Slept okay last night and have already got used to the train lifestyle. Had a wash in the loo and put on clean clothes (which felt great after having the same ones on for 3 days).
We stopped a couple of times for 2 minutes but the first real stop was at KNPOB, there were women on the platform selling food but we didn’t really know what anything was at this stage so decided not to bother.
When we got back on Victor had bought what looked like a small swordfish and offered us to try it. It was a kind of smoked fish and was okay but really bony.
We’ packed lots of dried foods as the guidebook had advised to because the food on board is a) not very good b) expensive and c) not always available so had a packet of noodles for lunch. Haiden came down to our coupe to say hi and tell us where they were. They were sharing with two Russians who didn’t seem to want to talk to them. We fell lucky with Victor even though he can’t speak English he still makes the effort to try and have a conversation with us and he's good at giving us tips on what to do when we stop at a station, so we know when we can get off and stretch our legs or buy stuff etc.
Got off at another stop for 20 minutes and bought 3 what looked like bread rolls (so we could give Victor one). When we got back on we found out Victor had the same idea and also bought 3. When we ate them though they turned out to be different so we ended up trying two more local foods. Ours we like a muffin filled with fried cabbage and Victors were more like a donut filled with mashed potatoe. The women make them and sell them on the platforms. Victor gave us cinnamon buns afterward to go with our coffee. He just keeps puling stuff out from his bag under the bed and gesturing for us to try them. It’s good that we aren’t sharing with English people as we are getting to experience a more authentic trip.
Victor (like most Russian people we'd encountered) appeared stern at first but he’s actually really friendly. I think it’s the language that makes them sound quite aggressive as it’s very stern sounding.
Later in the night we started playing Dominos with Victor as it’s a pretty universal game so easy to explain the rules. A Russian guy called John (well the Russian name for John that I can’t pronounce) was walking past with his dog and saw us playing. Ten minutes later he came armed with 4 beers and asked if he could join us. John spoke very little English too but Victor explained things to him when needed.
Next his mate Denis also came down to join us, but didn’t play Dominos or cards as he said he is a bad player and gets nasty. They were both really loud and we kept getting told off by the older stewardess. Eventually, we moved down the carriage to their coupe (Victor didn’t join us) and just sat chatting until about midnight. The minute we finished our beers they would hand us another one and wouldn’t hear of us giving them anything back in return. John said that tomorrow will be their Christmas Eve so he will knock on for us in the afternoon for a drink with them.