My research for Violet happened by accident, back in 2006. Me and my other half decided to take six months off work to travel the world, via planes, trains and automobiles (and a few boats). One of the highlights was the train from Beijing to Moscow - several days in a cabin, several days and nights to meet all sorts of people, eat strange foods, watch the entire train having its wheels changed - and lots of memorable experiences in unusual settings. We wrote a travelogue of the whole six month trip, but as Violet focuses on the Trans-Siberian portion - I thought I'd share a few tips.
Things not to worry about when taking the Trans-Siberian Express
In Beijing: Don’t trust the charming locals who approach you in famous public places such as the gardens near Tiananmen Square, or the entrance to the Forbidden City. While it might sound feasible that your new friend really is an artist, it’s probably not a good idea to go with him to a disused warehouse to see his etchings (chances are, he just wants to sell you some pirated DVDs, but you never know…) On the other hand, following a cheerful young couple to a tea house to be involved in an exclusive tasting ceremony is a great idea, even if you do get charged ten-times the usual price and are given a potentially stolen tea set as a ‘gift’ afterwards. Not all con artists are bad people.
In Mongolia: Don’t think for a minute that you will be served plates of piping hot ‘Mongolian BBQ’ meats (the locals will laugh if you ask for this). Instead, prepare to leave your taste buds at home, as you are served various delicacies such as mutton stew, mutton pasta and, just plain old mutton (vegetables are in short supply, it seems) - all washed down with delightful boiled ewe’s milk tea topped with salty doughnut balls. It might seem like the locals are trying to poison you, but they just have a lot of sheep.
As the train passes Lake Baikal: Don’t think about how deep it is (1,642m), how much water it holds (23,615.39 km3 – which is more than all of the North American Great Lakes put together) and how cold it is (it’s in Siberia, after all). Think instead about how many bodies might’ve been disposed of in there, never to be seen again...
In Irkutsk: Don’t expect to feel cheerful. Those poor Decembrists who were exiled there certainly didn’t… and stuck in a Siberian hinterland, who can blame them? Instead, think about how difficult it must’ve been to transport the actual BAR from The Royal Standard in Bradford (an old haunt of Bram Stoker’s, no less), to be placed in The London Pub, inside the Angara Hotel. And those men in there, the ones you saw on the train – they’re not really following you… are they?
When you arrive in Moscow: Don’t take a taxi from the train station, unless you’re happy that your driver might just be a random (hit)man who feels like driving his car very, very fast around the city – often on the wrong side of the road, or reversing at high speed, while yabbering away on the phone (probably arranging to have you killed and transported back to Lake Baikal for disposal). Also, don’t book a bed in a hostel – unless you’re happy for a four-bed dorm to be turned into an eight-bed dorm, by the addition of mattresses on all available floor space. It might be cozy – but you never know who you might meet.
Someone once said that a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met, but you might want to think about that if you come across someone called Violet.
