On Sunday September 11th, with the music from Doctor Zhivago going through our heads, we make our way to Yaroslavskiy Station in Moscow to begin our journey on theTrans-Siberian Railway.
According to the Lonely Planet travel guide, the Trans-Siberian Railway has always attracted freak travelers. Well...here we are!
At 11:30 pm, we stood in the dark at attention on platform #4 as the Provodnitsa (carriage attendant) sternly and thoroughly checked our tickets, passports and visas while barking at us in Russian the whole time.
We had done our research on these Provodnitsas and had learned that being extra polite and respectful to them improves your chances of having a more pleasent Trans-Siberian journey. With that advice in mind we tried our very best.
That night we were given a plastic bag with sheets and a face cloth and along with one other Russian girl, settled into our small four bunk compartment in carriage # 5 on train # 100 to Vladivostok.
The train whistle blew and the big clanking antique was on its way. That night, like so many more to follow we were rocked to sleep in our cast-iron cradle by the movement and clanging of wheels.
In the morning, it was time to figure out what we were up against for the next week. We had two Australian couples and an Irish couple in our carriage with us. It was nice having some other English speakers who were in the same boat or in this case, the same train as us. Together we discovered we could sign out coffee cups from the Provodnitsa. Now we were set up to use the all-important samovar with hot water at the end of our carriage.
After finding the dingy looking wood-paneled dining car, we ordered an omelet and what we thought was toast. We received one scrambled egg and one peice of untoasted bread. This "big Siberian breakfast" left us with a taste for eating in our own compartment on succeeding mornings.
Although communication would continue to be a challenge, as time went by things did improve and we learned the necessity of ordering each individual food item right down to butter, salt and sugar.
We used the samovar for hot water and had ramen in our compartment for lunch. We quickly noticed that most food eaten on the train was brought on by passangers and taken in the compartments.
Being able to communicate with the Provodnitsa made it much easier for the Russians to know exactly how much time they had at each stop and therefore the amount of platform provisions they could stock up on.
Later that day, at 6:40 pm, we arrived in Kirov, the most Northern point of this trip and at 11:00 pm we stopped in Belezino for 20 minutes while we watched them change the locomotive. Seeing the engine removed from our train did made us wonder what was happening; however, increased our confidence in not being left. Not being left behind was something we took very serious.
While this locomotive swap was taking place, we noticed Korean written on one of the cars. It must have been used for the Moscow-Pyongyang run at one time or other.
Shortly after we had our new engine we were rolling into the foothills of the Ural Mountains. During the night the train stopped in Perm and we passed Vershina the border between Europe and Asia.
Tuesday morning at 9:30 am we got out for a few minutes when the train made a stop at Yekaterinburg, which is the home of Boris Yeltsin and also the place where Tsar Nicholas II and his family were killed at the hands of the Bolsheviks. About 200 km later we past Yekaterinburg and officially entered Siberia.
Later that afternoon at 3:15 pm we stopped in Tyumen which is apparently one of the oldest Russian settlements. At 8:00 pm we stopped in Ishim where the local time is now 3 hours ahead of Moscow time and we noticed the landscape change as it now became quite swampy.
On Wednesday, the third morning at 7:30 am the Provodnitsa vigorously went through the carriage sweeping and washing the floor in the hallway and in our compartment. We tried our best to move our stuff so she could do whatever it was she was trying to do.
Most of the time she didn't seem to do very much. We quickly learned that there wouldn't be any real service to speak of on this train. The Provodnitsa was usually inattentive to passengers; however, for some reason scrupulous about standing at attention in uniform by the coach door at every stop.
An hour after the floor cleaning operation was complete we rolled into Novosibirsk where we had an hour stop in Siberia's capital city. It was amazing how much the landscape changed from region to region. In this area the scenery seemed very similar to Northern Ontario in the fall of the year.
At 12:45 pm we stopped for about 40 minutes in Taiga and were now 3565 Km from Moscow. This was possible to figure out from time to time by seeing the kilometer signs next to the track. At 3:30 pm we arrived in Marinsk which we learned was named after Tsar Alexander II's wife Maria.
Around 9:30 pm we stopped at Krasnoyarsk which is close to the exact center of Asia. Unfortunately this is also where we lost our roommate Alyona, probably the best compartment mate anyone travelling the Trans-Siberin could ever ask for. Although she couldn't speak a word of English, she was cute, quiet and very pleasent. After we lost her we were joined by a continuous string of Russian men. These guys were all fine; however, none could complete with Alyona.
Thursday morning at 7:00 am I noticed we were at the 4644 km mark which we estimated would be close to the halfway point between Moscow and Vladivostock. Upon realizing this milestone we decided to crack open a celebratory package of three-in-one instant coffee and tried to break the ice with our new compartment mate Igor.
After about 45 minutes and some very basic pleasantries with Igor we rolled into Nizhneudinsk. We got out to stretch and take in some fresh air. As you can imagine it gets quite stuffy and smelly in those small compartments.
This morning we both noticed how similar the scenery was to our home in Labrador especially Goose Bay with the mix of ever green and birch trees.
At 11:30 am we made a very brief stop in Zima. Zima is famous for being a former exile town and its name translates into Winter which apparently it does very well.
We were four days along at this point and the train was running behind schedule which made it even more challenging to figure out station stops and how long the stops would be.
Although stop times would continue to be a mystery we now felt we were settling into a Trans-Siberian routine, a routine of figuring out what and when to eat, trying to keep somewhat clean and keeping an eye on when the toilet and power outlet was free. Other than that our days were spent reading, sleeping and gazing out the window as we crossed the largest nation on Earth.
We spent our time figuring out when the next station stop would be, some stations being little more than ramshackle platforms and others grand Soviet era stations.
