Trans Mongolian Railroad: Moscow to Beijing

Trans-Mongolian Railroad – summer 2000

July 21 Friday

We are on a voyage of discovery; actually we left the Rhapsody of the Seas a month ago and have somehow completed the Midnight Sun Marathon but I fear my legs may never forgive me.

So here we are: The flight is Glasgow-Moscow via Amsterdam. Arrive Moscow 10pm, 40 mins by car to our hotel then discover hotel has changed it’s name, formally Hotel Kamuk (as stated by travel agent), now it’s some unpronounceable Russian name. I change and go out at midnight, find some Russian club of some description down in the city, stay for an hour listening to some Eurotrash pop musak. Foreign lesson #1 – always take a card with your hotel’s name/address on it. Russian taxi driver of course has never heard of Hotel Kamuk and neither has his contacts on his radio or the police he stops. Eventually some other taxi driver has heard of Hotel Kamuk and points out directions, arrive back at 2am. It seems air conditioning hasn’t made it to post-communist Moscow yet. My room is on the front and facing busy street. Room too hot with window closed, too noisy with window open. Decide to have my first Russian sauna.

July 22 Saturday

Have Russian breakfast of hot dogs and last week’s cheese, along with something which was formerly orange juice.Free day in Moscow with guide for half a day. Nadia is a part-time teacher and part-time tour guide. The tour guide pays substantially more she says. We take metro to Red Square and she relates to me the history of the city. The day is hot and she says this is the best day of the summer so far, must be 85º F. Lenin’s tomb can be visited in the morning; during this time Red Square itself is closed and opens when Lenin closes for business at 1pm. Decide not to see Lenin 76 years after he dies. In the 13^th century, Russia was invaded by Mongols from the East and subsequently by the French, Swedes and Poles amongst others. All were repelled eventually and the Muscovites built a church close by Red Square as thanks to God each time a foreign invader was repelled. As a result, there are many churches here, most famous is St. Basil’s Cathedral which is infinitely more beautiful outside than in.We witness what only a decade ago would have been a huge state-sponsored march by the Communists. Today 50 of them are marching for a return to the old Soviet ways and it is now seen as just a small minority extremist group and no one really takes any notice. In the evening I manage to find a soccer game in the city although there seems to be more Russian soldiers than spectators.

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