Day 50 - 51: Russia Part 5, Border crossing

We awoke on Day 50, on board the train, back with our roomies Sophie and Sarah, settling quickly back into our train routine.

Later that morning we arrived at the small town of Naushki, located a few kilometres from the Russian border. Here we began the long drawn out process of the border crossing from Russia to Mongolia. When the train arrived at the station it was boarded by a group of tough, burly, Russian border crossing officials. Our passports were taken so we could be 'checked out' of Russia, and we sat back to wait... and wait... and wait! During this wait we weren't allowed off the train or even access to the bathrooms. Luckily we'd been prewarned by our tour guide and all made a mad dash for one last visit to the toilets before we pulled into the station!

When our passports were eventually returned we were allowed off the train while the engine of the train was changed from a Russian train to a Mongolian train.

 

Although it was a wet, grey, dreary day, we welcomed the chance to get off the train and stretch our legs. The town was verging on third world conditions, I think it was only built for the purpose of the border crossing. It was made up of delapidated houses amidst pot-holed dirt tracks that were used by the locals driving around on tractors and puttering old dirt bikes.

 

Half the group stopped at the first restaurant we encountered, mind you I use the term 'restaurant' lightly, as it was more just a run-down old shack consisting of a tiny kitchen, a counter, and some picnic tables adorned with red and white plastic table cloths. Ben and I continued on with a few others to hike a nearby hill for a view over the town.  

Tucked just over the crest of the hill we found a cemetary where all the graves were marked by coloured bed frames, decorated with flowers and ribbons. Such a strange find in the middle of nowhere, Siberia.

 

We re-joined the rest of the group at the 'restaurant' and tried some traditional Russian dishes including dumplings and Borsch - a delicious beetroot soup, then trouped back to the train station where we were greeted by the sight of our shiny and blue new Mongolian engine.

 

The train chugged a slow ten or so kilometres over the border into Mongolia. Here it stopped in the Mongolian border town where the process of train confinement and passport checking was repeated, this time to make sure we had visas to enter the country. When we were allowed off the train an hour or so later, we made a dash to the bathrooms, only to discover Mongolia was the beginning of the Asian style squatting bathrooms, much to our disgust, they definately take some getting used to!

 

We left the Mongolian border town later that evening and relaxed on board for our last night before reaching the capital.



Day 47 - 49: Russia Part 4, Listvyanka and Irkutsk

Listvyanka is a small town in the middle of Siberia alongside Lake Baikal, the world's largest fresh water lake. 

 

The small town is made up of a mere few winding streets. Different coloured cottages are scattered across the hillside with picket fences, shutters on the windows and stacks of chopped wood on their doorsteps.

 

 

After arriving in Listvyanka late afternoon, we blissfully showered four days of dirt, dust, sweat and god knows what, off of ourselves. Then, while dinner was being prepared we were treated to a traditional Russian banya experience!

 

A banya is a type of sauna. The temperature spikes at a massive 90 degrees Celcius making you feel like you're roasting alive. Breathing is hard and you have to wear felt hats and mittens to protect your head and hands from the intense heat. Then to top it off, people hit you with branches of leaves, soaked in hot water that are supposed to improve your circulation. After about ten minutes inside, its out to the plunge pool for a refreshing dip before repeating the whole process all over again! In our host's particular banya, the ritual is finished with a rough sponge scrubbing from head to toe rinsed off by a rather unexpected bucket of freezing cold water! The whole process though is pretty refreshing!

 

After dinner with our host family, we settled in for a well needed sleep in a real bed, rocked to sleep by the lingering vertigo of the long train ride!

Day 48 began bright and early. Ben and I headed out on a run to get our bearings of the town.

 

After breakfast with the group, we set out to explore. We all walked into town Ben and I, Sophie, Sarah and couple of the others in our grounp, hired a boat to take us out on the Lake for a couple of hours. The fog had set in so thick over the lake we could hardly see ten metres off shore however as we sailed up along the coast, it lifted, giving us some beautiful views of the lake's coastline and the clear waters that stretch as far the eye can see.

 

All along the coast, people were out in boats, fishing, swimming, sunbathing and enjoying their 'summer' weather. It was way too chilly for me to even consider swimming, however Ben remained determined to take the plunge at some point that day, dressed for the occasion in boardshorts carting a towel!

 

 

We spent the afternoon wandering the town, checking out the local markets, watching a seal show nearby and strolling up and down the shoreline picking our way around all the locals out sunbathing.

 

On our way home, Ben finally made his move, ending the day with a VERY brief dip in the rather brisk water of Lake Baikal!

