Like the clappers

I've finally escaped the somewhat enchanting clutches of Tokyo and have headed a couple of hours further north to the city of Sendai, which is handy for some of the sights in the area, such a charming island-strewn bay which I took a obligatory boat trip across today.

The joys of the Japan Rail Pass are that it allows you to travel quite freely on the otherwise bankruptingly expensive Shinkansen bullet trains. It's not uncommon for the Shinkansen to cost more than a flight between two cities. However I have ticket in hand and it certainly makes Japan feel that much smaller, travelling great distances across Japan in an amount of time that makes the country feel more compact that it actually is in reality. Only towards Hokkaido do things slow up a bit and Shinkansen turns into express turns into stopping train, meaning that it's one of the relatively few areas where Sleeper trains are a viable option. However as I'm heading towards Hokkaido in several steps I'll have no need for the sleeper at least on the way up, although I did spot it in Sendai station yesterday sporting a fine blue paint-job and official looking crest of some description. In some ways I'd be tempted to take it just to see how different it is from all those Russian sleepers I spent so much time time.

However for now I'm in Sendai, the largest city of this area of northern Honshu where the local speciality is grilled calves tongue which I'm proud to say I enjoyed for dinner this evening, and very good it was too, making something of a change from the noodles that are otherwise a staple of the Japanese diet.

The accommodation in Sendai is a splendid old-fashioned youth hostel in the style of a Japanese farm so I'm told. On visiting the bathroom this morning I freaked out at seeing the Japanese "squatting" toilet, which seems to my Western eye to be little more than a ceramic hole in the ground. Happily though I found a "Western" loo with Japanese control panel located next door so I was saved!

Tomorrow I'm heading a little further northwards, this time staying at a hostel run by Buddhist monks with a chance to look in one their morning prayers and to take meditation classese to boot. Should be interesting!

Tokyo in residence

Several days on and I'm still in Tokyo! After all the hopping from train to city to train in Russia I realised that there's a lot to be said for making your home in a place for a while. Fortunately Tokyo's had plenty to offer, and although it may not be the cultural centre that Kyoto is said to hold in store, I've found everything from doing the museums to day-trips or simply roaming the streets all fine ways of passing my time here.

I could have probably seen everything more quickly if it wasn't for a series of late nights induced by watching the world cup with the good folk at the hostel, meaning that by the time I got out and about only a few hours were in hand before most museums shut their doors at 4.30pm. However the pace has been fine, and I feel that on a long trip such as this cramming it all in to a few days isn't the way to go. Nevertheless I've had some good days out, and having a bargain 2000 Yen (10 quid) museum pass has made me target three or four museums and the like in a day, ensuring that if nothing else I've got my value for money, but it's also led to me visiting some sights I probably wouldn't have thought of heading to if I'd had to fork out the admission price each time. From Pandas at the Zoo to scrambling around inside ships at the maritime museum, it's all proven worthwhile, oh and I've seen a Monet or three for good measure too.

Having systematically and on occasion accidentally visited all of the main areas of Tokyo and see as many of the sights as I'd care to I've been turning my attention to day-trips out of the city. Similar to London there's a great number of trains lines heading out of the centre in all directions, and I've found myself on a range of chugging local trains to recommended towns within an hour or two's ride, offering a staggering number of temples, river walks, a giant buddha and charming historical buildings to name but a few, many of which provide a welcome alternative the expanse of Tokyo's modern cityscape.

My love affair for the Japanese continues unabated. Through talking to a mix of foreigners teaching English here and English speaking Japanese (I suppose the two could be related) I've been gaining a interesting insight into the Japanese psyche. On two consecutive days I've spoken to someone in a town I've visite, be it just to ask directions, and on both occasions after we've finished speaking and I've walked off they've come running after me to give me some little gift and asking me to "come back". I asked the locals at the hostel if this was some necessary etiquette in Japanese society but they seemed similarly bemused, so we put it down to these people being proud of their home-towns and wanting to leave a positive image of it upon the hapless wandering foreigner. Well it certainly worked with me!

