The end of the line! Moscow awaits!

I may as well call this blog ‘Public Transport of the World’, as I again find myself typing between destinations, this time on an incredibly comfortable ‘luxury’ coach between Tartu, Estonia, and Riga, Latvia. The on-board wifi, coffee machine and flat screen TV do make this a slightly more comfortable and enjoyable journey than some of those earlier on in my travels, and the lack of wandering livestock, potholes, the inclusion of seatbelts and the fact the bus actually has windows makes me feel so much safer – and yes mum, I am wearing my seatbelt!

The smuggle-train to Moscow!

With what seemed a ridiculous supply of two-minute noodles, porridge and packet soup, one final lukewarm shower, and my last glimpse at a motionless toilet seat, we were back on the train, bound for Moscow – a 5 day, 6000km journey that would take us through seemingly endless Russian wilderness, follow the southern banks of the beautiful Lake Baikal, and expose us to quaint, small villages and towns obviously left behind in Russia’s natural resource boom, and the strong post-Soviet economy.

All aboard!!! The Trans-Mongolian begins!

The weather in Moscow is dreary, I have walked around the city for days, and I am feeling incredibly fat and lazy… so it is therefore time to update the blog!!! Don’t miss the map I have now added to the bottom of the blog – it’s beginning to look like a real trip!

 

Confucius says...

Today I write from the Trans-Mongolian Railway, bumping along the tracks between Irkutsk and Zima, relaxing on my incredibly narrow top-bunk as we slowly make our way past small, ramshackle Russian towns, two days into the five day non-stop journey to Moscow. Crossing the Mongolia/Russia border in the early hours of this morning, the day has been spent eating, eating, and eating a bit more, as the train snaked around the shores of the humongous Lake Baikal, the world’s oldest and deepest lake (average depth 744.4m), and some of the most amazing scenery Russia has to offer. The five-day non-stop journey to Moscow is sure to be a great adventure – with no shower, no opening windows, and no English speaking Provinitzas adding to the fun. The journey from Beijing, a roughly 8000km trip, takes around 7 days from end-to-end, however stopovers in Hohhot and Ulaanbaatar have reduced the levels of filth between showers, and provided some life-changing experiences (just ask the horse I decided to ride with my 100kg+ self!).

It has been a while since my last update, which ended in Wuhan, China, but with 6000km left to travel, I am sure to catch up on the train!!!