My latest travels

Standing on the platform in the middle of the night in Yekaterinburg we were waiting for our train to arrive. Army officers wear huge Russian hats and smoke one cigarette after another. Mist clouds the platform, dim lights make the clanking of machinery seam like we may be back a few hundred years. In the distance at the other end of the platform I spot a person carrying a backpack, with iceskates strapped to it. We get a bit closer to notice he is speaking broken Russian, when he gives me a beaming smile and says 'giday mate, my name is Matt I'm from Melbourne.' Think we were all as happy to have found each other, standing there in the bitter cold night, somewhere in Siberia.

On the train we amazingly got a kaupe to ourselves and Matt was next door. He had been teaching English in Moscow for seven months, and was very excited to be leaving Russia. Our train was actually going all the way to Vladivostok, so another four days on from our stop. We are catching up with Matt, however, in Irkutsk.

Arriving in the middle of the night in any place is always going to be a little adventurous, but when we realized that our hotel booking was disregarded and that they wanted to charge us three times the price we knew we were in it. Every hotel in Novosibirsk was booked out, and sleeping in the train station on a bench with Russian army personnel before another two night train ride didn't sound like much fun or walking for hours in the heavy rain and snow. So in the end we paid a ridiculous amount to have a hotel for five hours, before it was booked out again. Let me tell you it was the best mattress I have slept on since leaving home one year ago! So four hours sleep and a shower later, they kindly agreed to look after our packs for the day, before we were shunned back to the cold streets to a still dark early morning. It was snowing, and surprisingly we were both in good spirits, or better than expected. Everything seamed so extremely dream like that it was like living in that dazed sleepy world where you see things in a very different way. The streets were almost empty, the snow falling heavily, and slowly but surely we saw Novosibirsk come to life.

I may have to write to Lonely Planet and tell them I will rewrite the 'Trans Siberian' guide for them. They make out that Novosibirsk is the last place you would want to go on earth, one of the reasons we wanted to go there, yet it is beautiful!!! I almost feel like I'm in the Vegas of Siberia, with neon lights glowing in the snow, and old orthodox churches reminding you of the history of this place. Desperately trying to find some coffee (actually everything seams really easy to find here, a first since Poland) we were obviously on the same search as a local doctor who helped us find somewhere. He could only speak very broken English, but two hours passed with conversation and breakfast quite easily. A total fascinating character, well dressed, extremely particular, yet friendly.

Russian friendliness is very different to home. And smiling here is considered to be 'like the villager who has lost his village' as one Russian explained to me. Our doctor friend also told us that the women takes the lead in everything, so I had to start eating first etc, and then he would turn to Will and ask 'do you think your 'wife' needs the bathroom or does she want to go shopping?' hmmmmm well yes things are a little different here.

Ha ha I just talked to Will in English for one second, and like five people turned around and said 'what you speak English too', god, its not like we haven't spoken English for ages its just that common ground that you seam to lack in every other way here. Often people, the environment etc all seams sooooo daunting here, yet we seam to often, and just when we need it, bump into someone with a huge heart that is willing to guide us on our merry way.

I cant explain what its like standing outside here, I love the snow, but it is so cold. Life is about survival, and you can see the going is not easy on the peoples faces. Still women insist on elegance and high heels in the snow, while my lack of snow experience makes me look like a twat, sneaking around the safe way, trying not to slip. Russian bread, cranberry juice and miso soup seam to be my staples since I was forced into my crash diet, he he. I have lost all my London winter layer and am replacing it with muscles from walking. So tired, but in good spirits we have a few more hours before our train tonight to Irkutsk. I am getting fonder of the train trips by the day, and this train ride I am looking forward to sleeping, sleeping,........ and trying to finish my scarf I am making (thanks Steiner education). I can see why most travellers do the Trans Siberian straight through, its nice and safe and not too much out of ones comfort zone, and one does not need to face what lies beyond the train stations- the real life. But being the people we are, we have to be nosey and go discover it for ourselves.

