The East End

We have a couple of days' recovery time in Khabarovsk, a chance to explore this rather attractive city, only ruined by the enormous oil refinery which someone thought it sensible to plonk close to the town centre. Highlights include the river side orthodox cathedral and the wide tree-lined boulevard which forms the main street. A few of the obligatory tram journeys provide the opportunity to get out into the suburbs, and observe the enormous scale of the place (which apparently holds the distinction of being the coldest city in the world with a population over 500k). And it's certainly cold, with breathtaking windchill blowing in from the north.

The final leg of the trans-siberian railway is on an overnight train to Vladivostok. We have attempted to experience the full range of train service provision during the course of the excursion, and this last train is, in fact, a slow service from Sovetskaya Gavan to Vladivostok, stopping at no less than 33 stations, and resulting in a somewhat disturbed night's sleep.

The huge naval and commercial port of Vladivostok feels quite western and touristy in comparison with other cities on our visit. It is built on hills, islands and peninsulas, connected with modern bridges (and featuring an ancient funicular to the top of town). On Wednesday morning we walk down to the western coastline to watch the locals walking out onto the frozen sea and drilling holes in the ice to access the hidden fish stocks.

Our brief visit to Vladivostok marks the end of the main part of the trip, but we have the added bonus of a visit to Korea coming up, and our two and a half weeks in Russia ends on the express train to Vladivostok airport. Final traveller's hint: don't be tempted to pay someone to wrap your luggage beautifully in protective clingfilm - you will only have to take it off again...

Triple Overnighter

We treat the next train journey with trepidation. Leaving Ulan Ude Thursday 27th February early afternoon, we are due to arrive in Khabarovsk late evening on Saturday. That's nearly three days and two nights on the train. Of course it's nothing to the train journey enjoyed by those who do the whole Trans Siberian in one go on trains 1 and 2, but as restless types, we like to get out and explore rather than sitting on the train for too long. Anyway, we soon settle into the routine of our temporary lodgings, the restaurant car with ample staff (but limited stock and fictional menu) and enjoy the fantastic views of the surprisingly diverse eastern Siberian landscapes.

The routine is subjected to an unscheduled interruption a few hours before our arrival in Khabarovsk as our train comes to a halt some miles behind a derailed freight train (at least that's what we speculate has happened). The sheer volume of freight on the route means that if anything goes wrong, there is major disruption. After every previous train on our trip being bang on time (to the minute, if not the second), we are now have the prospect of a serious delay.

On occasions like this, my rusty command of the Russian language comes in handy as we are eventually evicted from the train with our luggage in the dark across icy rails, and are led to one of the waiting buses which have been rustled up to take the trainload of passengers to another train beyond the incident which has blocked the railway. We cram into the last standing room on the bus (far too polite) and are then driven under police escort across icy roads to the next train. After a major bureaucratic process to allocate us to compartments on our replacement train (a Vladivostok to Moscow service which was turning back) we settle into our bunk beds for an unscheduled third consecutive night, and are on the move at 0315, nine hours late.

We check into our hotel in Khabarovsk rather later than planned at 0730am, much to the surprise of the receptionist, and retire to our rooms for a much-needed "deep clean". Although we are sometimes at risk of a sense of humour failure, the incident does not seriously impact on our itinerary, and will provide plenty of anecdote fodder to bore people with when we get home.

Buryat

A relatively short daytime journey takes us from Irkutsk, around the south of Baikal and past spectacular lake and mountain views. In fact the majority of the seven hour journey is lakeside in the sunlight, certainly one of the most scenic railway journeys I have experienced, and rivalling some of the Alpine routes.

Our destination is Ulan Ude, the Buryat capital, close to the border with Mongolia. After checking in to the crumbling Soviet-style hotel we take a walk around the city centre, pleasantly surprised at its attractive features and friendly residents. Although mostly Russian in style, the oriental influence is now evident, and many of the people we see are of Buryat or Mongolian ethnicity.

After seeking out the largest statue of Lenin's head anywhere in the world, which is currently surrounded by beautiful ice sculptures, we head down to the Sky Bar,  on the tenth floor of an office block and providing great views of the city.

The following morning it's bitterly cold again, sub - 20°c, but we manage a stroll down to the river via the Cathedral (currently under refurbishment) and a tram trip to explore the suburbs and have a closer look at the local industrial landscape.

By the afternoon (it's now Thursday), we have bought our provisions and mentally prepared ourselves for the forthcoming longest train journey of the trip, 53 hours to Khabarovsk. Read the next post to find our whether we are still talking to each other at the end of the "double overnighter".