The last time I was on a sleeper train was back in 1975 I think. Our family moved from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Westbank, British Columbia. At the time my Grandfather was still employed by Canadian Pacific Railway so was able to get my Mother and I the cheap family discount and we took the train as far as Salmon Arm, British Columbia while my Dad drove the family car across the country in the middle of winter.
My memories of that experience are a bit vague as that was 35 years ago. However, I do remember the amazement I had as a child when in the evening our seats were magically transformed into beds. I think we were doing the 3rd class thing so the carriage is a communal dorm at night with curtains pulled to separate each sleeping birth. I could be wrong but I think I got a top bunk.
As we boarded our train in Vladivostok the 4 of us are sharing a 2nd class (Kupe) which means we are all in the cabin like thing. Two sleep on the bottom and two of us are up top. The top bunks fold up easily enough so we’ve got more head room during the day. The bottom beds have storage space underneath for our bags (well all except mine which is somewhere between Vladivostok and Irkutsk).
There is a large window which is splattered with mud so not great for taking photos. A small table which can fold down at night is in the middle attached to the far wall, is big enough for perhaps 2 place settings for dinner but not much else. This will be our home for the next 3 nights. I’m already feeling claustrophobic and we haven’t even left the station.
It’s already dark by the time the train pulls out. There is some confusion amongst us all as it is unclear if we are to pay for bedding or if it’s included (it is, phew!). The base of the beds are kind of like a hard foam with a vinyl covering, not very soft. But there is a bed roll that gets placed on top which helps slightly. In our bedding pack we are given 2 sheets, a pillow case and what I think is supposed to be a hand towel but it has more of a tea towel feel to it. The pillows are square in shape and feather in construction (my least favorite) and there is also a heavy wool blanket. Very basic but functional.
In the train carriage there are 2 bathrooms, extremely basic but functional as well. Stainless steel in construction there is a plastic mesh mat on the floor and there is a drainage hole in the middle which you can see (and hear) the track below. The toilets also flush straight onto the track via a foot peddle on the floor. We were prepared for this so the group came armed with many packets of wet wipes, toilet roll and tissue.
There is a large boiler type contraption called a Samovar at one end of the car for hot water. This will be added to countless cups of tea and soup packets. Any cold water is not drinkable but we were prepared for this as well and had purchased a large bottle of water when we’d done the grocery run.
Each carriage also has 2 attendants or provodniks/provodnitsas. Ours has both a male and female one. From what we can tell they seem to alternate days. Their duties entail checking your tickets when you board, maintenance and cleaning of the carriage, providing bouncer duties when a seeming friendly, harmless, albeit slightly drunken Russian just not want to leave our cabin. They also seem to have a small side business selling snacks and tea from their cabin.
The first day was spent exploring our surroundings. For many of the passengers the pastimeof choice is to look out the window. Many of the other cabins are closed as most people just tend to sleep. This is understandable to me as the countryside doesn’t really change all that much and other than the odd small village there really isn’t much to see.
I think I am surprised by the lack of wildlife. Perhaps due to the frozen tundra out there, the critters are still in hibernation but the land just seems so empty and dead. I find it quite depressing.
Amusement over the few days is usually in the form of the dining car. I go there to get some space as there is no other communal area on the train. Unlike the journey from my childhood there is no observation car here. Ordering my first meal (breakfast) was a bit of a challenge. I was given a menu but it wouldn’t be until day 2 that I realized there was English in the back (doh!). One of our guide books has some menu items translated phonetically so I manage to order eggs, ham and bread. I’d already mastered coffee as the Russian word is кофе which funny enough sounds pretty close to coffee :)
When my breakfast comes its a colesterol feast of 3 yummy fried eggs, sunny side up with runny yolks (yum!). The eggs have been cracked into the pan which had some smoked ham in it, then lots of fresh dill has been sprinkled on top. The bread is dark, fresh and perfect for soaking up the egg yolk.
The guide book had said the food was mediocre at best but I found it to be more than fine. But what surprised me was that often I was the only person there.
I was disappointedthat there wasn’t more opportunity to interact with other people on the train. Other than people milling around the corridor, or shuffling back and forth to get hot water for tea everyone pretty much kept to themselves.
The afternoons seem to be chore time for the attendants. They done their working clothes and the music starts to play on the carriage speakers. The rugs and cabins all get vacuumed and the bathrooms get scrubbed. The one attendant comes into our cabin to wipe down the top edge of the seats but looking at the colour of the rag I’m not sure that’s helping as I don’t think it’s ever been washed.
Halfway through day 2 I was starting to get massively stir crazy. I can only sit for so long and I don’t want to be sleeping all the time. A few of us had brought some games (cards, scrabble and M taught us how to play Mahjong) but its the fact that there is no where to move that’s driving me insane.
And it’s so flipping hot on the train. I know it’s cold outside, but why does the heat have to be blasting? Some of the men are in just a pair of shorts and no shirt, and the girls are in tank tops. At night it’s almost unbearable, heat rises and I’m on the top bunk. There is no vent for air flow and our window doesn’t open. For security we have to close/lock our door at night so that just adds to the stuffiness.
There are no bathing facilities on the train other than the small sink in each of the 2 bathrooms. Wet-wipes only do so much and by the third day we are all feeling more than a bit manky. With my missing luggage I’ve only got the one pair of trousers and they are in desperate need of a wash. We are all looking forward to getting off in Irkutsk so we can grab a much needed shower.
