Category: My Trans-Siberian Adventure

The Siberian train. In true Russian spirit my place on the train was impersonally named number two carriage nine berth 19. A host of Russian soldiers flooded the platform. They looked so young and it was hard to believe they are putting their lives on the line for mother Russia. Within each compartment there were four berths arranged in a European style of couchettes with two sleeping on the upper berths and during the day the lower berths were converted into seats. We were issued with clean sheets and pillow covers to last the journey. Blankets were also available. During the day a lot of people slept as the countryside became boring and many dozed so sleep at night was to some extent compromised but the movement and background noise of the train appeared to have a soothing soporific effect and the time spent sleeping was much longer than usual although the quality was less good. It was as if my brain went into suspended animation.

My wife and I had many discussions as to whether she would accompany me. I am so glad we decided against it as she would have hated it. The whole aspect of what I eventually realized was a commuter train was like going back to student days with roughing it, not her style at all. At the end of the carriage was the modern-day samovar producing boiling water day and night. This was in essence a boiler with no fancy decorations. At the other end were the washrooms. Only two for 36 people. Although there was both hot and cold running water there was no shower facilities. I was concerned because my bowels get upset with the change in water from country to country. I took Dukoral to ward off E.Coli poisoning which I suffered many years before. It was most unpleasant with severe abdominal bloating diarrhea and gas. I might also have contracted giardiasis (GEE-ARD-DIE-ASIS) which again is a stomach bug. I must have picked it up on my travels. The result was I had to pass huge quantities of quite objectionable gas. The most embarrassing time was in my private practice mode dressed in a collar and tie with a pinstriped suit. In effect Harley Street garb. Patients asked why I had several windows open in my office when it was snowing outside. I made some excuse about overheating in the office and as soon as they left I stood in front of the window and expelled the offending accumulated gas before the next patient. Most embarrassing. After about a year of this with several treatments of Flagyl which was supposed to be a cure I came across a former trainee who was working in Kenya. She recognized the problem immediately as it was common where she worked. The medication she suggested could not be found in the UK at the time but was found somewhere in Europe and eventually I found peace. Having said all that apart from a few episodes on the train I had little trouble. Perhaps the best solution is not to eat very much.

The suburbs of Moscow are somewhat depressing with the remnants of Communism reflected by the concrete high rise hen coops housing Muscovites. My initial companions were two soldiers of about 30 years old who were almost totally bereft of any English. I began to learn that communication is 90% body language and the time passed peacefully. My five words of Russian did not really cut it. Without exception on the trip to Irkusk, which lasted five days, I was shown absolute respect friendliness and generosity. All my fellow travelers were keen to share their food which I subsequently learned is customary on railways but not on planes. My only expressions for days in the light of my Russian and the lack of English from my new friends was “spasibo niet” which I think means “thank you, no.” I was embarrassed as I had no food to share thinking I could buy some on the train. I could only trade with vodka but to my surprise this was refused every time. These army officers got off at Novograd and were replaced by a 40-year-old economist, an engineer in his 70s and a store manager in his 30s. The latter used his iPhone to translate to ask me questions. The most uncomfortable one was ”do I think Russia is too hostile?” My answer was as diplomatic as I could think of at the time. I suggested the both East and West put their propaganda to the fore and the truth lay somewhere in between. That quelled his curiosity and peace reigned for the rest of their journey apart from heroic snoring from the economist.

The carriage had a side corridor. At one end the inside and outside temperatures were displayed. Outside the temperature was reported from -5C in Moscow falling as we went North to almost -27C. However inside the carriage the temperature was maintained between 20C and 24C from a coal fire. I had not anticipated this and did not have the favored dress of T-shirt and shorts . Slippers would also have been useful. On this train in the washroom was a mat with open criss cross slats to avoid getting your feet wet from badly aimed male bladder excretions due to the movement of the train. I also bought a mug from the carriage attendant to drink tea. I never drink tea but in the absence of coffee, when in Rome…. What I would have given for a cup of strong black coffee. My itinerary stated I should be given a hot meal per day. When the meal was delivered I found it came on an airline tray with six small bits of chicken warm gravy more rice and a few carrots and beans. To call this a hot meal was underwhelming. On the third day I had new companions one being a middle-aged lady who accepted two meals from the food deliverer. One of the meals was claimed by a fellow traveler who was an Electronics expert and the other I assumed was hers. I asked her on 3 separate occasions it this was her meal and she appeared to answer in the affirmative. I then went to the attendant and deliverer and asked where my meal was. There was obvious confusion and I’m afraid to say I became a little agitated thinking I was going to be denied what I had paid for. Obviously the lack of language was acute so a translator was found in the next carriage who told me I would have to pay for another meal. Somewhat reluctantly I handed over the equivalent of nine dollars for this skimpy repast. Still the cuisine sat in front of this lady until she started producing food of her own and it transpired the meal was mine after all. Major diplomatic dustup narrowly avoided and my money was returned.

