Moscow - Vladivostok by train in 27 days
We are starting a regular rubric. about the travels of our heroines. We start with the story of Anya Butuzova - a stylist, producer and last drummer of the Manicure group - about how to cross Russia in 27 days by train, from Moscow to Vladivostok.
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Why did we come up with it
When you decide on a trip to Russia, it is better not to think for a long time, otherwise you will definitely change your mind. I realized that all this is really happening to me when at 6 am on July 1 I found myself with a backpack hanging behind my back at the Kursk railway station. What can make you decide on such a trip? Me - the desire to see with my own eyes the country in which I live and about which I think so much. It is better to understand the processes occurring in it today, to understand people, their views. What and how people live at different distances from the capital, that they care. See with my own eyes Ural, Siberia, Sayan, endless lands, taiga. A life that many of my friends from different cities have fled from.
I dreamed about a trip to Vladivostok for a long time, since the release of the album “Sea” of the group “Mumiy Troll”. I was also interested in visiting Khabarovsk, the city closest to the border with China. The rest of the cities of Russia for me, which never left Moscow more than Peter, were completely different. After sitting above the map and the Russian Railways site, we stopped on the route Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan - Perm - Yekaterinburg - Novosibirsk - Krasnoyarsk - Irkutsk - Khabarovsk - Vladivostok - Moscow. 10 cities in 27 days. There - by train, back - by plane.
Preparing for the trip
When we told friends about our upcoming trip, as a rule, in response we received a puzzled look and an awkward silence. For the same money, you can go to the bottom in New York, Thailand or any European city, what do you want, in Moscow, the deformity is not enough? All told about the terrible Russian service, about creepy hotels, inedible food and other horrors. My parents were confident that the inhabitants of the Russian regions crave the blood of a Muscovite, as well as his iPhone and other material values. In general, they were very worried and asked to call them from each city.
A month before departure, we were vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. This can be done for free at the Central Vaccination Center, and it is absolutely necessary for such a trip. We also collected a large first-aid kit, but, of course, it turned out that we could buy this whole set in any city. Having collected our backpacks, we changed them, because my weight weighed a ton, and the backpack of my beloved, the most rational boyfriend in the world, Dima was light as a feather. He gathered after the farewell of a friend who overcame the whole of Europe on a bicycle: three pairs of socks, three pairs of panties, three T-shirts. The scheme is simple: one on you, some clean for tomorrow, some in the wash. Plus jeans, a sweater, a windbreaker and one raznoshennaya pair of shoes for all occasions, phone, charger, passport, card OMS, tickets, money. My set was less austere: sweatpants, two T-shirts, two sweatshirts, a pair of interchangeable sneakers, jeans, pajamas, two pairs of shorts, a sweater, a windbreaker, a plaid, flip flops, a set of bed linen, a cosmetic bag, the first volume of "War and Peace", ipad and phone. Honestly, I needed absolutely all of what I took. Well, except, perhaps, those spare sneakers.
The day before the trip, I connected myself with cheap roaming, free incoming and unlimited 3G to upload endless photos to Instagram, google museum hours and be in touch with my parents. Unlimited communication helps a lot in critical situations. Almost all the accommodation we booked back in Moscow. These were mostly apartments found on Airbnb, plus a few hotels with booking.com. Apartments for us were a more convenient and economical option, and there were always washing machines in them, which in our case is a very weighty argument. The apartment can be rented in the very center, large, always in good repair and cheaper than the average hotel. In addition, hotels for 2 500-3 500 rubles per day are usually so-so, and good hotels are very expensive.
Day 1
Nizhny Novgorod
Before Nizhny we arrived at the Sapsan for some four hours. Sapsan is the perfect train. Like first love. You will remember her for a long time. 200 km / h Of course, if such trains had traveled all along the Trans-Siberian Railway at that speed, it would have been easier to live. Such a train is more comfortable than an airplane and is not even comparable with the other trains of Russian Railways. I talk so much about trains because this is the only thing that disgusted me during the trip. Not cities, not people, not stations and not streets. A monopoly of dirty toilets and broken air conditioners.
