I have decided I like trains.  Not in a geeky sort of way; I am hopefully a long way from wanting to stand at the end of a cold platform and write down engine numbers as a substitute for having […]

At 1am we cross the border into Belarus.  The train attendants wake us up and the border guards come on board to check passports.  There is a long wait while they make their way through the train during which time, […]

It’s Saturday morning and I have roughly 24 hours to “do” Moscow.  My guide is Lena, a Muscovite schoolteacher who works part time as a tour guide. She is articulate and funny and talks about Russia with dry humour.  She […]

Train number six takes me from Moscow to Irkutsk and is the longest single leg of the journey.  As I will spend four days on this train I find myself wishing for an interesting and personable companion to share my […]

Sometime during the night we passed over the Ural mountains and through Ekaterinberg (famous for being the birthplace of Boris Yeltsin and where the Tsar and his family were murdered in a basement); we have therefore now, formally passed into […]

Today is my last full day on board the #2 Moscow-Vladivostok train and there is a touch of cabin fever in the air.  The carriage is comfortable and warm and, because it is low season, not particularly overcrowded.  However, there […]

I disembark from the train at 6:15am at Irkutsk.  In the last 24 hours the cabin next to mine has been occupied by two police officers (the police seem to use the railways extensively) – they spend their time watching […]

The dog sledging centre is based in the valley high above Listvyanka in the heart of the pine forest. The centre is run by Natasha and has around 30 dogs; large husky type things with blue eyes and foot-long tongues […]

I spend the day  in Irkutsk before catching the train that takes me to Ulan Ude and then over the Mongolian border to Ulaan Baatur.  Irkutsk is a mixture of styles – originally a fur trading post, then a gold […]