The next stage of the journey used the most famous railway in the world, the Trans-Siberian railway. The full journey travels from Moscow right across to the East Coast of Russia taking 9 days. We were only taking the train across Siberia and down into Mongolia although this still meant 5 days on a train and included 6 different time zones!
Because the destination of our train was Mongolia, the vast majority of people on board were Mongolian. Despite the language barriers we learnt that many of these people frequently take this train to Moscow where they buy up loads of goods to sell back in Mongolia. In fact, when we located our compartment, it was full of bags and boxes etc. and a few worried looking people. One of them spoke a small amount of English and after a bit of negotiation, we managed to secure the top 2 bunks for us although there was virtually no room left after that and there were 3 of them with only 2 beds!
Eventually the train left Moscow and we made ourselves comfortable in our new home. It was actually a lot cleaner and more comfortable than we had been led to believe and the prospect of 5 days on the train did not seem too bad.
The train only stopped in major towns but every time it did, the platforms were crowded with people. These Russian people find it hard to get hold of many items that are easily available in Moscow and so they meet the train in the hope of buying some of the stock from the Mongolians. In fact, every time the train slowed down, the Mongolians in our compartment (and most of the others) opened the window and started selling their goods like market traders. Some even went out in the crowd to try and get a sale that way. Apparently as well as their own language, most Mongolians speak fluent Russian too.
In return, many of the Russian people sold food items to the people on the train. This was a welcome relief and it meant that breakfast often consisted of fresh bread, sausage, cheese and milk. Vodka was also available everywhere although you did have to keep a watch on the prices you were being charged. Buying food this way was a great alternative to the food available on the train which although not bad but very repetative as frequently only 1 dish was available.
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