June 11-14 Trans-Siberian train - Vladivostok to Irkutsk

Russia is just too vast to comprehend! Over the next 10 days we will be crossing eight time zones as we travel from Vladivostok to Moscow.  'War and Peace'!? The trip promised to be of epic proportions, and we looked forward to exciting and probably challenging times. At the very least, it will be intriguing and memorable.

The end-beginning of the Trans-Siberian train route

The Vladivostok station is very grand

We boarded the Trans-Siberian train on Saturday 11 June in Vladivostok for the first leg of our rail journey across Siberia to reach Moscow in European Russia -- first stop Irkutsk on the western side of Lake Baikal three days away. The Trans-Siberian Railway is an immense rail network that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. Spanning over 9000 kms, it is one of the longest railway lines in the world. This large network has many links and makes connections with services to Mongolia, North Korea and China.  As a matter of interest and some confusion, the train timetables are all on Moscow time.

Lindsay made himself quite at home

In every carriage there was a samovar supplying hot water 24/7

First class passengers received a tea glass each 

We spent most of the journey with our eyes glued to the window.  At times our journey was a little bit of a challenge as we could speak and understand only a very few Russian words and the majority of train stewards didn't speak any English. We managed - most of the time! On this first leg, we travelled first class and that came with meals. The choices were not huge, but the food was sufficient for our needs. At breakfast and lunch time our meals were brought to our cabin. In the evening, we went to the dining car which was quite an eyeopener. The bar was very limited as was the menu, but it was AOK. Snacks were dried fish which didn't appeal to us much. It was an experience!

Svobodny station

Not surprisingly we went through many stations. Some were grand and other, smaller ones, we whizzed by without stopping.  For a large part of our early trip, we came very close to the border with China.  For instance, Svobodny, which we just passed through, is a town in the Amur region about 50 km from the Chinese border. The Amur River, from which this region derives its name, is the world’s tenth longest river. This large region and beyond is the home of the beautiful Siberian Tiger, known as the Amur Tiger. 

At some stations, we hopped out to stretch our legs and at one there was a man selling smoked salmon. The Aussie kayakers who had been on our expedition were travelling on the same train as us on this leg and they jumped out and bought some fish (they had trouble finishing it!).  They were leaving the train at Ulan-Ude to take the Trans-Mongolian train which heads south to Ulaanbaatar before making its way southeast to Beijing.

The fish looked delicious

At most stops, rail linesmen walked the length of the train tapping the metal wheels and undercarriage listening for odd sounds which would indicate to them if there were any issues with the metal of wheels, brakes, and other train-bits. It won't surprise you to know that these men are called 'Tappers'.

The countryside whizzed by much too fast.  So often we would have liked to get off the train to explore - we had so many questions about this rather alien, beautiful and very different land, a whole different ecosystem. It was hard to grasp that the Soviet Union had only collapsed 16-17 years earlier. But we saw evidence of that along the way with, on the one hand, the revival and restoration of the Russian Orthodox churches which had been stripped and, for almost 100 years, people banned from worshipping in. And on the other hand, we passed mile after mile of abandoned factories and farm collectives just left to fall into ruin when the Soviet Union collapsed.  Of course, it was the people who suffered as their livelihoods and security were whipped from under them and because the structures are all government-owned, the people can do nothing with them. One good hangover from the last regime is hot water. All houses are supplied by a system of pipes that runs all around and over towns and roads - so every building is heated between specific dates each year - irrespective of weather conditions.

Having just come from Vladivostok, it was a revelation to learn that only 150 years ago Vladivostok and this region had been a precinct of Outer Manchuria.  Gosh, I need to go back to High School History and the Russo-Chinese and Japanese wars which I obviously skimmed over. So much I have forgotten. 

We were to see these emerging everywhere we stopped

Abandoned building left over from a collective farm we imagined

Some of the hot water system snaking across the land

The villages held great appeal, but we didn't pause long enough in our westward journey to explore any of them. Overall, we were left with fleeting images of the more bucolic of the Siberian countryside.

We watched a number of sunsets and sunrises

We passed a number of what looked like palaces but were possibly very elborate dachas 

Three days of misty weather and soft grey skies were a perfect backdrop to the vast meadows we passed through. It was quite beautiful. The train hurtled by lush grassy fields, marshes and huge rivers, villages and shepherds' cottages. We spent a lot of time just gawping out the window. After three fascinating days and nights, we rolled into Irkutsk just as the sun was rising. Here we were to be met by a guide who would show us around the town and then take us out to Lake Baikal. We were pretty excited - albeit very sleep-deprived - to be spending a couple of days in what is known as the Paris of Siberia.

Arriving in Irkutsk