Yekaterinburg

(Irkutsk - Yekaterinburg 3371km/2094 Miles)
Total distance traveled = 9797 km/6087 Miles

So, it had to happen sometime. I got a bad hostel. I suppose when you're staying in cities which only seem to have one hostel, it's going to happen eventually. Arriving at 11pm it took 45 minutes to walk to the hostel. Not the greatest start, but there was little relief when we got inside. Again it was a converted flat, but this one wasn't even big.

The kitchen was tiny, and the 'bedrooms' were tiny with no connecting door. When we arrived, there were about 8-10 people drinking in the kitchen and bedroom. In itself not a problem, but the size and layout of the place meant that there was no way of going to sleep while it continued. It did continue though. Add to this the fact that there were only actually 4 beds (2 bunk beds) and the remaining people (including me) were on fold out camper beds, meant I got very little sleep. I got to sleep at about 3am and woke up at around 7am.

I'd somehow managed to only schedule one night in Ekaterinburg. I think it was due to the train schedules and needing to have more than one night in Perm. After my night in the 'hostel' this didn't seem such a bad thing. My next train was pretty early too, about 1pm. I wandered through the town, and tried to see as many of the sights as I could.

I also grabbed some breakfast. A mystery omlettte - I could work out Russian for omlette but not the ingredients. Amazingly, although i'm in the country for almost a month, I don't have a phrasebook. I learned to read the cyrillic alphabet fairly accurately during the ferry trip from Japan, and also got a few key phrases from an blog, but that's about it. So basically, I have veery limited Russian and no way of improving it!

The city centre was actually quite nice. There were a lot more shops, cafes, and bars than anywhere I'd been so far, and there were quite a few big squares, statues, and immense soviet buildings. The 'claim to fame' of the city, if you can call it that, was that the last Tsar was killed here. There's a momument at the actual site, as well as a church as a memorial for him and his family. There's actually another church in another site, as the bodies were moved to try and avoid people making martyrs out of them. It's out of the city though and I definitely didn't have time to go there. The church was nice, as were the surrounding buildings. I seem to have spent most of my time at churches so far, but surprisingly I'm not getting bored of them yet. Guess it's just a matter of time though.

After rushing through most of the city, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't have time to explore the city a little more, but I was also quite happy that I didn't have to suffer another night at that hostel!

The next stop would be Perm. At only 8 hours from Yekaterinburg, it was the shortest train journey so far. It was a slightly strange place to stop. No-one else I had met was planning on stopping there, and I couldn't find any hostels based in the city on the internet. I'd chosen to stop there on the basis of one museum. Perm 36. It's a former Soviet GULAG, and the only site of the whole GULAG system which had some original buildings standing.

More photos here (not many though)...

http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc250/davingtonsmythe/Japan%20to%20Russia/Yekaterinburg/?albumview=slideshow

Irkustk (again) and the Third Train

(Olkhon - Irkutsk 300km/186 Miles)
Total distance traveled = 6426 km/3991 Miles

I had another day in Irkutsk to break up the journey. I was in the same hostel again with Crystal and Chris, so we wandered around the city together checking the places we hadn't had time to see before.

One of these places was the site of the 'Decemberist Houses' - a few houses where exiles who had tried to stage a coup again the Tsar(Alexander I) had lived. I'm not sure what the city was like in the 1800's, but the houses didn't fit my idea of 'exile'. They were large wooden houses, two stories, that looked like they had about 8 rooms. No photos I'm afraid, as my camera battery ran out. Maybe I can nick one of someone else and put it on here later.

After wasting a bit of time at the hostel, I wandered down to the station to catch my next train. More train facts coming....ready? The trains on the Trans-Siberian express are numbered, with the faster trains having a lower number. The fastest and most luxurious is number 1, also called the 'Rossiya'. I'd previously taken train number 7 (2/8) and train number 361 (6/8). I guess that in addition to the number the age of the train plays a role, as today was number 9 but it seemed nicer than 7. It was cleaner, had triple glazing, and other little points like curtains in the corridor (do you have corridors in trains? can't think of a more appropriate word at the moment though). The only negative point about these new features was the windows. While I'm sure the triple glazing is useful in the winter, the design of the windows meant they opened on a hinge rather than sliding. Fine for letting in air, but not great for taking photos out of the train.