 

Early on Day 49 the bus collected us and took us back to Irkutsk, a fairly uneventful city of about half a million people. The highlight of our day was a bride riding a runaway segway during a wedding photo shoot! We wandered the streets and browsed the markets then walked up to the Decembrists' Museum - two manor houses from the 1820s that housed the Volkonsky family, exiled from Russia following the Decembrist revolt.

 

We stopped by a local supermarket to stock up on supplies for our next Trans-Siberian train leg. Here we discovered several delicious delicacies, Super King Size Kit-Kats, and something I like to call 'sporse'. If ham in a can is 'spam', then horse in a can is 'sporse'!

 

After picking out a selection of powdered meals and junk food, we trooped to the hotel our luggage was being held at for a shower and a sit down. We met up with the group for dinner then headed over to the train station, climbing aboard the train for the third section of the Trans-Siberian railway, a two night journey to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia!

Day 44 - 47: Russia Part 3, Tran-Siberian Railway

 On Day 44 we embarked onboard the Trans-Siberian railway, a 78 hour journey through the mountains and forests of Siberia.

The train itself was a massive highlight of the trip and definitely an experience of a lifetime. I highly recommend it, although perhaps not for those of you who who are creatures of comfort!

The cabins are very basic, measuring about two metres by two metres and comprising of four bunk beds, storage above and below and a fold up table in between, leaving not much room for anything else - including us! A reading light above each bed is the only luxury and with the air conditioning options being 'window open' or 'window closed', I had to ensure everything on my top bunk was tied down so as not to lose it out the window into Siberian wilderness!

Each carriage has a toilet at each end but they aren't the most sanitary of facilities and we learnt quickly to wear shoes and bring our own toilet paper. They also close the toilets half an hour before and after as well as during the stops in each city since the toilets flush directly onto the tracks - high tech Russian technology right there!

There is also a single hot water boiler for each carriage, and this is the one and only source of food preparation equipment. So before embarking on the journey we stocked up on copious packets of instant noodles, instant porridge and other essential long life foods and snacks, such as Kit Kats and Pringles!

 

Life on the train was fairly laid back, almost like mandatory rest days to recuperate before the journey resumed. We were bunking with a couple from the UK around the same age as us, Sophie and Sarah. The four of us clicked straight away and it was great getting to know them.We spent our days lounging around, chatting, playing cards, eating and reading. After the second day, I hardly got out of my pyjamas, even when we hopped off to stretch our legs at platforms.

I worked out a pretty good routine of commandeering one of the carriage toilets each morning and evening for my extravagant OCD washing regime that involved copious amounts of baby wipes, seriously, we went through about 200 of those things in five days! Every item of clothing was hung on the hook and getting changed involved a blancing act to avoid clothing coming into contact with the floor - this is pretty tough too with the train ricketing around unexpected corners every few minutes.  Luckily I only had to sacrifice one pair of underwear - after they accidentally fell off the hook and touched that floor they were most definately not going anywhere near my backpack again!

As can be imagined, the cramped quarters, high temperatures and lack of wash facilities and air conditioning leads to a rather pungent atmosphere and somewaht shortened tempers, so when the train stopped a couple of times each day, anywhere from two to twenty minutes, we all spilled onto the platforms for some fresh air and space to stretch our legs! I'm not ashamed to admit that on occasion 'cabin fever' took over and there were piggy back races up and down the platforms as we revelled in our brief freedom!

The locals flock in with carts of home made breads, patries, fresh fruits and more, we learnt quickly to follow our tour guide around as he always knew the best bits and pieces to eat! We had to keep a close eye on the train though and make sure not wander too far as it often leaves off schedule and without much warning!

 

Our tour group took up the majority of a full train carriage so our evenings involved hall parties, multi cabin card games and drinking... LOTS of drinking. In Russia, the traditional chaser for a vodka shot is pickles and raw pigs fat, yep you read it right, a big white rubbery hunk of raw pig fat! Now I'll try anything once... but needless to say, it was definitely ONLY once for that!

On the afternoon of Day 47, we arrived in Irkutsk, the last major city in Russia, before the border into Mongolia. We piled ourselves and our luggage into a bus for a twenty minute drive out to Lake Baikal. First priority on arrival - a well needed shower!





Day 43: Russia Part 2, Moscow

 Early on Day 43, our overnight train arrived in Russia's capital, Moscow. We were met at the train station by our local guide with a mini bus and taken out to our hotel. Unfortunatley, the sign-in process at the hotel took about two hours, eating into our one day in Moscow big time! And after all that we didn't even get our rooms, and had to put our bags in storage for the day til we could get in that afternoon.

When we were finally cut loose we rode the metro into the city centre and Russia's quintessential must-see, Red Square! Red  Square is bordered by the Kremlin, the Lenin Mausoleum, St. Basil's Cathedral (another candy church), the State Historical Museum and the GUM store (large department store).

