Amaks Premier Perm

Well I have done my first of 4 straight days on the train. I muse admit I am starting to fell a little bit stir crazy already and will deifnatley be looking forward togettingoff the train on the 5th day. All of us sleept really well last night it has been the best night sleep of my journey so far. Even though the train was rocking I slept for a good 8 ...

... Natürlich hat es nicht lange gedauert und wir hatten unsere ersten russischen Gäste im Abteil. Zwei Burschen, die gerade ihren Militärdienst leisten. Heute haben wir ausgeschlafen und sind dann zu Mittag in den Speisewagen. Es gab ziemlich seltsame Dinge auf der Speisekarte wie Zunge in Schwammerlsauce, Hauptstadtsalat und andere Abenteuerlichkeiten. Es war sehr gemütlich im Speisewagen zu sitzen und aus dem Fenster zu schauen. Da gabs viel Schnee ...

... Kaverimme Fen ja Du ovat kylla ihan mahtavia heppuleita. Hopottavat meille kiinaks jotain ja sit kattovat ihmeissaan, et ettekste nyt noin yksinkertaista asiaa tajua. Ne syo ihan helvetin paljon nuudelia. Syo ne kyl kaikkee ihmeellistakin kanan varpaista alkaen ja tarjoovat aina meillekkin. Ulkonaosta riippuen joko maistan tai en. Annika tietysti ei, jaa paitsi kurkkua. Huomaatteko miten jannaa. Syomista... Kirjoittelen kohan on jotain asiaa. Pistanpa kuvia nyt ainakin.

... at all. There we were, Russian dictionary in hand, trying to decipher each choice on the menu. Imagine how difficult that is when the Russian alphabet is completely different to the English alphabet, and so even finding the right word is a challenge. In the end, we just pointed to one of the breakfast options and hoped for the best. Luckily that worked out for us so we were well fed in the hotel too! Although the language barrier is a potential problem, it is so much fun!!

Hello again We've moved onto Perm now, which in Soviet Times was a restricted city, even to Russian citizens, and never appeared on any maps!!!! This was due to a huge (and I mean HUGE) tank/cannon/rocket making factory located in the city. Military staff weren't allowed to leave the city either whilst they were serving, for fear of revealing secrets. Spent today out at Perm 36, a former Gulag prison camp, that started life in the ...

... quick learner, unlike merlin. We soon realised that the air conditioning didn't work in our carridge and on one day the temperature reached 36c, after a day of this we had had enough and we ventured out up the train to see if there were any other english speakers on board and also to find the restraunt cart. We met 3 lovely girls Sophia,Julia and kate and we ended up playing scrabble in there air conditioned carridge. When we finally got to the ...

... la sont des voleurs. Je me passerais bien de ses prejuges. Mais bon, il est vraiment gentil et m'explique pas mal de choses. C'est d'ailleurs le seul a parler anglais. Il descendra a Perm pour etre remplace par une baboushka attendrissante tellement sa vie a marque son corps et son visage. Elle pleure comme une enfant en quittant ce que je suppose etre se filles. Visitait-elle ses ...

... occasion when Jamie, Julie and Bill crossed the tracks to the other platform to try and buy some vodka when suddenly another train pulled into the station alongside ours trapping them on the other side with our train due to leave at any moment. Luckily, panicking they managed to run around the front of the second train and back to ours. Unfortunately without the vodka.

... and shares with all. Good laugh describing the cold of Lake Baikal and pictures of her family. Of course meet an Irish person - she if off on long way to Australia trip to where she is emigrating. Train stops everyday now for three times of about 20 minutes time. Get to walk around and buy food off the babooskas on the platform. Get pancakes with meat or potatoes inside (think said Russian mad into pancakes), cold beer ...

... video playback. A built-in CD burner completes the picture. All in all, a very tidy machine and an integral player in my travel technology suite. Now I just hope that a reader doesn't track me down and mug me for it... You wouldn't do that, would you? Additional note: the machine is still going strong, even in the cold of Siberia, but since my visit to Hong Kong I'm quite concerned about the likelihood of finding ...