I know I write alot, but for me two days feels like a week...........................thank you for all your feedback about our letters and photos, it keeps us going!!!!!!!! Much love, Oni xxxx
Wohoooooooo photos!!!!!! Enjoy! Can't believe we have been to these places, ha are in these places!!!! xxxxx http://picasaweb.google.com/william.t.howe/UkraineRussia

Yekaterinburg has a very nasty bloody history, with the execution of Tsar Nicholas second and his family, as well as high profile mafia killings in the 1990's (thanks for that Lonely Planet). There is a memorial of the Ramanov deaths not that we have or probably will see it as its like every other house here. Boris Yeltsin also went to university here, I think.

Well besides its dark history, there is little evidence of that today. Loud speakers blare all sorts of noise pollution onto the streets while huge speakers blast hard core techno. Young and old seam to be into it, grooving down the street. People sit (cant believe it, I last an hour out side if briskly walking) and drink beer and dance along to the music. In the underground walk ways university students play guitars and sing along, almost made me cry it was so full of gusto and enthusiasm. Women try to navigate the mud, ice and snow with their high heels, where as I look like I am going snowboarding for a week and my pants are covered in mud, well yes not so stunning really. Physically the people have rounder faces, and fascinatingly you can tell its the Asian/ European border. Their are white faces with pink cheeks as well as really round more Mongolian faces, ahhhhh i love it.

Older people gather around the statue of Lenin and listen to 'communist' type speakers, while trying not to be run over by the young jumping over the base of the statue on their skateboards. Where ever we go people chat away to us in, what sounds like, frantic Russian, and when it becomes obvious that we have to open our mouths and say an English word, they just look intrigued and interested. I do know a few Russian words now, and can even get to the human level (tug on the heart string if you will) in the market when buying something saying it is for my grandma (babushka) in New Zealand (makes the foreign price 3 times as much as locals instead of 4). I can also get away with saying an English word and adding a 'ski' to the end which sometimes helps.

Today we trudged 30mins through the snow to bring you this email he he. Its stunning out there, huge flakes falling heavily (Keith you would love it, owww no more dancing in the snow on the British Museum roof with you, sniff.)

OK I"m truly over Russian food and after trying to be adventurous a dozen times and always regretting it, we are thankful that the Irish made their mark around the world. The Irish pub does good food, cooked veges etc,. and for dinner we usually get stuff from the supermarket and have a lil picnic in our Soviet styled room. Its lovely really, and we have made it homely with blankets on the floor etc but the over excited toilet flush and the over flowing shower, we could do with out. Ha now here it is, add insult to injury, we try get some washing done in our hotel, 2 pounds per item!!!!!! OK ok to be fair a slight discount for sox and undies. People don't earn much here in Siberia, and yes I have the extreme privilege to be able to travel, but please! Anyways we are going back to string up our travellers clothes lines and do mountains of hand washing!

So tomorrow night at the beautiful hour of 2am we are off to Novosibirsk, just for a one night stop off, to then catch our two day train to Irkutsk (lake Baikal) where we are going to head into the country or to an island in the lake for a few days, I really want to go dog sledding! Novosibirsk is a place you use to sleep and eat, recharge the ipods and camera etc, breaks up the three day travel to the lake nicely. Being on the train gives you some good thinking time but also puts you up against your demons so to say, actually don't have too many, but just gives you the time to think far more than you have in along time, where from here etc! Isn't it interesting that our human instinct is to want to wrap the people most dearest to us in cotton wool! Ah but no, its the art of letting go and trusting that all will be well (sure our parents can relate to this one). Since leaving home, I have got better at this and now I have about 120 more train hours to perfect it in he he.

Ok must go off into the snow again, we are going to drink beer and watch the synchronised swimming finals, it gets better........ its the team event! At the moment we gain an hour every few days which is taking some getting use to. But we just figure, sleep when your tired, eat when your hungry etc. Also trains and stations in Russia run on Moscow time, which is improving my maths alot! Feeling a little remote out here, 'Oni your in Siberia, what did you expect' ha ha.

