We have travelled the tran-Siberian.

Arriving at Moscow train station at about 11pm it was absolutely buzzing with all sorts of colourful characters! Our train finally departing at 12:50 am and we were pleased to leave behind the mush of army men and police gazing at us. The four birth cabins were the cleanest and most comfortable we had come across, sharing our room with an older Russian lady who's only communication was "shut" referring to close the door so she could change. A soundly sleep and we were woken at half 8 to the banging of our door by the train attendant letting us know toilets were to be locked soon (half hour before entering a stations and again after departure). A little before 9 we had arrived in st Petersburg, collecting our paper bag of freebies to get us through the day containing a slap up breaky, yoghurt, water and some fruit, we headed in what we thought was the right direction to our hostel. Looking at a screen shot of google street view we were out the front, however the apple hostel was no where to be seen and our packs on our backs were making it all the more confusing. Irritable, annoyed and an hour later we decided to grab a super strong but overpriced coffee from a chain shop with wifi. Back on our feet and walking in a new direction we found that the old address was incorrect and in fact the exact opposite way from the train station. Arriving hot and bothered we were unable to check in for another 2 hours so we decided to back track along the high street we had just walked for a browse of the shops. We were in such a prime location; just one block parallel from nevskie prospect! It was a beautiful area, st Petersburg itself has such a European feel about it, the buildings are beautiful; rich in architectural detail dating back hundreds of years and still in good form. There was no shiny high rises to intimidate the uniqueness of the cobel street stone city. Small canals snaked throughout the wide streets lined with cafes and darkness almost never doomed. I fell in love with its charm and warmth. Finally checking in just after 1, we slept a little of the afternoon away to be woken by a few of the boys from our tour who had checked in days before. Splitting our separate ways for the eve chloe went on a date never to topped with Fabio, involving a little river cruise to watch the bridges open, shisha and a Swiss man "that was a good one" (he commonly phrased).. Whilst Eric and I went to meet a friend of Sophia's that had also showed her around the city when she came here last year. With brief contact via Facebook Eric and I waited anxiously under the giant red tower on nevsky...it was like a blind date! However so pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the beautiful Helen, an exceptionally dressed lovely lady we have decided to marry Eric's brother chris. Moving on from there, Helen led us through the back streets of st Petersburg to some university dorm rooms where we met all of her American exchange friends. Investing in a few bottles of vodka and beers we devoured them before heading onto a karaoke bar full of a bizarre mix of characters. Making friends with one group who invited us in with a giant cake! We then headed to a club blaring tacky dance tunes, hours later sweaty and still smiling we ran into Dave (from our tour) and his date...and areron (also from our tour)?!? Making a sneaky exit we headed for a cheap and tasty feed of subway...still light outside I washed shocked to find we stumbled home a little after 5am. With just a few hours sleep Eric and I returned to our meeting spot under the red tower at 12 noon to find Helen, who took us on the metro north to a flea market. I was in heaven, absolutely blown away by the extensive range of everything you could image. Prices ranging from 30 to 200 ($1-8). I filled three bags in one short hour covering only about one kilometer of tables stacked meters high with hidden treasures. Treating ourselves to a deliciously cheap soup/pancake/tea combo we returned to the hostel to collect chloe and drop off our goods. We spent the afternoon wandering around the city, collecting postcards and most importantly purchasing swan lake tickets to see the Russian ballet for the following night. A leisurely eve of delicious sushi was spent with corn d and Jane who had just arrived from Moscow on the fast train, then helen led us to a strange underground bar down an overlooked side street...a mix of grunge/punk boys raved like it had been a few days since they slept, which enticed us to a few long island iced teas as we found a quiet table in another room. Before too long we were all exhausted and retired back to the hostel. The next morning we packed up our life yet again and moved to another hostel that some boys from Chile had told us about. Lesson learnt...Eric can not be trusted with a map...we headed in the wrong direction for quite some time before turning back to almost where we stated finally reaching our destination; the red house hostel. The staff were super friendly, it was only three weeks old so it still smelt of fresh paint and was super clean, We were lucky enough to even score a 10 bed dorm to ourselves. Back on the streets of st Petersburg it's the kind of city you can walk around for hours and always find Something to steal your eye, with no real direction we walked the afternoon away then made our way to st Peters cathedral with Helen to climb to the top with 360 degree panoramic breathtaking views. Almost late for our date we ran home to get ready for the ballet and meet the others again at the delicious sushi restaurant for dinner. obviously limited by our backpacks...we suited and booted as best we could from our strange selection of travel clothes to see the Russian ballet. The theatre was beautiful, quite small and intimate but each room in the foyer was decorated exquisedly . We had booked the cheapest seats on the wings but luckily the show didn't sell out so as soon as the curtains were up we were able to move to really good seats up top. Swan lake was beautiful, the dancing was incredible and the story flowed like the fairy tale it is. Not ready to call it a night when the show finished we headed to the W hotel to use and abuse the room top bar...wrapped in complementary blankets enjoying an incredible view of the city lights and st peters, sipping delicious ginger and lemon rum cocktails...it was a little bit of luxury in our day to day dorm life. With only two days left we decided to spend a good part of the day at the hermitage museum and palace; one of the first in europe of its kind. I was so impressed with its extensive range of over 3 million historical and contemporary artifacts and artworks of world history. Extraordinary pieces ranging from Leonardo de Vinci Madonna and child to Kandinsky's winter landscape. I was captivated with their incredible collection, much of who we had studied in our senior years of school. Finishing there in the afternoon we wandered around with Helen to see the Beatles tribute lane, and a few other strange alley art corners, pointed in the direction of one when Helen left, we soon enough found ourselves lost in a old wear house like grounds with a bunch of bikers. Making a quick escape we headed to meet Claire, and panda (from our tour) to say our goodbyes but I know I will see them again after building a beautiful friendship with them (having shared the majority of my train time in their cabin). Heading off for a 9:30pm dinner, Helen had made us a reservation with her american friends at a local Mexican restaurant called chainiydom which was Frieda Carlo inspired. Several cocktails, excessive tortillas and a flavorsome shisha later we headed home after a fantastic night. With just one day left of our incredible transibeiran journey we finally decided to slow down, a late start to the day took us straight to a great art cafe (where we were sent the day before but failed to find). Writing postcards, spooning the most delicious and cheap borsch (meet and beetroot soup) and sipping a strong cappuccino...the day passively tamed us as we reflected on what we had accomplished in the past 6 weeks. Before too long the eve fell and we decided to return to same cafe for dinner with corn d and Jane, wine glasses clanged as we celebrated the friendships and the memories we had made. We made a short stop off at a chilled bar by the water on route home to have one final dance and drink before saying goodnight. The next morning we chaotically squeezed our belongings back into our rucksacks (why did I go vintage shopping?) feeling tighter and heavier than ever we were on route to the airport with Helen. With not much time To spare we left our newest and lovely Friend behind and jumped on our skandanavian airline flight to London.

