I tried to document my journey or read a book but I was just too lazy to do those usual things. Instead, I set my sights on the changing scenery, the tracks, and the train architecture.
In every way possible, they were captivating. Good thing I did not set any expectations. That made every moment marvelous.
All my bags are packed and I’m ready to go
On October 19, 2016 at 11:22 BJT, I started my great Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) ride to Moscow from Beijing. “All my bags are packed and I’m ready to go,” as the famous song Leaving on A Jetplane goes. But in my previous blogs, I specified that not only my bags (read: the big black backpack and orange grocery bag) were ready. My phone, too, with 8 GB free space for documenting this trip, plus some bits of knowledge about TSR — its centenary, learning Russian, and my ticket of course.
Just as I arrived at our cabin, I put my bags aside and said “Ito na! Ito na!” (“This is it, this is it!) On the right of the sliding door are two other doors that look like a big cabinet; the nearest one is a cloak cabinet, the farthest is the entry to the shower room. On the left side of the compact cabin are the maroon-clad beds. In the center, the big window and a table with a kettle. On its right is a chair with the same cloth as the beds’. Cozy but grand. This is where I will stay for the next 6 nights.
When we were set, I told my travel companion that I was so excited of the travel. A few minutes after, I felt the motion, I heard the choo-choo. “Goodbye for now, Beijing,” I said, looking at the window as the train moved faster and faster.
Goodbye for now, Beijing!
For a good one hour, I was still in the Chinese capital. It’s so huge that it took the train that long just to reach the province of Hebei. In that one hour, I saw a cityscape — grey skies of smog and buildings, and more buildings, and more buildings Gradually, that scene changed to something subtler. From lofty residential apartments to humble houses and occasional graffiti, this is the other side of Beijing that not everyone is used to see.
Back on the train, the cabin guy gave us meal stubs. “Will they give us meal stubs every day? Paano na yung niluto kong adobo?” (What will happen to the adobo meal I cooked?) I thought. But since it was already 1:30 PM, and we’re already hungry, we went to the canteen carriage, with mountains on the window side.
While going to the canteen, we stumbled upon other foreigners, some of them spoke English, some of them Portuguese or French, I suppose. There were groups of three to five ladies, and each of them looked like in their late 20’s. The other ones I saw was an old couple, and then the trio of European guys. When we got our seat, I told my travel companion that these people might also be going to Moscow.
Our food arrived — and apparently the carriage was a Chinese canteen — so we were given a good serving of stir-fried veggies and chicken with bell peppers. 不好吃. Tasteless. Good thing I cooked adobo — and that adobo was meant to last for four days. So after getting a few bites of our meal, I headed back to our cabin to get adobo. When I got back, there was a couple seating beside my travel companion. I opened the container I prepared, much to the awe of the couple. Actually I wanted to offer them adobo but they were almost finished with their meals.
My travel companion and I had a good conversation about the travel, with the changing scenery outside interrupting our talk. We left at around 2:30 PM just before the canteen guys forced us out. Just a few minutes after eating, we arrived at our first train stop, Datong.
