"Beaches, and bumming around" Top 5 Page for this destination Samara by RB_Oakes

I took the overnight train from Kazan to Samara. This starts in the afternoon and drops you off first thing in the morning in Samara. In my cabin, there was a little kid, maybe four years old or maybe a little bit younger. I decided to have some fun. Since nobody seemed to speak any English anyway, I decided to not talk. He really enjoyed playing with me, though his mother was a little worried when I picked him up by his ankles. He got a big kick out of that though, and when he hung on my arm and I did arm curls with him. But the whole trip - 14 hours - I didn't talk. He kept begging me to talk, so once in a while I'd mouth some words or make some funny noises. He was so confused, it was hilarious. He wasn't mad or hurt, just really baffled. And the ride was nice and silent.

After everyone went to bed, we pulled into Ulyanovsk, the only real stop. I got out and scored some local beers which I drank while everyone else slept.

Samara was a really relaxing three and a half days. There's not that much to see or do, really. I stayed with a local family, went out to a brewpub, got a lot of work done online, and paid visit to the city's biggest attraction, the huge beach along the Volga. The weather was brilliant every single day and I had a very relaxing time, thank you very much.