A traveller's reflection: Trans-Siberian 08: Irkutsk to Yekaterinburg

My Travel Journal

"There isn't much I haven't shared with you along the road and through it all there'd always be tomorrow's episode" - Elton John

I started traveling around the world since early 80s when I had the opportunity to combine business trips with vacations. Then later when my rezeki is in abundance, there were numerous other trips along the way for vacations, most of the time with hubby and the kids when the timing is right. I have also started to compile the journal and photo-pages covering almost more than 45 years of world wide travel. Some destinations I visited just once, others many times. Many of those places are the obvious famous places people would like to visit but some, the casual traveler doesn't even think to try. I have placed links to my travel at the side bar of my personal page, My Life Reflections, and will be updating them from time to time.

My wish is to continue my travel and complete circumnavigate the globe, insyaAllah…

Monday, 20 May 2024

Trans-Siberian 08: Irkutsk to Yekaterinburg

"It is better to see once than to hear a hundred times..."

(Kembara meals on a 56-hr train ride)

Day 08: Thursday, 9 May 2024
Train Route: Irkutsk to Yekaterinburg (56 hrs)

To start the second day on the train, we woke up for subuh prayers at 0330 hrs. Then had a nice hot shower in the middle of the night, when everyone was fast asleep.

(Passing through Russian villages early in the morning)

(One of the many train stops)

Subuh was at 0249 hrs while syuruq was at 0520 hrs. There was still time after quran reciting for some sleep before breakfast. Breakfast was hard-boiled eggs with sliced bread.

(Getting ready to get down the train and stretch our legs)

(Krasnoyarsk Railway Station))

(Considered as one of the most beautiful stations in the Urals)

(Getting ready to embark the train)

There were many short stops along the route. Some went for photo opportunities when the train stops were longer. At Krasnoyarsk, the train stopped for an hour. Enough time for us to wander around the station and for photo opportunities.

(Photo opportunities at the station)

Lunch on board of the train was rice with dendeng Nyet berapi and kacang bilis goreng. The whole afternoon were spent napping in between train stops. There was a 30-minute stop at Mariinsk. Some of us disembarked to stretch our legs and photo opportunities. Dinner on train was maggi mee with bread.

(Regular traffic on the tracks)

(Freight trains carrying cargo)

At Novosibirsk Train Station, the train stopped for an hour and we had ample time to explore the station. Novosibirsk-Glavny is the primary passenger railway station for the city of Novosibirsk. It is an important stop along the Trans-Siberian Railway and Turkestan–Siberia Railway. The station is one of the largest in Russia.

(Passport and security checks at the exit)

(A spacious waiting area of the station)

(Street view of Novosibirsk Railway Station)

(Novosibirsk or New Siberia is Russia's third largest city)

(A beautiful clock tower in the background)

Like most Russian train stations, the green Novosibirsk Train Station architecture is beautiful. In the main building we could find basically everything we need for our long train ride but we decided to exit the station and walked a short distance to one of the many halal restaurants outside the station. We packed pilaf rice and fruit juice. Security checks was fast when we exited and re-entered the train station.