Nizhny Novgorod is beautiful and touching. Leisurely walks around the Kremlin, along the embankment. Enchanting landscapes, ferries, funiculars. Very cool National Center for Contemporary Art, will give odds to Moscow. The lower left an impression of a very cozy and kind little town, although more than a million people live there. Literally a couple of central streets, similar to the Moscow Arbat. Cute little restaurants, clean streets, souvenir shops at every step. And, in contrast to my workouts, girls in high heels.
We settled in a cool Smile hostel, with an excellent interior, clean shower and nice guys at the reception. There we met with a company of Australians who traveled from China through Mongolia and further along the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow. The guys were already pretty tired, but they had very little before the end of the path. We have just begun.
At some point I thought that traveling across Russia, in fact, should have been my very first journey in life, but by mistake they did not. In Barcelona alone, I was four times, and I never left east of Moscow. I understand much better how Europe lives than in the life of my own country. In general, I decided that such a journey would enrich me and help me to get rid of some metropolitan complexes and prejudices.
Day 4
Kazan
Arriving in Kazan after the "district" on the sensation of a slow and spacious Lower, we were amazed by its rhythm, size and boiling life. The most beautiful huge city is divided into districts and districts: the area of universities and institutes, the area of administrative buildings, courts, urban municipal services. The area of embankments, beaches and parks. All this makes it understandable and convenient for life. A big city with a lot of money in anticipation of the Universiade. Over the past couple of years, the city has been completely renovated. New roads, clean houses and streets, and again beautiful girls on the heels. At the time of the Universiade, the city authorities “asked” the bars and nightclubs to close, and motorists were forbidden to go by scratched cars or, for example, with a dent on the bumper. For such "misdeeds" the car is sent to the fine-parking.
All the locals in one voice said that the city was recently a village, that work is being done 24 hours a day before the Universiade, and when everyone leaves, everything will fall back. So, a picture of an ideal city appeared before us. On the fourth day of the trip, the boys suddenly needed a haircut, and somehow, unexpectedly, we found Chop-Chop in Kazan. It was the thickest thing, plus 40. So we considered it a blessing to wait out the heat in a cool cool place and chat with its employees. The guys told us about where they go, how they opened, how small business is developing, recommended beaches.
Day 7
Permian
Only now I realized that from Perm I do not have a single photo. I do not want to go into the details of what exactly put me in a state of melancholy and hopelessness. Not a single beautiful street, not a single happy person on the street - nothing. We were wandering around the city and did not find a place where the residents of the city would walk, where at least something would happen. Of course, we looked at the Perm Museum of Contemporary Art, where there was an exhibition of regional artists "Art vs. Geography". Artists from all over Russia, interesting works, a huge museum. But we did not leave the feeling that nobody wanted it all: we met there only two sleeping guards and three visitors. Marat Gelman tried to breathe into the city the spirit of modernity, but Perm now all this is not needed, people have some other interests. So we got into a taxi and went to the Kamskaya hydroelectric station.
By the way, taxis work perfectly in every city, they arrive within five minutes. Nowhere did a taxi cost us more than 180 rubles, even if it was necessary to go to the other end of the city, to the hydroelectric power station. Kama hydroelectric station is breathtaking, beautiful place. Huge streams of water, floodgates, such open spaces and fishermen, fishing strictly under the plate "Fishing is prohibited." Perhaps this is all that remains in my memory of Perm: hydroelectric power stations and gigantic rickety letters on the Kama embankment "Happiness is not far off."
From Perm we rode in a reserved seat in a creepy train full of people, which was in transit to Astana. Sultry and so dirty that you don't want to touch anything. We were given a slightly damp bedding smelling of laundry soap in torn plastic bags. It is on this occasion that I have my bed linen. The conductor sits in the next compartment of the reserved seat, husks the seeds, throwing the cleaning right on the floor, and with the air of a sage, he announces the advantages of Islam and Christianity over Judaism. The men listen carefully. Everyone is asleep around, but we can't. Dima and I climbed onto the top shelf, did not lay out anything and whispered all this time about everything in the world. If such trips do not separate people, then they make them closer.
