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Delayed blog post because we haven't had any internet connection for the past few days!
8th June 2011
Currently we are on a two day train transfer from Irkutsk to Yekaterinberg.
Over the course of the past week we have said goodbye to Mongolia, arrived into Russia (Ulan Ude), visited Lake Baikal just out of Irkutsk (the largest unfrozen fresh water body in the world), eaten salted and smoked fish from the lake, jumped into the lake off a barge (it was a chilly 10 degrees), hiked in the forest around the lake, drank vodka and had a traditional Russian Banya (sauna). Russia is definitely a change from Asia, and as we head west, things are becoming less foreign – aside from the language which is hard! We officially have one week left on the tour, including stops to Yekaterinberg, Kazan, Murom, Sudzal and Moscow. Then it’s off to Sweden to start the Europe leg of our journey.
The Russian folk are a pretty serious type, although often friendly and welcoming. However I get the sense that if they are angry, happy, excited or sad, their tones and expressions remain the same. With the language barrier at times I can’t tell if I’m being told off or being welcomed!
The Russian country side is beautiful and on the train we have seen the landscape change from the Gobi desert to the Mongolian Steppe country to the forests of Siberia. There are many small villages along the train route, all with dirt roads and rustic wooden houses. Most people grow their own food and are fairly poor. Apparently the average Russian wage is around 10,000-15,000 roubles per month which is around 30-50 dollars.
Things are getting a bit more expensive as we head west towards Moscow, although beer and vodka remains cheap (around 1 dollar for a 500ml beer and 6 dollars for a bottle of vodka). I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing after last night on the train, the 5 of us managed to polish off 4 bottles of vodka in one sitting . We were drinking with a few of the locals on the train, (that spoke no english) but that didn’t stop a good time. The guys we were drinking with must have thought that if they just said what they were trying to say a bit louder that we would understand…however that didn’t work! Things came a bit undone at around 2am and I get the distinct feeling that the attendant will be glad when we get off the train tomorrow morning! Oh well when in Russia!
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