With no time to waste, we immediately made a bee-line for Saint Basil's Cathedral, only stopping briefly so I could snap some pictures out the front.

The inside is a maze of rooms, all considered seperate churches, around a central core. The rooms are octagonal in shape and decorated in amazing murals with tapestries, books and artwork on display.

 

Next we explored the Kremlin, Russian's version of the White House, the residence of the President. With only limited time, we just paid basic entry allowing us into the grounds but not the museums and churches. As it was though, it took us a good couple of hours to cover just that, the grounds are massive.

 

Since we only had a few hours in Moscow we'd made the tough decision to bypass the Lenin Mausoleum, the line was enourmas! However after we left the Kremlin we ended up folding and joined the end of the 300m long line, stocking up from a near by McDonalds walk-thru (yep they've got that in Russia) we settled in to wait the hour or so wait, after all... how many times are you in Moscow!? We knew at least Ben would regret it if we didn't make the effort after coming all this way.

 

I can't quite tell you it was worth the wait, but it was definately a very 'Russian' experience. When you eventually reach the front, they let you inside in small groups, after you've checked all electronic items into a cloak room. And don't think you can sneak your little iphone in because as you file in you pass armed security guards where you're frisked and every thing you carry in with you is inspected. Once inside, you're marched in single file through a dimly lit corridor and into the main chamber of the mausoleum, where Lenin's embalmed body lays behind glass. There's no stopping to take it in though, the line files through at a slow but steady pace, past six to eight armed guards who'll reprimand you for a whisper, or, as I discovered, for just putting your hands in your pockets! Then, before you know it, you're out the other side. All that wait for a short glimpse at what looks like a Madame Tussauds waxwork!

 

From Red Square we rode the train back out to the Izmailovsky markets near our hotel, for some last minute shopping. I picked up a traditional Russian matryoshka (nesting) doll and some cute Russian Christmas ornaments.

 

Day 40 - 42: Russia Part 1, St Petersburg

We arrived in St Petersburg in Russia exhausted. Travelling for about six weeks across twelve countries so far with another two and a half weeks and three counties to go. And so, we made an easy decision on Day 40 to have, what we referred to as, an 'admin' day. We lucked out in that decision since it was raining, so we didn't miss much.

Our admin day consisted of a sleep in, blog updates, several episodes of Game of Thrones season three, and laundry. A LOT of laundry. Our hotel was kind enough to lend us their laundry facilities including a washer and dryer, however after experiencing several shirt shrinkages on our last laundry stop using a dryer, I was adamant everything would be air dried. This was made somewhat difficult due to the dreary wet conditions and pretty soon our room looked, smelled and felt like a chinese laundry with clothes racks everywhere and additional shirts and underwear hanging off every bedpost, chair leg and wardrobe door handle, the air a musty humid haze with the heater turned up full ball to try and dry our stubbornly damp clothes!

That afternoon, I amused myself browsing the nearby shops and adding more to my ever growing, soon to be overflowing backpack. We finished the day with a greasy delicious meal of Carls Jnr, one of our American favourties we discovered was also franchised in Russia!

Day 41 was officially the first day of our Trans-Mongolian G Adventures tour. Tour members were supposed to arrive throughout the day and embark on their own activities before the first meeting that evening.

Rested and refreshed, after an early run, we set out to explore. First stop, via train ride was island citadel, St Peter and Paul Fortress.

 

From there we wandered up to one of my favourite sites in the world, 'The Church of the Spilled Blood', a spectacular Russian Orthodox church, the churches I like to call 'candy churches'. Words cannot describe it, so here is a picture and there'll be more further down, cause we went back again the next day to see it in the sun!

  

We strolled around town and checked out the markets then had an early dinner and headed back to the hotel to meet the tour group.

 

After the tiny group we had in Egypt, we were shocked to see we were two of fifteen on this tour! After a meeting with our tour guide we went out for a group dinner (dessert for us) and some drinks to break the ice.

 

Our first priority on Day 42 was the rugby. On the other side of the world, the Brumbies were playing in the Super 14 Grand Final, and Ben wasn't about to let 15,000 kilometres and seven hours time difference stop him from watching it! We'd done our research the previous day and scoped out a number of Irish Pubs that might be showing the game. We lucked out on the second try and settled in with a platter of chips, onion rings, calamari and spring rolls (just your standard morning tea snack) and a couple of beers and watched as the Brumbies (and Ben's) dreams were crushed as the lost 27-22 to the Chiefs.

 

One of the solo tour group participants, a 19 year old from the UK, joined us, also being an avid rugby fan. Much to Ben's delight he had someone to discuss the game with who actually knew what he was talking about. I was just happy to munch away on the endless supply of snacks that continued to appear before me!

