A train day – day 2 on the train.

6.45am wake up from not sleeping. Doze for couple of hours.

8.45 Ian makes tea and porridge from the samovar and we eat in our cabin.

9.30 Wash up bowls and cups using shower gel, a toothbrush, and mixture of hot water from samovar and cold water from loo basin. Samovar water is 100 degrees c – can’t help thinking that pouring boiling water from the tap into a narrow cup on a wobbly train wouldn’t get past the HSE in England. Great to have hot water on tap.

9.45 Make effort to get dressed, washed etc. Ian has discovered a shower in first class so goes to use that – I’ll wait till later. Take turns with other passengers and plug camera charger into socket in passageway.

10.00 Go for walk – to front of train past first class (we prefer our 2^nd class), restaurant car, spot driver no.2 having a smoke in back of engine, then walk to far end of train through 3^rd class – ‘kupe’ – smoking and snoozing Russians everywhere! Again, grateful for 2^nd class compartment. Interrupted by a Provodnitza (carriage attendant) whilst doing exercises in gap between carriages. Embarrassed.

10.30 Coffee time! And chocolate cake from food bag, shared with Adam, Laura, Edita and Hendrick, neighbours in carriage 6. Russian neighbours say no to cake. More chat about where we’re going and where we’ve been, how we booked, what we do at home.

11.20 Action! 20 min stop at Omsk station – a chance to get off, get some fresh air, stretch our legs – but make sure we don’t miss the train leaving!

11.45 Resume chocolate cake eating and chat. Swap guide books.

12.30 Lie down to doze and start listening to War and Peace audio book

1.30 Discussion about what to have for lunch. Noodles, cupasoup or cheese sandwiches? We decide on the latter and find some tomatoes and cucumbers we bought in Moscow.

2.05 Spot loose hay piled on wooden cart being led by horse along track

2.15 Continue napping and listening to War and Peace – can’t make head or tail of it as keep dozing

3.20 Woken up by everyone getting off train for 20 mins at a station. We love the cool fresh air as the train is overheated and the windows don’t open, except in the loo. We purchase blinis – like crepes – from a platform vendor and chat to Andrei, an English speaking, clearly very educated but poor Russian vendor. He collects coins so we give him our English ones. He tells us the only employment in his village is either the railway, or the police.

3.40 Return to compartment, watch birch trees and flat dry landscape passing by – so few people, animals or crops. A few wooden houses here and there. Continual lovely sunshine. About 10 degrees outside, 25 deg in.

3.45 Download photos onto laptop, write brief blog ready for next time we have internet. Ian dozes on bunk.

4.15 Frank and Carolina stop by for chat on way back to carriage 5

4.30 Can’t decide whether to sketch something, sleep, or sew up my trousers. This is too much choice so I put if off and go to loo instead.

4.45 Carriage provodnitza comes in to vacuum our carpet. There are two attendants per carriage – that’s 26 on a single train plus the buffet car staff!

5.00 Sew trousers with needle and cotton managed to buy in Moscow market

6.30 Discuss further food options – eat beef stroganoff and chicken in restaurant car with Alexander (from Belgium). Followed by a card game of ‘Sloppy’ with Adam & Laura (our favourite travel companions).

9.30 Bed time – we try to adjust our body clock or we’ll end up with 5 hours jet lag in Irkutsk as all trains run on Moscow time.