Answers galore - the train

I didn't realize so many people were reading this and asking questions too. Let me try answer everything here.

About the train first.

We are in a 2 berth coupe. 2 lower berths only, if that helps. The size is decent, but our Indian Railways 2nd AC is more spacious in terms of width of berth and the legroom between the two berths. 

My best estimate to describe this would be about the width of a 3AC or a regular sleeper berth. Legroom between the berths is a bit narrow. 

The berths are cushioned. Linens are included. We have been given 2 very comfortable pillows and a cozy duvet each. The bunks were covered with sheets with a cover over that.

Each compartment has 2 attendants, a provodnik (male) or provodnitsa (female). They're in charge of keeping the carriage clean, managing the temperature, cleaning the corridor and washrooms every few hours.

They also manage the samovar ensuring 24 hour supply of boiling water. Very essential for tea and instant meals. 

They monitor passenger safety and keep track of boarding passengers.

Our ticket on this leg includes meals. Which are brought to our coach. We can go to the dining car too, for which we pay there. 

Our Provodnitsa, Tatyana, or the train manager, Marianna, can't speak a word of English. Google translate is a blessing. If one has signal or data. 

The OH and I spoke to the catering liaison yesterday about our meals. We told him nyet masya. No meat. He brought us a dish of rice and vegetables and a cheese plate. 

The food is very bland, but I absolutely do appreciate the effort. 

Of course we have a suitcase full of thepla, instant poha, upma, noodles etc.

The compartment next to ours has showers we can use. Showers are apparently available only on some trains.

We're carrying teabags and milk powder. And steel double walled travel mugs. We just get water from the samovar for tea or soups. There's also a space with a sink and some dishsoap and scrub where we can wash our mugs as needed.

Supply of boiling water is unlimited, but plain/cold water has to be bought.

Hope this answers some questions.

Certainly not 'Lost in Translation'

This time in 2006, we had moved to Tsuruoka in Japan. We left the humidity and heat of Singapore, and landed in Tsuruoka in late March, and we're welcomed by piles of  snow cleared from the roads on the sidewalks.

Everything was new to us. The place, the people, the language.. everything.

Before we left Singapore we bought a copy of a Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionary. It was a small one. Just about the size of a paperback. With 10 days of a crash course in Japanese and that tiny dictionary we set off on a journey to a new land with a toddler in hand.

When we landed in Tokyo, there were English signs in most places, and I thought we were worrying too much and that we would be fine. When we reached Tsuruoka, it was a different story. Hardly any signs in English. We put all our faith in our dictionary and marched on to meet life.

Oh the translation issues we've had were legendary. Imagine going to a hospital and having no language in common with any doctor there. Imagine using sign language and drawings (I actually drew something that was supposed to be a human body, but looked more like a homicide scene outline) to communicate with a doctor. Imagine having to use amateur volunteer translators and sincerely hoping that the doctor understands you have an earache and are not asking for a frontal lobotomy.

I really don't know how I coped in those days. If it happened today, I might just have a meltdown.

Thanks to Google and Google translate life is so much easier now. When someone starts talking point the phone at them and Google gives live speech to text translations that are rather accurate. It is to incredibly stress free. 

Even signs. Point Google lens at signs for instant translations.

I remember a time in Japan when I asked someone to get a rolling pin and got an earbud instead. Or the time when a nurse insisted that my doctor was a buckwheat noodle. That's a story that needs a lot of time and a lot of wine. Or even vodka.

I remember asking for vegetarian food and was served slivers of raw meat and seafood. Now I just say it into Google translate and there's absolutely nothing lost in translation.

Things have changed so much over the last 20 years.

Life has become so much easier now, hasn't it??

 

I asked the OH .. 'Imagine how it would have been if we had Google translate back in the day'

He only said, 'we wouldn't have had such hilarious stories to tell then, would we?'

Words of wisdom indeed.

No translation needed

I can't believe we're doing this

So earlier this afternoon the two of us bid adieu, or said Dasvidanya, to Vladivostok and are now on the Trans Siberian Railway train to Moscow. This is the first leg of our trip on this famous train.

In the above picture, taken from our hotel, you can see some goods trains in a yard. That is the absolute end of the Trans siberian line. The tracks stop there and one can go no further by train.

The Vladivostok Station has a facade built in the Neo Russian style. It's apparently a replica of the Moscow Yaroslavskaya station.

The inside of the station has a few classical style decorative elements. There were these old uniforms on display which I assume are old railway uniforms.

The station building has some lovely iron scrollwork and the main area has a beautiful ceiling mural with immediately identifiable architectural elements of Vladivostok and Moscow.

I also saw this absolutely tripper vending machine where one could buy chargers, cables, power banks, earphones, USB drives, travel locks and even what looked like a burner phone.

Travel essentials indeed.

The platform itself was 2 levels below the entrance to the station, and there're no elevators or escalators there. 

This proved a bit challenging because we aren't really travelling light. Like the OH said at the beginning of the trip, 'Are you packing food for all Russia?'