As with any country it's not all roses, and there are elements of the male dominated society here which don't sit comfortably with the culture of politeness and respect for the fairer sex that we have at home, and the outlets for the more carnal male desires are often rather more obvious than you would like. A Japanese girl I was speaking to at the hostel yesterday had just returned to Japan after nine months in England and realised on arrival that unlike in Britain nobody here was going to offer to help her with luggage. Indeed if you see male and female work colleagues on the metro together it's typically the man who gets the seat while the lady stands.

This said, watching lots of lagered up English football fans at the world cup is all the reminder I need that we're in no position to be giving anyone lessons on how to lead their society. In most other ways I have to say that the Japanese have got things pretty well right. They do like their rules, although in many cases the reams of signs saying don't do this or that are largely advisory, although are followed by the vast majority. For instance requests not the speak on your mobile on the metro seem to be universally followed, and what a joy that is! Anyone who's travelled on a so-called 'quiet carriage' on a train at home knows all too well the ineffectiveness of these self-enforced rules at home.

I am definitely finished with Tokyo now though, and am currently looking through the options of heading northwards, eventually reaching the northern island of Hokkaido, before turn around and working my way to the southern tip calling in at any number of places along the way.

Time for some house-keeping notes then. In addition to photos from the day trips I've been taking I've also set up a section for Japanese signs. The Japanese do like their signs, and often they feature some seemingly random anime-esque character being stuck in metro doors or helping us around the bus route map or similar. Best of all though at the English translations that range from the poetic; "a ceiling becoming low" being one on a sightseeing boat; to the downright bizarre. Less easy to photograph but of even greater entertainment value are what are known as the "Engrish t-shirts". Some of these seem to contain nothing more than a random collection of English words while others are just down-right peculiar. My favourite so far was spotted on the back of a girl's t-shirt while waiting at a train station. It read: "This girl is so danger. Play trick everytime. MY ROMPING GIRL". In case you were in any fear of whether the stereotypically bad English was still alive and well, believe me it is!

From a linguistic point of view the little I've read about Japanese grammar indicates that they don't really use the definitive or indefinite article, so it's common to see bizarre usage of "the" and "a" all over the place. Even on something as prominent as the national train network, on Metro trains you're advised for the "JR Line", indicating there's just the one rather than a massive network of lines going in every direction. It certainly means that you learn not to take everything you read too literally!

The photos as ever can be viewed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eurobahn

From tomorrow it'll be farewell Tokyo, so I'll be logging-in next from the first internet point I find in the North of Japan.

In the thick of it

It was a late start today having stayed up late to watch some of the football last night. Nevertheless I managed to cram in no less than four museums and spend the evening in Shibuya, taking in the often bizarre fashions of Japan's trendy teenager set.

I'm feeling I'm getting to grips with how Tokyo works, although the streets can still baffle me when there's little in the way of landmarks to crosscheck with my map. U2's song "where the streets have no name" is perfect for Japan as aside for the major streets it's actually true that they have no title whatsoever. Instead the city's areas are broken down into a confusing system of blocks which even the Japanese can find difficult to fathom. Fortunately there are plenty of 24hr grocery shops to pop into and impose on the staff for directions, even crude maps as I had today from a sales person in the Pokemon Centre which I stumbled upon while trying to find a museum. In the end it works out ok, and there are some maps here and there although the Japanese by no means stick to the rule of having north at the top. Instead they often rotate the map to reflect which way you're facing when looking at the map. It takes some getting used to!

I've been trying the local cuisine, but have been finding that the appeal for noodles and various soups is starting to wear a bit thin, so I've started varying my diet a bit. However for cheap eats the range of Bento-box esque places - this is a bit like TV dinner Japanese style which you can get made fresh at several chains of shops are a good choice. I spotted another today which walking back from the metro so it'll make for a cheap lunch or dinner tomorrow as generally they cost around 2 - 3 pounds. They're actually tasty enough and there's a wide range of ingredients to choose from, although it's not exactly haute cuisine.

