Cheap Refundable Airline Tickets - Part 8 - The Slow Train russia, siberia,

We pick up the trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway, in this entry. I embarked on a travel odyssey unlike any other, after deciding to move to Siberia for a year to teach at the Chita State Technical University.

The Horror

Unhappy. . . I had already been traveling for four days and the thought of 3 days on a train made me. Was going to take three days, chita, the train ride from Khabarovsk to my destination. I reflected on the information he had provided me with a grimace, as my new Russian friend walked down the hall.

Long time, the general impression was we were going to be on the train for a long. Bags full of food, sheets, pillows. Literally. They were moving in. Fellow passengers. . . Err, i had an opportunity to take a look at my new neighbors, while reflecting on this development.

Yes, oh. An adventure? I told myself to look at it as an adventure, as we actually cleared the city.

Of Crackers and Grape Juice

I would've killed for fast food, on the Trans-Siberian Railway. A stressful day at work has led to more than a few fast food meals, of course. I try to eat a healthy diet with vegetables and so on, like many. Nutrition is an odd thing.

The only thing it was selling were boxes of crackers and grape juice, unfortunately. The food car was open. She didn't lie, well. The woman in charge of our car told me this in limited English and an exasperated look on her face. The food car on the train was open for business, contrary to what another passenger had told me.

Ever. Then we made feverish declarations to never eat crackers or drink juice again. Then we crushed crackers and put them in the juice. Then we drank juice and munched crackers. And I munched crackers and drank juice, a fellow traveler, grae, for the next 48 hours. Or I did. . . I happen to like grape juice. But I'll eat them, i'm not a big cracker fan.

The Funny Part

He went to hit up our fellow travel companions for some real food, cinching up his pants. Grae apparently had arrived at the same opinion. I kept having nightmares about the horrible things happening in my stomach. I was more than willing to starve, after 48 hours of crackers and juice.

We were hungry, what the hey. You are going to eat a pretty hefty amount of humble pie, when you are in a country where you don't speak the language. Part of the fun of traveling is realizing how foolish you really are.

And we stopped a lot. We could buy food at every stop the train made by just walking into the train station, yes. We had lived on crackers and grape juice for no reason. Grae returned to our compartment with one of those looks on his face, after five minutes.

But it was the best food I've ever had, i am not sure what we bought. Just kidding. All they had were crackers and grape juice. . . We ran into the station and. Grae and I were hanging from the doors of the train, as we pulled into a little town.

Chita! . . Next stop.

Read more of this Russian Travelogue at NomadJournalTrips.com