Trans-Siberian: Irkutsk to Moscow

So what can I say about 85 hours on a train in Russia? I'm drawing a blank. I was told this would be a very social event, but as it turns out, all the cabinmates I had over those four days were pretty content to not speak with the foreign guy.

I attribute this development to the language barrier. In fact, the only people in my car who wanted to speak to me were the ten year-old Russian boys traveling from near Vladivostok to Moscow, a trip considerably longer than my own. We managed to converse non-verbally for the most part, though they spoke a bit of English and I even less a bit of Russian. We had fun exchanging non-sequiturs that we pulled out of my English-Russian phrasebook.

Otherwise, I enjoyed only the companionship of my fellow Anglophone Franziska, the German girl who resided three cars down from me. We met up for the occasioanl cup of coffee and book exchange and snippets of conversation at the train stops.

Here is what I did do: I listened to the exact amount of music that the battery power on my iPod would allow. And I read several books, some that I brought and some that I borrowed. I finished Jung's Synchronocity, Henry Miller's The Colossus of Maroussi, Freakonomics, Vonnegut's Player Piano, and another book called The Tipping Point that I didn't much care for but was my last resort. I felt very literate.

As far as the landscape, it didn't seem to change much between Irkutsk and Moscow, some five time-zones distant. Lot's of trees and snow patches and wooden homes. And of course the occasional train station platform. I don't know what I expected though.

Finally, on the last day, I had the chance to interact with a real Russian, Sasha (the nickname given to Alexanders). He joined our train on the last evening and was Franziska's cabinmate. He spoke a fair bit of English and we found in him the opportunity to share our bottle of vodka. Sasha showed us the proper way to drink Vodka in Russia, with a toast to a specific matter before each drink (the third toast always reserved for the health and success of one's parents), and a bit of food after each. We soon finished the bottle and were forced to buy another. It was a good time until I tried to lie down to go to sleep and had to consult the restroom.

The days, all in all, went by quickly, and melded into each other like [insert vivid simile here]. On April 30 just before noon, we arrived safely into Moscow and were set loose into this bustling metropolis.

I will save that for the next post though. I hope you enjoy the few pictures I managed to take. I got bored and experimented with the art filters for a while. My favorite is called "grainy film".

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