Although an odd choice, one of my favourite museums so far has been the Mitsuo Aida Museum, which has Japanese calligraphy on display with its elegant brushstrokes. What stuck me the most though was the meaning of some the pieces exhibited. Here's a couple of examples:

with no time to look back on the ups and downs
of the path I walk,
I find myself at the base of a cliff

and

more is needed in order to live
than just a beautiful entryway
and a decorated mantle piece

Walking through the metropolis of Tokyo (I read somewhere that it's home to no less than 35 million people) you find that you get talked at a lot. People talking to you is one thing and there's nothing to raise your spirits than a hearty welcome to a shop or cafe, but I've also found that lots of objects speak to you to. As at home the trains speak, some in both Japanese and English and they tend to be particularly verbose, gateways warn you when they're opening, large vehicles talk not just when they're reversing but also when they're signalling to tun a corner, lifts, oh lifts, are forever welcoming you on board, and all of these have a similar quite young sounding female voice. Somehow this petite voice doesn't quite suit a manoeuvring juggernaut, but that's the way it is!

Traditional gardens amongst Tokyo's skyscrapers

Reflections of skyscrapers in the water of the gardens
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

A staggering array of seafood is available from Tokyo Wholesale Fish Market

A stall on the edge of the market selling to the normal person on the street, where the variety of catch is easier to see
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

Something fishy in Tokyo town

A day later than scheduled I got myself up at 5am and down the Tokyo Central Wholesale Market which is dominated by the Fish Market. First thing in the morning around 5am there's auctions held of the day's catch but when I arrived at the market it was a frenetic hub of activity as stock, all in polystyrene boxes, were being shuttled around and wholesalers' stalls, seemingly going on without end, had the produce on display. Some was live, some even seemed to be cooking away, but much was frozen and no doubt waiting to become part of the Japanese peoples insatiable diet for raw fish. Most impressive as usual were the enormous tuna which were cut until quarters and trimmed right before your eyes! The range of sea food was absolutely staggering and apparently tens-of-thousands of tonnes of fish with species numbering in the hundreds arrive in Tokyo from hauls all over the world. I've never been to Grimsby but I can't imagine it's a patch on this!

As a tourist wandering around you feel very much in the way as buyers, sellers and more alarmingly swiftly moving mini-fork lifts hurtle around the place conducting their important business. It's really not so dangerous as it looks as the drivers of these vehicles seem to be of the same breed as Japanese cyclists in that they can respond to road (or in this case narrow alleys between stalls) in front of them in an instant and with pinpoint accuracy. The energy and pace was almost overwhelming; a fantastic spectacle to experience and it'll definitely be one of my highlights from Tokyo if not the whole trip.

Having witnessed this staggering amount of fresh fish what could I do but to sample some of it myself, so I found a sushi place on the edge of the market and tried out a good variety of sushi, not that I could relate it to any of the whole fish I saw for a second, but it rounded off the whole market experience nicely.

Afterwards I headed to a park by the water's edge (the market itself is also by the water) which contains some very traditional Japanese buildings and features sitting amongst the surrounding high-rise office blocks. Afterwards I took a train very much like the Docklands Light Railway to an island area nearby which is being redeveloped into an entertainment, residential and business area, the idea being to create a new centre to Tokyo. Rather like London Docklands as well it got off to a slow start as it's creation coincided badly with the economic slump of the 90s. Nevertheless it's looking impressive now with everything from a giant ferris wheel and man-made beach (although the weather wasn't quite up for sunbatheing), and unlike London's Docklands the area is very much an active port. All that fish has to arrive somewhere!

Exploring Tokyo

Since my last post I've been spending the days getting to know the different areas that comprise Tokyo. Unexpected I was invited to a typical Japanese neighbourhood festival which was interesting in addition the usual sights around the skyscapers, shrines and Imperial Palace. There's still plenty more on the to-see list and once I've got through those there's Kyoto to contend with which is from what I've heard and read really the cultural and historical capital of Japan.

