"Trains, trains and...trains"

St Basils
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What do you do when you spend 88 hours travelling 5000km's on a train? Obvious really play games, sleep, eat stuff and laugh with and at the locals.

Now there is a bit of train etiquette when it comes to Russian travelling.

All people must drink beer at every opportunity (we initially thought that this was a train thing but it seems that it applies to everywhere in Russia).

1. If you are a man you must be topless and have a mullet.

Us in the Kremlin
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2. Everyone must wear shell suits as much as possible.

3. All people must drink beer at every opportunity (we initially thought that this was a train thing but it seems that it applies to everywhere in Russia).

4. Tight haircuts and moustaches are the way to go.

5. Gold teeth if you are a woman seems to indicate higher status.

6. You must love instant noodles, tinned fruit, oreos and tea.

7. When in the restaurant car all prices are relative as is time to get served, inflation is rife in these cars and seems to take effect on currency and minutes the moment you sit down.

8. High heels are the way forward for women even if you are spending the day doing touristy stuff and walking 15km - heels are the only way!

9. Men seem to go for the more sensible footwear (flip flops) but they must be worn with socks and generally be of the Adidas brand!

Our journey from Irkutsk to Moscow did take almost 4 days and 3 nights non-stop on the train but actually was good fun - partly because you just got yourself into the mindset that it was going to take that long and also because our group was good fun and so we had a laugh with them and argued over who got to play backpacker next! We passed through a number of stations along the way and there were 20 min stops to allow us to hop off and refuel with local made pies, soft drinks, raspberries and other random trinkets such as Batman and Robin, glass ornaments etc. You name it and it could probably be bought from one of the Babushkas on the platform!

We finally arrived in Moscow on Sunday afternoon and were met by our honcho, Anastacia. We only had a couple of days in Moscow and so she got to work straight away in making sure that we made the most of our time there. In the 56 hrs we had in the city we; visited Red Square at night (very beautiful), Red Square in the day, the Kremlin and its churches, Lenin embalmed in his mausoleum (still not sure if it is the real one!), Sparrow Hill for great panoramic views of the city, the Vodka museum to learn about which are the good ones and which are better left alone, St. Basil's cathedral on Red Square, the Novodevichy convent, the Arbat area with its pedestrian street and souvenir stalls, the park of Fallen Idols and some nice bars and cafes to sample local food. We went to one crazy bar where each room was themed as a room in a house and so we sat and drank vodka in the kids room!

We both really enjoyed Moscow and Nick concluded that it was very different to what he had imagined - just like a modern European tourist city with lots to offer in terms of things to see. I think he expected ration books, dirt and not much else!