TheTrans-Siberian railway, the longest in the world,
is the last frontier in international rail travel.
I set out on the Trans-Siberian Railway with the romantic notion of travel as a continuous vision.
Sitting within the confines of the small train compartment, the cozy interior that was to become my home for the next six days, I watched with intensity the fleeting images through the dirty window.
Passengers coming and going, exchanging life stories while huddled around the little table in the compartment, the table covered with food, bottles of vodka and tea.
The large metal samovars stationed in every train corridor provide hot water at all times. It is a perfect way to prepare hot drinks and instant foods, rather than venturing to the dining car for every meal. Eating in one's own train compartment lends a warm feeling of being at home.
Unlike the trains such as the Orient Express, the trains that cross Siberia are working trains, not tourist specials.
Compartments are in fours, and although tourist agencies tend to book westerners in clumps throughout the train, you could find yourself (by design or chance) sharing a compartment with three Russians.
The train stops every few hours for just enough time to step out onto the train platform and into a lively bazaar. Old women (babushki) sell everything from sunflower seeds to roast chicken, while men stand huddled together talking about nothing in particular and smoking strong cigarettes.
The Trans-Siberian Railway boasts the title of the world's longest continuous railroad, stretching 9446 kilometers (5857 miles) from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast.
It is difficult to conceive of the immensity of Russia until one sets out across it.
Dramatic scenery and time-changes lend an unreal, serene quality to the experience of traveling the Trans-Siberian. On leaving Moscow the scenery is desolate compared with what is to follow.
The industrial squalor is soon left behind as the scenery is transformed into fields, dachas, and birch forests lining the track.
Off in the distance stand impressive churches, perched on hills. Their domes glistening in the half-shaded sun, the churches rise majestically over an otherwise stark and monotonous landscape.
Beyond the Ural Mountains, past Lake Baikal, across the flat plains of Siberia through multiple time zones, the train surges endlessly it seems, until suddenly the Pacific Ocean appears and the train track comes to an end.
Seven days and six nights later, and with a wealth of stored visions and encounters, one disembarks the legendary train with a sigh of relief.
The Trans-Siberian's crowded, homely atmosphere is a fitting end to any love affair with Russia.
The famous Trans-Siberian journey actually comprises
three possible routes.
While the train across Russian is known as the Trans-Siberian, there are actually three routes available -- to Beijing via Mongolia or Manchuria, or straight on to the Pacific terminus at Vladivostok.
Passenger ships sail from Vladivostok to Japan from May until early October. There are flights from the Russian far east to America, but they tend to be expensive. It is probably better to head for Beijing and on to Hong Kong, where flights are cheaper.
It is now possible to break the journey a number of Russian cities. Most popular are Irkutsk, Ulan Ude, Khabarovsk, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. Others available include Perm, Omsk, Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk. Top stop-overs are Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude.
Irkutsk, once known as the Paris of Siberia, is a picturesque city and the gateway to the beautiful Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake at 1,637 meters (5,370 feet).
Ulan-Ude, to the east of Lake Baikal, is the quintessential Siberian town, with wide streets featuring log cabins, Russian classical architecture, and Soviet-era high-rise. It is home to Russia's largest Lenin bust. Nearby is the Ivolginsk Datsan (monas-tery), the center of Russian Buddhism.