I didn't really do much of anything today as it was the passengers free day. I had to check out at 12pm and decided to go to the station to see if anything was going on and if everything was still the same as it was last year. It was, and I was supposed to go over to the other side of the city, but I had a last minute panic because I thought I had read the train tickets wrong and rushed back to the hotel.

Of course, I hadn't and I was panicking about nothing as usual, so I spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV at the hotel. Note to self, don't ever put laptop in the storage area. Getting is back before you need to leave is a mission and a half. Trying to make the guys on reception understand that I only wanted my laptop back was unbelievable. In the end they settled for a copy of my passport and the understanding that I was not going to leave reception until I left.

I of course did have to leave at about 6pm to take the group to diner an ended up taking my lap top to the restaurant. I had elk steak this time which was amazing and the service in the restaurant had dramatically improved and I was back early enough to the hotel to allow a bit of a pre departure talk and to give the tickets out.

I led the group down to the metro, or at least I did until two of the older clients decided to rush on ahead after specifically being told not to. I can't actually leave the group and chase people so I just had to let them go. When I reached Baltinskaya metro station they were nowhere to be seen. Luckily, I had left as usual an hour too early and now spent half an hour looking for them. They turned out to be waiting on the platform.

I got everyone on the train and up to Moskovy railway station, where the husband in of the couple who had run off on me discovered he had lost his ticket! They spent the rest of the time looking for it, even when we were on the platform about to board the train he still couldn't find it. It was now ten minutes prior to departure and I calmly informed the couple I would have to leave them behind and they would have to catch us up. I made sure they had to hotels details and got on the train myself. I kept looking out the window as we continued to wait on the platform hoping they would somehow magically find the ticket and would get on the train just in the nick of time. Alas no such thing happened and they screwed up my perfect batting average.

I went to my room and found myself in a cabin with three Russian men…isn't this a bit of a security issue I thought. I realised that as the older couple had not made it onto the train I now had two spare spots in another cabin. So I went and slept in there with another couple of girls in my team from Australia. I stayed up until about midnight chatting to some of the passengers, mainly having a conversation about who was the most bogan one in the carriage (which I think I won) and then I went to bed and let the motion of the train rock me to sleep….for once not half as worried as I probably should have been.