The Journey to Beijing

Hello! Sorry not to have updated this blog previously, but I have been very very busy as I hope to explain. I will try and give you the full story, but having left it so long, such a lot has happened already and it may take several days to complete.

Moscow

Just in case you dont know why I refer to 'we' in the next section, my friend Angela joined me for the first two weeks of the trip.

We made it to the airport safely at some previously unknown hour and successfully negotiated the parking, the semi-digital check in, security, etc etc. The plane was just a little thing with only two rows of 3 seats, no TVs, and no meals although specified on our ticket. We therefore arrived to the Stockholm stopover hungry and had to buy some extrodinarily expensive sandwiches in the airport. The plane to Moscow was just the same.

We had heard that transport from the Sheremetyevo airport is tricky and that it is best to pre-book taxis. So once our arrival cards were filled in and stamped with our visas we made out way to our taxi service with the expectation that the driver would be waiting. 'Come this way, 5 minute'.Ok, no problem...15min later...'driver stuck in traffic, 20 min'. We chose to wait inside and have a beer. 'Ok, driver coming, follow me'. Ah finally. But no, the driver arrives with a dodgy transmission. We get a bit shirty when the girl is vague about another car, but after 20 minutes or so off negotiation, aggressive sounding phone calls etc we get our car and an hour later we are in the hotel.

The hotel was good. We were upgraded on arrival as the standard rooms were not available and the room was large and comfy. We set out to find a resteraunt in our guidebook and after deciding it didnt exist anymore picked a place with a beer glass and a knife and fork on the sign. It turned out to be a sort of 'scream pub' but with table service. Russia were playing Andora at football, and thankfully winning! The place was full of students drinking from huge jugs on the tables, laughing, cheering, and smoking merrily. We were relieved to see a menu with pictures and pointed and smiled. Jamie Oliver would have turned his nose up, but we were hungry and it was actually pretty tasty. We left soon after and found a place selling German beers and indulged.

Our train was scheduled to leave at 12.09 the next day (4th). Our plan was to fill up on the breakfast buffet and see the sights of red square before catching the Metro to the train station. The breakfast was good. We walked down toward the square and snapped the Bolshoi Theatre (I will upload pics when I can). Then came the fun. The 5th was National Day and seemingly preparations were well under way. There also seemed to be parades happening on the 4th. There were army guys everywhere, closing roads, setting up security checks etc. When we got to red square we found it closed! Perhaps we could get around another way to see St Basil's Cathedral? Through the backstreets were dove, dodging more security barriers, and eventually, yes, made it! More pics. And from this angle we could get into the square, but found it full of stadia and barriers and all sorts of thing for the next day's celebrations. Ah well, we though, let's just wander back through the square then back the way we came to collect the bags from the hotel and get off to the station. If only it were so easy...the way we came was now closed, so another way had to be found. We had time, but the clock was ticking. We made it back, but then had the same problem when we had to walk the same direction to catch the subway! Eek!!

Trans-Siberrian

Leg 1 Moscow - Irkutsk

All was well in the end and we found the platform and the train without too much problem. For this first leg we were travelling 3rd class. Essentially a carriage filled with 54 bunks arranged in bays of four with 2 facing on the other side of the carriage. There is a basic, but acceptable, toilet at each end and a 'samovar' filled with boiling water at the end next to the attendant's room. We used the samovar for noodles and tea, though we were able to pick up snacks from the bigger station stops or purchase meat filled donuts from the train.

We instantly regretted not learning any Russian, but got by with gestures and smiles. For days and days we passed birch forrests and little wooden villages or Dachas which the city dwelling Russians use as second homes and to grow veg. It was not as uncomfortable as one might have imagined and we were able to use sheets to create a little privacy for changing. We would have been quite happy had the windows opened! After 4 days of sunshine and warm sweaty bodies we were glad to escape to the air conditioned buffet car and to the other carriages where we met other english speakers and a Russian helicopter pilot called Andre who spoke good english. He could translate for us and for the other Russians in his cabin and we all drank and chatted together cheerfully. They shared their cabin with a friendly booze loving englishman called Paul who I need to introduce now because we meet him again later.

Irkutsk

We arrived at our first stopover early in the morning of the fith day. We had booked a hotel by Lake Baikal, around 65km away. There were several choices of transport for getting to Listvyanka, but we opted for the simplest one, a taxi. Obviously, this was by far the most expensive option, but we were short of time and did not want to be struggling to work out trams, buses etc. We arrived at the lake in good time and went to check into the hotel, who told us that the room I booked was not available and that only a more expensive, but seemingly less desirable room could now be paid for. Reluctantly we accepted and trudged up 4 flights of stairs with the bags to a good sized, but poorly kitted out 'studio' room. It had a lake view, so it could have been far worse.

We had plenty of day left after checking in and took a walk along the coastal road stopping off for lunch and then for a relaxing cofee and ice cream/cake at a lovely lakeside hotel. We wandered back and spent a chilled out evening on the beach, drinking beers and watching the sun set over the hills of the other shore. That evening as we returned to the hotel we spotted somebody slumped asleep on the steps down to the beach. A couple of Russians were loitering ominously. A second glance confirmed it was Paul! So, that night he slept on the sofa in our hotel room after we somehow managed to bumble him away from the grumbling Russians and up all those stairs.

The next day he woke and couldnt remember where he was, and was mightily relieved to find that he was still by the lake and still in possession of his wallet. He also now recalled that his bags were safe in his hotel. We went our separate ways, but met again later in the day to walk the other way along the lake and into the hills. A satisfying walk up paths that became progressivly more and more hairy so that we were forced to turn back. The sun was again beaming down pleasently and I took a dip in the lake.

We had chosed to catch the bus back and then had to negotiate a couple of trams before arriving back to Irkutsk station with time to spare. It sounds easy, but it wasnt so straightforward. Nevertheless, we made it.

Leg 2 Irkustk-Ulaan Bataar (Mongolia)