 

After the boys comiserated their loss over a few more beers we left the pub and Ben and I set out on our own once more to see some more of the city. With the sun out, we wandered back to the Church of the Spilled Blood and strolled along the canal where I could snap some pictures.

 

 

 

We ended up at a little market behind the church and bought some presents for friends back home. We found the Bridge of Four Lions and then checked out the Hermitage museum, stopping to watch a BMX competition in the square out the front.

Russia was one of my picks for the trip. Ever since I can remember I've wanted to go to Russia. (I think it might have initially had something to do with my favourite Captain Planet character, Linka, who was from the USSR!) Although thoroughly impressed with the city I wasn't so impressed with its people! We had been warned the country wasn't very 'tourist friendly', with our first experience in that before we left home jumping through numerous hoops just to gain a visa for entry! However I wasn't prepared for what we discovered.

As you may be aware, Russia uses cyrillic, however tourist maps are printed in English, so you couldn't even match the cyrcillic writing on the wall with the writing on the maps, since they were different languages. Instead we quickly resorted to counting train station stops in each directions and taking photos of the train station names on the wall so we knew how to get home and what station we needed to find our way back to if we did get turned around!

The people MIGHT have spoke English, but if they did, they sure weren't bothering to help us out considering our extreme lack of Russian. Instead we were generally ignored and given up on as soon as it was discovered we were foreign, this included clothing stores, restaurants, everywhere! Now don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those ignorant American (sorry Davis family) tourists who expects everyone to speak English as a second language and accomodate us when we're in their homeland, but even if I were to speak a second language, I highly doubt it would be Russian. And with the number of countries we were travelling through on this trip, it wasn't even plausable to learn the basic phrases in all of them! I know when I worked in the retail and food industries, I made an effort to accomodate foreigners, I would never just shrug and walk away without a backward glance like one girl did to me when I politely tried to ask for a different size in a clothes store.

We did encounter some lovely people though, including one lady in the markets who spoke quite good English and bent over backwards to find the items we wanted to buy. Ensuring my Russian stacking Christmas ornaments weren't chipped and the paintwork was perfect, and finding Ben the perfect metal and leather shot glass to add to his collection. She got a lot of business out of us that day!

That night, all packed and ready to go, we trooped afew kilometres on foot through the streets of down town St Petersburg to the train station for the first leg of our Trans-Mongolian adventure. We boarded the train and crammed ourselves into our tiny four sleeper cabin with our room mates for the night, Sasha and Claire, two solo travellers. As we drifted off to sleep we were whisked away on our way to Moscow!



Day 37 - 39: Helsinki, Finland

After arriving late the previous night, we were up and about early on Day 37.

Our hotel in Helsinki was awesome, it was built in an old jail that had been fitted out as a hotel. All the rooms were two cells merged together, the hallways still had the metal walkways and staircases and the dining room was in the basement, complete with metal cups and plates.

For our first day in Helsinki we bought tickets on the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus, departing from Helsinki Cathedral - a huge white church in the centre of town.

From there we rode the bus around town past all the sights, hopping on and off as we pleased. We stopped at the Uspenski Orthodox Church and the impressive Rock Church - built out of rock that creates awesome accoustics.

On the other side of town we visited the Helsinki 1952 Olympic Stadium. We checked out the complex and went up in the tower for a view from the top across the city.

 

 



We wandered the shops that evening and finished the day with an all-you-can-eat buffet of pizza, pasta, salad and dessert! Yum!

Day 38 was Ben's birthday! After an early run we set off on the ferry for his birthday choices of sightseeing - Suomenlinna Fortress and the Helsinki Zoo.

Suomenlinna  is a maritime fortress built back in the 18th century. You can explore the original fortress walls, tunnels, cannons, or check out all the museums, including an old submarine. The naval academy is also out on the island and we watched them welcoming in a Japanese ship with artillery fire.

A short ferry ride later and we arrived at Helsinki Zoo, also on an island. Here Ben's life was made complete when he saw an ibex! I'm not quite sure why this was his 'unicorn' in life, but it was. We've searched zoos near and far, all across the globe to no avail, until we ended up stumbling across them unexpectantly at Helsinki Zoo.

 

That night, Ben's birthday dinner was at Hard Rock Cafe, Helsinki.

Day 39 we treated ourselves to a sleep in and late breakfast. We lazed around and packed our things then left Helsink aboard the train bound for Russia!

One thing of note throughout all the eastern European countries (as well as some of the Western ones and middle east) - bring change for toilets, you have to pay everywhere! Even in high class shopping malls in Helsinki, it costs to get through the boom gates into the public toilets.