Well since leaving London we have travelled through seven countries and four time zones and now find ourselves in Yekaterinburg, in Siberia!!!!! In case your geography is not up to scratch for this part of the world, its in the Ural mountains, in Asian Russian, not that far away from Kazakhstan........

Ok back to leaving Moscow, we began the trans Siberian adventure like everyone probably does, trying to once again find our way around the Moscow metro system (which has stunning architecture) but absolutely no English to help you. So running late and totally covered in dust we make it to our train with five minutes to spare. The train was very comfortable and the carriage attendant seamed to be cleaning the whole thirty hours. The countryside is breath taking and covered in snow!!!! Snow, snow, snow!

Its the people connections that makes travelling so so very great. I really could not believe our luck when we shared a four person compartment with two totally beautiful Russians who's English was perfect!!!!! A very highly educated couple, who worked in academic resources from around the world, and held local cultural groups etc in their home town of Perm. The whole way they explained to us how life in Russia is today, how it was in the past and how we should conduct ourselves. Andre explained the train protocol to us in such a gentle, almost Japanese manner. We had already gathered that in Russia it is very important to keep a low, low profile as a traveller, and to never speak loud or English walking around the train carriage etc, but yet he so patiently reaffirmed everything. He said at all costs reaffirm to people that you are not American and if the police stop you act as foreign as possible. When we parted our ways I got all emotional as he was standing on the platform outside tentatively cleaning our window so we could take clearer photos (with his whole family waving at us), and just before our train pulled out of the station he handed us some of the local beer to try that he brought for us, and all just from a brief encounter. Such a beautiful experience and such an awesome start to our Russian train journey! Sniff, people are beautiful!

Yekaterinburg, has only been open to foreigners since the early 90's, and in parts people still don't let foreigners stay in their hotels. One thing I have not mentioned so far is Russian accommodation and food! Well our hotel here down stairs looks five star until you get to our room which costs 35 USD per night each (however including 'breakfast' and visa registration), but holly cow, a Soviet block like you have never seen before. Holes in the walls filled with news paper, wall paper more on the floor than the wall, a shower that you fear might fall through the floor when you stand in it. However on the up side it does have a TV so we can watch ice skating and synchronized swimming and also has floor heating which in some places is really hot and if you stand on it for awhile makes you need to go to the loo? Hmmmmm strange.

Food in Russia is a lot of cabbage, and just kind of random mixtures of food. However their is plenty of option and lots of supermarkets so we are not starving. Today its a barmy -5, and skidding around in the mud, ice and snow makes for slow but amusing exploring. The people are so much nicer here than in Moscow, and actually smile at you- I even woke up by two cleaners laughing outside our door, first time I had heard open laughter since Poland. Russia is the kind of place I am going to have to process for awhile after we leave, and the train makes for welcomed time to rebalance myself and take it all in. Russia is such a loaded country and in a way you as a traveller feel silenced, or almost mute. It enables you to watch and take a lot in in this way but also makes you feel a little suppressed. Its hard to explain, its very liberal in many ways, drink beer on the street whatever, but the biggest danger is the police which stand on every corner with machine guns, and will take every chance they can to make life very hard for you especially if they realize you are a traveller. Must say after leaving Moscow I have breathed already a slight sigh of relief as it feels lighter here and just people being warmer makes it easier. Russia has strict face control (dress code) for bars, cafes etc, but here a good example of how it is here, it maybe to do with how you look and present yourself, but open your mouth and they hear your not from around here, your more than likely refused. As I say I need some more time, and distance to put it all together.

In the mean time we are here for the next three days, and the centre of town is small and inviting enough. We will use this time to catch up on sleep, and if we manage to arrange it maybe got do a trip in the Ural mountains. We are really good, and healthy and happy, so all is well. Cant up load photos everywhere, sniff, but will do as soon as we can. Much much love to you, Oni xxxx (your lil travel correspondent from Siberia! god never thought I"d end up here) xxxxxxx