Sent to Siberia

It was bleak and raining as the train rolled into Siberia. We stared blankly at the depressing hostile country before us.

NOT!

Ha :)

Ok, it was half true. It was bleak and raining. The border crossing was a nightmare and took about 8 hours for both sides. Train travel is cool. Sitting in a railway station with nothing to do for hours on end is not. As I had already guessed, I was in a "backpacker" cabin with 2 others - there were only 5 western travellers on the train! We played a lot of cards.

My first real Russian experience was trying to change my US$3 (wow I'm rich!) at the bank. I entered a builing that I thought was the bank only to be faced with a grey corridor with several male train guards drinking cheap beer from 2 litre bottles. Umm.. bank? Yes they laugh and point further down the corridor. There are 3 doors with no signs. I try all of them and find them all locked until one of the guards comes over and pulls open the 3rd door (clearly I'm just too weak) with a laugh.When I re-emerge, I smile sheepishly and they all laughed. Next challenge was to buy a chocolate bar at the shop next door.

Arriving in Irkutsk, it took a while to find the person from the hostel meeting me as I'd told him coach 1 but during the train journey our coach had changed to 10! He was a very friendly, some English young russian who was a total godsend helping me to buy my train ticket for the next part of the journey.Russia is still very much girls are girls and boys are boys. Women will often get a menu without prices and when Andrei offered me his arm to help me off the tram I accepted graciously even whilst thinking this is so unnescessary!

The hostel is a smart little appartment in a dodgy block complete with damp smells and crumbling stairs. After a shower and coffee to rid the vesitges of train journey, I set out to explore Irkutsk "the Paris of Siberia".

It's a pleasant town with beautiful buildings and tree-lined boulevards. The buildings are a mix between massive blocks with ornate plastering and wrought-iron designs and wooden gingerbread houses with quaint windows and flowerpots.

The best bit about Russia though has to be the Russians. I love that:-
1) That all Russians (even the women and some are very attractive) look Vinnie Jones hard
2) The men wear tank tops with buzz cuts and strut
3) I stand out as a tourist more here than I do in Asia! (mostly cause I have a daypack, the Russians use plastic bags to carry all their stuff!)
4) One in 10 russians is carrying a beer. They drink so much! The govt tried to stop the level of alcholisim (vodka) by encouraging micro-breweries. There are now hundreds of them all over the country but all that has changed is that beer is now a day drink and vodka for night!!
5) All Russians can be divided into 2 groups. The ones who think “you do zspeak Rrussian zo you are nuzzthing to me” and watch expressionless as you pantomime how flowers made you sneeze.
And the ones who are happy to help and will babble on nineteen to the dozen even though you don’t understand a word they say : )

The feel here is of summer. Clothes are bright and short apart from unbiquitous men in their army fatigues. On the path down the river lovers court and kiss, families stroll along whilst their children bicycle in circles, students sit on the grass to sing and play guitar and groups of young men, and women, stand around drinking cheap beer.

To me it all seems very unusual and photograph worthy, but in reality the same scene is taking place all over Europe.

I’m back in Europe and it feels wonderful and strange, like I’ve entered another world, familiar but not my own.

Tomorrow I’m off to the lake and then back on Friday for my train that leaves at 6pm. It takes 4 days and arrives in Moscow at 4.15am : ( on the 28th June. I’m in second class. It’s quite possible I’ll be the only westerner. 3rd class (which is beds everywhere and total chaos) might be more of a Russian experience but one I can live without! Whatever happens, its going to be interesting!

kx