At the heavily industrialized Novosibirsk my new friends wished me luck and disembarked. I spied a small middle aged butter-ball lady on the platform. Knowing my luck she would come into my compartment. That was indeed the case although she had some difficulty because the door was not big enough. She brought with her a large polythene bag of rolls and pastries. However she turned out to be a delight despite the language problems. She even gave me her lunch when she realized I had none and refused payment.

Prior to coming on this trip I thought it would be appropriate to see if I could eventually read War and Peace by Tolstoy which I had struggled with during my student days. Perhaps the ambience of the country may make it alive. No such luck. My best endeavors lasted 4 days after which I got fed up reading about the nuances of so-called high society in Moscow in the 19th century. Subsequently I felt very humbled when I learned my son had read both Anna Karenina and War and Peace which he described as a soap opera. Perhaps I will try another time 

The scenery was beginning to get somewhat boring as there were trees trees and more trees often birch and pine. These unserried ranks stood straight with their arms hardly bowed with the weight of snow. Siberia would not be the same without snow. Northern Canada shares the same type of vista. In passing the ghostly areas of stripped pines you almost expect a bear to appear or a group of Russian soldiers marching in knee deep snow and singing to blow off the stale fumes of last nights vodka. The scenery became flat and featureless and was only alleviated by a magnificent bright orange sunrise. I cannot imagine the thoughts, fears and hopes of those Jews being transported to the concentration camps in cattle trucks with communal toilet facilities among other dehumanizing treatments.

In all it took 5 days to get to our initial destination of Irkusk the capital of Siberia. The whole line was electrified so there was no reassuring classic interposing click and the ride was very smooth. There was no shower on the train so I solved that problem by not washing for the 5 days. I did not smell any worse than anyone else and no-one complained, mind you no-one could speak English which might have been the explanation. Sometimes ignorance or deafness have their compensations. Or it helps if your sense of smell is poor as is mine. No smelly feet either.

On the 4th day I was getting my 5th cup of tea for the day when I heard voice behind me ”Are you British?” My initial shock on hearing a British voice was like music to my ears. When I explained I was Canadian and British and asked how he knew, he replied. 

“You are the only one in the carriage wearing a shirt, tucked in and a pen in your shirt pocket. You must be an academic “ This was my fellow traveler who I was supposed to meet in Irkusk but he got on the train before that. He turned out to be a Northern Irish 26-year-old laborer on his parents farm where he raised horses. He had visited 46 countries in his short life and his passport paid testament to that. I suspect he was funded by his mother. We chatted or rather he chatted a lot and I heard his life story within hours. Unfortunately this detracted from the experience of exposure to Russians. Five days is a long time on the train especially as trying to move into another carriage was somewhat dangerous because the linking space was covered with ice. My thoughts were to exercise as much patience as I could because there was nothing to do about the situation. We bypassed several abandoned warehouses with rather depressing small villages characterized by smoking chimneys and small lots. There were occasional cattle and stray dogs but very little else showing signs of life. Perhaps summer would see more animation.

We pulled into Irkusk about 10 o’clock in the evening and again we were immediately met by the tour guide holding a placard with both my name and my traveling companion’s name, so that was very easy. Transport was immediately available and we were taken to our small hotel in the center of town. At last a shower. What a wonderful feeling. We went out for a meal and found the portions were about half the size of a North American equivalent. However they were not too expensive. A sleep in a normal bed was restorative and the next morning I realized I would have to get some moon boots to avoid getting my trainers soaking again in the foot deep snow. At that stage I ventured out in the temperature of -17C. At least the locals had the decency to look cold despite wearing several layers and furred hats or hoodies. My search was in vain but when the tour guide arrived she took me to a shoe store where I bought fur-lined boots which turned out ideal. To combat the cold I wore a fur-lined jacket and over-the-top a well padded anorak. A toque (Canadian woolly hat) kept my head warm but the leather gloves I thought would be adequate were pitifully not. I should have taken ski gloves. Our first stop on the tour was to visit a memorial to the 20 million Russians who died in the second world war. It was quite moving. Then we crossed a small bridge to come across the Angara River where it was confluent with the Irkut River and walked along beside the river. We came across a statue commemorating the struggle of women.

