19-20-21-22-23 – 08 – 2006

The Train Vladivostok-Kemerovo 19-20-21-22-23 – 08 – 2006

I was thinking about taking a flight to Kemerovo, but it would probably have been more expensive. In any case Russians do not prefer flying right now. There was a plane crash around Irkutsk when I was in Moscow and I just learned yesterday (24-8) that another plane crashed somewhere in Russia. The train is probably safer right now. Besides, it is an experience I wanted to add to my list. I have a direct train to Kemerovo. It travels the same route as the TransSib up to Mariisnk. The train splits up along the way. For example in Krasnoyarsk the train car in front of ours was disconnected and went on its way to Novokuznetsk. This is actually a pretty good setup as most people travel with a huge load of luggage. It would be a pain to change trains. I guess they go shopping in the Far East.
Sasha explained to the provodnitsa that I was a foreigner. I was worried about missing my stop in Kemerovo, but that was no issue as Kemerovo is the end station for this train. A stop like that is hard to miss and it would be a daytime stop. After boarding the train the provodnitsa stopped by to double check my ticket and give me my bed linen (45 rubles). I have the top bunk. It is a bit awkward at first to get settled in up there, but I get the hang of it by the second day. Spending 4,5 days in a train seems interesting at first, but by the end of the second day you have seen it all and know every corner. People get on and off all the time. I had four different parties in my compartment during the trip. Travellers are from all ages and backgrounds. Hospitality on the train is no different then elsewhere in Russia. As soon as people notice I am a foreigner, they will offer me food. Food is always offered first and only after conquering their initial shyness will they attempt a conversation. Russians are indeed shy … no, I think apprehensive is a better word. They will not easily start a conversation. News spreads fast across the train car that I am a foreigner. Most figure I am an American because I speak English, only the guests in my compartment that talk with me know better. After the second day, I get into a conversation with some people at the other end of the train car. I meet Misha and Yulia. Misha is a sailor on his way home to Krasnodar. His girlfriend is awaiting him eagerly but she did not want him to take the airplane, in light of the current events. Hence he is facing 4 more days on the rails after he changes train in Angarsk. His English is very good. He has been at sea for 9 months, disembarked in Vladivostok and is now off duty for a couple of months.
Yulia is returning home to Kemerovo after a two week vacation in Vladivostok. She speaks very good French. After Misha got off the train, I passed most of the time talking to Yulia. She is very interested in Europe and France in particular. She is planning to go to France as an au-pair in a year. Russians go crazy over pictures, so I get my laptop and show her the pictures of my visit to Paris. Not a lot of Russians travel out of the country, so a destination like Paris has a mythical status. The people in the next compartment also would like to see the pictures and of course I indulge them. I also show the photos from my trip to Vladivostok. They love it.
Yulia is a student at the university in Kemerovo and she will hook me up with some of the professors as soon as the academic year starts on September 1st. They are always interested in talking to foreigners, just to practice their language skills. I want to see if I can take a Russian language course while I am in Kemerovo. Nadya is off to work during the day, so it would be perfect if I could attend a course during her working hours.
By the end of the 4th day, I meet two young guys (Anton and Lavr) who speak only little English. Yulia is to be our interpreter. Of course they inquire to the cost of my Ural and naturally they start laughing as soon as I mention the price. Anyway, we have fun and drink a lot of beer. As is customary in Russia I am their guest and they pay for my beer. I want to pay for a round too, just as a gesture of appreciation like we do in Belgium, but that is not as easy as it sounds and they will not have it at first. Only after some fancy translating by Yulia am I allowed to buy a round. Russian hospitality has no boundaries.
My head is slightly suffering from a hangover the next morning, but the knowledge of holding Nadya in my arms in just a couple of hours makes me feel good all over.

The train stops regularly in smaller stations, but most of the time not more then a minute or two. When the train does stop for a longer period it is mostly 10 to 20 minutes. Always ask the provodnitsa how long the train will actually stop before walking away from it and make sure to show up again a couple of minutes early. You do not want to be left behind. And believe me the train does not wait. The locomotive blows his whistle and takes off right after that. No advance warning. In the larger train stations an announcer (previously on duty in a Siberian prison camp) will yell something through the speakers, but even for Russians this must be hard to understand. His job is just to announce something, whether travellers understand him or not is not the point.
In stations where the train does stop for a longer period you will have a magazin and/or vendors selling food and beverages. At this one stop I got out to buy some food from the vendors. I always use my stopwatch to keep track of the time. I still had a couple of minutes to spare before the train left. Just as I was buying some Russian hotdogs, the vendors start to go crazy and indicate me to get the hell on the train. My train was not yet moving, but there was another train coming into the station on the track between the vendors and my train. I pay, grab the bag, run across the track and hop on my train. Just in time, since my train started moving half a minute later and the other train was already rolling by on the track I just crossed. This was too close, but it was a good lesson.

The scenery is very nice along the way, but even nice scenery starts to bore you after a while. I spotted a couple of places that I had passed with my motorcycle. I did not see cap of my jerry can though. The bad road was still there, as were the Japanese car convoys. In Sludyanka I bought some smoked Omul. I love this fish. All the major railroad bridges and tunnels are guarded by soldiers. Barbed wire and guards patrolling with Kalashnikovs. At night they have floodlights on the bridges, the river below, the entrance of the tunnel, … bizarre. Even Misha has no clue as to the reason for this. Are they expecting the Chinese to invade?
The train is clean and mechanics check the brakes and wheels at all major stops. The provodnitsa cleans the train car twice a day. There are two provodnitsas per train car. While one sleeps, the other is on duty. There is a samovar in each train car for hot water to make tea or coffee. You can buy some food and beverages on the train from the provodnitsa, but the selection is very limited (they have cold beer though). I never made it to the restaurant car, but the attendants thereof make a round through the train selling some food and drinks at rather high prices. In short, there is no escaping the boredom of being stuck on a train, but they make it as pleasurable as possible. I spent most of the time on my bunk sleeping, reading or just watching the world roll by. From Vladivostok to Kemerovo is about 7000kms. Actually you do not pass any time zone. All train stations and trains run on Moscow time. I guess this it the most efficient for the huge railroad system in the largest country on earth. All along the track you will spot maintenance crews to keep everything rolling smoothly. And indeed, the train left punctual at all stops, I guess they accommodate for delays by reducing the stop time in stations.