Today was the day for eating out in the dining cart (which was quite nice), instead of eating soup and pastries. A group from the Russian army boarded the train (somewhat indimidating!) - so our dinner was briefly disturbed by Rajik, a Russian paratrooper who essentially came to tell us how proud he is of his motherland, and how the Russian army is better than the rest! He and his friend got very drunk - to the point of rambling!
Vika took us to a distant cash mashine at one of the stops that allowed us to do this. Getting deeper into Siberia, and exploring outside of the station, I was beginning to see some examples of the Russian behaviour that was what I had expected in the cities - a drunk man was staggering in the road in the middle of the day, and big Russian men were revving up their hatchbacks and calling out to the women.
We have had generally positive experiences interacting with Russians, making friends with a girl called Angelica who was staying in our carriage, and failing to communicate with a guy called Alexski who was very friendly. We also had 2 swedish girls two doors along who are travelling across Siberia unplanned!
On the late station night stop, Alex made a nice gesture. In his wanderings, he stumbled upon a travel chess set - something I had been seeking out for a few days, but not found!
