Many people have asked me about the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) itself. It is often described as the world's greater railway journey and, although I'm no aficionado of rail travel, I'm minded to agree.
Traveling the TSR was high on Vicky's and my 'travel todo' list and would probably have featured as our next big adventure. We haven't really done rail journeys to any great extent and we were interested to see whether this genre was likely to work for us. We were also keen to see Siberia and Outer Mongolia, which are difficult regions to reach other than by train or plane.
We had ridden several overnighters in India and so had an idea of what might be involved. However, the shear scale of this journey has to be experienced first hand.
People often refer to the Trans-Siberian Express. This is a misnomer as there is no such 'single' train. Several trains a days leave Moscow, bound for Vladivostok or Beijing, and, indeed, start the reverse journeys. In theory, you can hop on and off along the length of the railway at various stops. In practice, if you want a sleeper - and, believe me...you want a sleeper! - you need to book ahead as, even in the winter it can be difficult to 'ride on demand', so to speak.
Although technically starting from Moscow, my train journey began in St. Petersburg, home to the amazing Winter Palace. My first experience of Russian rail travel was from Moscow Station, in the former Stalingrad, to St Petersburg station, in the Russian capital. The start was much like any train trip. Moscow station is large enclosed concourse lined with shops and fast food cafes. Being new to this, and a little nervous, I arrived much too early and so made myself moderately comfortable with a coffee and my book, in one of the cafes. My big challenge was that, with my oversized rucksack and wearing several layers against the cold, moving anywhere quickly was unlikely.
Russian trains do, however, run on time. When my train was called, I donned my rucksack and made my way outside to platform 5. There was a new white train waiting to whisk me off on my big adventure. The train was made up of about 25 carriages and, from what I could see, they were mainly sleepers along with a restaurant car. I found my carriage and bunk quickly and settled myself in.
There are a few 'classes' on these trains, but I'm going to focus on the level that I had booked. Known as 'soft sleepers' these are cabins with 4 bunks, with a corridor running the length of the carriage. At one end of the carriage is a loo (on the Russian trains, this is western style) and at the other a geyser that provides a seemingly endless supply of hot water for tea, coffee, or the rather ubiquitous pot noodle! Each carriage is under the 'control' of a 'provodnitsa'. Her (for they are almost always women) role is to make sure that all is tickity boo in their part of the train. Fiercely efficient, they are the air hostesses of the iron horse. They check tickets, make sure that the coal fired geyser is always producing hot water, and ensure that passengers are woken or alerted when the train is within about an hour of their destination, as well as generally keep good order.
As I mentioned earlier, the first train I boarded was new and had many comforts. However, at Moscow, the clock was turned back somewhat. The trip from St. Petersburg had been a hotel stay. I boarded late evening, slept and when I awoke in the early morning I was where I wanted to be. The next leg was a little different. Moscow to Irkutsk was to be a four day (almost) non-stop journey. This train was nowhere near as modern, in fact, later in the journey, the provodnitsa was to boast that the carriages had been built in 1984 and, indeed, they had an Orwellian charm to them! In fairness, they were comfortable. The temperature control left a little to the imagination. When the train was moving, the carriage often became unbearably hot and, even in a t-shirt and loose pyjama trousers, became stifling. However, if the train stopped for more than about 20 minutes, the temperature would begin to dop and the cold draft of the Siberian winter would creep in at floor level. Before you knew it, your feet felt like they were encased in ice. I'm not an electrical engineer, but one of the more bizarre aspects was that the power supply for chargers, etc. was 54 volt! 54 volt? Why? Can anyone tell me?
From Moscow to Irkutsk, the scenery was stunning if consistent. Rolling hills mainly shrouded in pine tree and everything coated in snow. Sometimes, I would catch sight of a village and it would look like the set of 'Fiddler on the Roof'! For mile after mile, hour after hour I would watch the landscape approach and pass into the distance. All of my cabin mates were Russian, on this leg, although they did rotate as not everyone was doing to complete trip. A man joined in Yekaterinburg and alighted in Perm, to be replaced by Tanya and Igor who were going on to Vladivostok to celebrate the new year with their family. Also at perm, two young guys took up residence I the cabin next door. When I bumped into one of them in the corridor and he spoke in perfect English - albeit with a slight northern accent - I was pleased to be able to speak to someone in my mother tongue for the first time in ages. It transpired that they where Dutch, and the accent was more an accident of fate rather than anything else. Kay and Niels were also making the trip to Irkutsk but would then be continuing to Vladivostok. However, they suffered me joining them for a coupe of evening to drink vodka and whiskey.
Travelling alone does temper one's sense of bravery and adventure. Although the train sometimes stopped for an hour or two, I rarely had the bottle to leave the carriage. When I did, it was only to visit a kiosk on the platform to stock up with bottled water and other victuals. Kay and Niels were far more adventurous and would venture out of the stations in search of cheaper and greater variety. I resolved that, at some point I too would become so bold. At this point, little did I know how heart stopping this moment was to be when it came!
All that is for part two, to follow.
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