Trans Siberian - Yekaterinburg to Irkutsk
15.10.2011 - 17.10.2011
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15.10.11 – I awoke this morning to the sound of wings flapping, and found the Russian man watering his birds on the bench table in the cabin…..great. Given we’re going to be in this cabin for around 50 hours, it would’ve been nice not to be in a zoo. Suddenly saying nothing doesn’t seem like such a good idea after all! The trees continue to fly past, and other than the odd station stop and small town, there isn’t much to report. Time seems to go quickly on the train, it’s already 11am so we’re 10 hours down - 40 to go!
16.10.11 – Stupid bloody birds! What seemed harmless has turned into a bit of a pain in proverbial! Not only do they make noises far too often, they stink! Kicked up a bit of a fuss this morning at the Russian guy, as we all made an exit to the restaurant cart, and he seems to have got the message as when we returned, it’s all been tidied up a bit, and the smell is gone…..for now! Can’t believe of all the carriages we had to get put in, we end up with the bloody bird man!
The Dutch lady is very nice though, and keeps us well fed and watered with her endless supply of food, brilliant as we were getting sick of Pot Noodles. We have a few stops today, a chance to get off the train and stretch our legs. There is all manner of things being sold on the platforms, from dried fish, to cooked chickens, meatballs, pancakes, fruit, breads and general western junk food. Can’t say anyone would go hungry doing this trip!
The scenery has changed a bit the last few hours, and we are getting more mountains, less flat plain landscapes. It’s interesting to see the world fly by, hour after hour, with nothing else to do but look out the window, read a book, watch a film, or just sleep.
17.10.11 - Finally, after over 50 hours on the train we arrived in Irkutsk. Weary, and 4:30 in the morning, we attempted to take a taxi only to be booted out as we hadn't booked. Apparently you have to phone them, they aren't just available to take from the station. All well and good if you have a russian phone perhaps! We eventually just walked to our hostel, only to find they had over booked and didn't actually have any room for us. Unfortunately they didn't think to tell us this until they'd already let us in and we'd been there for over 3 hours! What did they think we were doing there??
So we were then left wandering Irkutsk trying to find another hostel. Sorry, we're full - let me try this one, nope, full, hold on I'll call this one....full.....hmm, there might be a woman with a bed here, let me try - success! (At least they were helpful!!) An afternoon nap turned into a 4 hour sleep, and late afternoon we woke and wandered Irkutsk. Dinner was great thanks to a fab Lonely Planet recommendation, and a walk along the river followed by coffee and cakes. We're now ready to head to Olkhon Island tomorrow, and will check out Irkutsk properly when we get back from Lake Baikal.
Posted by Long way home 17.10.2011 06:10 Archived in Russia
