My trip on the Transsiberian Express (Russia, Part 1)

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Video: Transsiberian 2009 produced by Lluis Jané (yes, the one with long hairs it’s me).

I’ve already discussed in a previous article how to plan your trip on the Transsiberian Express.

This is the first of a series of three articles (Russia, Mongolia, China) where I will tell you about my own trip and impressions.

Itinerary: Trans-Mongolian (Moscow-Beijing) with stops in Irkutz and Ulan-Bator.

Goal: Reach Beijing in 23 days, that is before our return flight will take off!

Moscow

The first thought I had when I arrived in Moscow was that money can destroy everything…

The utopian promise of an egalitarian regimen has indeed left room to the wildest capitalism, where the most atrocious misery coexists with extreme luxury.

I’m especially impressed by the light, similar to the one that you see on the top fo police’s cars, featured by the vehicles of the rich people, who in this way can speed through the traffic without respect any law.

Another particular that I notice is that here in Russia are the women that take care of most of the every day tasks such as driving the public buses or handling the security at the exit of the subway stations. Talking with people I discover that the general opinion is that Russian guys are very good at having fun but not so reliable when it’s time to work.

The Red Square in Moscow

The first thing we do in Moscow is to ask to the receptionist of our hostel whether she can help us to buy a train ticket to Irkutz. She answers that it’s not a problem.

However five minutes later she informs us that the third class tickets are sold out and we’ll have to buy second class tickets, which are more expensive. I guess this is the downside of improvising your trip!

Frankly speaking I don’t have a great memory of Moscow so I won’t tell you more. I’m not that interested on big cities, I wanna go to Siberia!

Moscow-Irkutz

Many people asked me how do you cope with boredom when you stay four days in a row inside a train. My daily occupations included the contemplation of the landscapes, play cards, study the time table that features the daily stops, read, drink vodka with the Russian travelers and, dulcis in fundo, the excursion to the restaurant carriage!

The “excursion” usually keeps us busy for about an hour. The restaurant carriage isn’t that far (only seven carriages away). However you can’t avoid to stop on the way to drink a glass of vodka with an old guy or talk with a eighteen years old soldier that shows you the video of a military parade and explains to you how great is the Russian Army. All that without speaking a work of English… the power of sign language!

On the middle of Siberia

The long stops are another of my favorite activities: a perfect occasion to get off the train, stretch your legs and look for other people that look like they don’t know where they are.
Source: http://www.saporedicina.com/english/trip-transsiberian-russia/