I've been uploading a lot of photos recently - both the latest from Japan and adding to the photos I took earlier on in Russia, so I hope you've been enjoying those. The address is http://www.flickr.com/photos/eurobahn/sets/ (hopefully you'll all get the hyperlink this time). There's lots more to come but to avoid tourist burn out I've taking the sightseeing fairly gently at the moment and not cramming too much in - although it didn't help that yesterday both the Imperial Palace Gardens and the Modern Art Museum were shut!!! More luck tomorrow I hope!

Day 3 in Japan

I've only 5 minutes before my time runs out but I just wanted to say that things in Japan are going really well. Eating out (and having edible food) is proving cheaper than Russia and the museums are cheaper too (well that goes without saying). Even the metro is cheap by London's prices. I'm changing to a backpacker hostel from Saturday, so hopefully I'll be able to meet some interesting people there to hang out with. Today the rainy season showed its head in the morning so I headed to some museums. I've noticed that it's common to have an English speaking guide on hand who will happily show you around for as long as you want! Last night I had Fish & Chips Japanese style (with chopsticks) and green tea ice cream for dessert. I've burnt more photos to CD so I'll have a fresh memory card to be going out into Japan with!
More soon, but it's bye for now from Tokyo! Bai Bai!

Fushiki port, destination Japan!

Fushiki port, destination Japan!
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

I was happy to finally reach Japan, the sailing had been exceptionally smooth, which was good as the ferry's sister ship sank in a typhoon a couple of years ago, which doesn't always inspire confidence!

Across Vladivostok's harbour

Across Vladivostok's harbour
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

I never expected there to be such a picturesque view in Vladivostok, but on my last day the sun came out and suprised

After 3 days living in a train...

After 3 days living in a train...
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

...I reckon I've probably looked better!

Sunset over Baikal

Sunset over Baikal
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

The weather was alas not great during my visit to Baikal (near Irkutsk), but on this evening I got a glimpse of what the lake could offer

Business is slow on the platform

Business is slow on the platform
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

At several stations it's common to see people selling all manner of wares, in addition the kiosks that sell a staple of drinks, snacks, booze and cigs.

An unscheduled stop on train #2 'Rossiya'

An unscheduled stop on train #2 'Rossiya'
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

A rare chance to snap the train outside of a station while it made a rather lengthy stop in the middle of nowhere

Final photos from Russia

Train 2's restaurant car with good company
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.

I've uploaded dozens more photos from throughout my trans-Siberian journey at http://www.flickr.com/photos/eurobahn/

In this photo I spent many a happy hour in the company of two Danes and two Americans in the restaurant car of Train #2 "Rossiya" from Irkutsk to Khabarovsk

Russian highlights

I departed Russia after a good month in the country. Did it meet my expectations? Well it's hard to say as I really didn't know what I was letting myself in for. Certainly Moscow wasn't the dark, crime-ridden city I was led to believe. Although I saw others being checked, in the near ten days I spent there I escaped the much talked about police scam. The cities along the trans-siberian weren't bad, but then they weren't that good either! This said each did offer something distinct to the next; Kazan had Tatar history and culture and its impressive Kremlin; Ekaterinburg...well there's a city which in my opinion could easily be skipped if it didn't make for a handy stopping off point; Tomsk has it's wooden houses and was pleasant enough and had kept a charm other mainline cities has lost through development but was plauged by the crap ancient half-length Russian buses that clogged the roads and belched out clouds of stinking fumes; Baikal was pleasant as a lake and let down only by the weather, while Listvyanka was absolutely nothing to write home about; Irkutsk was briefly skimmed and I'm unsure whether it deserved more as it seemed primarily an industrial workaday sort of a place; Khabarovsk was a real surprise as while there was little in the way of attractions there it's actually a good looking small city with a European feeling main street and amenities finished to a standard seldom seen outside of St Petersburg and Moscow (and even then it was a surpise), plus a riverside location and beaches to boot; while at the end of the line Vladivostok is everybit an active port, but in an unexpectedly picturesque location when you look down upon it from the hills.

