Hello, again. So, today is July 29th, 2020. At around 5 PM, I boarded my first segment of the trans-Siberian railroad. I will be going from Moscow to Yekaterinburg, which takes about 25 hours. I’ve never been on a train this long in my life. The longest I’ve been on a train is the Metro-North rail from New Haven to Grand Central. Before departing, I packed a few pairs of shorts, some jeans, my camera and computer, and some t-shirts. I ran to the store, where I bought a big water bottle, two packs of ramen, and 2 cups of instant mashed potatoes. Oh, and yes, I packed some hot tabasco sauce.

The bunk I selected was in the third class. In this class, four beds surround a table and window on one side and two beds (above and below a window) on the other. I made the mistake of purchasing the bunk above the window that runs along the hallway. This bunk doesn’t give you easy access to a table or a sitting position. Nevertheless, my train wasn’t too packed, and I could find free space to lounge out during my journey. The first couple of hours flew by, and most of my fellow passengers were eating, sleeping, watching downloaded content, or playing cards. Let’s also not forget to mention that plenty of people were drinking. At this point, I finally decided to try one of my instant mashed potatoes, which were surprisingly fairly tasty and smooth. After finishing my “dinner,” I made some tea and climbed up into my bunk.

Now, you have to make your bed on the Russian long-distance trains. When you board, you show your passport to the attendant. After the train departs, she’ll go down the train, find those who boarded, scan their actual ticket, and hand them a bag with clean linens. You get two plain sheets and a pillowcase; that was the case in my situation. There are heavier blankets on board, but I believe they aren’t cleaned between uses (just when the train completes its route).

Now, the bunk was pretty comfortable; the mattress-pad-thing does an excellent job of helping you forget that you’re lying on top of a metal bunk with a fake leather surface. It was also long enough for me to lay completely straight (I’m about 5’9'“ or 175 cm). After binging some pre-downloaded Netflix, I fell asleep for about 4-5 hours. I decided to stay up as there was a longer stop coming up. In the major cities and destinations, the trains make longer stops, usually 15-30 minutes; in smaller places get 2-5 minutes. My train had 4 of these stops to Yekaterinburg, and I took every chance I got to get some fresh air and walk around.

As time went on, I began to watch more Netflix and play games on my phone. I’d eventually go through all my food. However, by the time that happened, I had arrived in Yekaterinburg. I exited the train station and followed the signs to the metro, just outside the train station. I bought my Ekarta and took it to the stop nearest to my hostel, close to the center, but more on that tomorrow.