The discussions were so interesting that we lost an idea of time and had to rush to catch the train and in fact I had to jump on the stairs of the carriage as the train was departing the platform. My agility surprised me as well as the carriage conductor who was shaking his head and laughed.
After catching my breath I presented my passport (as required) , the carriage manager suddenly said ah English.”. Manchester United and Liverpool “with a bug grin and smile. He took me to the place where my upper bunk was and left me to work out how I would climb into the bunk for the journey to Khabarovsk. I came to the conclusion that even though I had lost weight on the trip (5 kilos when I returned home) there was no way that I would manoeuvre myself into the bunk and stat there for almost 3 hours. I decided the only way forward was to stand in the carriage isle and just move when people wanted to pass me.
The carriage was full of secondary school children on their way to Vladivostok for a school trip and their teachers were actually in the bottom bunks below mine. It was chaos and very noisy. With my Michael’s sad face I looked at the teachers and hoped that one of them would offer to change places with me. Luckily, two teachers were sitting on top of the bed (fully dressed) and one took pity on me and made the bed into a seat and offered me a seat next to them for the return journey to Khabarovsk.
No conversation, just the occasional smile. Typically, Russian but I was on my way back and that was all that I was concerned about.
I was met and driven to the hotel, showered and then went for a bite to eat.
I was in the restaurant in the hotel and Melinda called to discuss the deteriorating situation and the need to get me back safe and sound. It was great to hear her voice after 4 weeks but I understood just how things had developed and understood the need to refocus on routes out of Russia.
She was looking at alternatives to flying back via Moscow as by then the flights she booked had all been cancelled and options were reducing very fast to a short list of a few options, Flights via Istanbul, Dubai, Qatar, Astana, Tashkent and Israel were still options as well as a train to Helsinki and then fly home from there.
When the call finished, I started to think about the choices she had told me about and realised that I had to leave the research and options up to her for me to consider. I was not (am not) used to being reliant on others but in this case and situation Mel was best placed to look at various routs and exits as also she was more aware of the situation as reported by the BBC and other news outlets and also her internet connections were more secure. I was also getting more advice from other various sources as well as a Russian friend in Moscow who was tracking me as well as my business partner Jerry who was also focussing on exits via Dubai and Oman. Interestingly, because of Covid restrictions, flights to Toko and Seoul were only via Moscow and their entry requirements were so strict that I would not have been allowed to enter the countries anyway. So limited choices and options.
I am experienced enough to know that I could not impact on the situation in Ukraine as well as the exit routes, so there was no need to worry about things (as much as I could) and that it was important to get a good night’s sleep for the day ahead and also for the train trip to Vladivostok.
The issues regarding the return could wait until I arrived in Vladivostok.
One more day (a rest day as far as plans were concerned) in Khabarovsk and then it was the final leg of the trip to Vladivostok overnight.
The following day was broken into two sections, first part of the day was a little rest and exploring day, walking on the embankment and round some of the beautiful squares and boulevards and the second part of the day (up to the train departure to Vladivostok), was participating with an English class of some of Tatiyana’s students so that they could practice their English and get used to a real English accent. This was going to be really interesting and ofcouse I would be on best behaviour. But make them laugh a little as well.
It was really impressive to have two different groups of students give up part of their Sundays to attend the meeting, some university students and some school students. All their abilities were clear to see, fluent English and comprehension from all the participants and when we practiced translating presentations it was very clear how advanced and precise their English teaching was. It was enjoyable and I managed to break the Russian stoic approach to meetings and lectures, made the students relax and managed to get them to openly participate and contribute. Nice way to finish the visit to Khabarovsk and hopefully leave a positive impression
All too soon the time came to leave Khabarovsk and take the night train to Vladivostok to finish the train journey and then find a way home rather than the planned return to Moscow and then home from there. Speed was becoming important for the return.
I was used to the train now and with the final journey to Vladivostok things were coming to an end. Khabarovsk was really interesting and a place that one day I would like to revisit, but the final leg was ahead of me.
Same carriage number 8 and cabin ¾ I was settled quite quickly and then ahead of me was a night journey dur to arrive at 6 am. I was a seasoned train traveller now, so quickly unpacked the night stuff, had a tea and they delivered a salad and small salmon steak and then off to sleep.