I was sharing the compartment with a family again. This time a mother, father, and their daughter (Anya, Viktor, and Nastya). Initially they didn't seem very keen to communicate, and aside from introducing myself we didn't say much. The first 24 hours or so passed in this way, with us only communicating to say things like 'excuse me', 'do you want to use the table?' etc. Viktor seemed to know some English, but his wife and daughter didn't (or didn't let on).

It wasn't until the next night (after he'd had a beer) that Viktor asked a few questions about me. Anya didn't join in, but helped him quite a lot with vocabulary when he didn't know a word in English. So, I discovered that Viktor is an electrician from St. Petersburg and Anya is from Ulan Ude. They'd been to visit her family and had a short holiday on Lake Baikal too. The next day he surprised me again by attempting more conversation and asking for my email/facebook address too. I guess he want to practise his English. Not sure if that will actually happen, but maybe he's more comfortable writing than speaking. Nastya was friendlier too and tested me on Russian numbers (I still forget the same numbers a lot - 4, 6, 9, and 10). Other than the people in my carriage, I had a few quick chats with an Australian guy travelling with his sister, and a couple of Russians called Igor and Michael who stumbled past one evening drunk before taking a photo of me and saying any random English words they could think of.

The next stop is Yekaterinburg (also spelled without the 'y'). Chris is, again, staying at the same hostel as me. He's travelling on a different train and arrives about 20 minutes before me, so we arranged to meet at the station and search for the hostel together.

Few more photos here....
http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc250/davingtonsmythe/Japan%20to%20Russia/Train%20to%20Yekaterinburg/?albumview=slideshow

Olkhon Island

(Irkutsk - Olkhon 300km/186 Miles)
Total distance traveled = 6126 km/3805 Miles

Surprisingly I woke up on time without an alarm. Actually I have a theory that if you are worried enough and think about the time enough, then your subconcious will wake you up in time...unless you're drunk that is. The bus driver was late though, so I guess he doesn't know that technique.

We finally set off at 9am, in a minibus with 14 seats squeezed in. I'm pretty sure it's not the standard layout and they managed to add a few extra by moving them around. I hadn't realised just how far the lake was from Irkutsk when I'd planned my trip. It was about 300km! Travelling in an old minibus along uneven dirt roads, this took us 6 hours. I don't mind travelling by bus, but this was testing my limits. Hot cramped, and very uncomfortable. I couldn't even read, as the bus was bouncing around so much. Crystal was making the same trip, so thankfully I could chat to someone.

We arrived at about 4pm after making the crossing to the island by ferry. The scenery on and around the island was beautiful. The town itself wasn't so aesthetically pleasing. It's hard to desribe, but think of a shanty town or a medieval village and you'll be close. Aside from a few nice wooden houses, most were made from corregated iron and concrete. Stray dogs were everywhere, but there were also a few cows, and the odd cockrell around. The roads had been eroded by rain and had massive channels running through them. There was also the problem of rubbish. Although there were bins, they were all overflowing. There seemed to be plenty of people who didn't bother walking to a bin either. Later we found out that the rubbish is only collected once a week and the infrastructure isn't really set up for the massive number of visitors (Russian and foreign) who come in the summer.

The place we were staying at wasn't really a hostel. More of a.....medieval Butlins, or a commune of some kind. It was enclosed by a wooden fence and had a hodge-podge of wooden buildings, ome looking like chalets, others with an arabian vibe. The room was very nice, and I was surprised that the cheaper shared room I'd opted for wasn't a dorm, but rahter a twin room. I was sharing with a Swiss guy called Daniel who had been studying Russian in St Petersburg and was taking a break before returning home. The room was very nice and cheap too. I was paying a similar price to the other hostels, but 3 meals a day were included! The only downside was the toilet. It wasn't next to the room, it was outside. And how can I phrase this....hmmm....basically, you shat into a hole in the ground. No prceline involved, no water, just a hole. There was a wooden structure around it, but the stench was incredible and the flies loved the place too. I didn't fancy trying to find it in the dark, so toilet vists were a daytime only affair for those few days.

