Despite having a bit of a hostile and dangerous reputation, Russia is very welcoming, the local police despite speaking no English try their hardest to help two helplessly lost tourists. The Russian girls are stunningly pretty while the men are stereotypically surly and best not to be pissed off. We have decided not to drink to much while in Russia for this reason.

The first night in St. Petersburg was spent chilling. This was the first hostel we had to make our own beds. James struggled with this task, as a good friend I watched and laughed.

The first day in Russia was spent sight seeing. In the evening we were shattered so decided to chill. Half way through the evening there was a power cut, I may have tripped up the stairs to James' amusement. We'd met some Australian girls in the hostel and decided it was best to spend the evening in the local bar instead. The bar was a Viking/Russian themed bar. Very strange but awesome.

During the past 2 nights a guy in our hostel constantly sniffed and snored all night. I got a bit angry with him and started mimicking him. James found this funny. The snorer did not. He didn't make eye contact with me from then on.

We went to see some more sights and picked up a few beers (litre sized). Our aim was to get drunk and snore to get our own back. The remaining of the time in St Petersburg was spent in much of the same way.

The train journey from St petersburg to Moscow left at mid night. Once getting to the station we found our cabin and got settled. 2 Russian guys came into our cabin. They didn't look like the murdering type which we were pleased about. The journey lasted 8 hours, the beds were surprisingly comfy!

Once in Moscow we found our hostel. Check in wasn't till 12 so we had time to kill. They let us sit in reception. We both fell asleep until we could get in our room. We carried on sleeping then took a walk to the red square. The remaining of our time in Moscow has been spent like this. Last night we decided to take a break from sightseeing and indulge in a well earned pint. Many pints and vodkas later, me and James remembered there is a reason we shouldn't drink together, as James ends up injuring himself some how.

Tomorrow night we are catching a 4 day train to Irkutsk.