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So in Moscow we were getting our Mongolian visas, and when we ordered them we chose the cheapest option of five days, conveniently forgetting that this wouldn't include weekends. So we were somewhat stranded in Moscow for a week. Though in retrospect I think this was actually a wise move.
We had a really nice time there, and though the first two days were wet we were blessed with fantastic weather for the rest. So much so that one day I even topped up on my tan!! So as we had so long there we got to see the major sights (like the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral and Red Square) and a few quieter ones. I actually managed to get to an amazing exhibition of current art from around the world. By the end of the week I had also mastered Moscow's metro system- it is absolutely insane! I am now also starting to learn a tiny tiny bit of the cyrillic alphabet, which is making translations a litlle bit easier.
On Tuesday we picked up our visa's and caught a train at 5pm. We arrived in Yekaterinburg at 9 local time (we have now skipped forward 2 more time zones). The train journey actually passed by relatively quickly though I was on a top side bunk (this basically means you don't have enough space to even try to sit up, and people brush past everytime they walk past). Unfortunately I was in an area of women that spoke Russian and Russian only so my journey centred around sleeping, reading, eating and just lying in bed.
Yekaterinburg has been really nice, it is the 5th biggest city in Russia and famous for being the sight of where the last Tsar and his family were murdered. It is (in terms of Russia) very close to the Ural mountains, and 40km past the europe/asia border, so I am now officially in Asia. It is much colder now so I have now invested in a woolly hat! It is quite pretty here though with many more skyscrapers than even Moscow or St Petersburg (at least it feels that way anyway). Have been to a really good photography exhibition showing this area, in particular in factories, from the 30's and 40's. I went to the museum of fine arts this morning which was interesting, though not as good.
Tomorrow at 5am we are catching a train to Tomsk, so will be having an early night today. That will get in on Monday at 10am, though we will again be skipping another hour forward. Now we have had to plan our time ahead quite well as we seem to be running out of time on our Russian visas. So, we will be in Tomsk for 2 nights before getting a 30 hour train to Irkutsk. We have 2 nights booked there and then 3 in a guesthouse next to Lake Baikal (the picture with this message is of the lake). Then we will have to leave to get into Mongolia by the 14th.
Sorry if the pictures aren't working, if there is no way around it I will actually upload some onto here for everyone to see.
Lots of love.xxxxx
- comments
grandad Am following your travels with much interest.As your mother and I discussed you will be a worldly wise person when you return. As they say travel broadens the mind so you will be very broad minded. Take care and much love Grandad