Irkusk is the capital of Siberia with a population of almost 600,000. It’s main industry is aircraft manufacture. It has a renowned medical school and a university and religious establishments which during the communist era were desecrated and used for other needs. These have now been reestablished. One of the heroes of the white Russians in the 1917 revolution was Alexander Kolchak. He is an interesting character in that he led against the red Russians. He also fell in love with his best friend’s wife who joined him and lived together until he was executed after the revolution. In the past most of the houses were wooden and as such were susceptible to fire. The belfry tolled out the message of danger to allow the inhabitants to escape. The belfry still stands. We then went on to see another statute which was Alexander III who was the founder of the trans-Siberian Railway. He was also the father of the last Czar Nicolas the second who was shot along with his family after the 1917 revolution. On the statue at his feet is a two headed eagle representing head of the state and head of the church. We also visited several churches of Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox religions which were architecturally exquisite and inside gold laden. The next day we left to go to Lake Baikal which is the oldest deepest and largest freshwater lake in the world. My friends from Thunder Bay in Ontario claim Lake Superior is the largest but only in surface area. Lake Baikal is 1637 meters deep. On the way we stopped at the village of Talsty. This museum is a recreation of how ancient man lived during the summers in tepee like Birch bark clad dwellings with larders elevated to avoid bears and other animals raiding the food. We also saw how they sliced logs lengthwise dug them out like a canoe and placed corpses inside and covered them up with the rest of the log and placed them on elevated platforms to avoid animals disturbing them. We also saw how more recently they had a milling system for grain. Irkusk was founded in 1661 and in this village a fort was built in 1667. They also had a small school importing teachers from larger centers with a very handsome salary to work and live in Siberia. We also saw a yurt. We were told these houses are semipermanent made of wood for seminomadic Russians as opposed to the Mongolian totally nomadic houses called gers. We then visited a fascinating museum about Lake Baikal. The visit included a simulated dive to the bottom of the lake and a full explanation of the formation and geology as well as the flora and fauna of the area. It would appear the surroundings have an average of two earthquakes per day albeit minor and small volcanoes and oil leaks deep in the water which are mopped by microorganisms and crustaceans. The most commercial fish is called omul and a personal taste confirmed its delicacy. The lake is drained by the Angara River which means open mouth. We then bought some food for the next journey to Mongolia.

The Mongolian Empire hit its heyday in the 13th and 14th century. It was the largest contiguous land empire in history and spread from central Europe to the Sea of Japan, Siberia India Indochina Iran and Levant and Arabia. Genghis Kahn united various Mongolian tribes and was the ruler of all Mongols in 1206. Since that time Mongolia has shrunk and present-day Mongolia is part of Outer Mongolia: Inner Mongolia lies within China. The attendants on the Mongolia bound train were noticeably more Oriental. One of the problems on all the trains was that the toilets were locked at least 10 minutes before any city or lengthy stop. Of course no one told you when this would happen and it caused quite a bit of distress when you were caught out. I think the only English words the attendant knew were “10 minutes.” The water supply was a tiny pipe with a handle which turned on a narrow stream of water descending onto the floor. The trick was to catch it en route. When we left Russia the military and others went through our luggage and compartments mainly to find any illegal passengers. Because we had to change trains the shunting at the border went on for several hours and then the Russian personnel took our Passports for an interminable time and eventually returned them with the appropriate stamp to say that we had left Russia and the visa was in order. We then approached the Mongolian border with a rerun of searching the luggage and compartments and entailed a wait for two hours. On this occasion passports were also taken and a dog was used to sniff out drugs. Then we had another four hour wait for a Mongolian engine. We progressed to Ulan Bator where we were grateful to attend to our bodily functions as the train toilets were locked again. When we vacated our compartment it was locked by the attendant. On arrival our new tour guide welcomed us to the coldest capital of the world.

