Woke up around 8.30 this morning, it wasn't the best nights sleep as the train seemed to move around a lot and when it stopped it almost threw you from your bed - the first time it happened everyone got up thinking we had crashed into something. We had stopped at a station so I ran out to get some essentials we had neglected to bring, like toilet roll and cutlery - 5 minutes later and I had to jump back on before the train left. Back on the train I met the guy who ran our carriage - the "provanista". He was a small guy with a bald head, I named him Katut cos he looked like the monk out of Eat Pray Love. He sold me a beer for £2 which was a good deal compared to the shops at the station, and he let me use his electric socket in his cabin so I could charge Steve's phone, cos I knew he would freak out when he woke to find it had no battery. Steve was still asleep so I sat outside in the small hall that ran the length of the carriage and updated my journal, it turned out to be a good way to meet the other people as they got up. Next door to us there three English travellers, Dan a short guy in his early 20's from Eastbourne, Emma also in her early 20's looked small and fragile, she had blond pigtails and spoke as quiet as a mouse until she had a beer then she was all f this and f that which kept the rest of us continually entertained, and it turned out she lived about half an hour from me so we had a lot in common, apart from her dreadful taste in music, every song I played, she said she had an original version on her phone - what she meant was I have a duller, slower more depressing version I am about to force you to endure. The third member of their party Simon was the same as age as me (29 - yes really), he didn't say much but when he did it was always something interesting or intelligent, it turned out he had been everywhere and was like the travellers oracle, last year he climbed Everest, I didn't believe him, I've read a few books about others that have and I know how tough it is but also that it would set you back about 100k, I asked him a few questions trying to out him as a bulls***ter, but after listening to him I had no doubt that he had, he was so inspiring. When Steve woke I decided to make myself a coffee, I struggled to open the dried milk only for it to tear open and cover me and the cabin in white powder, of course I decided it was Steve's fault for not helping me, I took out my Swiss Army knife and stirred my coffee with the scissor attachment, then picked out the big blobs of milk powder that had stuck together, it was the worst coffee ever, but I didn't care I needed a fix and it was coffee even if it tasted like gnats wee. Dan and I decide to go and check out the restaurant car, inside it was dark and the air was heavy with dust, even though outside it was gloriously sunny, everything inside was made of dark wood, there was a bar but where you would normally see kitkats and drinks there was just empty dusty spaces, on the floor there were several bags of rubbish, I had already decided I would give it a miss even though this was the only source of food on the train, but I went to find out how much it was, so I asked the sweaty obese guy who seemed to be in charge how much it was, £10, I couldn't believe it he was charging £10 for an omelette and coffee and he couldn't even afford some soap or a can of Mr Sheen. I spent the day reading and just chillin, it was so relaxing outside the scenery was a continuous conveyor belt of trees, I don't know what type they are but they looked like Christmas trees to me. In the evening the guys from next door came around and Emma taught us a card game called s*** head, no surprises the only card game she knew had an obscene name, anyway I'm not sure we even finished the game, we mostly drank talked s*** and just shared stories, it turned out they had all given up their jobs, flown to Moscow and were making their way to Australia, it was so great to be around people who shared the same dreams, ideas and values as me. The best thing was knowing I could be myself, it didn't matter if they didn't like it tomorrow there would be new places new faces. It was 3am by the time they left and went to sleep feeling on top of the world.