On the Trans-Siberian Express - Day 1
We didn't have adequate internet access to permit posting as we traveled between Moscow and Beijing. We know posting to the blog is impossible in China since they block all Google and Facebook associated sites. Dwayne's brother, Brian, wrote most of our record of the trip while on the train. What is posted here is mostly Brian's work with Dwayne doing some editing. Brian's blog is at the following link:
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| Chinese Train - Moscow to Beijing |
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| Chinese Train on the Trans-Siberian/Trans-Mongolian Route |
The Trans-Siberian
Railway runs from Moscow to Vladivostok which is a Russian port city
on the Pacific Ocean. The objective in building the rail line was to
achieve several goals: 1) to provide a means to quickly move Russian
military units to support military operations in eastern Russia; 2)
to promote emigration to Siberia to develop the land and relieve
perceived over-population in western Russia; and 3) to expand the
Russian empire by encroaching upon land which was not officially
Russian territory at the time. The Russians took advantage of a weak
China and the mutual threat to China and Russia posed by Imperial
Japan to obtain from China a right-of-way for the Trans-Siberian to
pass through Chinese territory. Eventually, the Trans-Siberian
railway system traversed Manchuria and Mongolia as well as Russian
territory. Today, one can travel on a Russian train entirely within
Russia from Moscow to Vladivostok or on Chinese trains from Moscow
to Beijing via routes through Manchuria and Mongolia. We chose to
travel to Beijing via the route through Mongolia. As a result, we
found ourselves taking Train #4 which is a Chinese train with a
Chinese crew. The dining car is Russian with a Russian service
staff. The dining car will change to Mongolian when we cross the
border into Mongolia. Food in the Russian dining car is rather
expensive. So, we brought a lot of food with us and plan to procure
more along the way.
The
train is about 11 cars long. We are the only ones in our 2nd
Class car which has eight compartments. We have an attendant,who is
here to do the needed work but then disappears. The train cars are
heated by steam radiators fueled by coal. When the fire is blazing, the
heat is oppressive - we estimate at least 85F. There is no outside
ventilation as all the windows are sealed shut. There is also a
coal-heated water samovar which is great for making coffee, tea or
oatmeal. But be careful – touch the samovar and burn your skin!
Aside from the samovar, all the water is non-potable and signs advise
you as such. When the locals can't drink the water, you know it is
bad. We spend a lot of time waiting for our samovar water to cool
enough for us to drink. We filled plastic bottles troughout the day so
we have cool water in the morning to brush our teeth. The window
sill serves well as our refrigerator. Temperatures run about -20
degrees Celsius or -5 degrees Fahrenheit as a high for the day. We
don't know how cold it gets at night. Fortunately, we are warm so
long as we stay on the train. Most of our stops are 5 minutes or
less during which ice is chipped off the train. The crew pays
particular attention to chipping ice off the bogies to make sure the
brakes function. At stops longer than 15 minutes, we can run to the
station of kiosk to buy bread, sausage and other provisions.
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| Samovar |
This morning,
during breakfast, we met Svetlana, the restaurant car lady, who let
us look at the menu. Like many of the women we have seen working on
the railroad she is short and wide with a red lumpy face that
occasionally produced a smile – which displayed her gold tooth.
Prices are a bit steep... 150 rubles for a small water, for example.
Dinner entrees were about 1,000 rubles, which is close to $20.
Borscht and soups were 300 rubles, or about $5.
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| Svetlana |
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| Borscht in the Russian Dining Car |
After hanging
around the compartment, we eventually made our way to the Pectopah
(restaurant), where we were met by Svetlana and the cook. They had
no customers so they were playing cards. We went just to see, but
Dwayne ended up buying water and apple juice and we sat for over an
hour on the much more comfy seats.
The afternoon
found the compartment stiflingly hot, with the sun blazing in, too.
We passed our time reading and eating snacks whiled we watched the
snowy scenery go by.
We shared our
sausage, cheese and bread for dinner with Oreo cookies for dessert.
Tea and milk washed the repaste down. Then it was time to turn in
for the night in the dark and quiet. We traveled like royalty with
the whole car to ourselves with our attendant. No waiting to charge
our electronics in the wash room.
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| Dining in Our Cabin |
For sleeping, each
of us has an overstuffed pillow, two sheets, a blanket and a thin pad
much like a blanket to cushion the hard benches which serve as our
beds at night and seats during the day. Besides the “firm” beds,
the other problem with sleeping is the banging that occurs at every
stop to hammer the ice off the carriage and bogies. These stops are
frequent but short in duration.
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| Sleeping Accomodations |
So long as we have
heat and water, none of us is complaining. At one end of the car is
a sit down stainless steel toilet which empties directly onto the
tracks. It is functional; however, aesthetically leaves much to be
desired. The toilet seat is little more than a piece of ½ inch
plywood with peeling paint and none too clean. At least toilet paper
is provided. The wash basin only has cold water and you are better
off washing with a clean damp cloth than filling the basin with
water.
The accommodations
on Foreign Affair were much
more luxurious than even First Class cabins on this train. Still, we
are here for the adventure. So far, we have not been disappointed.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I see no reason to travel
this route more than once in your lifetime.
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