Life on the Train

After completing the railway trip, it is time to tell you a bit about my thoughts of travelling for seven days (not counting the stops). But let’s first list the travelling companions in my compartment during this time, to get a first impression of what it is like to be on a train for days:

1. On my way from Vienna to Moscow I shared my compartment with three older Russian men (two of them already retired). They were on their way back from their bicycle vacation in Switzerland and expected the train to have a separate carriage for bicycles, as it had been on their way to Europe. Since that was not the case, we had to fit all the luggage and three bicycles in our compartment. Nonetheless it was quite nice travelling with them. Since one of them could even speak English (quite rare in Russia!), we were able to share some stories.
2. On the transsiberian railway I first shared my compartment with a russian business man. While he was a nice person, this part of the trip was quite uneventful.
3. It got a lot more interesting on my way from Yekaterinburg to Irkutsk. Apart from one older russian man, who didn’t speak that much, I first shared my room with two russian railway mechanists. While their knowledge of English was quite limited (as was my Russian ;-)), we managed to talk using gestures, drawings, maps on the smartphone, … Sharing food and drinking together we had a very good time.
4. My next guest was a young guy with his grandma and his male cat. While the grandma was apparently not that aware of her surroundings anymore, it was nice to see Dimitri taking care of her. Shortly after he arrived he asked me (using gestures) whether we could close the door of the compartment to allow Baahks (the cat; transliteration may not be correct ;-)) out of his cage for some time. Of course! Baahks was a nice fellow and after some time I apparently also gained his trust as he allowed me to pet him.
5. After they left, three young russian railway engineers, having the same destination as me (Irkutsk) entered. Again we managed to “talk” using gesture and simple drawings and again it ended with sharing food and drinking together. Yes, that’s pretty common on the Transsib.
6. After leaving Irkutsk and heading towards Beijing, talking got a lot easier, since a lot of the other passengers where tourists or travellers themselves. So while on the hand I didn’t have the opportunity to meet more locals, I could on the hand swap some stories and experiences about travelling. On my way to Ulaanbaatar I was accompanied by a couple from UK, who are on a very long voyage - around the world.
7. For the last part, from Ulaanbataar to Beijing, I shared the compartment with two Australian guys, who were just on their way home, having started their trip in southern Europe.

With such a diverse list summarizing the Transsib may seem not an easy task at all. But there are also some common patterns. The business man I mentioned? Just after arriving, he took of his suite, switching to something much more casual. Only when we reached his destination he changed his clothes back to the former formal style.

Entering the Transsib is more than just boarding a train. Instead you change to a separate, with its own, unwritten rules. Differences in social standing begin to vanish and with the clothes - typically the locals like to dress very casually - also the interactions between the passengers become much more relaxed. Food is often shared, so it’s great if you brought some snacks to share as well. And, depending on the people you are travelling with, one or more bottles of vodka or other drinks will be opened and finshed (no opened bottle stays unfinished!).

Of course, the Transsib may also fascinate by offering an unique way of appreciating the landscape surrounding it. The vastness of Siberia can barely be grasped, but if you go to sleep with the Siberian taiga outside and wake up in the morning, still seeing the same pattern of trees, you begin yo understand, that some simble ajectives, like huge, vast or gigantic, may not really do justice to what is unfolding in front of you. And while some may become tired of the never changing nature of Siberia, they may get all the more excited about the stunning hills and steppes of Mongolia.

Of course, every traveller may tell his own stories, and almost every one should have at least one anecdote to tell. For me it was certainly the departure in Ulaanbaatar. Just having switched the time due to daylight saving time, the scheduled departure had changed twice since I had booked the train. Since there was no electronic board showing the departures, I got quite confused at first, until a taxi driver approached me, telling me that the train had already left - half an hour before the time printed on my ticket. My first reaction after having travelled in the past was assuming a scam.

But after I met several other tourists, having the same problem, this theory started to sound more reasonable. So I shared a taxi with two Australian guys, who should later be my room mates in the train, to catch the train at the next station - 250 km away! Still fearing a scam, we got very suspicious when the driver asked us to change to the car of a friend of his after just 30 km, wanting to get half of the agreed money. So we rejected the change. As we found out later, he probably only wanted us to change the car, since his own was not that well suited for such a trip over long sections of bumpy road anymore, therefore needing a few additional stops to e.g. inflate the tires again. But finally we reached our destination in time, learning that sometimes people genuinely try to help you (although the driver was probably still happy about his earnings that day).

To sum it up, for me the trip on the Transsib was a great way to start the whole voyage. The slowed down life on the train helped switching the mindset to something more appropiate for travelling more than two and a half months, leaving any stress one might have had behind and just giving plenty of one of the most useful resources: time.