As one door closes another opens.
A path of dignified depth and opportunity.
A place to fail but learn.
A chance to succeed and change.
Life is not black and white, nor a shade of grey.
It's a colorful story book of which you are the illustrator.
Don't chase time, nor dwell in the past or beg for the future.
We are here today. But will always remember yesterday.
We have sipped blooming tea with Helen Wong,
Danced on bars and lost our minds,
Crashed bicycles into ancient graves,
Simply floated...down streams of the Li river.
We have danced around the terra-cotta army,
Karaoked in down town shanghai,
Climbed mountains on the great wall,
Silenced ourselves in 17th century lamestrys.
We have ran from communism and the great head of Lennon,
Raved up and down the bus on bumpy desert roads,
Snuggled in gers listening to the crackling of the fire,
Rode on horses screaming foreign chants.
We have Quad biked in the Siberian forest,
Explore kremlins under the nights sky,
Drank cocktails paying for the view,
Watched days pass on a train eating packet noodles.
We have shotted vodka with locals and lipsticked strangers,
Ridden pushbikes down unknown roads,
Tasted foods that make you melt,
Clanged glasses to each other and the experience.
We have been served soviet style,
Met incredible people never to be forgotten,
Shopped kilometers of a flea market to find hidden treasures,
Waved goodbyes to some forgotten ties.
Theres been bites, busies and babes,
There's been tears, fears and beers,
There's been smiles, sunshine and snow,
Theres been laughs, love and lost.
We have travelled the transiberian.
But the journey has just begun.

fanny, Eric and craines. Xx

Moscow; an underground of marble, and a nightlife of mayhem.