It has a population of 1.37 million.He told us that Genghis Kahn had 4 official wives, an unknown number concubines, but there were many, and it is estimated he has 40 million descendants today. Russia and Mongolia helped to rid China of the Japanese in World War II. Mongolia is one and a half million square kilometers in size which is 3 times the size of France. There is a general shortage of water making agriculture a challenge in certain areas. The Gobhi desert is suited to the two humped camel which can survive without water for up to 45 days. 

We were then taken to our night’s accommodation which was a ger. This is a round well insulated canvas tent of substantial proportions with many modern-day appliances including television used by the nomadic tribes. It is heated by a central wood and coal burning stove and is warm unless the stove goes out. This was our experience and we had to start the fire on several occasions during the night. We visited a family in a functioning ger. They apparently move four times a year searching for new pastures for their 30 animals which included horses cattle dogs and hens. The mother proudly told us she has family of eight, obviously created before they got their television set. We visited a remote Buddhist temple where the solitary monk admitted to killing 35 of his relatives as he did not inherit what he thought was his right. When he came to his senses he begged for forgiveness and his atonement was to become a monk. He also turned wheels for us to help with good deeds. We were introduced to the ‘ankle bone game’ whereby the vertebrae of sheep are thrown to get a score depending which surface showed up with the first past the post winning.

On our return to Ulan Bator we visited various Buddhist temples which were very interesting. Then we noticed a crowd gathering in the central area of the town. We wondered if they had arranged to meet us but in fact it was the visit of the Dalai Lama. He addressed the thousand or so crowd in the square briefly as the temperature was the coldest day for 20 years at -30C and promised a fuller speech indoors the next day. The tour included a visit to the natural history Museum, Parliament Square and the outside of the Houses of Parliament and we were impressed at the architecture of the nearby financial district with high rise glass buildings .

Overall I was not enthralled with Mongolia but my 26 year old traveling companion was which may reflect the age difference.

Onward and upward to China. As we went south through Mongolia the landscape became even more flat and featureless and by the time we reached the Gobhi desert the desolation was rampant and forbidding. All of a sudden we spotted sporadic herds of small horses pawing through the snow at the ground in an effort to find something to graze on. On this train a new attendant was not very helpful. I tried to draw his attention to the lack of toilet paper but he just looked at me as if I had 2 heads. Unfortunately my gut problem was recurring and I was getting desperate. I suddenly remembered I had inadvertently packed some tissues which I tore up as necessary and thankfully just made it. However hot water was completely absent. There was evidence of the industry which will make Mongolia extremely rich i.e. mining. Apparently there are vast accumulations of every mineral, apart from diamonds, which have been recently found in Mongolia. The scenery was unrelentingly boring . The lack of stimulation led to wandering innermost thoughts which were similar to meditation. I suppose this goes hand in hand with the Buddhist religion. When we reached the Border again we were searched by the quasi military with the same deal of surrendering passports and waiting. Because the Chinese rail gauge is different from the previous gauge our carriage was lifted off the chassis and put on a new chassis. Quite strange being suspended in air during the process. This exercise took 6 hours at the dead of night. It would have been a lot easier just to change trains.

At daylight we could see the pollution of China’s critics with vapors steaming out of vast chimneys and multiple factories. The countryside eventually began to perk up a bit with undulating landscapes and even as we approached Beijing there were almost mountains.

Beijin is a huge city almost fully Westernised and a bit of a disappointment. The architectural styles vary from traditional to box like Stalin-esque blocks of concrete to modern. It is the third most populated city in the world and is subject to smog pollution from nearby industry. It underwent great expansion beginning in the early 80’s and now has 6 ring roads. The predominant language spoken is a dialect of Mandarin. Translation of the name means northern capital. It contains several UNESCO sites including the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven which were built between 1406 1420. The others include the Summer Palace, the Ming tombs, the Great Wall, the Grand Canal and Zhoukoudian. On 28 October 1420 it was named as the capital of the Ming dynasty.

By now I was the only person on the tour along with a guide so we initially set off for the Great Wall but stopped for a very important visit to the jade factory. This stone is the national emblem for China and the exterior of the factory was very unprepossessing. An in-house guide briefly showed me how the jade was prepared and I was ushered into a huge warehouse full of jade jewelry offered at discount prices. At least that’s what I was told. Just the typical tourist thing.

