walking away, I looked back and little Sasha looked at me and said, "Bye-bye"!