The Trans-Siberian

Well, we did it - we crossed the largest country in the world overland by train. Compared to our previous train rides (and I do mean rides) this one went very smoothly as we had no borders cross making the whole process much quicker. That said we were on the train almost constantly for 3 days, a grand total of 78 hours, through 5 time zones and many, many cookies. Our cabin was very comfortable and this time we were sharing with other tourists, Dave and Alex who were pleasant travel companions. The attendant was surprisingly nice and we were well looked after including being thoroughly vacuumed at least 5 times! The train did stop in places and we were able to get off and admire the station/buy snacks from locals/stretch legs/breathe fresh air. however the longest of these stops were 20 minutes so it felt rather rushed. The rest of the time was spent on the train. We got rather bored on day 2 but day 3 seemed to fly by (probably because we spent most of it asleep or in the dining car drinking!) we watched the scenery change from green, hilly forrests to green flat forrests.

There was one massive moment of excitement, however, when, shortly after leaving Ekaterinburg we passed the obelisk that marks the end of Asia and the beginning of Europe. It's really a "blink and you'll miss it affair" but everyone was in the corridor peering out of the windows trying to see it! It just shows what people will consider points of interest when on a train for 3 days!

Overall the journey was great, though we're off eating bread and instant noodles for a long, long time! Now we end our cushy tour guided leg (thanks Monkey Shrine) and start our journey through Europe...

-Kath