After catching my breath I presented my passport (as required) , the carriage manager suddenly said ah English.”. Manchester United and Liverpool “with a bug grin and smile. He took me to the place where my upper bunk was and left me to work out how I would climb into the bunk for the journey to Khabarovsk. I came to the conclusion that even though I had lost weight on the trip (5 kilos when I returned home) there was no way that I would manoeuvre myself into the bunk and stat there for almost 3 hours. I decided the only way forward was to stand in the carriage isle and just move when people wanted to pass me.
The carriage was full of secondary school children on their way to Vladivostok for a school trip and their teachers were actually in the bottom bunks below mine. It was chaos and very noisy. With my Michael’s sad face I looked at the teachers and hoped that one of them would offer to change places with me. Luckily, two teachers were sitting on top of the bed (fully dressed) and one took pity on me and made the bed into a seat and offered me a seat next to them for the return journey to Khabarovsk.
No conversation, just the occasional smile. Typically, Russian but I was on my way back and that was all that I was concerned about.
I was met and driven to the hotel, showered and then went for a bite to eat.
I was in the restaurant in the hotel and Melinda called to discuss the deteriorating situation and the need to get me back safe and sound. It was great to hear her voice after 4 weeks but I understood just how things had developed and understood the need to refocus on routes out of Russia.
She was looking at alternatives to flying back via Moscow as by then the flights she booked had all been cancelled and options were reducing very fast to a short list of a few options, Flights via Istanbul, Dubai, Qatar, Astana, Tashkent and Israel were still options as well as a train to Helsinki and then fly home from there.
When the call finished, I started to think about the choices she had told me about and realised that I had to leave the research and options up to her for me to consider. I was not (am not) used to being reliant on others but in this case and situation Mel was best placed to look at various routs and exits as also she was more aware of the situation as reported by the BBC and other news outlets and also her internet connections were more secure. I was also getting more advice from other various sources as well as a Russian friend in Moscow who was tracking me as well as my business partner Jerry who was also focussing on exits via Dubai and Oman. Interestingly, because of Covid restrictions, flights to Toko and Seoul were only via Moscow and their entry requirements were so strict that I would not have been allowed to enter the countries anyway. So limited choices and options.
I am experienced enough to know that I could not impact on the situation in Ukraine as well as the exit routes, so there was no need to worry about things (as much as I could) and that it was important to get a good night’s sleep for the day ahead and also for the train trip to Vladivostok.
The issues regarding the return could wait until I arrived in Vladivostok.
One more day (a rest day as far as plans were concerned) in Khabarovsk and then it was the final leg of the trip to Vladivostok overnight.
The following day was broken into two sections, first part of the day was a little rest and exploring day, walking on the embankment and round some of the beautiful squares and boulevards and the second part of the day (up to the train departure to Vladivostok), was participating with an English class of some of Tatiyana’s students so that they could practice their English and get used to a real English accent. This was going to be really interesting and ofcouse I would be on best behaviour. But make them laugh a little as well.
It was really impressive to have two different groups of students give up part of their Sundays to attend the meeting, some university students and some school students. All their abilities were clear to see, fluent English and comprehension from all the participants and when we practiced translating presentations it was very clear how advanced and precise their English teaching was. It was enjoyable and I managed to break the Russian stoic approach to meetings and lectures, made the students relax and managed to get them to openly participate and contribute. Nice way to finish the visit to Khabarovsk and hopefully leave a positive impression
All too soon the time came to leave Khabarovsk and take the night train to Vladivostok to finish the train journey and then find a way home rather than the planned return to Moscow and then home from there. Speed was becoming important for the return.
I was used to the train now and with the final journey to Vladivostok things were coming to an end. Khabarovsk was really interesting and a place that one day I would like to revisit, but the final leg was ahead of me.
Same carriage number 8 and cabin ¾ I was settled quite quickly and then ahead of me was a night journey dur to arrive at 6 am. I was a seasoned train traveller now, so quickly unpacked the night stuff, had a tea and they delivered a salad and small salmon steak and then off to sleep.