The test will be comparing Russia with Japan and the other the countries I visit, as it's one thing to compare a place with the comforts and familiarities of home, but for a true comparison you have to compare foreign destinations with each other. Although it's only day three in Japan Russia is fairing badly. It's not that it was bad per se, it's just that it wasn't that good! Here you go into a cafe and everyone welcomes you! The trains are bilingual either in signage or with voice messages and there's English written in a lot of places even if it's a bit random sometimes, but it's enough to get by and almost everyone can speak a little or tries very politefully to help you as best they can.

What I realised when I first got to Japan and was sat at Fushiki train station (this is the town where the port my ferry arrived at) was that for the first time I felt at ease. There were elderly Japanese sat around me waiting for train as it was the middle of the day, it was peaceful and the train station had a nicely kept garden. All of those things, and I mean all of those things have been absent in Russia, but it took the change of scene for me to completely realise it. I think I'd never felt totally at ease around Russians and it's a shame, but it's a result of the mood on the street and there mannerisms. Also in Russia you find men of working age on the streets and driving about throughout the entire day. The roads in the cities are also jammed throughout the day. It's begs the question what these people are doing and why they're not gainfully employed in some nine to five workplace. In Japan in contrast it is much more like at home. During the working day you see mostly older people on the streets and on the public transport. People are where you expect them to be and doing what you expect them to be doing. It's this familiarity that helps add to the feeling of ease. In addition the mannerisms of people in Japan don't make you feel uneasy, whereas in Russia you feel very conscious about being picked out as the westerner and when you are in normally results in the people you're trying to deal with laugh about you in Russian. Hardly welcoming.

Russia has had its highlights though and it would be remiss of me to overlook these. Although I had sadly little interaction with the native Russians on account of the language barrier, I could never forget downing about five shots of Russian Cognac in quick succession with a career Russian army man. There was the hillarious translations too, the salad bar which offers "unlimited approach" or the dessert called Grenoble, described as "The most gentle biscuit with walnut, almond cream and fresh plums. The dessert is topped by sand crumb". The attempts too of waiting staff trying to make themselves understood: "the tomato - you want fresh or FIRE" or the time we tried to explain to the waiter that we needed time to read through the immense menu and he returned with the manager looking anxious! There's the bizarre side too, such as seeing people dressed up as a Ninja Turtle, Tom (of Tom and Jerry) and Shrek in forlorn attempts that people might want their photo taken by them outside the Kremlin! The ladies selling all manner of foods and items on platforms lived up to expectations too, the most memorable people just after Irkutsk when half the people on the train bought some of the vast quantities of smoked fish being sold on the platform. It was quite a sight - and a smell - to see it being brough on board. Finally one of my favourite bits of the many train journeys was the arrival into a couple of the terminus train stations to this upbeat patriotic music - what more could you ask for to greet you in a new city. If you ask me the Frenchies should be welcomed to Waterloo station to some rousing Elgar!

That was Russia that was. I could write a lot more, and may do in due course, but now I feel the need to get down on paper the here and now - the Japan that is around me, so that's what I'll do.

Russia in retrospect

I've uploaded a load of photos this evening to pretty much bring things up to date. Have had a few stabs at doing a retrospect on Russia but I'll save it for another day. Just got to Japan today. On first impressions it's clean bordering on the spotless and there's masses of energy and youth in the city centre. Lots to explore tomorrow!

Awaiting boarding

The ferry is at 6pm and the lady in the ferry office told me to turn up at the terminal for 5pm, so with an afternoon at my disposal and the weather finally turning bright I've being going around some of the sights again and taking in the views that have finally emerged from the sea murk. I've just taken a cable car to a viewing spot up the hill. Great views across the bay and to the extensive dockyards and islands beyond, the tops of which are still shrouded partially in cloud, but otherwise the sun was shining brightly, and Vladivostok was looking an entirely more attractive city than it was yesterday. It's still littered with god-awful highrises, but in the setting of hills and water it nevertheless generates some appeal!

