縱橫歐亞大陸的鐵路之旅,乘客朝各自的目的地前進;
在鐵軌上行駛的列車裡,承載著無數偶然相遇的故事。
一個人,一份決心,拿起背包,跳上火車探險去!
Route No.1
莫斯科 → 伏爾加格勒
(Moscow → Volgograd)
1068公里,18小時10分鐘
以俄羅斯首都為起點,從 Paveletsky 車站出發南下到伏爾加格勒(Volgograd)。俄鐵(Russian Railways)初體驗,二等(2nd class)車廂、臥鋪及設施規格比我想像中的好。
相關文章:莫斯科遊記全集、俄鐵(國內線)官網購票步驟
每個包廂是上下各兩張臥鋪的格局,各自的床位都有電插座。我選上鋪,因為票價比下鋪便宜許多。雖然得爬上爬下,可是上舖算是完全屬於自己的空間(睡覺以外的時間,下舖將變成大家的坐位)。每節車廂兩端設有抽水馬桶式廁所,因此沒有使用時段限制。每節車廂有一位服務員(俄語:provodnitsa),她會派發面巾和被單套給乘客,然後講解車上須知事項。
服務員只會說俄語,幸好跟我同廂的男乘客主動為我翻譯。該男乘客名叫 Alex,在跨國公司上班,因此學得一口流利英語,這次帶他十歲兒子專程從莫斯科前往伏爾加格勒看球賽。
△車票已包含一餐主食,乘客可選擇午餐或晚餐時送上。
當服務員把我的晚餐送上時,Alex 拿出自帶的食物然後對我說:“Come join us!”,邀請我共進晚餐。我們在小小的餐桌上交談甚歡,Alex 還不斷把他們的食物分給我。。。
。。。“來!現在是青瓜和番茄的季節,很新鮮,多吃點。”
初次在火車上感受俄羅斯人的熱情,令我無比心暖。(區區一口蔬果便能“收買”我,生活中最感動的往往是最簡單的小事,不是麼?)
。。。“來!現在是青瓜和番茄的季節,很新鮮,多吃點。”
初次在火車上感受俄羅斯人的熱情,令我無比心暖。(區區一口蔬果便能“收買”我,生活中最感動的往往是最簡單的小事,不是麼?)
△覺得火車餐味道不錯,是因為自己太餓,還是因為有人作伴?
Alex 說國內的孩子在校園有學英文,叫我跟他兒子“切磋”以英語對話。哈!慚愧自己的語文水平半桶水不到,但念在剛才的一“瓜”之恩,well alright... 只好恭敬不如從命了。
車上有熱水機,花50盧向服務員買茶包或咖啡,服务员便会提供杯和杯夹让乘客沖泡飲用。乘客可以保留使用該杯子和杯夾,直至下車前歸還。
設計精緻的金屬杯夾(上圖)名為 podstakannik,源自18世紀的國內品茶文化。因其實用性:穩固杯子和避免直接觸摸熱水杯,後來在火車上被廣泛使用至今。
△列車各站停靠時間表
△停靠時間較長的車站(15~20分鐘以上),乘客可下車走動、抽根煙,或到月台的攤位購買食物飲料。
△俄羅斯人很愛吃冰淇淋
Alex 在其中一站休息時,買了支冰淇淋請我吃。這時我把在火車上受到熱情招待的經歷私訊“匯報”給在家鄉的一位朋友,他的回復是問我為何隨便接受陌生人的東西,不怕他們另有企圖嗎?
朋友的一席話讓我反思,是我太容易相信人嗎?或是平時我們活在一個險惡的社會,已習慣時刻提防身邊的人?你們說呢?
