Those of you who have been following this Blog may have thought that I had given up on it....that is not the case. My intention was to continue the Blog once we arrived in Beijing, unfortunately I was not thinking of the restrictions the Chinese Government put on access to the Internet, one of these restrictions is to block all Blogs. When in Beijing it is easy to forget that the population are still subject to restrictions on information, it all feels so Westernised, this is clearly not the case but more about that later. For now let me backtrack to Moscow and our final day there.

Our final day in Moscow dawned cold wet and grey. I came to the conclusion that it is this type of weather which dictates the mood of the population. I have to say it was difficult to get a smile out of anyone, they were all so glum. As the weather was inhospitable we decided to go to the Pushkin Museum, this was a good choice. It was just large enough to keep us occupied but not so large that you felt a couple more days may mean you could see it all. On leaving the Museum we saw people entering a nearby Cathedral, I am unsure of the name of this but we decided we too would go and have a look, it was magnificent. The walls were covered in wonderful frescos, the ceilings were painted in the most glorious colours and there were fabulous Icons everywhere, a real find.

After that we made our way to the old quarter known as Arbat which had a lively feel about it with people in the street trying to entice you into their shop to buy souvenirs or anything they could possibly persuade you that you couldn't leave Moscow without buying. We were very restrained and only had something to eat, a very poor meal in an 'Italian' self service restaurant where they had a complicated method of charging for the food which nobody explained, or even helped me to understand with the use of charades!

After our meal it was time to buy a few more provisions for our train trip and make our way to the station.

I was not sorry to leave Moscow, not my favourite place and I won't be holding my breath to return. One of the plus points for Russia against the UK is the absence of chewing gum in the streets which seems to be a plague at home. Also, everywhere was spotlessly clean if a little run down ... there, I have ended on a kind note about Moscow.

The Trans Siberian Railway
What an adventure. John and I had to keep pinching ourselves to believe it was actually us doing this trip. Our home for the six nights was a very smart cabin with bunks on one side and an armchair by the window on the other side. At the side of the armchair was a door leading to a very small wetroom which had a sink and shower. This was set up as a Jack and Jill arrangement where the wet room was shared with the next door cabin. All sounds great except that the shower only dribbled out lukewarm water, we certainly did not use it and I don't think anyone else did either. This room was really useful for washing and washing up so no complaints really. For the most of the trip we were a select group in our carriage. Two Swedish couples, a chap from Newcastle who was travelling by himself and us. We all got on well and had quite a good time together.
The scenery for the first few days was rather samey and I have to say on day 2 I was beginning to think that 6 days confined in a train with just birch trees to look at out of the window was going to get to me and the thought of flying to China had quite a few attractions. It was about this time that we all started to get on together and started to learn things about our fellow travellers, what they were doing, where they were going. It is also amazing how quickly we, as humans, adapt to a different routine and we were no exception to this. As soon as the train pulled into the station it was coats on, down the steps and see what the vendors on the platforms had to sell. We became rather fond of potato and cabbage cakes which were a bit like a large doughnut filled with savoury cabbage. If you could find them warm they were particularly nice. We did try the restaurant car once between Moscow and Mongolia, but the food was hopeless(cooked by Russians) and desperately overpriced. Everyone either brought their own provisions or shopped from the Station vendors. Hot water was available at the end of the carriage so you could reconstitute dried food, I have never eated so much stuff from a pot!
On the subject of the hot water. This was from a boiler which was fired by a tiny solid fuel furnace in the front. All the carriage heating was from a solid fuel stove in the corridor, the supply of coal would be replenished at each stop and the boiler would chugg away all the time. The coach Steward would cook his food on the boiler and given the chance I would have eaten in his cabin any day, the smells were just delicious.

It wasn't until Friday when we got to Lake Baikal, and a place called Ulan Ude beyond that, the scenery changed. I think if I did the trip again I would spend a few days at Lake Baikal as it was just stunning, it was at this point that some other people joined the train and talked about their time there, which did sound great. We at last left behind miles and miles of birch trees, (Russia must have millions of them) and had some varied and interesting scenery. Near Baikal, there were small snow capped mountains, and lots of houses which were more affluent looking than the rather poor ramshackle houses which lined the track through Russia. We saw wild horses, heards of cattle and for the first time sheep and goats. There were wide open rivers and small streams feeding into them, it was all picture perfect.

On the Saturday we went across the Border into Mongolia. The border guards made a thorough search of the carriage even taking down a roof panel to see if we were hiding someone up there. At Ulan Bator lots more passengers got on and our carriage was now full. One of the Swedish couples got off and they went to spend a few days in a yurt in the Gobi Desert, it was freezing at that point and I was pleased it wasn't me. It was only as we travelled out of Ulan Bator that I realised how common yurts were and that they had fires and in fact looked really snug, perhaps Thomas and his wife would be OK after all. The Gobi Desert reminded us both of Oman. Lots of rolling hills covered in a yellow/brown screed. You could see where water had run, on the rare occasions it rains, it was all rather barren but at the same time rather beautiful.

Sunday saw us cross the border into China. Lots of fun and games as they have to change the wheels on the train to accomodate the narrower track in China. We all stayed in the carriage as it was jacked up about 6 foot into the air and one set of bogies removed and the next set slid under. Health and safety in the UK would have had kittens, John was in his element! Border control went through the same procedure as before and were all thoroughly searched, our passports scrutenised and lots of rubber stamping.

China was different again and our trip through the countryside and into Beijing was particularly splendid. The train travelled alongside the most wonderful Gorge, it quite took your breath away in places. We were not expecting such beautiful scenery, it was a wonderful welcome into Beijing.
To be continued.