Train Number 1 on the Trans Siberian is the best train there is on the entire railway and I’ve just had the pleasure of 49 hours on it. Yep, that’s 2 full days and 2 full nights on a train. Strangely enough the time goes fast enough and although there are bits where you wish time would hurry up, mostly you are occupied either talking rubbish, watching the world go by, sleeping, reading, watching movies etc. To break up any monotony there is always the dining car which as we were told by the friendly non-english speaking Babooshka in one carriage was a “rip-off.”

Strangely enough, the dining car, as much of a rip off as it is (R200 – £4 for a beer) is probably exactly what you would expect the Trans Siberian train to look like. I shared a bottle of surprisingly good Russian champagne with my new friends Betsy and Warren from http://www.marriedwithluggage.com/ who were friends of friends that I had met on the Mongolian/Russian border.

Every 4-6 hours the train seems to make a stop of more than 10 minutes which gives you a chance to jump out, stretch your legs, buy some food or merely breathe some fresh air. All of which adds to the experience.

Right now I am in Ekaterinburg which is about 30-40km from the Asia/Europe border and is where the last Russian Tsar and his family were murdered. Am looking forward to seeing the town properly tomorrow.

The dining car on the Trans Siberian

The dining car on the Trans Siberian

Sharing Russian Champagne (photo courtesy of Warren from marriedwithluggage.com)

Sharing Russian Champagne (photo courtesy of Warren from marriedwithluggage.com)

Checking out the view with our favourite Babooshka

Checking out the view with our favourite Babooshka