一頓飯、一支冰淇淋竟然吃出人情世故問題來,大概是我想多了。
△夏天的日照時間長,已入夜太陽公公還不肯下班。
臥舖火車還蠻舒適的,夏天時有冷氣,在摇晃的车厢裡不會難入眠,只是間中煞車時會醒來一下(這要看個人,我是比較容易被驚醒的)。
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Route No.2
伏爾加格勒 → 莫斯科
(Volgograd → Moscow)
1068公里,18小時02分鐘
在伏爾加格勒市看了一場世足賽,過了兩晚後便返回莫斯科。
△伏爾加格勒車站(Volgograd - 1 Train Station)
△車站大堂裡的天花板很漂亮
據聞沒坐過三等艙(3rd class)就等於沒真正搭過俄羅斯火車,所以選了這段路程來體驗一下。
△三等艙每節車廂,共54張床的開放式隔間
△每個隔間的一側有上下格4張床
△另一側是上下格2張床,下舖的桌子可反轉過來和坐位連接變成平坦的床。
和我同一隔間的是一名帶著兒子的俄國男子,還有另兩位女士。他們雖不認識對方(我猜),甫坐下卻一見如故,似乎有聊不完的話題。我靜靜坐在一旁,聽不懂也無法插話。
服務員走過來,好像問了他們什麼,他們回話後服務員便離開。我心想:“咦,服務員是否要傳達什麼重要資訊?”
這時和那位男子剛好對到眼,我冒昧問了一句:“Sorry,what she said just now...?"
他原來懂英語,但沒有回答我的問題,反而問起我的姓名、從哪裡來、為何來這裡。。。我們就這樣打開了話匣子,而我一開始的那道問題已不重要了。
男子名叫 Kyril,兩位女士很巧都名叫 Yelena,他們皆是看完球賽后返回莫斯科。
△列車駛經郊區小鎮
△窗外風景
三等車票沒包餐食,長途火車上一般都設有餐廳(ресторан),但乘客通常會自帶以方便即食為主的食物上車:快熟食品(面、麥片、粥、馬鈴薯泥),或者蔬果、芝士、加工醃肉等不須煮熟,直接切片配麵包吃。
和上一班車遇到的 Alex 一樣,Kyril 不斷拿食物款待我們,好像一副深怕我們吃不飽的樣子。。。
。。。“我帶了很多食物,你要幫忙吃多點哦!”
和上次的 Alex 一樣,飯後 Kyril 提議我跟他十來歲的兒子“較量”,這次不是比語文,而是我更加外行的西洋棋!結果直落幾局都完敗給他兒子。。。(糗)
Kyril 像個不能靜下來的大男孩(難道是認識了新朋友特別興奮?),總要想些點子來消磨在火車上的時光。他突然心血來潮,揪我和兩位 Yelena 到餐廳小酌。
。。。“我帶了很多食物,你要幫忙吃多點哦!”
和上次的 Alex 一樣,飯後 Kyril 提議我跟他十來歲的兒子“較量”,這次不是比語文,而是我更加外行的西洋棋!結果直落幾局都完敗給他兒子。。。(糗)
Kyril 像個不能靜下來的大男孩(難道是認識了新朋友特別興奮?),總要想些點子來消磨在火車上的時光。他突然心血來潮,揪我和兩位 Yelena 到餐廳小酌。
△突尼西亞隊雖然輸了比賽,但其球迷仍士氣高昂。
這趟列車的乘客大部分都是看完突尼西亞對英格蘭球賽後回首都的球迷,來自兩國甚至還有俄羅斯的球迷,聚在狹長的餐廳車廂裡掛起國旗,載歌載舞,移動的列車頓時變成狂歡派对!
對酒當歌,人生幾何?我們沒有錯過“參與其盛”,而且 Kyril 看來比誰都還要興奮!
△與 Kyril(右)、兩位 Yelena,還有一班熱情球迷相見歡。
△在火車上看到夕陽餘暉
△雖然開放式車廂少了點私隱,但床位還蠻舒適,不難入眠。
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Route No.3
莫斯科 → 聖彼得堡
(Moscow → St. Petersburg)
650公里,3小時46分鐘
從伏城出發的列車,翌日早上抵達莫斯科 Paveletsky 站。和 Kyril、Yelena 道別後,直接乘地鐵到 Leningradsky 車站(又名 Moskva Oktiabrskaia, 開往北方的列車都從這一站發車)。
△Leningradsky 車站
△Sapsan 高鐵列車
△搭 Sapsan (сапсан)高鐵北上,比普通列車省超過一半的時間,半天便能到達聖彼得堡。
聖彼得堡 → 葉卡捷琳堡
(St. Petersburg → Yekaterinburg)
2080公里,35小時21分鐘
在美麗的聖彼得堡(Saint Petersburg)逗留了5-6天,然後開始踏上西伯利亞鐵路(Trans-Siberian Railway)的征途。原本莫斯科是西伯利亞鐵路的起點,但訂票時發現有從聖彼得堡Ladozh 車站開往葉卡捷琳堡(Yekaterinburg)的班車,因此省去在首都轉車的麻煩。
△從聖彼得堡到葉卡捷琳堡,在車上過兩晚,跨越3個時區,“時空穿梭”正式啟程!
