Day 2: Midnight, Novosibirsk

The train just stopped for twenty minutes. Long enough to jump out of the car, stretch the legs, buy some bread and sausage and clamber back into the stifling heat of my cabin. I’ve barely spoken in a day and a half. Reading War & Peace. An inexcusable cliche. Sharing my cabin with a young soldat with high cheek bones, another young fellow with jagged rotten teeth, and a very friendly old man who smells of sweat.

None speak any English whatever. They talk incessantly; about what, I don’t know. Sometimes the pitch of the conversation elevates to something resembling an argument and they lean in close to each other spitting their words, then there is laughter followed by silence.

My guide puts Novosibirsk at 3300km from Moscow. Tomorrow morning we should be at 2400km - near Omsk, I should think. Evening will have us under 2000km and then Moscow the following night. The train usually crawls along at 50 to 80km/h, so I can count on at least two more full days.