It was always a concern just how I would survive four nights on the train from the Moscow to Irkutsk .... it did weigh heavily on everyone's mind as we got settled on the train at Moscow at 11.55pm on a Saturday night.

That day we had all rushed around various markets in Moscow getting fresh food and water before we arrived at the station at 11pm.

When we got there we realised that we didn't have any Vodka to see us through the long days ........ too bad, Jenny and I had to grab all the Gin and Tonic at the next station to ensure we were fully stocked-up until we got to Irkutsk.

We all had read guides to the Trans Siberian Railway which variously described the journey as a sea-voyage-on-rails or a holiday indoors! They all said it was a chance to read, refine your card playing skills, chat to other passengers, stare out the window, jump off at every station (after you've checked out just how long the train was stopping!).

The most important person in the carriage is the provodnitsa (train attendant) who holds all the power so you quickly learn to get on with her!!!! Ours was "Nina" who kept the carriage ticking over pretty well. At each stop it was her job to stand by the doorway in full uniform with a white flag to attract stray passengers who may have ventured a little too far!!! The train never blew its whistle, it just quietly pulled away ...... needless to say we kept Nina in view at each stop.

As well as reading, chatting, looking, sleeping etc we also visited the Restaurant car - the food they served pretty good - although the choice was severely limited: Borsch with Vodka or Vodka with Borsch!

Wandering down to the restaurant car was also a chance to stretch your legs, peek into the other cabins to see how others were managing to entertain themselves and meet a passing parade of passengers.

Of course, you had to be wary of Russians who were already drinking vodka - they like the share it around until the 1L flask is finished - then they order another one!!!

Most passengers seemed to visit the Restaurant car about once a day - mainly to supplement the food they'd purchased or to stretch their legs.

Goodies like instant noodles, cup-of-soup etc were popular as you can heat these up by just adding water from the samovar at the end of each carriage. Jenny and I concentrated on buying fresh stuff for lunch like bread, salami, cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes ..... all very good. Each station we stopped at had small stalls selling foodstuffs and drinks plus bands of babushkas selling pies, dumplings etc. Everyone ate food from the stations and no one got sick. You have to be pretty organised as there isn't much room to spread out in a 4 berth cabin.

There was also plenty of bottled water to be bought from all the stations - Russians like fizzy water so you had to double check. Still don't know what Russian for "non fizzy" is.