We ended up lugging all our baggage two floors down.

And this platform was at a level with the tracks. Then starts the entire operation of hoisting luggage into the train. We have gotten so used to platform in our railway stations being at a level as close to the door as possible. 

So hoisting full sized suitcases up into the trains was seriously painful.

We got into our 2 berth cabin and were pleasantly surprised with a welcome pack.

Fruits, breads, some cakes and chocolates, tea bags, juices and water.

And a cute little pouch with a sleep mask, dental kit, hair brush, shoe horn, shoe shine, wet wipes and slippers. 

And luggage storage. That's another story.

The coupé has storage under the berths..if it had been left alone it could have very comfortably accommodated large suitcases. But for some bizzare reason there's some kind of a storage area 'built' there, which can at best hold a cabin baggage sized stroller or a good sized rucksack.

Honestly, of nothing had been built there, 2 large suitcases could have been very comfortably stashed there. 

There's an overhead storage area too. Hoisting a suitcase up there isn't for the faint of heart.  We gave up and our other suitcase is very literally underfoot.

Some pictures of the Amur bay from the train.

And along the Reka Razdolnaya river.

The trees alongside and either absolutely bare or just starting to sprout leaves post winter. I am trying to imagine how lovely this would look in summer when the trees are full of leaves. 

I'll keep the posts coming as we go.

I still can't believe we're actually doing this. The world's longest railway journey!! I am so excited!!

Wait a minute... What's this travesty??

There's water (voda) here, but no little water (vodka)?? Certainly cause for concern.

Signing off for now,

From Russia.. with love.

Random observations

The Amur bay reminds me of the waters around Koh Samui. Extremely clear and quite still, no waves.

I didn't see any signs of water sports or water based activities around the area. 

A bay cruise, kayaking, sailing... Something like that.

Was asked more than once why on we would come to Russia and that too Vladivostok. 

Our guide told us about the local wildlife. Bears, Amur tigers, Siberian musk deer (vampire deer) etc.

I would think there's potential for wildlife tourism.

Am already missing Darshini breakfasts

7 gunslingers, a SE Asian King, a lost Princess

We got into Vladivostok this morning. Our flight out of Moscow was over 2 hours late. 

That was one crazy flight. We flew east out of Moscow towards Vladivostok, and the skies outside were bright and sunny for hours. We slept, ate, slept. Inflight entertainment was all in Russian, so I decided to snooze. The dude on the window seat kept the window shades open all the time, and it was always bright and glaring. At some point, there was a darkening pinkish hue out of the window. It darkened some more. I went to sleep and woke up 2 hours later to bright sunlight again.

We landed in the Vladivostok International Airport, which is officially named after Vladimir Arsenyev, a famous Russian explorer, scientist, and writer who significantly mapped and documented the Far East region. According to our guide, Vostok means 'Far East'

Daria and Ruslan picked us up at the airport. We were booked for a half day tour with them. As our flight was delayed they had to rush us through so they could make their next tour on time.

We rushed through check-in, a quick bath and a quicker breakfast and were out in less than an hour.

Our first stop was the old lighthouse in Amur Bay. Daria and Ruslan picked up starfish, oyster shells, even an evil looking sea urchin to show us. And let me not forget that crab.

The day looked sunny so I skipped my jacket and walked to the lighthouse. Rookie mistake. Once on the water the temperature dipped almost 10°C , or that's what it felt like to my freezing extremities. 

So here we are. A typical Bollywood couple with the hero all bundled up for an artic winter and the lady didn't get the weather memo.

The water in the Amur bay is spectacularly clear. 

After visiting the lighthouse we went up the funicular for the views. And then to the top of the Sopka Eagle's Nest point for the views.

A drive back into the town and a stop at the submarine memorial. I did ask the OH if this was the Krazny October and it's captain was Marko Ramius. I got shushed for no good reason.

We got dropped off in the town center and went exploring on our own.

We visited the memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Eastern region for the Soviet land.

The typical onion domes church with rich iconography.

Women are requested to drape a scarf over their heads and the church had a whole basket of scarves and stoles by the entrance for visitors who didn't have their own.

And of course Matryoshka dolls.

I wonder who thought up this version!

And then the OH saw this and tells me, 'Damn, this one looks so realistic!'

And I have to tell him it is real.

And I had to take this picture of a random cute dragon. And I loved the murals of Amur tigers all over town.

And I went hunting for this memorial of one of Vladivostok's great sons - The one and only Yul Brynner.

And someone copying his iconic pose from The King and I.

And this, I'm sure explains the title of this post. Yul Brynner's iconic roles in The Magnificent Seven, The King and I, Anastasia...

A section of the tracks of the Trans Siberian railway.

The rolling hills of the Vladivostok peninsula and the Amur Bay bathed in the glow of a sunset.

And we're packing and getting ready for tomorrow. A big bucket list item, the Trans Siberian Railway.

More updates coming soon.

Signing off,

From Russia... with love.