"Trans Siberian Adventures Mongolia to Samara" Moscow Travelogue by kiwigal_1

Hello all!!
I am sitting in my new office in Samara, Russia after leaving Ulaan Baatar (Mongolia) on Tuesday afternoon and finally arriving here yesterday (Sunday) morning. First I will back track to Mongolia... It was WONDERFUL!! I loved it. The people were great and I had a really nice holiday. Most of the time i did nothing (which suited me fine). The last weekend was a busy one. We went on a car trip to Kharkhorin, which is the old capital of Mongolia. It is a small town now at best but it has the Erdene Zuu Monastery which is fantastic! We spent three or more hours in the Monastery looking at everything. I even saw the lama's reading the sutras in a temple that was Tibetan in style. The lama's are all dressed in the red and yellow of the Tibetan Buddhists too. Quite different to Japanese Buddhism. The night before we had camped by the river. I got drunk with Batenkh and Tungaa listening to the "river sounds" (bad joke... the nightclub that we went to in U.B. was called River Sounds). For dinner we made "shorlog" which is kebbabed meat cooked over an open fire. DELICIOUS! The three of us slept in a tent with no base with bugs crawling all over us in the night (being drunk I just swiped them away). Well, in the morning I was
horrified to discover that a whole NEST of big black spiders had been sleeping under us in the night!! ARRRGGGHHH. I had a hangover the next day and went a nice shade of green on the car ride to the Monastery!
haha oh well... Going to the loo in the countryside by the roadside with no trees was an experience. Needless to say I am no longer bashful anymore.
The last day was shopping for the train trip and goodbyes all around. It was sad to say goodbye to my new "Mongolian family". They were wonderful to me and I am certain that I will go back one day to see more of the places I didn't have time to see. So... that brings me to the train. The train was pretty full and mostly with Mongolian traders. I had bought a first class ticket (only $180 US) from U.B. to Moscow. I was in a two berth room alone to start with. Soon, Klazien, a Dutch woman moved to my room because she was so overrun by the traders in her second class room. Every stop we had along the way the traders would take over the windows and doors to sell their wares. Most of the stuff was poor quality clothing from China. We had a near fisticuffs with one woman who claimed we were impeding on her territory!! All we wanted to do was get out on to the platform to buy some food! The Russians in Siberia must be really desperate. There were whole towns of people congregated on the platform waiting for the trains with traders and quick transactions were made in the 2 to 15 minutes we were stopped. The Mongolians on the train got progressively drunk the further on we got so I am guessing they were doing well. I spent the five days eating, reading, drinking PEEVA (my new Russian word = beer) and looking at the scenery. The second day we past Lake Baikal in the morning. Unfortunately it was quite overcast but you could see how beautiful it could be. We ate the specialty of the region= smoked fish, which was delicious. After that the scenery was pretty normal really. I took some photos on the way so i'll see how they turn out and scan some into the computer. When I arrived in Moscow there was someone waiting for me. He took me to the Kazan station and gave me a ticket to Samara. I had to wait a few hours for the train. i was in a second class carriage this time with a Russian family. They couldn't speak English and I was pretty tired with the time change. It was 18.56 Moscow time which is nearly midnight in Mongolia. I went to sleep pretty quickly and arrived in Samara at 11.10 am Moscow time. Samara is one hour ahead of Moscow. Having been in Moscow a few hours I can now officially say "I HAVE BEEN TO EUROPE!!" haha. The side of the Volga river where Samara is, is officially Asia, the other side is Europe, so I am still living in Asia. I got taken to a hotel by Alex and Peter (the director of studies, from England). I have to stay in a hotel for a few days until my flat is finalised. I went for a walk and a PEEVA down to the riverside. It is quite hot here and people are still swimming in the river. There is a long beach and lots of open air cafes which is basically the "life" of Samara. Everyone comes to the embankment in the evening for the beer and dancing. At 9pm I went back to the hotel and had my first shower in a week! (haha there are no showers on the train so you just have to make do with splashing freezing cold water on you and a flannel) and went straight to sleep. I woke up around 4 am wondering where I was, realised the time and slept again. So, even with the slow time change with the train I am still a little out of kilter.
This morning (Monday 28th) I came into the office and met Nonna (the Russian teacher for me and also another
English teacher here). She is 23 years old and as with most Russian women has flawless make-up and short dresses or skirts -very sexy and completely opposite to Japan! I am going to look very different to Russian woman I think! Peter, Nonna and I went for a walk around the office area and to the old part of the city where the markets are. Most things are really cheap here (for me) and most Russians find everything expensive and are aprehensive about spending so much money. I am sure I will be able to save no problem. I will probably start teaching some time next week or the week after next. Anyway... I think thats all of my news. Thank you to all of you who have written to me. I will try to write individual replies when I get the chance.
Love you all!!
Rhianon xxxx