As I mentioned, there was a strange feel about the holiday village/compound. The set meal times, polite but sometimes lumbering zombie-like staff, and organized activities gave it a religious commune vibe. This improved as I stayed longer....but maybe that's how they get you!

In fact, the island is considered one of a very few centres of energy by shaman types. We also found a tent nearby promoting 'ethno-drive' music. Kind of traditional music and trance combined. Pretty wierd. I explored the area a little, listened to some ethno-drive, and read more of my book before calling it a night.

Irkutsk

(Ulan Ude - Irkutsk 455km/282 Miles)

Total distance traveled = 5826 km/3619 Miles

I arrived in Irkutsk on 7th August at about 8:30am. This was the first time a train had been slightly late on my trip. I would later discover that the date was quite significant too.

Rain greeted me, but i decided to walk into the city centre regardless. The station being a little further out than most cities, it took me about 30 minutes to get to the hostel. The hostel itself was in a fairly central location and was similar to the others I'd experienced so far - in that it was a converted apartment. Unusually though,this one had two toilets.

The owner said he'd expected me the night before,and I subsequently found a mistake in my planning. My bookings were a day out for this and the following hostel. Luckily they had a room (his was the busyiest hostel yet and the doorbell and phone seemed to be constantly rigning) and he didn' charge me for te previous night. This mistake meant that I also had to contact my next hostel and let them know the mistake,as they were expecting me he same day.

These problems dealt with, I drank a few cups of coffee and chatted with some of the other guests, including Crystal (who I'd met in Vladivostok). After waiting for the rain to subside for an hour or two I gave up and headed out into the wind and rain to explore the city with Crystal. We walked through a huge square and then onto 3 different churches,all very pretty but quite different in style, especially the murals and paintings inside.

The rain finally stopped and we continued looking around, finding a nice little cafe for lunch, some old weapons and army equipment, but failing to find a Russian guidebook. After returning to the hostel, I met a few new guests, played rummy (which I'm sure I've played before, but the rules seemed different), and had a few drinks. Chris (also from the Vladivostok hostel) also arrived that night, but I spent most of the evening chatting to a Hungarian professional poker player, a Parisian guy, a couple from Germany, and a British woman. It was nice to meet another Brit and we stayed up til about 1am,depsite the fact I had a early bus the next day to Olkhon Island on Baikal Lake.

More photos here...
http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc250/davingtonsmythe/Japan%20to%20Russia/Irkutsk/?albumview=slideshow

Ulan Ude

(Vladivostok - Ulan Ude 3649km/2267 Miles)

Total distance traveled = 5371 km/3337 Miles

Most of my time on the first train had been spent reading a biography about Peter the Great. I'm not sure how much smaller than a normal page the pages of a Kindle are, but this book has about 16,000 pages! To put it into perspective, War and Peace has 26,000 Kindle pages. I'm not sure i'll get through that on this journey. In addition to the obvious space saving that ebooks offer, another feature of the Kindle has been pretty useful. I didn't realise when I bought it that you can access the internet. For free. Anywhere with 3G, or other wierd systems that I don't understand, like EDGE. Anyway, basically it's meant that during the patchy coverage on my train trip i've been able to check emails and a few Russian words (didn't get a phrasebook, duh!). It uses a lot more battery than just reading, but there are always the plug sockets in the corridor of the train for a quick recharge.

My next stop was Ulan Ude. I only have one night in Ulan Ude, but arrive in the morning and have quite a lot of time the next day too. Towards the end of this train journey Sasha was looking through my guide book. He showed me where he lived, and also offered to show me where the hostel was. It looked pretty easy to find, but I accepted anyway out of politeness. I shoudn't have bothered really. It was about 34 degrees when we arrived and he took me along a very indirect route. It took about twice as long as when I was leaving and found the station under my own steam!

