We're getting deep into Siberia now, and its getting colder, which I wasn't sure was possible. And we're off the train! I feel dizzy from not moving, but a splendid man called Dennis (more on him later) has come to take us to a big lake called Baikkal. I may have spelt that wrong. Its very pretty here. Dennis says that if all the other fresh water in the world dried up then the water in Lake Baikkal would sustain the world's population for 50 years, and that...

As we approach day 4 on the train, everyone starts to appreciate the occasional stops a little more - if only to remind us why they keep the carriages so effing hot. The coldest recorded temperature so far has been -21. It makes your eyes water and then your tears freeze onto your face, and also makes your joints and teeth ache if you stay out there longer than about 20 minutes. We entertain ourselves with little strolls or mad dashes to the supermarkets if th...

OK so I'm on the train. Gorky Park wasn't what I expected (the book I read mainly used it as a place to stash dead bodies) and was actually sort of fun. They'd turned all the pathways into a giant ice rink, with bars dotted around the place and (largely awful) music playing. I pop back to the hostel as I'm meant to be meeting my travel buddies for the next few weeks, but fortunately most of them are up for going ice-skating. Unfortunately I'm not as good at i...