With a bit of a late departure from Suzdal we were finally on the last leg of the vodka train! The bus transfer was about four hours...delayed by pretty heavy traffic coming into the city. The time was passed watching the rest of avatar followed by a Russian cartoon about a Girl and a bear; a little similar to Dora the explorer, which kept the bus driver happy as he sang along to the child tunes. With a brief cigarette, stretch your legs and food snacks stop it was a pretty passive journey. Coming into the outer city suburbs the tall monotone buildings reflected the soviet style you would expect, not differing much from one another and scattering the streets in all directions. Further into the city, park like plains separated the streets, well maintained and plentiful with tulips. We drove in circles for a whole before finally arriving at our prime location hostel; godzillas. 10 of us in one dorm leaving corn d and Jane in another. We plonked our bags, payed our registration and met our last honcho marina. With a fleeting half hour to clean ourselves up, the boys taking a little longer than usual in the hope to pull a Moscow lover...who's legs seem to stream for days (epitomized with ridiculously high stilettos)! We made our way just a few blocks down to an affordable buffet style restaurant. An abundance of borsch was ordered and escorted by a few bottles of headache cheap sparkling and strong long islands. After dinner Marina pointed us in the direction of a bar that may be banging on the eve of an ordinary tuesday but unfortunately we walked in to see just one other quiet table and three drunk locals who beckoned us to follow them to crazy daisies. Jumping in three un marked cabs (just after Marina pledged us not to take one warning that they will rip us off) we thought safety in numbers, and ordered our final destination to crazy daisies.

An interesting place to say the least....full of what looked like underage, underdressed half naked teens dancing on bars and sweating themselves silly; it was our last night together after all so we did what the locals do! 5 shots of vodka later, you couldn't get us off the bar!!! Another 5, we were Legless and loving the cheesy music! Feeling fruity and foreign the three of us got caught in a whirlwind and spread our wings; Eric heading for a fit frenchy, craines was swept away by a suave swiss (still on the scene) and I found myself a delightful Dutch. A strange stroll home, which is pretty vague but involved a fair bit of stumbling, another Aussie who was staying at the hostel guided us safely back.


True to form the group woke feeling more than a little under the weather, contrasting with the unusually brilliant Moscow weather. I was treated to an even more horrendous wake up call, when a particularly delightful member of the group decided it was ok to bring back a hairy Russian lover and love him loudly in the bunk directly beside me. Did I say loudly?
A patient Marina waited for us to get ourselves together and took us to breakfast for fantastic coffees, pancakes, bacon and eggs and to assess the damage unleashed the previous night. It wouldn't be normal if Tiff had come away unbruised, however, this one was quite unique and resembled a hickey in the centre of her top lip. Recovery breakfast wasn't enough for tiff and Eric who retreated back to the dorm for more recovery time. The rest of us soldiered on to the historic and iconic Red Square. On foot we wandered through the impressive City streets, full of grand old buildings, cars, fountains and enormous green parks. Statues paying tribute to those notable in the arts adorned old buildings and public spaces, a nice change to the politically controversial. Marina explained that many historic buildings, for whatever reason, had been torn down by different governments during the soviet times only to be rebuilt exactly the same. The Red Square itself was an amazing place to be. With a grand red entrance opening up to the square, the ****** stood on the left hand side offering high end shopping and cafes complete with cane chairs and white umbrellas in the sunshine. Opposite, sitting oddly and I guess a bit morbidly, was the body of Lenin in a strange little tomb building. Behind that was the government building and also the presidential residence of Vladimir Putin, who happened to be home. And at the end in all it's glory stood st Basils cathedral. The landmark buildings boxed hundreds of tourists in, tour groups, schools kids and couples all snapping away at the sights, eager to capture the perfect photo. We were no different. When we were finally photoed out, Marina took us into the *****, even more exquisite on the inside than the out. Here she showed us a traditional soviet cafe, not only offering a typical menu from a cafe during the soviet times, but also genuine reproductions of the decore, right down to the toothpick holders. We feasted on chicken kiev, beet root salads, borsch, and 'herring under a fur blanket', all popular soviet dishes. After we made our way to the kremlin. Still feeling sore from the night before, only those pressed for time in Moscow went in while the rest of us opted to lay under the trees in the sunshine of one of the nearby parks. Marina told us about her twin sister who married an Australian man and now lives in Perth. She also told us about what it was like to be a young educated woman living in Russia. She is currently waiting for her visa to be approved for the UK.. Like so many of the other honchos, they are keen to leave the country. She explained that in the current condition, the educated who know better are getting out while they can. Our conversation in the park didn't last long though, after an angry blonde policewoman marched over to us, yelling at us to get off the grass and sit on the concrete. It was all very bizarre in my hungover state and I still don't understand what exactly we were doing wrong. I can safely say that was the worst and only encounter we had with the notoriously difficult Russian police. Marina told us during her first tour group, they were surrounded by 15 police officers who were threatening to imprison the group unless they produced their documents. When they tried to hand them over the police refused and would only leave after each member paid 10,000 roubles.... Steep.