At most stops we were met by platform sellers selling apples, smoked fish, berries, drinks and all kinds of other things. Usually we just watched as a few rubles would change hands. It appeared that for many of these local platform sellers the arrival of the train was the big event of the day.
The scenery was constantly changing and seemed to get more desolate today as we passed some Siberian settlements with no more than only a few small wooden houses.
As the sun started to set at about 2:00 pm Moscow time, which we were still trying to somewhat follow, the landscape now started to resemble the farm lands of Alberta.
At 4:30 PM Moscow time which was 9:30 local time we pulled into Irkutsk with me reminiscing of days gone by and playing the board game Risk, which up until now, had been my only connection with Irkutsk.
Today Irkutsk represented a real place and being back on schedule again. We got out and stretched our legs as we said good bye to our Australian and Irish friends who were more than ready to leave us at this point. They were headed to a hotel before going on to Mongolia and China. As for us, still days away from a shower and a real bed, we got back on board and made our way to the dining car.
We gradually made our way through the dinner menu even though after day one, we only went there once a day. Tonight we settled on the grilled salmon at 6 pm which locally was 11pm.
Friday morning we said farewell to Igor a little ways past Ulan-Ude which was about 2:30 am Moscow time. After dozing for awhile we sat and watched the quaint log cabin settlements scattered along the way as we rode along very close to the Mongolian border.
Later that morning I was suddenly awakened from a nap by a huge thunderous crash as the train came screeching to a halt. We both sat up and stared out the window in the middle of nowhere as we watched lightning light up the sky all around us. After about an hour or so the show was over and we were moving again. At about 11:30 we passed Yablonovaya, the highest point of the trip at 1040m.
We stopped at Chita but being behind schedule again were given the very stern and unmistakable hand gesture to not leave the platform area. You can be sure we didn't. We ate supper in the dining car at 2:00 Moscow time which was now pitch black out side.
At the next stop things got lively as the train got very crowded. Suddenly we were surrounded by a very large crowd of stereotypical vodka drinking Russians. We just sat back and watched the vodka fueled events unfold around us. As it turned out things didn't stay too rowdy for very long.
On Saturday morning, which was now day six, the train ran only about 50km north of the Amur River which is the Chinese border. Apparently in the past blinds were locked down at this point of the trip due to the sensitivity of this strategic location. As for us on this day, we gazed freely out the window and watched the passing scenery as we drank our three-in-one instant coffee.
The first major stop today was in Mogocha. We stopped again in Amazar for about 20 minutes at 5am Moscow time and were now back on schedule again. Before we left the stop one roommate who joined us during the night left us some pine nuts as a good bye gift.
We stopped at Yerofey Pavlov at about 7am Moscow time which was 1pm local time. Time enough just to get out have a quick look at what Lonely Planet described as one of the oddest looking stations on the line and we have seen some pretty strange ones. They described the statues in front of this station as Lego dragons. Although certainty odd we both thought they looked more like lego dogs.
In the evenning we ate chicken for supper and gained a new roommate named Pavil and another guy came during the night. We never managed to get his name.
Early Sunday morning was overcast and foggy and the first major stop was Obluche, very close to the Chinese border.
The sky cleared as the day went on and we had a little chat with our roommates around lunch time as we rode through a number of large tunnels before we arrived in Obluche which put us 7 hours ahead of Moscow time.
Then we followed the Bira River as the sky turned completely blue before we crossed the longest train bridge in Russia. The bridge is actually featured on one of the Russian bank notes.
At 8:00 am Moscow time or 3pm local time the train pulled into Khabarovsk. Here we had a one hour break long enough to actually go to a nearby supermarket to pick up a few supplies.
It was also the first encounter we had with North Koreans. There seemed to be a number of them around the station area. Here we also picked up another roommate as our last hope of having the compartment to ourselves were dashed.
Although privacy would have been nice, at least we were lucky with our roommates. Considering we had eight different people come and go through out the trip we certainly can't complain.
Even though the language barrier kept compartment conversation to a minimum, we did exchange snacks and looked at each other's cell phone pictures from time to time. There were some comical moments like when we explained to one guy that we were traveling nonstop from Moscow to Vladivostok. He shriveled up his face, shook his head and responsed with a thick Russian accent by simply saying, "You people are crazy".
As the train left Khabarovsk it made a sharp turn South. We were on the final stretch.
One of the most disorienting aspects of the Trans-Siberian experience was working out what time it was. The train schedule continued to operate on Moscow time and therefore the clocks on the train and even at the station platforms were on this time. In reality however as we traveled East our hours of day light and darkness were constantly changing.
As we crossed seven time zones you can imagine the bizarre feeling of the sun setting at 2 pm and rising shortly after midnight. By the fourth or fifth day we basically gave up trying to figure out what meal we were eating or when we should be sleeping. We simply ate when we were hungry or when food was available and slept whenever we felt like it.
Although the compartment was small and at times stiflingly hot, the food was far from great and it was a week without a shower, it was seven days we will never forget and never for a second regret spending exactly the way we did.
This trip gave us time to read, write and simply relax. A love for trains has always been in my blood and there was no better way to spend a week of my life than on the rails feeling the rattle and sway of the train looking out the window as we crossed the big country.
That evening at 1pm Moscow time we had our last Trans-Siberian dinner in the dining car and then settled in for our final night's sleep. I'm not sure if it was knowing it was our last night or not; however, that night I slept better than any other night and woke up only two hours before we arrived in Vladivostok.
As the sun came up we passed in our cups and sheets as the Provodnitsa, who by now we could get the scattered smile out of, completed her all important official paperwork.
After seven days and eight nights and 9300 km of track we arrived in Vladivostok exactly on scheduled time. We had made it to the Pacific Ocean and our time on the Trans-Siberian Railway came to an end.