The hostel was in a nicer looking building. It still had a steel door for security, but the building was much cleaner and in a nicer, more central area than Vladivostok. I arrived just before midday, and was greeted by the owner in his dressing gown - Dennis. The hostel was another converted apartment, and so only had one toilet and one bathroom for about 16 people. It was much bigger than the last one though. There were quite a few people around and I had a quick chat before heading out to explore the city.

Ulan Ude is relatively close to the Mongolian border, and so it seems more ethnically diverse than Vladivostok. The city was quite small, but very clean and had some quite pretty areas. There was a large marching square, a massive statue of Lenin's head (the biggest in the world, although I'm not sure how many Lenin heads there are around) in the centre of the square, and a few fountains around too.

After heading back to the hostel and chatting a bit more, I went out for food with a few other travellers. Viktor (Spanish, but spoke with an American accent), and a couple of dutch travellers (Amy and....uh...forgot his name...bugger!). Amy was a nurse, and her friend worked for the government (192cm and built like a brick shithouse. Very friendly though). We wandered around for a while, then settled on a mongolian restaurant in a Yurt (basically a tent). We ate Posi (pronounced like a small cat), which were like little meat dumplings that you bit, sucked the juice out of, then ate. Sitting around chatting about travelling, we finished our food then moved onto drink. As the evening developed we ended up sitting outside, drinking beer near a fountain. We also met a local girl after we tried to crowd her and make her give up her seat. Rather than moving, she struck up a conversation and drank with us. As we drank more, members of the group dropped off until it was just me, the dutch guy, and the local girl drinking beer and eating sandwiches in Subway (beer in subway!).

The next day I was rudely awoken by a massive group coming into the hostel at about 8am. Eventually I gave up trying to go back to sleep. In the morning I went back to subway (no beer this time) with th edutch couple for some lunch, then went to a temple on a hill within the city with an Israeli guy called Aviv. The temple was OK, but I was more impressed with the view. Later Aviv made some Israeli dishes for us (with olive oil made by his family which he carries with him!). We sat around and chatted with a few other guests and had a few drinks while I waited to go for my train. They were all really nive people and it helped to remind me how much of the fun of travelling rests with the people you meet, not just the places you visit.

Later in the evening I left and caught a night train to Irkutsk. The company couldn't be more different. I was joined by a Russian woman in her 50's and two drunk Russian guys. The atmosphere was cold to say the least, so I just went to sleep, helped by the lack of sleep fromt he night before and the beers I'd had at the hostel.

More photos here...
http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc250/davingtonsmythe/Japan%20to%20Russia/Ulan%20Ude/?albumview=slideshow

My First Train

I left Vladivostok at 10:30pm on Tuesday 2nd August. Well, 10:30pm Vladivostok time, anyway. The tickets for the Trans-Siberian all have the departure and arrival times printed in Moscow local time. In Vladivostok station too, the departure board had Moscow times and even the clock on the wall. So in fact, using the Russian train system's timing, I left at 3:30pm.

I wasn't entirely sure why this system was adopted. My ideas were that it was to:

* Emphasise the dominance and importance of Moscow in Russia.
* To confuse tourists and make them miss trains, so that they'll spend more money on another ticket.
* To stop people getting drunk before getting on the train. I'm pretty sure that only sober people can work out the train times accurately.

It would seem more sensible to just state the local time of departure and arrival, like when taking an international flight. The fact that the train crosses 7 time zones adds to this confusion. In fact, a Russian working in a hostel I stayed at later suggested tat this was the reason for the system. they thought that it would be too difficult for the ticketing office if they needed to take account of all the different time zones.

I'd chosen 2nd class for all my trains. 1st class was obviously more comfortable (and expensive), but sharing with only one other person meant that if you didn't get along, you were stuck with each other for the duration of the journey. 3rd class was the most sociable, with no separate compartments withing the carriage and more beds. However, this brought me images of excessive luggage, a lack of privacy, and a larger likelihood of being kept awake. With this in mind, 2nd class seemed like a happy medium. There were 4 beds in each compartment, and a lockable door. In my mind, this gave opportunities to speak to people, but also gave a level of privacy and security not available in 3rd class.

