1st jaunt on the trans-siberian railroad from Moscow to Perm was 20 hours and we were spoiled compared to the train we're currently on which unfortunately is triple the time although much more authentic but I digress. Finding the platform for the train was interesting, we had electronic tickets and were told that's all we needed, hmmmm, I tried to go through without a ticket and was quickly stopped by the scary Russian men in uniform. Backing up with my huge pack was not an easy feat, good thing they caught me as I was heading to the subway, that would have been a much less scenic 20 hour trip.
Compartments in second class consisted of four bunk beds: 2 up, 2 down, we had the upper accommodations which was cool as we always had our private space but did at times mean we were impeding on the downers' space, where the only common area to talk or eat was. Our carriage was shared with a young Russian couple, Dmitry, 23, and Oksana, 19, newly married couple and pregnant. Very nice Russian couple, engaging and interested in speaking to us in English. Aside from Richard, a friendly American traveling from Moscow to Irkutsk and eventually all the way across the Trans-Sib to Vladivostok, we were the only tourists. We all debated the virtues of American collegiate sports, politics, traveling, and life in general, over many a beers, well the boys outdrank me at least 3 to 1. Good fun!
Our first stop was Perm, a city built only due to its' strategic position along the Trans-Sib and made famous by Dr. Zhivago. It had a lot of Soviet charm and by this, I mean white, white, and more white with the random green alien selling computer gadgets on top of a white, white and more white shopping center. Stayed at the Hotel Ural, as we were on the western edge of the Ural Mountains, although the scenery was very flat and stayed this way for most of the trip. Perm did not leave much of an impression, was mostly just a stop off point to take a hot shower and watch clothes as the trains don't have showers and the next jaunt would be 60 hours, whoa! What I did notice was a lot of straight hair in Perm.
On the longest train journey I've had to date: 60 hours. Dreaded this knowing the train wouldn't be as nice and from the moment we spotted it, we were sure this would be a much more authentic experience as we were far and away the only tourists on board. Our time schedules never quite adjusted to the locals. All trains run on Moscow time and there are 9 time zones across Russia so going to bed at 2 am after reading, watching movies and what not in the dining car, we were really going to bed at say, 5 am and waking up mid-day Moscow time which was really 3 pm local time. We were never sure when to eat and one night, missed dinner entirely, were told only vodka and beer was available but managed to phenangle instant noodle soup, prawn crackers and peanuts out of the staff. I'm pretty sure today is Saturday, we got on board Thursday mid-day Moscow time which was two hours ahead in local Perm time. We arrive in Irkutsk Sunday morning 4 am Moscow time which probably means local time maybe 8 am? We will sleep 3 nights on the train, this is longer than we spent in Moscow. And somehow time does fly by, the daily routines of sleeping, waking, eating breakfast, reading, changing clothes and trying to converse with others and mostly just talking to each other seems to eat up the day.
I was quite sick when arriving on the train and felt badly at bedtime knowing I was waking the others with my cough. The lady from Vladivostok is a Doctor and gave me nasal decongestant and a throat spray and proceeded to show me how to use and wash the device, taking me to the bathroom in order to be sure I knew to wash it in between uses. Awwww, so sweet. She was a chatty woman, spoke no English, the only way we know where she was from was Andrew, the first man from Moscow who spoke some English. His replacement, Sergei, came in the middle of the night, this just when two Russian men took an interest in me with Igor kissing my hand repeatedly and giving me a thumbs-up, all this transpired when spoon man took advantage of the long train stop to get in a run. We were then invited into their room for some beers, I only knew the invite as he flicked his chin in an okay symbol, thanks for the tip, Amie! Found out he's in the military, doing what we have no idea as when we tried to leave, he proceeded to lock us in his room. Alrighty then. Most embarrassing moment so far was when we needed a private moment and both our bunkmates were gone so we locked the door but Natasha needed something in our room so spoon man let her in, she came and left quickly, closed the door and said "bye-bye" and proceeded to leave us alone the rest of the day. :-)
Food can only be described as passable at best. Fish, fish bones, and more fish bones, beans and mashed potatoes for breakfast, and instant Nescafe coffee, yeah, definitely not in Seattle anymore. The translations on the dining car menu are quite amusing: caesar salad is mayonnaise, peas, corn and cucumbers, not the worst meal I had although. That would have to be the bloated sausage and Eastern fairy tail steak. Lovely. I say all this and yet it was all a part of the experience, and one we did not share with the other Russians as they would never consider eating on the dining car according to the guide book. That explains the emptiness in the dining car and the reliance of the food cart and meals eaten in the compartments. I would go nuts spending as much time in the compartments as the locals do, each stop I wanted to get out and MOVE! I had train fever, got testily antsy only once and this was quickly solved with some fresh air, a walk outside at one of the many stops. And here I will only make one mention of the bathrooms: GROSS.
As a thank you to Natasha, we tried to give her a bottle of wine which then turned into a chocolate and wine fest for all with our bunkmates and Viktor, who spoke some English. Topics discussed included petrol costs, education, what we thought of Putin, why we were traveling, how we met, and where we've lived and traveled.
So far from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk we have traveled 3,742 km or 2,296 miles!
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