Scenery along Siberia
Lost in the endless plains。 About Trans-Siberian Train
Siberia, one of the most extreme continents in the world.
I have long been fascinated with this name and the Trans-Siberian Journey.
From St Petersburg to Ulan Bator
crossing thousand miles of uninhabited barren
crossing through Europe to Asia
crossing horizon where day and night exchanges
one can simply be lost in time, lost in space, lost in the endless plains
but surrender at the world’s longest railway
Wild horses in the endless Plain of South Western Siberia
Dawn or Dusk? Confusion between Moscow time and local time makes one lost in time and mind.
<坐上火車橫越西伯利亞>
隨著車窗倒後的風景，由歐洲回到亞洲，
踏上全世界最長的鐵路，兌現了多年的旅行心願。
已經很久沒有這麼早爬起來， 初夏的俄羅斯日長夜短，
尤其火車上永遠顯示莫斯科時間，
你根本無法辨認時辰。
Moscow time in all Trans-Siberian Trains
乘著西伯利亞列車， 橫越萬里無人的荒蕪，
橫越一道又一道晝夜與白天交換的地平線，
更容易迷失在時間虛無，日夜顛倒。
正式的西伯利亞列車由俄羅斯開出的002 ,
從莫斯科到海參崴， 全長9289公里，
連續乘搭需要整整一個星期，跨過八個時區。
途中停站由兩分鐘到40分鐘不等。
但如此，就會錯過沿途風景。
難得香港護照可以有兩星期免簽證
( 申請俄羅斯簽證十分麻煩，有這種特別待遇的國家世上絕無僅有，連中國也不在名單上)，
我便選擇分段購票，順便在長途火車程間抖抖氣。
斷斷續續用十三天由聖彼得堡到烏蘭巴托。
Our train journey summary
<人和味道的旅程>
Smoked Fish are sold commonly on the train platform of Siberia. This constitute the main train food for the locals. The open berth compartment is completely covered by the smell of the smoked fish.
這趟旅程沒有如我印象中夢幻，
那些漫天風雪，天地蒼茫的景象，大概只會出現在寒冬。
夏天乘坐西伯利亞列車，
是對視覺、嗅覺和身體所有感觀的衝擊。
窗外寧靜而永恆變幻的風景，和車上人聲喧鬧成對比；
火車的轟隆聲、俄文的對話、中央的廣播、小孩的叫喊聲，
混合大熱天的汗味，一箱二箱行李的侷促味，
剛從站頭買上車的鹹魚味……
讓這經歷更複雜和豐富。
Sketches along the Siberian journey- ladies selling smoked fish and bread, the pizza man, the train staffs having lunch.
One of the many Orthodox Churches in Russia and the vintage car
從俄羅斯發車的車廂戴本地人多，
我一個外國人睡在在開放式的三等車箱兩個晚上，
沒有網絡、沒有娛樂、沒有語言交流，
就這樣，
靜靜觀察來了又去的人群，黑了又漸亮的天空。
Half way through Siberia. Instead of snow and mountain, this is what we saw every second.
由波蘭一路走來，
觀察到曾經在蘇俄鐵幕統治下的人民，面容都比較嚴肅冰冷。
但僵硬的面具下包著的是友善的心。
每當我對不諳英語的鐵道員的指示時感到疑惑時，
附近的當地人會熱心地指手劃腳教我怎樣做；
睡上鋪的男人即使無法溝通，但早晚會點頭微笑，幫我收拾被鋪；
輪鋪的大媽見早餐時不忘和我分享水果。
我從一卡五十人悶熱濕透的三等車廂，
坐到一卡只有五個包廂(二人一廂)，附設私人洗手間的豪華等( Deluex class) ，
遇到這世界上最大國家不同階層，不同種族的人；
也見識了杳無人煙的鬼域和人煙稠集的城市。
對這片幅原最廣卻只有2億人口，
曾經在軍事上精神上震懾歐亞大陸，
席捲全球的陌生國度，有擦身而過的認識。
風光和頹廢，濃縮在同一個時空中，
湮沒在一望無際的平原。
Some of the train stations where we left our sweat at
Kazan Kremlin
The Church on Blood in Yekaterinburg
Russian Architecture. Glamorous and delicate.
