More about the Trans-Siberian… We tried to get stocked up on some food before we boarded the train in moscow. We had no idea how much food wewould need, as we heard that we’d be able to buy fresh-made stuff on the platforms. Sure enough, we had more than enough food (and Joel and I were the ones who had bought the least amount of stuff!). The babushkas (grandmothers) kept us well stocked along the way. I think the best thing that we brought with us on this trip has been our wate rpurifier. I can’t imagine having to buy bottles of water everywhere we go and lug them around. Hoorary for our little bit of foresight! We jumped on the train at about 9pm (?) in Moscow and tried to settle in for the night. All of us were pretty excited to be starting the real Trans-Siberian leg of the trip. We had each basically bought a bottle of vodka, so we cracked open a few of those. No one on the trip was really excited about drinking straight vodka, but we warmed up to it quite quickly J We sat around, chatted abd made our way through a few bottles that night. Then it wa soff to bed in a train that was close to 30 degrees! Not nice for me, as I had the top bunk. It seems the Russians think that the slightest breeze will kill them, so we couldn’t even open the window for a hint of f resh air. The next morning we were up and at ‘em at a decent hour. Not much to do on the train, so we figured we should just go back to bed! Some girls headed to the restaurant car and met a bunch of Russian soldiers coming back home atfer their mandatory military service. Needless to say, the boys were pretty happy to drink and to do it in the presence of some pretty girls! Lots of drinking, some not-so-subtle advances and the girls decided to call it quits at about 2pm. Joel and I arrived in the dining car shortly before that and ordered a round of gin and tonic. It comes pre-mix ed in 1/2 litre cans. Oh baby oh. The best part was the price! Wow, maybe I should move to Russia! The prodvonista (‘provider’) is th elady in each car that looks after the travellers. She didn‘t seem to like us much and she showed her wrath by constantly stoking the fire in the furnace. I swear one day the temperature was up to 40 degrees. Craziness. Basically, the three days on the train mimicked the first one: sleep late. Drink. Read. Sweat. Relax. Sleep. Sweat. Eat noodles. Repeat. We loved it!