It is important not to forget that Russian Railways throughout the territory of the Russian Federation works in Moscow time. Airplanes, on the contrary, always fly according to local time. And out of habit it is very easy to be late for the train. I advise you to get a wristwatch with a function of double time: one dial always shows Moscow time, the second one is translated into local. Even in trains, electrical outlets are scarce, so I advise you to get a tee in advance. Benefit will bring an extension cord, will allow you to retire in your compartment and not guard your phone or tablet in the corridor, as compartments equipped with sockets are a rarity.
Day 10
Yekaterinburg
The first thing we saw when we got off the train at the Ekaterinburg train station was McDonalds. And after six hours spent in the movie “Borat”, this is a cherished island of safety and comfort, where we happily ran to brush our teeth, have breakfast and urgently look for accommodation. Ekaterinburg is a clear city. With clear boys. At the exit from McDonald's, Mitsubishi Lancer stands with unobtrusive tuning, the windows are open, the Russian rap sounds, the young handsome blond guy is driving, on the right is a woman of about fifty, his boss. I ask in which direction Moscow street. We are shown the boss offers a guy to bring travelers, reminding that at 11 he should be in her office. In the back seat - a golden baseball bat, a few balls and a red sticky spot (then it turned out - strawberries). The guy enthusiastically praises his hometown when he learns that we are from Moscow. He says that he has never been to Moscow. We leave from the car. Finally, the driver gives us advice: "Be careful here at night!". OK. Thank.
Having slept off and getting out for a walk, we understand that the city is big, bright and very pleasant. Beautiful architecture, a cinema with a "cinema is not for everyone", a huge number of universities, applicants, fashionable youth. The next day after arrival, we met with my acquaintance, who said that going to Moscow after studying for Yekaterinburg is a common thing, but mostly everyone comes back. No one regards Moscow as a city for life and family. This is a city of career and earnings. To tell in a few words about Yekaterinburg and to advise a couple of interesting places is difficult. It is a huge city, and there is so much in it. All this is completely unrelated to tourists, as was the case in Nizhny, or with ambitions, as in Kazan. This is just a great cool city with interesting life and good prospects.
Going on such an expeditionary journey, assuming a long road and many destinations, it is important that companions have the same ideas about life and count on an equivalent budget. It is very important that all participants in the journey, saying the words "clean", "tasty", "expensive", "long", "warm", "cozy", meant the same thing. You may not be spilling water with friends at home, but as soon as it turns out that one is stuffy all the time, and the second is cold, problems begin. It is important that all participants in the journey do so voluntarily and voluntarily, and not “from nothing to do” or “for the company”. Not sure - do not drive, then you will regret.
Day 14
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk turned out to be exactly the same as my friend, who came to Moscow from Novosibirsk (and who later left Moscow for New York), told about him. Gloomy, spacious, with a bad mood and sad people. I asked what specifically was wrong, and he could never specifically answer. He said it was a sensation. And wild cold in winter. We arrived in Novosibirsk in the summer. It has everything that is, for example, in St. Petersburg or Yekaterinburg. The city is large, even larger than Yekaterinburg, with wide streets and avenues. With lots of shops and bars. But some kind of completely dull. The streets are empty. Bars are empty. And only the monuments to Lenin on every street and the annoying midges with which the city is filled this summer can make a company.
In the train leaving Novosibirsk, I did not close my eyes, despite the headphones and the fact that it was already deep night. When you go to the coupe, everything is simpler: you make the bed, you open the window, you get tea, you turn on the movie, and somehow it flies by. In the reserved seat, you constantly get distracted by everything that happens around. Our carriage was filled with a huge company of men, who rather cleverly drank vodka with beer and continuously went to the toilet. At two o'clock in the morning they were still drinking, at half past five in the morning they were already drinking. A pregnant woman smokes in the vestibule. Well, did you expect the Russian horror? Here, in the reserved seat at the toilet Novosibirsk - Krasnoyarsk - please. I check the tickets: then we will go only in the compartment.
Day 16
Krasnoyarsk
Of all the cars that stopped at night at the traffic lights under our window, the Russian rap routinely thundered. Three minutes of the car ride, a minute stand at the intersection. Three minutes I sleep, minute shake my head in tact. Deserted during the day, the city comes to life at night - fast driving and loud music from the subwoofer in the trunk. I look out the window, but I never decide on a night walk. Morning will come soon, and the city will once again turn into the sweetest embankment with walking children and couples, a central park of culture and rest, cotton candy and a ferris wheel. In each city, I began the day by studying the recommendations on where to have a tasty breakfast or inexpensive dinner. Thus, we found a wonderful restaurant "Pig and Beads", which we had as a balm for the soul after the alco-reserved seats.