Rooftop bars have become a favourite over the duration of the trip and we soon spied one atop the glamorous Ritz Carlton. Looking not-so-glamorous, our group clambered into the glass elevator, hoping for a sweet view and maybe treating ourselves to one budget breaking drink. However, much to our amusement, the rooftop was closed for the all important launch of Zumba in Russia!

Back at the hostel, it was our last 'official' night of the vodka train. (Every night was a 'last' here on in.) Marina took us to another soviet style restaurant for dinner before we found a kind of underground jazz bar with sweet coconut cocktails and strong sheesha. We reluctantly befriended a sweaty moustached Russian who resembled a pirate and insisted on calling me Debbie. While we had plans for another night out, we all found ourselves floored by the sheesha and the love in the coconut cocktails. After trying a few kakdalas and dasvadanas on the good looking bar staff, we made our way back to the hostel to watch a movie, except we all fell asleep. Exhaustion had definitely set in. I had good intentions to wake up early and take Tiff and Eric to the Red Square early, however by the time we arrived the next day it was 1pm and we had missed out on viewing Lenin in his glass coffin. Tourist failure. We enjoyed a coffee at one of the umbrella cafes in the square, running into Jane, Clare and Panda. I accidentally ordered a $20 pineapple juice, lucky it was pretty delicious and sprinkled with gold. For me it was pretty much a repeat of the previous day, except with my lovely lady friends. We had photos in front of the church and lunch at the cafe, browsed longingly in the shops, watched the changing of the guards and didn't make it into the kremlin. Despite the tour officially ending, we still continued to have dinner with remaining tour members and met up with them for a delicious feast at an art gallery cafe near the hostel. Most notable were the desserts, amazing miniature mouthfuls of delight. But even more exciting for tiff were the paper placemats and complimentary pencils and textas. She was quiet the entire night as she created a mind map of a our journey from Hong Kong, quite the work of art.

We joined Panda, Clare and Jane the following day to travel the city on its an incredible metro system, 'the ring of fire' a must when in Moscow. Built during the Soviet era, the stations are galleries themselves, displaying intricate mosaics on the walls and ceilings, stairs and pylons constructed of solid marble and grand chandeliers hang above the railway lines. We got off and inspected some without leaving the station. At one we ventured into a souvenir market, a full frontal assault of babushka dolls and fur hats. At the next we found a cafe for a lovely lunch deal of soup, sandwiches and dips. Back on the metro our next stop was a ski jump, no snow insight at this time of year, but provided an amazing lookout over the city and a chair lift back. On our way home we picked up a relatively cheap supermarket dinner and some sneaky drinks to have in our alcohol free hostel before we got ready for one last night out in Moscow. Ready for a rager, we headed for the much hyped Rolling Stones bar with Jane. We saw the famous logo, could hear the chuuuuuunes, climbed the stairs only to find a next to empty bar. It didn't deter us, after a few rounds of drinks the place started to fill, complete with sweaty underage half conscious girls grinding on the bar. We soon made friends with a group of Israeli guys in Moscow for four days on a buck's weekend. I can honestly say they were the most respectable, dignified bucks I will probably ever come across. Dancing and chat and before we knew it, it was 3am. After some hesitation we decided against continuing the party with them and went home. (What's happening to us?)

Waking up to our final day in Moscow we had big plans to finally see the kremlin, however once back at the square less then lovely weather sent us back to the soviet cafe for an early lunch. We then ventured across the ******* river to find the art district. After a pleasant coffee over looking the river, we ventured into what looked like suspicious rape dungeons to find galleries in what had once been a chocolate factory. The real winner was a Greg Gorman exhibition, with photos he had taken of Hollywood stars in the 80s and 90s. We explored the city some more before heading back to rest up and watch a terrible Reece Witherspoon rom-com at the hostel. Meeting up with Jane, Claire, Panda And Cor again for dinner, we decided to venture out of our area and found a lovely restaurant for our final Moscow feast. Keeping an eye on the time we picked up our bags from the hostel and followed Claire and Panda to the station to catch our final train in Russiaian overnighter to St Petersburg.

M any days spent at the Red Square,
O h my gosh, let's dance up on there!
S oviet Cafe was the favourite,
C oconut cocktails, mmm taste it!
O nly a few days of the journey left,
W ow, acrostic poems, I fail, yes.

Fanny and Craines xx

Baikal to Kazan- dazed and confused

Our last day in scenic Biakal came to a dramatic end....

