I’ve done it several times. First, when I was 6 and traveled from Irkutsk to Chita and saw fields out of windows. Next time, I was 9. I traveled from Irkutsk to Volgograd and it took me 5 days. THere me and my new friends ran around the train from one car to another and poked our heads out of windows to face the winds! Sometimes we ran with bare feet so our feet got black of dirt! We played monopoly and cards while our parents played making words out of the names of the stations we passed by. I also liked to sit on the garbage can lid that is usually located in the same block with WC.
THen I took some short trips and finally traveled from Moscow to Irkutsk for 4 days alone. There I bought crawfish on one of the stations and also mineral water and CakCak in Kazan, Tatarstan. One girl traveled with me and I suggested to drinks soda with me, she said no. Then I asked her what card game we’d play, she said we wouldn’t play, so she ignored even to play with me for a while. And it’s pretty typical for nowadays Siberian girls. But when we passed Angarsk, two drunk guys went into our place and started to talk to her and pretended I was sleeping on my packed daypack. She still was scared even of them but talked to them cause they were very persistent. It serves her right. The girl who doesn’t want to deal with good guys will have to deal with bad ones.
How to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway
How I did it: There was a travel agency in switzerland who booked the composition of the Trans Sibirian train for a luxury dinner. The crew was Russian. This is 20 years back so this was very special.
Lessons & tips: just go for it. I have seen the advertisment and I knew that it was expensive, but hey, it is something very special. So I asked my girlfriend and we decided to book it and go for it. I was only 1 day/evening (expenses...) but we dressed up and feelt like a million bucks.
People doing this are also doing these things:
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I want to take the Trans-Siberian Railway between Beijing & Moscow. I want to either do it in August or September. Ideally, I’d like to visit my friend in Kazakhstan but I’m not sure if that will work out with our time allotment. I want to stop in Ulaan Bataar, Lake Baikal, Moscow, and Beijing.
My goal is to try to work it out so I can do this trip. I will know in June or July.
This is a long-term goal as this year is probably not the best time to travel to China.
Silvie TGTFS and BT is radiating warmth and brightness from within
Still hasn’t arrived. ETA is first week in August now.
Good job I wasn’t planning on going soon.
Silvie TGTFS and BT is radiating warmth and brightness from within
The book hasn’t arrived yet…
Silvie TGTFS and BT is radiating warmth and brightness from within
So I can plan my trip. This still feels like so much of a dream I can’t believe I really have it up here!
I’m going to buy a copy of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express to read on the train. The trans-Siberian isn’t exactly the Orient Express, but never mind.
I have at least 3 friends lined up to do this trip with me. It’s going to be fun :) It is a long time to spend in such close confines with other people though, so hopefully we all manage to get along ok and don’t end up driving each other insane.
