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The Trans Siberian Train
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After a peaceful break, it was time to catch the Trans-Siberian again. Papa saw me off at the bus stop in Listuyanka at 7 a.m. and then Alexander met me at the bus station in Irkutsk. He took me to the train station and pointed out the sights along the way. It was useful having this guide as he also helped me buy some food in the market and send some postcards.
The train from Moscow actually arrived on time. It is a Russian train again and so the carriage layout is much the same. However, this time it is all very much cleaner. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that the two provodniks are female! The toilet at the end of the carriage is cleaned several times during the day and so doesn't smell at all. They even come around and vacuum clean the carpets.
The majority of people on this train are Chinese. In our carriage there were also Russians, Romanians, Mongolians and a couple of Dutch people. When I first entered my compartment I discovered a large group of Chinese men talking 19 to the dozen. The small table by the window was covered with jars containing goodness knows what. My heart sank. Could I really survived three nights in the small compartment? However, all turned out well in the end. After the dust had settled, I discovered that my travelling companions were a professor, an artist and a Russian in the upper bunk. The latter didn't communicate with anyone at all and later moved to a different compartment. As I got to know them better we became good friends.
Professor Li Ji Sheng teaches Russian in the Beijing University. He had been visiting Moscow with one of his students. Professor Li speaks a fair amount of English which obviously has been very useful for me. He has been teaching me some Chinese words so I will be prepared for China when we arrive. In return I have been helping him with his English.
Li Xou is an artist studying at the Art Institute in Beijing. He had been displaying some of his art work in Moscow. He speaks very little English though we managed to get on very well. He proudly showed me all the books he had bought in Moscow which were really cheap. He had also bought three imitation guns, wooden cutlery and numerous other objects which I think he only bought because they were so cheap. His main acquisition was a small dog. Probably one of the many I saw being sold near the exit of the Metro.
As on the previous section of the trip, time went very quickly. Surprisingly, I am only just over halfway through my book. I have put a lot of effort into learning Chinese and Li Xou gave me some tips on places to visit in China. There was very little time for anything else.
That situation with food has been much the same. Though this time I have been buying packets of noodles to prepare myself for China. Noodles seem to be the main diet of people in this carriage. There is hot water on tap at one end of the carriage which is also useful for making the endless cups of “char”. I make it Russian style so I should really say “chee”. Russian style is black, weak and with lots of sugar.
We reached the Russian border post late on Thursday afternoon. The Customs officials came on board taking away our passports and custom declarations which we have filled in earlier. This time the questions on my form were in English. Which made it easier for me. We were then allowed off the train (well, ordered to be precise), whilst they changed the bogeys. The rail gauge in China is narrower. We then had to wait for four hours on the station. We bought some food and beer and sat in the shade of a tree.
When we were finally allowed back on the train we had to wait whilst the compartments were search. This time they were more thorough, though again they didn't search my bags. All this took some time. The fruits of the search were two full garbage bags of cigarettes from our carriage alone! These were then taken away. Probably to be resold. After two hours we were finally allowed to leave. As the train picked up speed we all took turns to stick our heads out of the window as it had become stifling hot waiting in the station.
A short distance down the track we again stopped, this time at the Chinese border post. However, things were very much different here. As we arrived I could see that the station was decorated with coloured lights and there was also some patriotic music playing. As we pulled in, a line of station guards saluted us! The immigration officials were very polite. They even spoke English. They took away our passports with little fuss. Whilst these were being checked, and a Chinese restaurant carriage attached, we were allowed off to visit the station shop and to rest in the waiting room. All very much cleaner and better organized.
I exchanged some of my travellers cheques to the local currency, which is called Yuan. One pound sterling is worth just over eight Yuan. I tried to transfer some of my Russian roubles but apparently I shouldn’t have taken it over the border. It doesn't really matter as they will make nice souvenirs and the total value is only about five dollars. That means I have only spent about £20 in Russia. With this I had bought food for the train, the metro trips in Moscow, the entrance fees for all the museums I had visited, the many drinks I bought and as well as the tracksuit. It was not bad going. All accommodation and train transport had been paid for in advance.
After about an hour a bell sounded and we were all allowed back on the train. Our passports were given back to us and shortly afterwards we left. As a celebration of arriving in China, Li Xou treated us all to a meal in the Chinese restaurant. Unlike the Russian one, this restaurant was clean and served good food. I had my first opportunity to use chopsticks. My initial attempts were pretty feeble and resulted in much laughter. However I soon got the hang of it. Well just about. By the time we had finished eating, it had gone midnight.
After crossing the border I had to put my watch back two hours. This was because the sixth time zone we had entered in Russian a short distance away doesn't apply here and also because China isn't on daylight saving. This means I'm now eight hours ahead of Greenwich Meantime. After leaving Beijing I will be heading back West for a while and will have to start taking time off. However, like Russia, trains in China run on Beijing time.
The scenery has been quite varied over the last few days. After leaving Irkutsk we passed along the edge of the lake for quite a long time. So obviously the views were quite stunning. But as we approach the Chinese border on the second day the land was more barren with few trees. I haven't really seen much of China yet as it was dark when we entered and I have been catching up on my sleep today. But what I have seen has been treeless and to be honest, pretty mundane. But obviously that isn't really a fair comment.
On Thursday evening we said goodbye to Li Xiu. However, we will be meeting up again in about four or so days in Beijing, as he has said I can stay with him. At the moment he is visiting his grandmother before heading on to Beijing. Professor Li has also invited me over for a meal at his home in the University. He wants me to meet his daughter who is studying English.
On Friday, the train pulled into Beijing station at 8.30 a.m., two hours late, which of course we were thankful for. I say goodbye to the professor and after many adventures (which I will tell you about later) I managed to find the way to a hotel. I am staying for the moment in Long Tan Hotel.
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