Dima was traveling prepared in the field of cultural programs and leisure. His list included the so-called Krasnoyarsk Museum Center, which simultaneously houses the Lenin Museum, an exhibition of fish, an installation in memory of those killed in Chechnya, several exhibitions of contemporary art, some popular historical exposition on the theme of the oprichnina, more reminiscent of the school wall newspaper, and an exhibition Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, the entrance to which for some reason is worth some money. And all this is mixed, as in a blender. After such a powerful dose of culture and art, we boarded a bus and went to the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station to breathe fresh air. KrasHPP is one of the largest hydropower plants in Russia and the world, its image is on a ten-ruble banknote. The most beautiful places are the mighty Yenisei, flowing among the Sayan Mountains, a giant dam, next to which you feel like an ant, and real eagles soar above it. We broke into the station at the last moment, right before the train, having decided that such a trip would be more useful and more interesting than dinner. And not lost.
On the train, the problem of eating is particularly acute: in the dining car, everything costs irresponsible money, and I would not even risk evaluating the quality of these dishes, so I advise you to buy food before boarding the train without taking anything extra. I consider using baby food a very good find, for example, for breakfast. Another important problem of trains is personal hygiene. And then I would advise you to buy a special travel toothbrush, which folds into itself, with liquid, rather than solid soap, a jar of antiseptic gel and a pack of moist sanitary napkins. This will greatly ease the road life.
Day 18
Irkutsk. Baikal
On the shore of Lake Baikal, you look into the distance, and is breathtaking. Clear calm water, steep cliffs, dense coniferous forest. Right on the spot, we bought a ticket for the motor ship that goes through Baikal. A pretty girl-guide, quite quickly telling the prepared excursion, advised us of several secret places of Baikal, where it is actually better to go, where go-goers rest, where are the camping sites, and where are the small houses-hotels. Meanwhile, from the water, the seal, the charming local seal, looked at us for a few seconds and dove back under the water. I think I will definitely return to Lake Baikal, but somewhere far away from civilization. Дело в том, что поселок Листвянка, ближайший от Иркутска туристический поселок на Байкале, загажен мусором и отвратительными местными кафешками. Мы не гурманы или снобы, но еда в местных кафе просто стремная. Дорога обратно из Листвянки в Иркутск на маршрутке занимает около часа. Водитель едет со скоростью 120 км/ч, обгоняет по встречке под горку. При следующем обгоне чуть не сносит мотоциклиста. Заботиться о собственной безопасности по местным понятиям, конечно, как-то западло, ведь от всего обережет иконка, приделанная к приборной панели.
Вечером мы встретились с ребятами из Голландии. We met them on the train between Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, we got off in the capital of Siberia, and they drove on to Irkutsk. They spent a couple of days at Baikal, and in the evening we discussed what we saw. They tried to understand why the normal infrastructure does not develop, the coast does not overgrow with decent hotels and cafes. Why, in the end, no one collects trash. It is surprising that with foreigners all these topics can be discussed, they have a healthy reaction of misunderstanding.
If among your friends there are "activists", who are very fond of organizing everyone and so that everyone does everything according to their ideas of order and beauty, they will quickly turn into a small Fuhrer in such an expedition, they will rave themselves and enrage others. One more type, to which such adventures are contraindicated, is lovers to sit on the neck, such comrades who call for pity, for whom everything is always wrong. Since the deprivation will be at every turn, it is necessary that everyone was ready to overcome them independently. In a word - hiking conditions.
Day 20 - 23
Train Irkutsk - Khabarovsk
The trip from Irkutsk to Khabarovsk takes almost three days, taking into account the delay of our train by six hours. We were preparing for this move morally, and physically, and as we could. Before the train we went to the supermarket and bought food for three days. Food that you buy on a train has several important criteria: firstly, it should not require dishes; secondly and most importantly, the food should not deteriorate. Unfortunately, it doesn’t add any variety to the diet, on the third day of “Doshirak” you will beast and safely lose a human face.