It'll be interesting to see how the body language works in Japan. In Russia it took some getting used to, as it's quite normal for people to eye each other up. At home this would either mean "I like the look of you" if it was a girl or "I don't like your face and want to deprive you of your valuables" if it was a bloke. However in Russia it's normal, and while in the beginning I was feeling greatly complimented and simultaneously in fear for my life, now I know that's just how the Russians work. For instance up at the viewing point I was walking around with my camera taking photos. I've now come to the conclusion that although a lot of Russians may look as if they're from some dodgy council estate they're actually not going to do you any wrong. In any case as I was walking around this guy leaning over the viewing point was watching me as I walked past. It was for a duration whereby in the UK I would have been quite within my rights to approach the fellow and enquire if he was somehow afflicted or otherwise if he had an issue that could be resolved through the repeated application of my fists against his person. However it's Russia, it's full of Russians, and the guy actually got on with taking photos with his family there. It's just how it works.

Now in Japan I suspect it'll be entirely different again. I've heard that when you walk into a shop there it's customary that the entire staff welcome you, and they continue to do so as you progress around the shop. I'm sure the first time it'll probably startle the hell out of me I'll be momentarily dumbstruck, but at the same time it'll make sure a refreshing change from Russia where the whole system of commerce is entirely devoid of pleasantries, unless it's some business contact whereby you give them a hearty mafia style handshake. I'm expecting Japan to be more refined than Russia in certain ways, although I've also read that it's normal for men to gob and pee on the streets and that it's quite a patriarchial society. I can live with that, even though it's not ideal in my mind, so long as it's another instance of an excessive testerone fuelled culture as is the case here with fast erratic driving, endemic drinking on the streets with broken bottles and glass everywhere to match. I've also found that I get funny looks as a guy in Russia if I use an umbrella or raincoat and if I drink anything aside from beer. That's how it is, and to be honest it's an aspect of Russia I'd be glad to see the back on.

Perhaps the Japanese will be similarly alcoholic, who knows! But you do get the impression that they seem to keep things a bit cleaner and have a way of enjoying themselves that we can perhaps better relate to from our culture. Ok, spending a night listening to kareoke might not be my ideal image of an evening, but if there's good company and jovial atmosphere, why the heck not!

I'd better head off as I'm going to get some lunch before checking in to the ferry. It'll be interesting to see who uses the ferry. My guide around Vladivostok yesterday said that on average the people in Vladivostok earn around 500 US Dollars a month, so I can't see many of them will be forking out the 300 dollars fare. I've read it's largely businessmen who go to Japan to take a ferry full of second-hand Japanese cars back with. Certainly every car in Vladivostok is Japanese or perhaps Korean. Not a Lada in sight. Even the police here drive Japanese cars which puts them on a better footing than the Moscow police!

For those who have been texting - I've been told foreign mobiles don't work in Japan so it might be e-mail and Skype from here on in. I'll let you know in any case. Farewell from the edge of the world!

The end of the world

Briefly as my time is almost gone, I reached Vladivostok at the end of the line. Some 6,500 miles from Moscow. Tomorrow lies the ferry to Japan. The journey is almost over but the exploration is just about to begin!!!

(Again no photo upload facility here, so lots in store for Japan!)

Khabarovsk

On the evening of the third day we pulled into Khabarovsk station, my last stop before Vladivostok. The Americans and Danes were continued to the end of the line, so we said our farewells and I made my way to the hotel. Khabarovsk turned out to be a good choice, as attractive and nicely finished as anywhere I've come across in Russia so far. Nicely paved streets, fine historic buildings, and a location beside the great Amur river. All in all there was a distinctly European about the place. Only the Russian driving and the face that pylons had inexplicably been built running through the middle of town and crossing the main street reminded me that this was still Russia. That and the fact that I couldn't find anywhere to get online, hence I'm writing this now from Vladivostok.

Asia was beckoning though, reflected by the fact that Japanese, Chinese and Korean TV channels now supplemented BBC World and Deutsche Welle which has been my foreign staple viewing until now. The Japanese channel was an interesting mix of English and Japanese programmes, which it seemed to swap between without warning. I caught a music programme in English and I reckon I'm going to like Japanese music a lot more than the Russian offerings I've been subjected to in every cafe and train so far!

