Making Friends

Krasnoyarsk

Got the train along here last night and I had the luck to be sharing a compartment with some very sociable Russians. I'd heard that locals will often offer you food on the Trans-Siberian, but I wasn't prepared for the impressive spread my travelling companions managed to knock together. I'd also heard about Russians' love for booze, and a bottle of local whisky was quickly produced. Locals see you as their guest here and wouldn't accept any of the food I had, although I managed to get them to try some Laphroaig still lurking in the bottom of my backpack which went down well. Conversation was a bit tricky but Rowan's phrasebook got passed around a lot and we managed to get by. It was certainly getting very convivial by the time the whisky was finished, then the two men disappeared. I asked the woman where they'd gone, she said "restaurant" and pointed at the empty bottle. Sure enough back they came with a bottle of vodka and I realised we were going to be making a night of it whether I wanted to or not. I'd been a bit hungover to start with and feeling pretty delicate, but I'm glad to say I managed to keep pace with the locals even on the vodka and didn't let my country down. British stiff upper lip and all that.

Krasnoyarsk is easily the most beautifully situated of all the cities I've visited in Siberia. It hasn't got much competition, true, but coming through the Autumnal forests on the train this morning was lovely and the view from my surprisingly plush hotel is pretty great. I think I'll kick back and settle in here for a couple of days.