In a train, relations with their own physiology are somehow especially dramatic. You quickly get used to constantly wipe all antibacterial wipes, use wet toilet paper as a shower and play football with the boys in the hallway. For three days I read the volume of "War and Peace", beat the iPad in "Civilization" and was a little overwhelmed by the road and the smell of dried fish, the whole bag of which our neighbor in a compartment carried Baikal home to Khabarovsk. In all other respects, we are very lucky with fellow traveler. A woman of about fifty very interestingly told about trips to Japan, China and Korea, about life in Khabarovsk.
Day 23
Khabarovsk
Our train to Khabarovsk was six hours late. As compensation from the Russian Railways, passengers received a package of Doshirak and a bottle of Duchess lemonade. I still do not understand: either people have a good sense of humor, or they are complete sadists. Towards the end of the road, in anticipation of the long-awaited entrance to the city, all the passengers stood in the corridor of the train and looked out the windows. The landscape, finally, changed somewhere between Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk. The familiar to the pain birches disappeared, there were hills, some squat trees and bushes. The endless green outside the window replaced the shade, and it finally became clear that we were approaching China.
Khabarovsk itself was wonderful. The feeling of a seaside city, although the sea is not here. Through the vast Amur, the mountains of China are visible. Here live Chinese families with two, three children. And Russian women continue to touch and persevere in heels and dresses, from young age to very old age. There are such hills all over the city, as in sneakers, it’s not an easy task to walk. There is an absolute sense of the edge of the country. At last, dark thoughts disappeared, and finally we found ourselves in a city that lives its own free life.
Amazed that throughout Russia From west to east, literally to Khabarovsk itself, neither nature nor climate practically changes. Going as if on such an infinitely stretched suburbs. And I was also surprised that the emphasis in speech, even in the Far East, remains Moscow. The locals did not recognize by speech that we were not local. And it is 9 000 km from Moscow! The emphasis is much stronger from north to south of Russia than from west to east, such a sudden discovery. It is also curious that McDonald’s ended on Novosibirsk, and it’s not yet further.
Day 25
Vladivostok
I dreamed about Vladivostok for a long time. Once there, I saw all the songs of Lagutenko at once. Vladivostok is one of the best cities on earth. He is not Europe and not Asia. He is on his own. And this freedom from Central Russia is rich and happy. Vladivostok has its own special path, the one about which they so often speak. Its economy, close relations with China, Japan and Korea, from which everyone is delighted, their own fashion for fancy Japanese cars. There are so many strange things for me, but immediately loved. Very wet. Moist air can literally be seen, everything is constantly wet around: clothes and hair.
The city is so crazy that Moscow seems to be slow compared to it. There is a gigantic port with giant ships, huge bridges that have finally connected all the shores of the city with each other. Europe is as far away as all European ideas about life. Everything is strange, and I immediately fell in love with everything. It's very sad to leave, I want to stay, but it seems it's time to go home.
I thought, in the rest of Russia, except Moscow and St. Petersburg, everything is much worse than it turned out. Really depressing impression left only the city of Perm. There are just boring cities: for example, Krasnoyarsk turned out to be such, and there are also very dynamic and cheerful ones - this is Ekaterinburg and Vladivostok. Vladivostok is generally a separate conversation. Everything is different there. Right-hand drive cars, monsoon climate, sea, mountains, bridges, as in San Francisco. There is no McDonald's, but there is a bunch of some kind of Korean fast food we are hooked on. And the people there are active, cheerful, they are in a hurry somewhere, they go somewhere, they do not sit with folded paws and don’t bother with the thoughts that we’re poor here, we live far from Moscow. They have Japan and Korea at hand, they have other interests. And this is great. Compared to Vladivostok, Moscow seemed to me a much more complex and provincial city — such an unexpected conclusion about my hometown.
Day 27
Moscow
In Moscow, now everything is different. People seemed to become angrier: for the entire month of travel, we nowhere faced the rudeness to which we had become accustomed to in Moscow. And they themselves, probably, are becoming more angry here, we see competitors in each other, we are fighting for survival, we just can’t share a place under the sun. In the rest of Russia there is so much of this place that there is nothing to divide. Now you look at people in the subway and in many you see those who came to work. And somewhere far away were their homes and empty streets.