Another thing is that while I don't dress like a Russian and wearing a bloody great backpack is such a giveaway as no Russians wear backpacks (instead opting for sports bags or these great big chequered things) people here don't assume automatically that I might not be Russian and that I might not speak Russian. I think Japan will be different though.

I was thinking that I need to get my hair cut, but am definitely going to wait until I get to Japan (those wanting an explanation of just how horrendous and 1950s/mafiosa-like Russian gents haircuts are should read the earlier post on the topic), and once I got there I could maybe spike it to keep it under control until I worked out the Japanese for barber shop, going for the Boris Becker look that I seem to be able to pull off with such ease if need be. And that's the thing; to the best of my knowledge Boris Becker doesn't speak Japanese and Japanese people would notice that he's not Japanese and make allowances. Therefore being a younger if less affluent Boris Becker look-alike should afford me the same courtesy. At the end of the day there's no way I'm ever going to pass as Japanese. I'll be the tourist there for all to see, but I reckon that I'll be much more comfortable as a conspicuous tourist in Japan that an semi-inconspicuous one in Russia.

Life onboard

As it turned out a briefly saw Irkutsk as much of my time was spend stocking up on provisions for the train journey that lay ahead and I did get a second batch of postcards sent off!

Train 2 it was then, the 'Rossiya' on which, if you so choose, you can travel from Moscow to Vladivostok in one go. For me it would be a 'mere' 3 days and 2 nights, but that seemed quite sufficient to me! There were a good deal of Asian faces at Irkutsk station (and I was there for a while as the train was running late); this ethnic mix is something that I've been noticing since Tomsk, and the further East I go the more you see it. I've no idea if these are Russians originally from other countries or visitors but it makes a change in what has been until now a very white European country. It is still predominantly that, but no longer entirely at least.

After getting settled in my train compartment, which for the first time wasn't full, and catching up on some sleep I headed to the restaurant car, some 4 carriages away. It was a bit of a trek, crossing these moving metal plates that covered up the gap where the carriages meet, but I made it in one piece and knew that my efforts had been rewarded when I heard some voices speaking English. There were two retired American gents who I set across the aisle from. I ordered some dinner and in time got into conversation with them. In time we were joined by two Danish guys and food turned to beer and vodka and the scene was set for the evening!

The evening passed quickly and in good company, concluding with the five of us in the American's 1st class "Spalny Vagon" compartment downing shots of vodka and having a great chat. What more could I ask for, and what an improvement on the previous trains! The next couple of days were largely spent in the restaurant car also, as aside from being quite reasonably priced as far as train catering goes it also offered some of the cleanest windows on the train to take in the view as we passed through hilly forested country interspersed with rivers and valleys. All in all worth looking out the window for, and much more enjoyable than the flat countryside of the earlier journeys.

When passing through Russian villages and towns along the way you see snapshots of life for the local people. It's a bizarre mix of modern and something from a different age. You might see a family in a modern people carrier and later see a man drawing water from a well in a metal pail. It's like that all over the place; people carrying the latest mobile phones while old women sell smoked fish on station platforms. It's certainly difficult to categorise if it's the first world or the second world as the communist countries used to be referred to as. Something of a mix of the two really.

The third day on board saw us passing from Moscow time + 5 to Moscow time + 7. Two timezones in a day isn't bad. We're now on Vladivostok time, 11 hours ahead of UK time and hopefully that's as far as it'll get as it'll be back to the far more reasonable 8 hours ahead for most of East Asia.

Lest I forget the on board catering! It was actually pretty decent and the portions hearty, if generally on the rather 'well oiled' side. Nevertheless it certainly beat the packs of Russian supernoodles which were the alternative I had brought with me! Typically the food consisted of your choice of meat or fish with slice potato and a selection of veg. Really, considering what train catering I've tollerated on British Rail in the past I couldn't complain!