Andreas Story.

We met Andrea on Moscow station where another Audleys rep was putting her on the train to travel to Irkutsk.  He said she works in Moscow so we were pleased to find she is sharing our carriage.

When we got up on the first morning we all agreed to see what the dining car had to offer

Fortunately Andrea speaks some Russian because the lady in the dining car certainly didn't. And why should she?

There was a menu and we chose porridge.  Which was off

So we chose ham and eggs which at first seemed to be off and then was on.  Andrea is a vegetarian so she had ham and eggs without the ham.  She ordered bread for three and we settled down to our breakfast.

Andrea told us that she works in Moscow for a company who carry out market research in many places in the world.  She has worked in many locations including Australia, Brazil and now Moscow.

She comes from Cumbria but spends little time working in the UK.

Her experience over the last year or so in Moscow gives a real insight into the life of Russian people today.

She told us about the Dachas and explained their importance to Russians today.

Accommodation in a city like Moscow is at a real premium and people have very little personal space.  They rent their accommodation in the main and several people will live in flats that we would find ok for a couple.  This is a fact that makes things much clearer as we continue our trip and which I will tell you about.  Going out to the country to the Dacha must be like us going to a beach hut in reverse.  They have more space and are happy about that whilst we have less but that makes us happy because we are all away from home.

Andrea explained many things about the Russian way of life and this understanding has really opened our eyes to how things are.

I was surprised to put together the history of property as described by our previous guide and Andrea, under the Soviet regime people were given their accommodation free if they lived in, say, Moscow, but needed a licence to travel to another area. Under perestroika they had to pay to retain their homes and if you could not then you were without a home. this together with the other huge social changes caused massive unemployment, starvation and social difficulties. T.  

As we travelled deeper into Siberia we saw a lady working in her garden dressed up against the cold with  big boots, a big scarf, a big hat and a pale pink coat!  Not the most practical colour for the garden.

Andrea said this had probably come in from China because pink coats would not be readily available outside Moscow and we were by now 2500 kms away and in places which seemed to have no proper roads.  Apparently the train brings in people and goods from China via Harbin like the pink coat.

We had long chats with Andrea over the four days we spent with her.  She is staying in the Irkutsk area for three nights as are we, but at a different location.  She is interested in the Decembrists (more later maybe) and is visiting museums around here dedicated to them before flying back to Moscow and back to work.  She is in Russia till Christmas and will return to the UK before travelling again to who knows where.

We will have supper with her on our last evening but for the record Andrea it was great to meet you and thanks for the insight into Russian life that we would never have had without you.