I’m pretty confused about the border ahead. I can’t make any sense of the timetable and everyone has a different version of it. I’m going to need to be flexible with my planning.
Valerie has taken to passing me notes with helpful things written on, as his English is nearly as bad as my Russian. This morning his note says just one thing: “-31°C”.
I had already guessed that it was cold when I went to the bathroom and discovered that the toilet had frozen solid. The water to flush it should be heated, but my WC is at the other end of the carriage from the samovar which provides the hot water.
My sleep was pretty mixed last night as the train has frozen brakes again. Every time the train slows down my carriage lurches backwards and forwards and is impossible to sleep through. I also got up before each stop during the night to re-seal my window. It’s a high maintenance activity, but worth it as I can get the temperature from 29°C down to a more manageable 21°C without getting into trouble.
Looking at my map, we are now heading south-east. The landscape has changed dramatically overnight. We have been slowly climbing on to a huge plain and my view this morning is of tundra and the Great Khingan mountain range in the distance. It’s much drier up here and my throat and eyes are a bit painful today. I have started to cough too – not a good sign. I wonder if the altitude is what is keeping the temperatures so low.
