WEATHER: Climate controlled at 24C inside and 3C outside
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY : Back on the train for some rest. Gives me the opportunity to catch up on my blog entries, photos and updating my ipod etc…..
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Dropped my ‘drinking’ camera and it now seems to be having some problems.
BUYS OF THE DAY: Hot tea served by our stewardess in fancy Russian glass holder for $1.50
WORD OF THE DAY: - always written phonetically – pasholsta / please or your welcome
1800km to cover today. This means approximately 24 hours on the train. We can finally set our clocks to Moscow time and have no more time changes till we leave Russia in 7 days, moving our watches back 2 hours. Thank-god.
Train departed Ekaterinburg at 7.20am ( Moscow time of course ) so we were collected at 8.30am for our transfer to the station. See how confusing it can get! This train is amazing. It is near new, there are even more ‘wow’ things on this one than the last one and we thought that one was cool. I think, to do the journey, the Beijing to St Petersburg direction is better than doing it in reverse. As you move west the trains keep getting better, where if you do it in reverse, you start with the best train and descend to the worst train heading into Beijing, which all things considered wasn’t ‘that’ bad. It seems like an eternity ago already.
On train number 15 you get:
An amenity kit ( toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, cotton buds, wet towels, shoe heel and eye wipes ) Um excuse me are we still in Russia?
There is a personal safe for each berth, not per cabin, so we all get one each
An individual temperature control for the cabin ( finally we won’t have to sit in an ice box or an oven )
Ear and TV ports for the TV and remote included
A small rail to hang your hand towel
A smiling carriage attendant who for $1.80 serves you tea from fancy Russian mugs
…and the piece da resistance a toilet that can be used stopped and at stations! I know right, they are biodegradable toilets, so we can knock ourselves out! They also look the cleanest by far!!!
My afternoon was spent updating my budget, my blog, adding some of my trip pictures to my Ipod, reading and listening to some music. I do love train travel. I can’t believe that I am saying this, but it is a shame that we aren’t on this train a little longer, as it is the Rolls Royce of all trains.
It is going to be a real pain in the bottom, when this trip ends and I have to pack my bags to be ‘plane’ ready again. I have gotten a bit into the habit of having an additional plastic bag full of crap and food that just doesn’t seem to fit back in my bags the way it did when I left Australia. I haven’t bought much, and what I did buy, I have had it posted back home from Mongolia. Now this is the ‘downside’ of travelling. Baggage and weight restrictions, flamables, sharps, liquid and gels. I remember a few years back, I flew Scandanavian Airlines from Copenhagen to Frankfurt to pick up my Singapore Airlines international flight home. I was over 3kg and was charged $210.00 for my effort and the buggers don’t tell you how much it is till your bag has gone down the conveyor belt. Thanks visa card for getting me out of that one. I wonder how many times I will be charged excess baggage on this trip? The positive thing is I cannot possibly fit another thing in my backpack, so I know it won’t get heavier than 22.9kg right? Gee I hope not – I will keep you posted.
Moscow in the morning!
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