So the first 2 legs of the journey comes to an end. Heavy heart leaving Irkootsk and looking forward to more fun at Ekaterinburg.

We logged in to The Hyatt, a particularly exensive but equally nice hotel in the heart of the town. The room has some great views.

Ilya mentioned something very interesting. He said, St.Petersburg is the heart of Russia, Ekaterinburg is the head and moskow are the pockets (money). He is right about Ekaterinburg, there are a lot of business executives around. The place looks charming too.

The first night was pretty uneventful. We walked around the streets looking for food, came across a square with ice sculptures and found a cozy but expensive nook ti grab dinner. The food was delicious and so was the service.

Till now Ekaterinburg seems to have a lot of English speaking populace to ease the conversations but it also seemed priced closer to Moscow than to the other parts of Russia. I guess we will find more watering holes when exploring the city tomorrow.

Enjoy the pictures, I will log more stories after the wild night out

The trans-Siberian is an epic. As it is with epics, it is difficult to place oneself at a specific place and time. EE have been travelling on the train about 5 time zones now. And 2 more to go.

Each person in the party is carrying clocks that show time from far and away. China, Singapore, Vladivostok, local time, Moscow time etc… When we ask for the time, we are never sure when it really is.

We wake up every day in a different time zone. It is 0330 on the train and the sun is rising. The sun rises but it is still dark till 0900. We eat breakfast at 1300 and dinner dinner know when. All the while, we never know where we are.

The only time we know the place is when we reach stations, but even if you consult a map, you are never able to place yourself in the world. Alienated in some ways, you feel lost but the connection to the real world awaits as the train leaves the station to it’s next destination.

We are on the train now, heading into Ekaterinburg at 1400 Moscow time, 1600 local time and 1900 Singapore time. Again with only the next destination, a hotel with warm shover in mind. What adventure awaits us, we are not clear but ready for all the fun on offer.