After taking a few photos at the station, I showed the Provodnik (male carriage attendant) my ticket and found my bunk. The compartment was smaller and darker than I expected (however it was night!). My home for the next three nights only had dim lights, and my shoulders touched both upper bunks when I stood up between them! I also realised as the train departed, that I had the cabin all to myself. The attendant came and gave me some bedding, so I settled in for the night. Over the next few hours, I was joined by three more people.

First was a Russian guy on his own, who I later found out to be Sasha. He didn't speak any English, but I think I established he was going to Khaborosk (one night away). When I told him my destination, Ulan Ude, he managed to explain that he'd never stay on a train for that long (4 nights).

Next, we were woken by another Rusian guy with his son entering the compartment. The father was another Sasha, who didn't seem to speak English either. I didn't know the boys name, but the next morning he demonstrated his English skill with two phrases, 'Hello' and 'I will kill you!'. Not sure if they're both included on the school syllabus, but i'm sure they'll come in useful in the future. Despite his thick, menacing Russian accent, and his promise to end my life, the 5/6 year old's promise didn't seem to threatening.

During the next morning, his father his father asked me where I was going, a question I was able to guess and answer using gestures and drawings alone. He also gave me a wierd little Russian cucumber (that's not a double entendre). These actions didn't seem to fit with the son's previous threat, so I dismissed the fear of being smothered in the night.

The train has a restaurant, but it's hideously overpriced. I had a quick look and found prices ranged from 300-600 rubles, when in Vladivostok I'd eaten a main course for 150. I'd prepared for this and had brought numerous cup noodle type instant foods (free hot water from a boiler type things (samisvar in Russian maybe)), a bit of bread and cheese, 4 beers, and some water. There are supposedly people selling things on station platforms too, but by 1:30pm of the next full day I hadn't seen anyone. None of the other passengers seem to have aquired any warm or fresh food either, so I guess it's not that I'm looking in the wrong places.....Finally found some when we stopped at a station at 10pm. There were quite a few people selling different foods, as well as some small kiosks. I got a big sausage (ooh-er matron), a loaf, and some dumplings - stodge city! Wolfed down 3/4 of the dumplings and saved the rest for later in the journey.

The little boy in my compartment seemed to be getting a bit restless. His dad was trying to read, but was getting nowhere as the kid was constantly asking questions. I asked his name in Russian, then played a few games in English and Russian with numbers. It didn't quite have the desired effect, as his dad had to keep helping him, but there were a few periods where he was left to read in peace. Anyway, I learned the boy's name is 'Garin', he's 6, and his dad is 36. Gave his dad a beer later too and he attempted to communicate a bit more.

The morning of the 4th I woke up at about 9:30am (Vladivostok time) and had a massive breakfast of cold dumplings, bread, and cheese. All this while continuing to read about Peter the Great. A round 12, I noticed a distance marker 7030km. These relate to Moscow, again showing how Moscow centered the train system seems to be. All along the route there are these signs by the side of the track marking the distance to the capital. The entire length of the Trans-Siberian railway is 9,289lm. However, there aren't just markers each km. Instead, there's one for every 100m. So you see a constant countdown, 9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...7029 etc. So I guess there are over 92,000 signs! It's nice when you have a guidebook and can work out where you are and what's coming up soon, but seems a tad excessive to have so many signs. Must be a bugger to maintain.

As well as the guidebook, each train has it's own schedule (different trains stop more or less, or travel at different speeds) posted in the carriage as a reference point. It's all in Russian, but studying the cyrillic alphabet on the ferry paid off and I can work out most of the names. I've also managed to read words like cafe, univeristy, and calzone as they're all pretty close to English when you read them out. Without studying more Russian vocabulary it'll be pretty difficult for me to get beyond these odd words I think!

More photos here...
http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc250/davingtonsmythe/Japan%20to%20Russia/My%20first%20train/?albumview=slideshow