A window of opportunity has presented itself so will make the most of it to catch up. As mentioned before, the hotel into which I had been booked was big, glossy, totally impersonal and not particularly helpful but it did have a BATH - a very rare treat indeed, even in Addlestone. I have spent the last 3 days tramping the streets of Beijing and it does almost take 3 days to get anywhere! Distances are vast so walking doesn't actually get you very far and I've us...

I just changed hotels. (The first one was booked for me by the company who booked the train. It was a big, annoymous 4 star in not a very good location and I was only booked in for 3 nights). The new one was recommended by an English guy and is adorable!! It is a hostel (so at least half the price of the 4 star), it is in a hutong (one of the old residential districts of Beijing - all courtyards and alleyways), it's got loads of atmosphere, a kind, helpful, Engli...

Well, I reached Beijing about 3 hours ago but will continue with the Train journey for the sake of continuity. So, washing facilities on the train were rudimentary - the loo at the end of thecorridor, which was pretty small, smelly and wet! The Russians did vacate the compartment when I got dressed and undressed, so that was something. Otherwise, no privacy and quite a squash, but the train was hoovered each day and was fairly new and in better nick than any...

So, I've reached Irkutsk - the 'Paris of Siberia', actually less Paris than the usual dreary, industrial blot on the landscape that the Russians seem to turn any potentially attractive place into. (I'll have to be brief - this is costing an eye-watering 9 pounds an hour!). The TRAIN!! Guess what, yes, I was sharing with initially 2 non English speaking Russian men. We were then joined by a 3rd (who was very nice and spoke good English). He was only with us for o...

This could be the last blog for a while and the picture is a taste of things to come! I visited the Kremlin this morning as the snow began to fall so took refunge in the Armoury - the treasure house of Russia. The jewels and regalia on display were beyond description! I had expected the Faberge Eggs to be the highlight - not a bit of it! They were beautiful and amazingly clever but relatively insignigicant alongside the incredible works of art alll around...