This vintage vehicles are still in good shape
<購票注意>
Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)–>Beijing (China)
在search bar 輸入 ‘ Sebrian train" ,
會有上千個 Agent 網頁代購車票，
中介費由數百至上千元一程不等。
但俄羅斯鐵路的官網 ( https://pass.rzd.ru/tickets/public/en )
提供英文購票，
如買機票般，選好日期座位，
就能買到 E – ticket，十分方便。
以下是一些注意事項：
-There are 4 classes on Sebrian Train:
- Deluex, most expensive, at least double the price of the first class. You have your own toliet in the room。Each room contains 2 double bed. All meals included.
Deluxe: With shower, TV, safe and meals included at Train no. 002NA
- 1st class, 2 or 4 beds in a room , with posher bedding.
Different 1st class- one with 2 berths, other with 4 berths at Train no. 056blA
- 2nd class, 4 beds in a room , still comfortable if this is on a newer train with air conditioner. For older train such as 084 the 2nd class is really shaggy without air con which makes it smell funny during the summer heat.
2nd Class in an old train no. 378NA with air con that doesnt seems to work
K024- Train newly made by China running from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing. 2nd Class shared with two ladies from Norway.
- 3rd class with open plan berths is the cheapest class. You mainly see locals here. It can be quite noisy and smelly sometimes. You have to pay for the bedding.
3rd Class/ Open berth- 54 beds per carriage. At Train 056bIA
– There are chargers on the train, but only 2 chargers in each 2nd class cabin, bring a multi-plug with you.
There is no plugs in the compartment of 2nd Class or below unless it is a very new Train. The plugs are usually along the corridor.
-There is hot water on the train, so bring a mug with you.
All Trains no matter how old it is will have hot water supply. Taken at Train 378NA
-Some tickets include hot meals.
Meals on the Train- Top photo: DIY meal with Rye bread, cucumber, pickled cabbage. Bottom Right: hot meal included in the train ticket with bread, rice and chicken. Bottom Left: the only meal we took in the restaurant of the Siberian train-stewed pork with potatoes.
Food we had in Siberia- Top: Smoked Omul (typical at the Baikal lake area), Bottom Right: Home made meal by Eva’s mother. Bottom Left: Pelmeni- Russian meat dumplings
-Bring a pair of ear plugs and eyeshade for the overnight journey.
Russian gymnastic?
空中翻騰五秒半
-No matter which station you board, the departure time is according to Moscow time. Always check the time difference in order to avoid missing the train.
-002 from Russia to Beijing (eastbound) and 004 from Beijing to Russia (westbound) are the best train of this route. Others are local trains which are mainly from the 50s and well used.
The bigger the number, the older the cabin. If possible, take the train with the smallest number if you can. Of course there are the luxury train such as Lernidee train that run the same route with an extremely expensive price.
K24- As the rail width is different between China and Mongolia, there is a 3 hour of wheel changes at Erlian when all passengers have to stay on the train and the toilets would be locked!
-From the border of Russia ( Ulan Udon) to Mongolia ( Ulan Bator), it takes 26 hours for the whole journey, because they‘ll spend 10 hours for custom check. Passengers can’t leave their cabin ( toliet is closed!). Alternative is taking bus which takes 12 hours to cross the border. There will be toilet breaks through out the journey.
Last but not least, if you can only remember one Russian word, it has to be “спасибо” ( pronouns as siba-siba), meaning Thank You .
The subway at Yekaterinburg
There seems to lots of very long escalators in the Subway of Russia. Each escalator has a control officier.
The Drifter 