Day 3 on the Baikal train.

We are over the moon. We absolutely love this trip. Last night I slept like a log on my little shelf and woke up happy. We now have only 20 hours left before we get off in Irkutsk and feel sad it is almost over – still, we can look forward to a few more train days on the way to Beijing.

On waking this morning, the first thing we noticed was the change in landscape. It has gone from more or less flat with continual green silver birch trees, to rolling hills and a mixture of birch, fir and some other trees. But they are ORANGE. We have travelled overnight from late summer into Autumn. The mixture of golds, oranges and a few reds with the white bark of the trees is stunning. The sunshine has also given way to cloud for the first time, and a rumour has been passed down the train that there is deep snow in Irkutsk. This is very exciting news for us Brits though I may need to invest in some snow boots as my footwear is inadequate. How great to experience snow in Siberia.

The settlements have also changed. Not so much the edge of city ‘favelas’ as they would be called in South America – now we can see proper villages. Beautiful wooden houses, some painted, with large well-tended vegetable plots, smoke rising from chimneys, a few people here and there. There’s no doubt that life is very hard here though as the houses are small and probably un-insulated. Temperatures drop as low as -30 c in Jan and Feb. Some have satellite dishes though not many. We’ve seen very few surfaced roads, just muddy tracks. And very few cars. I suspect the railway is a very important link for these communities.

One of the best things about this trip is that it is completely un-touristy. Although we have met a few Europeans, the train is mostly filled with Russian people, some with young children or dogs, making domestic trips. I can’t imagine bringing Barney on such a long train journey! The train itself is very big compared to European trains, the fittings all good quality, the service fantastic in terms of cleanliness, though a bit of Russian language would help a lot. I had imagined the samovar to be a smoking brassy antique, however it looks like a 1970’s boiler and works very efficiently, providing water at 100 c. We also have drinking water on tap, and the loo rolls only run out at the end of the day. The providnitzas are clearly in charge! The beds are comfortable and the linen all spotlessly clean. Small towels (like tea towels) are provided, and there’s a spacious shower in first class that we can use for 93 roubles – about £2. The loos have been a pleasant surprise. The promised ‘hole in the floor’ has not materialized – we are lucky enough to have a proper toilet with seat, that opens directly onto the track. This could just be our train – the ‘Baikal’ no.10. Perhaps others are not so good.