FINALLY...after the longest day of waiting, and even into the next day, at about 1:30 am we headed out of the station to our platform and into who knows what. We were one of the first passengers out in the early morning chill, and as we set our many bags down in front of train car 5, we were anxious to see just what would happen. As time passed, more and more passengers joined us on the platform. We could see some movement inside the train car, but the door was firmly locked shut. I had been somewhat self-conscious about how much we were carrying, the two large packs (40l and 38l) and we had accumulated four additional bags full of food to survive the trip. (side note: I will never be able to thank Jihye enough for preparing all this food, she ordered a lot of it online and was so thoughtful about what to prepare...I do not think I could have survived without her....I hope she knows this)
But as others came, our pile of luggage and goods began to shrink in size until finally a family arrived carrying enough to fill a small U-haul truck. What had begun as a vaguely single-file line quickly became a general mob as very little order was kept and people crowded around the door hoping to be the first on. (again, see notes to getting off the ferry...why the rush and mob if we all know full well that the train departs at 1:56 am)
I must note that we are riding third class, there was no first class available on this more 'local' train, and second class was at least double the price (approx. $800 per ticket). So, Jihye talked me into going 3rd class. While the ticket is significantly cheaper ($250 per ticket) it also means we go from having a 4-berth room with a door we can lock in 2nd class, to sharing a train car with 54 passengers, no doors, and just two bathrooms in the 3rd class. Also, with cheaper tickets, come an entirely different passenger type. Already this isn't the more expensive 'express' train, and adding into the mix it is 3rd class on the cheaper 'local' train...well, let's just say you wouldn't be likely to see these folks riding on a plane from New York City to Los Angeles anytime soon. Trying not to be judgmental, but these are some rough types...later were we to discover what makes a Siberian man a Siberian man. And weakness plays no part in it. I started to worry as I was bringing with me a very attractive and thin woman. Until I saw another single woman waiting beside us and I actually thought, "Whew...at least they'd go for her first...she's alone." Hard to describe until you are standing there at 2am waiting to cram onto the train and spend the next week in ultra-close quarters.
Suddenly up walked 'Matt Damon', or as he was named by Jihye for his striking resemblance, (training for the next Bourne installment perhaps?), and he immediately started barking at the front family with the U-haul worth of bags. There was no one who could speak English anywhere around besides the two of us, so we can only guess at what was being said. But clearly 'Matt Damon' was upset, and the family was begging for mercy.
Mercifully we started to board, as the crush of people had put us towards the middle of the line, we generally waited and watched, trying to figure out what to do. Put ticket in the passport, hand over passport, get on. Easy enough, right? Well...we didn't have tickets. We were probably the only ones riding the 3rd class that had booked online, and we thought the ticket counter woman had told us that afternoon that we didn't need tickets (again, not a single word of English...so we are, as usual, going on blind-faith here). Someone was refused entry, and I saw an opening, I approached the doorman (kid really) and handed over my passport and printed E-ticket. He paused, looked at me, and called for 'Matt Damon'. Shit.
'Matt Damon' approached, said several things in gruff Russian to which I replied, "Uhm..Moscow?' He pulled out a printed paper which I could see had only two things on it. Jihye and my names. Is that a good thing? He said several other things I have not the slightest idea of what they meant, and then finally something I could get, "Pyat minutye". Five minutes. OK...wait five minutes...great, I can understand that. But wait..why must we wait? What is wrong?? What happens next??? I took back the passports and e-tickets and rejoined Jihye in the smack dab middle of a crushing mass of folks trying to pack on and we stood there fairly clueless. At this moment I made eye contact with the man who would come to be our patron saint of the next few days, Sasha. He smiled warmly and had that look of, "Ain't this a real pain in the ass?" You know it.
'Matt Damon' suddenly looked at us and said, awkwardly, and almost shyly, "OK...you...GO GO!" We were on! On the train.
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