Mayakovskaya B&B Moscow

... for the whole of our journey which is a bit of a bonus or maybe not...

We do the tradition of trading fruit and then Helen and I head to the buffet car to suss out the food situation and have a quiet ale...

First night done we sleep.

Photos coming once we hit Beijing!

... at the crack of dawn (due to afformentioned digestive troubles) and got an early start on the Kremlin. An absolutely majestic complex, the red walls and golden domes of the Russian centre of government rise out of what is otherwise a rather grey and dull city. Crazily opulent, there was enough gold on the domes to solve world poverty, and judging by the number of gifts from Foreign countries in the Armoury, everyone at some point wanted to be Russia's best mate. Next door, the ...

... Not a bomb, not a bomb!" And he was right. It was not a bomb... we think the wind did it.

Tonight we are heading to the train station (must find out which one...) to catch the 'Baikal' train (that's the number 10 train for any anoraks out there) for the five day journey to Irkutsk. We will have numerous hour-long stop-off points along the way, where we can stretch our legs and purchase station snacks etc., but the train will be our ...

... can ask to see your documents. It is just such a different feeling here compared to the rest of Europe - but the sights are no less spectacular. I had never heard of it but tonight is the final for Eurovision. The hostel has been a buzz for days now, I am about to watch the finals and have had a chance to see a few of the acts and find the best way to describe it ...

... lower bunk - the compartments (kupe) have 4 beds and a locking door. A Russian couple joined me and then a guy on his own - and after stumbling over his first few Russian words was pleased to discover he spoke English. He was a really interesting guy - he lived in Finland but was a Tatar - one of the oldest inhabitants of Russia, Tatars have an important role in it's history. We spoke about the Tatar culture, Russia, Finland, England, music (he plays and manages) his family and ...

... to shut up at one point (or at least I think that's what they said but again I couldn't understand them) but he was only quiet for a few minutes then went right back to ranting. Trust me, I was quite happy to get off the bus. Vladimir wasn't as great as I thought it would be but it was nice to get out of the city for a few hours. I had considered going to another town called Suzdal that was a little bit further away but decided against as that probably would have taken 2 ...

... and everyone around me was dead silent while the other side of the stadium roared with renewed hope! At around 2am, when Nicolas Anelka missed the 8th kick for Chelsea which sealed the victory for Man U, I could see and feel people around me dying inside. They had gone from the happiest moment in their lives to utter despair within a matter of a few minutes and a few twists of fate. I concealed my joy of having just witnessed a game ...

We again arrived in moscow at a stupid time in the morning to be met off the train by our young guide whos name eludes me. She was a sweet lass but i was hoping more for one of the stunning moscovites that id seen mincing up and down the carriage aisles on the train. The train from Irkutsk had taken us 4 continous days on the train. It had definately started to grate towards the end but on the whole the journey had been good fun ...

... i realized( with Tomek's help) what an experience this will be and what lessons it might bring about. Too see how others live, travel, to hear their stories, just too observe their existence is quite amazing. It defentiatly makes one more humble and at the same time stronger inside. Most of these older people carry inside of them such an abundance of experience, which is well embedded on their faces.