The (short) story of an epic (and very long) train Journey. Part 1
See the faces from the train from this post…
http://schoolistravel.tumblr.com/post/146825124674/faces-from-the-train-part-1
As I embark on this epic train journey from Paris to Shanghai I have to wonder what the hell I was thinking?
Well, what I was thinking wasn’t necessarily the destination itself,but rather the adventures the journey might entail. Because only a crazy person would travel this distance by train. And crazy people often have good stories to tell.
The first leg of the journey was also the quickest. Going from Paris to Warsaw was easy and uneventful. There was a short stop in Koln, Germany. Just long enough to gaze at the most impressive building right outside a train station.
From there I shared a sleeper car with a German scientist doing his Ph.D. and going to a study camp in Poland. Obviously a smart fella but his english was not good enough to explain his (seemingly) complicated studies.
I was impressed with Warsaw. Dirt cheap, very clean and the Polish people are so friendly. They even speak some English!
Although not part of the epic journey I decided to spend a day going and visiting Auswizch. Terrible things happened there and may we never forget them.
On the way over in the train I met this nice old Polish lady. She had studied in Moscow and worked in London as an architect. She drew among other things, a few of Warsaw’s Metro Stations. Her late husband was also Polish, and a famous sculptor. He has sculptures all over the world and I might see one when I arrive in Japan at the end of the trip.
The next leg of the journey from Warsaw to Moscow was a little longer, around 24 hours. But that was just a warmup for the leg after that, lasting over three days.
A Pole, a Mongolian, an Armenian and an Icelandic guy walk into a train car. This could be the beginning of a bad joke but in actuality those four men were bunk mates on the journey from Warsaw to Moscow.
All but the Icelander speak fluid Russian. None other than the Icelandic speak more then a few words in English.
The Pole is obviously either autistic or mentally challenged shomehow. He breathes loudly through his nose and when he chugs his 2L of Pepsi out of a tiny cup he is always out of breath for a little while after. He stares out the window the whole journey and I was a little worried he would be loud in his sleep since he was in the lower bunk next to me. That was unnecessary worry.
The other two were a different story. The Armenian had a big belly and a big snore to go with it. The Mongolian ground his teeth so loud, a sound you have to experience to understand. I’ve only heard this sound from people with Down’s syndrome and brain damaged people.
I bought a noise cancelling headphones before the trip, and what a blessing that was. Just plug em’ in there and turn them on and the outside world disappears. So the upstairs quire didn’t bother me too much.
The Mongolian and the Armenian were obviously big football fans, and shouted and clapped when I told them were I was from. They knew Iceland was playing that day and asked the stewardess(who spoke no English) if there was wifi or if there was a television. Unfortunately no, so I would miss the game.
I followed the score on 3G and even managed to stream the last minutes of the match(not cheap by the way) and celebrate with my new friends when Iceland beat England!
The Pole did not want his picture taken, and I respected that. Hands were shaken, phone numbers exchanged(if I got into trouble in Mongolia) and each went his own way in Moscow.
Moscow is a little confusing. They have a different alphabet and their Metro system is a maze for the untrained eye. Ask someone for help and they most likely won’t speak English. But eventually I figured it out and managed to go my ways in the end. Thought I had two days in Moscow but forgot I sacrificed one day to be with the family in Paris a bit longer. So it was basically an afternoon, enough time to see the Read Square and the Kremlin. I was amazed that I could not see or hear any other than Russian tourists at this time of year. I might come back when Iceland qualify for World Cup 2108!
Next was by far the longest leg of the journey. Three days in the train across Siberia and 5 time zones. Man this country is big!
The journey started off pretty good. I was the sole occupant of a 4 bed “coupe” the first few hours. I read, listened to music and napped a lot. I was later that day joined by a quiet Russian fella, who left again in the middle of the night.
Next bunk mate to arrive made me nervous for the first time during the trip. He was obviously drunk and had that stereotypical Russian street fighter look. Gold chain, crew cut and the face of a man who had been punched a few times in his lifetime. He kept speaking Russian to me, even though I obviously did not understand a word he said. Later on he brought his friend over. He had the exact same look, and gold teeth to boot. Imagine a duo of Russian small time mobsters and those were the guys sitting in the “cell” with me. There wasn’t much of a conversation I understood but my new friends gestured that they were in fact, fighters. That’s what you want, to share a sleeping compartment with two drunk fighters. They kept gesturing towards me and talking in hushed voices. So I kept my eyes open and my valuables close to me. Eventually they passed out drunk(in the middle of the day) and left a little later. Thankfully.
Next a friendly, albeit drunk and grumpy looking grandpa came in for the night. I’ve never seen anyone chug vodka like that. It was like he was clenching a thirst on a hot summer’s day. He had a big belly and snored the whole night. Snoring I can get used to if it’s constant but this guy had five different kinds of snores. My favorite was the one where he sounded exactly like that lobster dude in Futurama. Not much sleep was had that night and thankfully he left the next day.
Next came in two couples with two small kids. The men came into my coupe with the older boy(around 3). For five hours the kid was playing with his dad’s phone while the father slept. Whenever the poor kid wanted some attention the father just said “niet” and pushed him away. Once he woke to put something that looked like soda into his sippy cup. I noticed that the poor boy had black and rotten teeth. Turns out the little family are very nice people, although I don’t necessarily agree with how they raise their kid. Igor and his sister were adorable, and their parents kept giving me food. I approve of that.
By this point at day two of this leg I’ve finished two books and am ready to get off this train. Only about 24 hours until I get a little break for the next leg, which is not nearly as long. The train is comfortable and clean enough, but the food is rather bland and there’s no shower of course.
I’m not at all starting to regret going on this journey but I wouldn’t take this train again. It’s just so goddamn long and you never know who you’re going to be sharing a cabin with. That was part of the charm, but I can’t say I’ve liked most of the Russians who have come and gone. If(and that’s a big if) I would do this again I would have company, and either book first class or a whole cabin for the two or three of us. I would also learn some Russian, because no one has spoken English so far. But I think this is one of those things that is adventurous and “fun” to do once, but crazy to do a second time.
Now I have arrived in Irkutks for a short stop. Publish this post and then off to see the world’s deepest lake, lake Baikal.
