The Russian bordertown is Dozorny, but it does not appear on the train time table. So I assumed that at around midnight we past it by and were parked on the track at Naushki station for the next 2 hours. We were locked in carriage while the Russians go through with immigration formalities and got off with our passport. The Chinese train advised against walking about in the carriage, poking our head out the windows or taking pictures. So, by the time I fired up my camera again, it was for this pic of Naushki station as the train resumed its travel towards Moscow, 5895km ahead.
By the time day breaks again, we were heading towards Ulan Ude, capital of the Buryat Republic of the Russian Federation. The Buryat people are of Mongolian descent. The girl from my carriage alighted here, I guess she is a Buryat, and that explains her Mongolian features.
Situated so far from Moscow, rust seems to set the tone to the cityscape. As we left the city behind, the log houses dotting the side of the track looked damp. The low gloomy sky didn't help. We crossed the Selenga River as we headed into the Lake Baikal district.
For much of the time between here and Irkutsk, the lake is right outside the windows.
Baikal is huge, you can't miss it on a map of Siberia. At times, you would think the track is hugging a sea coast.
The only other passenger left in the carriage was now suiting up, splashing on his favourite cologne.
It was obvious he was getting off at Irkutsk, as he rattle off facts about Baikal from his Trans-Siberia guidebook (incidentally the same as the one I have borrowed out of the library and carried on this trip. Although I suspect mine was an older edition).
With the Chinese restaurant car having been left behind at the Mongolia border, I was curious how the train crew are getting fed. Well, they were taking good care of themselves. It was now that I noticed that the washing-up room at the end of the carriage was well-stocked up with fresh produce. There was also a charcoal stove built into a compartment right next to the exit of the carriage.
By now, the Mongolian restaurant car had also been taken off, and a Russian one shunted on. Not ready to face the Russian menu and price tag, I broke out the ration again.
As the engine winds its way up the Primorsky Mountain, many opportunities for pic like this:
One hour after lunch, the train crossed the Angara River and slided into Irkutsk station.
The city of Irkutsk was once known as the "Paris of Siberia". She may have lost the title, but judging by the station alone, it was a much less gloomy place than Ulan Ude.
By now, my sense of time was getting a bit haywired. My biological clock is on Singapore time (GMT+8), the train is operating on Moscow time (GMT+4), Irkutsk is on GMT+9, while the light outside is a shade of these 3 timezone. I try to 'acclimatize' by simply going in and out of sleep. As a result, I totally missed Zima station. Zima is a place named after a season. In Russian, Zima means winter.
Sunset came after 10pm Singapore time, 6pm Moscow time, and 11pm local Irkutsk time.
The last station before we called it a day was Nizhne Udinsk. It was 16 degree C outside but I decided to get on the platform for a little stretch-leg.
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