Well, we kinda forgot to explain our trip plan. Visiting St. Petersburg and Moscow were just the start. Our real destination is Ulan-Bator, Mongolia, where we have a twelve day tour of Mongolia planned. Connecting those locations, we ride the Trans Siberian Railway, with a few days to feel dwarfed by the gargantuan Lake Baikal and to explore Irkutsk, one of the biggest and most important cities in the eastern part of Russia.
The Trans Siberian Railway (TSR) is an adventure in itself. Our long leg is four nights and days in our cabin for two, from Moscow to Irkutsk, where we will spend a few days exploring the city and Lake Baikal, then continuing to Mongolia. The total mileage on the train is 4000 miles.
On the web there’s a huge amount of material on riding the train. Some of is useful, some is vital and some is just wrong. You have to filter by how recent the data is, the financial goals of the travelers, and how to rank the comfort desires of the writers to your own wishes.
We found first class to be affordable and reserved a private cabin. From Moscow to Irkutsk, we had a compartment for just the two of us, with plenty of space for our gear. We were one car away from a nice dining car, and our cabin attendant was pretty helpful, despite our lack of Russian. Once more, GoogleTranslate bridged the language gap!
Our cabin from St. Petersburg to Moscow had a sink in it, but the layout was clumsy. From there to Irkutsk, we had no sink of our own and had to use the sinks in the two toilet compartments in our cabin. I was thrilled the first night when very warm water flowed from the tap. The next day, however, this flaw had been corrected and room temperature water was the only option. The toilets worked. Hurrah!
More to come in the next episodes…
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