After a peaceful lazy day; a morning run, lazy long lunch and an afternoon boat cruise around the cliffs on icy waters we made our way down stairs to the transfer bus. We were to be preparing for a three night and four day train journey dissecting Russia through three time zones, and insane landscapes. To prepare we made a stop at a supermarket in Irkust stocking up on packet noodles, coffee, tea, dried fruits, and of course chocolate. During our shop we were unsure of the timeframe given to us by Costa ( the Russian cliche), he assured us we had plenty of time to make the train....
It wasn't until we saw the clock at 10:20pm with a departure time of 10:50pm that we asked costa how much further the drive was. He responded with " half an hour, you will need to run".... Ok, greaaat. The bus stopped to a halt outside the station and we worked as a team to sprint through the underground network of tunnels to find our platform. Chloe falling behind spilling her essential groceries as her ' I love Mongolia' bag did not return the feeling, breaking through the at the straps....packet noodles and essa everywhere.
We made it! With precisely three minute to spare, panting and exhausted the attending didn't bother checking our passports- I think out of pitty. Cans were cracked as the train started to roll.
The train trip was really a blur- the first 24 hours spent catching up on essential sleep the first evening with a ladies card game and drinks... Then came day number 2.
Day 2 - not too easily recalled, began with a midday bottle of vodka on the restaurant cart courtesy of a few locals. One shot. Two shots, three shots more... Tiff was in 'a whole new world', chloe went to 'never never land' and I ended up leaning over the train toilet. Charming..
Day three- delirious, unshowered, nothingness.
Day four- cabin fever, arrival in Kazan, a shower and reaaaal food!!!!

Kazan was an amazing city with a great vibe, fantastic weather, a youthful scene, beautiful parks and great coffee. We spent the first evening dining with the group trying dishes our honcho Kate had recommended. An evening stroll through the Gremlin, errr Chremlin.... Ummm KREMLIN allowed us to see Kazan at night. The skyline glowed in the northern evenings, peacock blue skies, still dark enough to see the stars, the clouds still visible as the sun never really left. It was quiet, still, and cold. And if that view did not make us fall in love with the place then our second day did.
After a quick breakfast we caught a bus in to the countryside 40 minutes from the centre of Kazan, we saw a mosque beautifully painted on the interiors with tulips and wild flowers surrounding. We made our way over to the lake and squeezed in a romantic row along the water. Us three girls crammed in with the delightful Vladimir ( my future husband) as he rowed us along.
We soon left for the most incredible lunch, a traditional BBQ, with the largest salmon steaks I have EVER seen or tasted, still salivating at the thought. As time was of the essence we caught the bus back into the city and wondered along the main stretch, had a few cocktails and made our way up to the meriton roof top bar for wifi, shisha and drinks as we killed time before our train.

It was another emotional good bye to Kate (they really seem to get attached) before our last (!) overnight train and a bus transfer to the little village of Suzdal. Getting off the train at 5am we were greeted by monster mosquitoes and lovely Nick, an international literature student who had decided to work as a honcho in order to improve his English. A few hours on the bus through the city of Vladimir we finally reached our destination.
We spent the day walking around the quaint town with nick. He showed us the high street and took us down to try some local produce- honey beer. The locals have a honey like cider which comes in a multitude of flavours. We stepped into a long room with bench tables and a rounded ceiling painted with vines in pastels and gold. The waitress brought out for each of us a tray with 10 ceramic cups, each containing a different flavour of honey beer. Nick talked us through each from honey blossom, to pepper, salt, sugar, barley and pine combinations. All of which tasted a little too good. We worked up an appetite and stepped into the cafe next door for a light lunch. The afternoon continued with further sightseeing and a much needed nap before dinner. After feeling like a night in I spent time planning my arrival for Leeds and tiff and chloe went with the group for a meal in a cute little restaurant.

After a real 8 hours sleep, tiff, chlo, Jane and myself rose at 8 for a morning bike ride through the village. We rode through muddy back lanes amongst some beautiful cottages. Nick had said earlier that the government had placed restrictions on building above one story in order to preserve the ancient town. This made for a great scenic ride. Tiff and I had a makeshift breakfast of yoghurt and banana and continued our ride through the park and beyond whilst chloe and Jane headed off for a real breakfast.

A long shower later tiff and I cruised down to the supermarket to buy bits and bobs for lunch and found ourselves with two guys from Chili??? We walked them down to a place they could try the honey beer and exchanged travel stories.

A makeshift lunch later and we're off again for a 4 hour bus ride to Moscow!
Cannot wait.

Xx Eric