I was told: “You only notice things about others which you have inside yourself as well, both good and bad.” In that sense, this touristy day trip on the old, dead-end part of the Trans-Siberian Railway (Circum-Baikal Railway) was not only a deep-dive into Russian history and beauty but also a harsh reminder of my Russian heritage.
It was clear from the very start that I was in for an adventure. Lost at the busy train station, the ‘helpful’ Russian Railways (RZD) support lady told me, “I have no clue what train and where *** it departs!!” Disclaimer: I was supposed to take one of the top tourist attractions in Irkutsk, and she absolutely knew where the train was departing. She changed her mind and decided to show me the way to the local (vs. trans-city) station.
Insight: Russians in service jobs (and generally) tend to shout at you first and try to make you and your requests disappear before they decide to do their job and help you.
Note to self: Don’t be(come) mean; respect your comrades and loved ones.
The adventure continued. A crowd of mostly Russian tourists (including me) embarked on the train. We took our seats according to our seat numbers. Few people liked their seats. Most people very vocally raised their dissatisfaction. “Why don’t I have a window seat, and why am I not sitting in the direction of travel? This travel agency b*** charged me extra for this, such a rip-off!!!” The train ‘manager’ was called in. She explained aggressively that everything is the way it’s supposed to be: the on-top charge is for the train carriage, not for a window seat. Fortunately, the most unhappy woman (woman 1, supposed to sit across from me) took the trip with two other colleagues (women 2 and 3), and 1 and 3 switched seats. Together with one more woman (woman 4), we sat down in our 4-seat arrangement around a joint table; woman 1 sat down in the arrangement behind us with 3 other strangers. After another 20 min of unhappy self-talk, woman 1 calmed down.
Insight: As default, Russians tend to be unhappy with what they get assigned. No seat or table at a restaurant will ever be good enough. They will only be satisfied once they change the seat or table, even if they select something objectively worse than assigned initially. Russians also tend to escalate and ask for the manager quickly and, to be honest, often it does help.
Note to self: Breathe. Stay calm. Pick your battles wisely. Preserve your energy for when it truly matters. A dinner table or a flight seat is rarely worth the fight.
Most Russians are curious, but they don’t like others’ curious questions. Woman 4 asked women 2 and 3 whether they planned to stay on the lake for the week, given the big bags they brought. Women 2 and 3 did not bother answering, although it was a valid question since their two big bags had the size of a transatlantic carry-on case, and they both had a purse with personal belongings as well.
Insight: For some reason, older Russian women do carry around a lot of stuff, or at least they have big bags able to fit a lot of stuff, and they fill these as the day progresses.
Note to self: A good first step would be to get a smaller purse. Let’s go shopping this weekend before department stores close again, and you are left with online shopping only.
Once the train started moving, the inside of the train started moving, too. All ‘tourists’ (as the train attendants called us) started taking out food from their big bags. Cold chicken, ham, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, apples, grapes – really anything you could only think of, as well as small-sized condiments. This all is happening at ~9 am in the morning, and surely, everyone did have breakfast as well. However, when you travel, you need to stay well-nourished, right? So the feast began. I was very grateful for having skipped breakfast as the mixture of the many smells made me feel nauseous. At the same time, I remembered our family travel adventures back in the early post-Soviet years. We used to take the long-distance overnight train from Moscow to visit my grandparents in central Russia. Food during travel was prohibitively expensive and of horrible quality; by the way, it still is today. My mum had to keep two kids and a husband nourished for 24+ h; preparing food for the journey made sense back then and still does make sense to me today.
Insight: Times and settings changed; behaviors did not. Travel is to be celebrated, with too much food and too many drinks. About the drinks: miniature bottles of vodka appeared later, too – you have to disinfect your mouth with all the Corona, don’t you? *chuckles* as they take a sip.
Note to self: Continue skipping food before and during travel. You safely avoid the consequences of travel nausea, and nothing tastes as good as a meal after a long trip.
The tourists also welcomed with joy that each carriage was equipped with a cold and hot water dispenser. Most tourists did not mind that cups and tea would be charged extra and could be purchased in the restaurant carriage. They simply did not plan to buy any since they came prepared with their own tea and mugs. The unfortunate woman 1 with the bad seat did not come prepared. Upset and enraged, she reproached women 2 and 3 for not having reminded her to take a mug. They (2&3) must have done so on purpose. Of course, they have; she knew they’d play a mean game with her to teach her a lesson!
Insight: Russians are convinced everyone does things only to harm them or teach them a lesson. Women 2 and 3 wanted their befriended woman 1 to be without a mug on purpose. Your partner actively decides to forget to buy your grocery request or burn / spoil your favorite meal while preparing it specifically for you. Fortunately, this is mostly non-sense.
Note to self: Breathe. Watch your karma. Appreciate the positive.
We stop at select spots to learn more about the history of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Baikal Lake, and Russia in general. I am impressed with the engineering work, but even more so with the endless photo sessions and the many splits performed by young and old women while hunting for the perfect Instagram shot. Signs of ‘do not enter’ and ‘do not climb’ are ignored. The train attendants managed to keep the crowd nicely within the indicated area only after warning about poisonous snakes.
Insight: Russians are no different in hunting for the perfect shot, but many more Russians can do a split which makes a fancier shot.
Note to self: It’s time to re-start my yoga practice.
As the trip continues, women 4 and I start understanding why women 2 and 3 had such big bags. More food and drinks appear on the table and disappear in their bellies, pillows support their necks during a short nap, and magazines help with boredom whenever the beautiful scenery and gossip don’t suffice anymore. Then, woman 2 impressed all of us. She packed Havaianas! She was counting on taking a bath in the Baikal Lake at some point. The entire train is enraged that she did not tell them to pack Havaianas, even though they did not even know each other a couple of hours ago. However, many did pack swimwear and decided to take a bath – right next to the sign ‘do not bathe here.’ A happy and energized group re-entered the train. Taking a bath in the Baikal Lake is like a Russian longing. Maybe I’ll have to return for that, but I was way too reasonable this trip and did not want to risk a cold in a Corona year.
Insight: Russians do many non-reasonable things, and they come prepared to do so, making the non-reasonable appear perfectly reasonable and thus enjoying life more than others might be.
Note to self: It’s time to stop being so rational and way too ‘tamed’ by Europe. You only live once.
The train ride ends in the final station ‘Baikal,’ we are shipped to the other side of the lake, and a bus takes us back to Irkutsk. Last souvenirs are bought, and a crowd of visibly exhausted but finally slightly smiling tourists dissolves as the night breaks.
Insight: Good energy and positive emotions always win, and after a full day with so many good impressions even Russians start smiling.
Note to self: *sigh* – what a trip. Thank you for the beauty, the memories, and the wake-up call!
To more adventures,
Katia