Whose idea was it to go on a train for 5 days and 4 nights and travel over 5000 km in one go??? O I think it was ours (well mostly Neil's - but after some good advice by Sarah and Andrew we have to make every decision together so I guess I have to take a portion of the blame too!)!

We started the journey by going shopping for some food - this shopping bag (ours and everyone else's) contained mostly Russian pot noodles, chocolate and Vodka (whilst in Russia and all that!).

We met at the hostel and made our way to the main train station via the metro - very hard work with ten backpackers, their backpacks, day sacks, and food, not to mention enough Russian vodka to sink a battle ship! On one of the metro trains none of us could actually move - we were packed in like sardines - and received some tuts and looks of disdain from the local Russians.

We boarded the train after the required passport checks, and shared a compartment with another couple on our tour. It was cosy - and got cosier as the temperature rose! It probably got hotter as we spent some time in a cramped space making up our beds and ensuring we had what we needed out of our main rucksacks for three days. We sweated it out believing that the window to the compartment did not open. It was very weird having worn so many layers for a few days to suddenly be too hot in a vest! The toilet on the train was an experience we are not likely to forget due to it being very rickety and bumpy. It was also interesting to notice as you flushed the toilet you could see the track speeding along below - no wonder they lock the toilets at the stations! Sleeping on a moving train was also interesting - noisy and confined. After a not so great night's sleep and again getting way hotter than anyone should whilst in Russia in winter we had some breakfast of bread and jam. I hated jam at home - but have had it for breakfast pretty much everyday since we have been here - needs must I suppose and now I actually like it!! Looking out of the window the landscape is breathtaking - white snow for as far as the eye can see, just dotted with little wooden houses and trees. Simply beaultiful. The next station we came to we decided to get off for some much needed fresh air and to stretch our legs. It was a bizarre feeling being outside in my flip flops - but nice to cool down. I got some chocoate from a stall holder at the side of the tracks overcoming the language barrier by pointing at the chocolate and then his pile of notes to work out how much it cost - I was very proud of myself! After getting back on the train, and being too hot within a matter of minutes we gave the window another go to try and prise it open! To our delight it opened - we gulped in the fresh air like we had been suffocating and this was the highlight of the day! This same day (who knew so much happened on a train?) we were pestered by a very very drunk Russian man who was actually rather rude and it was a bit scary, but by now we hade the carriage attendant on our side and she soon shooed him away. It didn't stop him trying again daily - often more than once a day - and a little bit more drunk each time. We soon got brave enough to get rid of him ourselves. One of the group bought a dried fish from one of the stalls at a stop and a local Russian man also on the train showed us how to disect it and which bits we could eat. It was very salty and fishy - I won't be eating it again but glad I tried it! We also passed through a time zone and had to put our clocks forward by 2 hours - very weird as I felt like we hadn't gone anywhere!?

The next morning we were woken at about 5am by the night train attendant hoovering the cabin - no-one was very happy! It was another weird night's sleep! By now we were used to being on the train - brushing our teeth while swaying and just feeling generally a bit disorientated. We got off at two big stops and made food purchases at each one. The first stop we pointed and nodded mostly and ended up with what we wanted, but at the second one Neil used his learnt Russian language skills (this had kept him occupied on the train!) and we got some more supplies plus a Russian hotdog. I was so proud of him! As we moved today, and changed our clocks again by an hour, the landscape began to change. It became more industrial and more grey with wheat coloured plants just surfacing through the snow. By the second night on the train the vodka was calling me - I raised a glass to V for her 60th Birthday (sorry we missed it - hope you had fun and sorry to publish to the world that you are 60!!) and ended up drinking far too much, but had a fun time with the group.

Another day on the train...........by now it's getting a little repetitive and we all smell a bit having not been able to take a shower! I also woke up with a stinking hangover and those of you who know me know how well (or not!) I cope with this! After a full fat sprite I felt considerably better and had some more jam and bread! We also ate noodles by the bucket load - and by now we missed some fresh food, fruit and vegtables! We all received a letter from our carriage attendant today saying we had to pay as fine as she had been told off by the train militia as we had had our vodka displayed! We spent a very long time working out what the letter said as it was written in Russian. We paid the fine, and received a bottle of pop each so suppose it wasn't too bad. You hear of scarier things happening, and it was nice to be warned by a jolly (sometimes) Russian lady rather than by a big scary Russian Militia!

We tried a variety of food along the way - Dumplings with meat in, random pieces of chicken, hot dogs in different shapes and sizes, the fish as mentioned before, pizza, and delicious caramel waffles. We didn't just eat noodles! We also got to know the group which was nice and everyone gets along! We had put our clocks forward 5 hours in total along this train journey so are now 9 hours ahead of home - very weird!

The day we got off the train we were woken up 2 hours before our stop, but we were like excited children in a sweet shop (or like me in a shoe shop!) and hopped out of bed, brushed our teeth, packed our rucksacks up, stripped the beds and waited for the station to arrive! We happily got off the train and were met by our waiting Honcho - Costa - for the next part of the Russian adventure!

I hope you have enjoyed my first blog entry!!

Lots of love xxxxxxxxx