Best Eastern Hotel Zvezda Irkutsk

... with all our luggage, figuring out the seating system, we were finally on our way. <br><br>That was until ten minutes down the road we were stopped at a police road block - for 2.5 hours!!! Turns out that it had snowed so heavily and unexpectedly that the road to Listvyanka was blocked. Squashed in, bags on laps, people standing in aisles &amp; foggy windows &#8211; it was the first time I felt completely powerless and a long way from home!

... told it would be quite basic so was expecting something worse than the Riga-Moscow train. <br><br>I got to the station way later than intended (about 10min before the train was due to leave) and went up to the first crowd of English speaking backpackers to find out if they had any idea which platform the train was departing from. We all hung out together for a few while a couple of local guys near us who were drunk and incapable ...

... and I wondered if she had missed her vocation!<br><br><br><br>Among my carriage companions on different stages of the journey were:<br> grandmotherly Lydia, concerned that I was eating too little, and determined to make me fill up on her sausages; <br>Deli, a gentle character, originally from Tashkent, with whom I held a lengthy dual-language conversation based on my world map and involving a huge amount of miming; <br>Larissa ...

... time zone, sometimes 2, so although I've ended up 5 hours ahead of Moscow, the clocks on the train and the train timetable are still set to Moscow time, which can be confusing. <br>I'd start the day by wandering down to the samovar at the end of the carriage, to make tea (I bought a supply of tea, coffee, noodles etc) I would check out the timetable posted in the corridor to see where we're stopping that day. My Trans-Siberian Handbook was great ...

... sack invention to enable us not to have to open our large rucksacks on the train- meaning we had a rucksack, a day sack, a drawstring bag and carrier bag full of food each) so the trip was painful, especially on the upper shoulder..<br><br>This was our first trip in 2nd class (kupe) - meaning we had a four part compartment as opposed to a 54 bed corridor.. thrilling we thought, no screaming children, we thought, or people pushing past us to the toilet..and pushing past us coming ...

... disabled. Even the railway stations do not have lif\ts but lots of steps. In fact we cannot remember seeing anyone in a wheelchair and very few babies in pushchairs or prams.<br><br>Anyway back to our home stay. After lugging our luggage to flights we entered the aprtment through a hefty front door that had seen many changes of locks.<br><br>Inside was completely differnet to the outside. We were welcomed by Olga, a smiley woman in her mid fourties. Her English was very good. The ...

... are fresh water seals here! <br><br>Putin is very popular - he's personable and intelligent - and an astute politician who reads the Russian psyche well.<br><br>Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water lake in the world - over 25 million years old - and is on it's way to becoming an ocean - sitting on tectonic plates which will eventually split the continent - but that's some way off....<br><br>After 2 ...

... in the queue for a couple of minutes, and Finola's inquiry was met initially with a blank look, followed by the pharmacist pointing to her head, then her neck, rubbing her stomach... asking her where the pain was. Some of the queuing patrons did understand us, they translated for the pharmacist, discussed the issue with her, and together they communicated back to us that they could not help. <br>We asked for wi-fi too, knowing that this had existed ...

So thought that I would send an update of whats been going on as I havent done so for a while now. Everthing has been a little hectic with moving around every couple of days but have got a bit of spare time now;<br><br><br><br>- Firstly as some of you may remember I ...

... I decided to just pass last night off, take my losses, and make the best of the day. However, the fun, easygoing atmosphere was gone and much of the tour felt awkward and business-like. Finally, I decided I needed to break the ice so I asked her about last night.<br><br>She resisted at first. But I persisted. Her answer was pure gold as she turned to me and said, "In Russia, we have a saying: that even if a man is fat and ugly, even if ...