Day 14 : Trans-Siberian express - Km 6198 to Km 7494 Chita to Magdagachi

Whilst we sleep the train trundles through a (apparently) very scenic area of the journey, along the Shilka and Ingoda rivers. 

We are ‘knocked’ (on the door) out of bed at 9.30, as the train attendant brings us (1st Class) breakfast. We had forgotten about a further time change, now taking us to 6 hours difference to Moscow. After a hearty breakfast of Russian rice porridge and cheese we settle in for a new day of observing and taking photographs of the scenery, writing blogs and chilling in our compartment.

The landscape, although similar, seems to change and mix in new colours as we progress. Today the horizon is dominated near and afar by the green rolling hills of Eastern Siberia, the many rivers that run through this land and the deep taiga forest of cider and pines. In spite of the rigid climate conditions for most of the year generally not conducive to exuberance, the local population takes pride in its pretty log cabins with colourful, timber lace window frames and shutters.
The colour remains, but the cabins become more functional and the windows less ornate as we move eastwards.

Some of the towns along the route, such as Darasun and Shilka, are renowned for their mineral springs and visited by health tourists looking for a cure to their ailments. Other towns were born and have grown due to the gold, silver and lead mining that flourished in the region.
The area was under Mongolian control until it passed to the Russians in 1859 and mine exploitation started in earnest, often using convict labour.

Eastern Siberian Taiga





 A few words now about the crew on board the train. Each carriage has a dedicated provodnitsa (female attendant), who makes sure we get our wake up coffee and tea, and does an impressive job of keeping the carriages and the facilities clean. We learn how to use our fingers to understand how long a train is stopping at a station. Our knowledge of Russian numbers extends to about number seven. I’m surprised that for numbers in the tens (twenty, thirty etc) I can get by quite well with German!

 After hours of travel along the southern slopes of the Yablonovy Mountains, we stop at Mogocha (Km 7000), a small railway and gold mining town, with temperatures of up to -62C degrees in winter! We briefly get off the train to stretch our legs and do a quick recce. Apparently not quick enough, as we realise that the train attendants have pulled up the stairs, and we struggle to convince an attendant to let us back on board again. Next time we’ll keep a better eye on the clock… I already had visions of us having to buy a ticket here in the middle of nowhere and chasing our train and luggage all the way to Vladivostok. Hallelujah!

Our 'Provodnitsa'


Mogocha Station








Looking out of the window at villages such as Mogocha and Amazar, I find myself thinking how, bizarrely, such towns could just as well be in Montana or North and South Dakota in the US, if you ignore the detail of Cyrillic script above shop windows… Uncannily similar…

We are now entering the Amurskaya Region, the end of Siberia and the start of the Russian Far East, a region covered by thick forest in the North and fertile plains in the South. The train crosses uncultivated plains that are covered in permafrost for most of the year. Later we descend into a wide plain at Magdagachi. 

Magdagachi







Erofley Pavlovich Station



 It’s getting dark, we have dinner and open up the card table… We play Card Monopoly and Silvia then reminds me of how the Italian card game Scopa works… I start off well, but luck abandons me swiftly… Silvia keeps on beating meL

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