Next up is the Great Wall which is about an hour from the city along a well made highway. Again the tourist thing: the Great Wall was a fantastic architectural feature crossing mountains and valleys. It has been said that it is the only structure on earth visible from space. There is a lot of controversy about that. The day was absolutely freezing again one of the coldest days of the year with a high wind. The tour guide paid for our admission and as the place was heaving with tourists all slipping on the ice covering I felt it wise to cut the visit to a minimum. I took the appropriate photograph and left. This seem to be much to the tour guide’s chagrin but seemed to me to be the better part of valor as I certainly did not want to slip and break a bone so far away from home. We then entered the nearby coffee house to warm up. To say the store sellers were pushy as they showed me round the antique shop attached would be a gross understatement.

After lunch we visited the Ming tombs where13 of the 16 emperors from that dynasty are buried. By this stage in the trip I was beginning to become fazed by all this information overload so my attention wandered somewhat and I did not retain all the knowledge coming from my guide who was reciting her well rehearsed speech. However the next visit was to the Summer Palace. This was stimulating with the architecture of the dynasty. I could easily picture those days of emperors and acolytes relaxing in the multicolored buildings. It is a vast ensemble of lakes gardens and palaces. It is 2.9 square kilometers of which three quarters are water. The main features are the Kunming lake and the Longevity Hill. It was burnt down during the 2nd opium war by an Anglo-French force but since has been rebuilt.

Next day the first visit was to Tiananmen Square. This is one of the largest squares in the world. It comprises 109 acres and it means Gate of Heavenly Peace. Within the square are the Monument to the Peoples Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedung. The square is notorious in the Western World for the 1989 massacre. I did not touch on that subject at all with the guide as I saw no benefit in bringing up that touchy subject.

Across the road is the gate to the Forbidden City or the winter palace. Festooned above the gate on the red wall is a huge picture of Chairman Mao Zedung. He declared the People’s Republic of China on October 1st 1949. I thought the place was exceptionally busy but the guide told me it was quiet compared with a holiday. They have 14.6 million visitors every year. It was built in 1406 to 1420 and included the Ming and Qing dynasties from 1420 to 1912. It has 980 buildings and covers more than 180 acres. The whole area is arranged with a succession of palaces each coming after a square. The outer or front court was used from ceremonials and the inner or back court for the emperor and family. In the outer court are the Gate of Supreme harmony and the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the hall of Preserving Harmony. The inner court houses the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Heavenly Union and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. The emperor annually prays for a good harvest in the Temple of Heaven. The Ming dynasty were incredibly superstitious and made the roof of the Temple of Heaven blue to represent the sky, and the walls green to represent the earth and yellow the symbol of power. Nine was a sacred number and the steps to the Temple of heaven are arranged in 3 sets of nine. On the way through all these sacred buildings there is a round slightly elevated stone which is said to be the direct communication to heaven. I stood on it as suggested but as yet am waiting for a reply. I hope it was not the direct highway.

The last building before leaving the complex was specially built for the emperor to assess and admit his concubines through the back door. It seems this was quite accepted practice in those days. After all this sightseeing we went to a ‘tea tasting’. I do not like tea at the best of times and they did not like that I refused to buy any at their exorbitant prices. It is a different culture but I was not going to be pushed into something I did not want. The guide asked me what I did before retiring. I replied ” I used to cut throats” in an off hand manner. Her face instantly changed from an ever present smile to one of abject horror. “Yyyou used to cut throats” she quailed taking a backward step, wondering what sort of

serial killer she was dealing with.

“Yes, but I do not do that any more, you see I was a head and neck surgeon.”

The relief was palpable.

On that high note we parted company and I returned to my hotel to put my feet up before the long flight back home. So I achieved two ticks for the wish list; the Trans Siberian Railway and going round the world. But I was incredibly happy to be home.

FOOTNOTE

I would like to thank Maritime Travel of the Country Fair Mall, New Minas Nova Scotia and their partners, Exotic Tours and Intourist for organizing such a great trip. Everything went to plan and on time. For anyone wanting to go on this trip I learned the following would be helpful;

• A T shirt and shorts and slippers for the train.
• A penknife for cutting and spreading food
• toilet paper
• soap
• a flashlight
• some form of self entertainment.

I think it is noteworthy to say I never felt uncomfortable at any time despite the reports of mugging and violence which stimulated many people to say I was brave going alone. If I had a companion we would have spoken to each other and not enjoyed encountering the locals.

I would also thank my wife very much for encouraging me to do the trip before I was too old and putting up with my absence.