△在歐亞鐵路上最常做的動作應該是鋪床折被
△又一頓火車餐。中間紅色的是其中一種加工醃肉,不須煮熟,打開包裝便可即食。
△俄國人無論在任何地方,只要手上有一台手機或平板和網絡,便能觀看球賽直播。
火車移動時網絡信號微弱,當信號在靠站時恢復順暢,乘客們不管男女老幼便聚在一塊兒,注視著那小小屏幕直播的足球賽。
△每天早上一杯茶
幾個陌生人長時間共處窄小的空間,必須懂得禮讓,例如:騰出座位和餐桌讓同廂乘客用餐、等候使用廁所、在車廂走廊讓路等,因此體會到人與人相處得互相遷就和體諒。試問每天生活在爭分奪秒的大都市裡,路上開車、搭公車、走行人道,我們又有多少次作出禮讓/體諒別人的舉動?
△經過35個小時的車程,抵達葉卡捷琳堡車站(Ekaterinburg Passajirs)。當地時間比聖彼得堡快2小時,須稍微調整時差。
~~~未“玩”待續~~~
To be continued...
繼續看:歐亞鐵路遊記 Part II
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Thank you for your sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's so brilliant.
I would like to go to Russia through the way of the tour group.
Although I know that self-help travel is more interesting.
That's because I am a single lady, I heard that speaking English in Russia is not very useful.
Some articles said that the Russians are not friendly to foreigners, is this true?
If you are willing to answer me about those questions.
Would you kindly give me some suggestions or ideas?
Sorry,I don't have a Google email account.
Sochinyo
Hi Sochinyo,
DeleteRussia is safe for single lady to travel. Just be cautious and alert like you do in any other countries is good enough. I got to know one HK girl who traveled alone in Russia and on Trans Siberian Train, she had no problem too!
Not many Russians speak English, but Google Translate app is very useful. (You may refer to my blog about how I manage to communicate with the locals in Moscow, 莫斯科遊記 Ep2)
The local people I met were all very friendly and helpful! I made some friends there, haha.
Feel free to ask me if you have more questions.
I’m very happy to have your messages.
ReplyDeleteIt's so kind of you. Thank you so much.
I am learning English now, so I take the chance to write to you in English.
Sorry for my poor English and maybe so many mistakes.
I have been to Japan (4)/ South Korea (4) /Hong Kong/ Macau /Malaysia Penang Langkawi/Singapore/ Beijing Tianjin Chengde Shandong/ and the United Kingdom (2).
I have booked a group tour to Harbin in March next year. I will take it as a preparation for going to Russia.
But almost all of them are business trips with a group of colleagues.
In other words, I don’t have an experience about go abroad alone. When it comes to backpacker travel and self- help traveling. I am not even a rookie.
I want to try self-help travel, but a bit worried.
The questions I would like to know are as follows:
1. I use the Booking platform to make reservations in Taiwan. If I use the reservation in Russia, do I need to pay attention to anything?
2. Is it safe for a lady to live in a Russian youth hostel? or do you suggest that I should live in a general hotel?
3. Russians seem to like meat meal. But I don't eat meat at all (pig, chicken, sheep, ducks and ducks).I prefer to eat noodles, fried rice, egg,seafood and vegetables. I don't know if it will be a big problem to me? If I may enjoy meal at the restaurant, that's great. Even if only street food, that's fine.
4. If there is a chance once again, will you wanna go to other attractions of Russia?
Your English is good and I understood you very well.
DeleteHere are the answers to your questions (I tried my best, haha...)
1. Do you mean the booking.com website? Yes, I used it to book all my hostels in Russia. Pay attention to the hostel's review and rating by other customers(其他住客的評語), maybe you should avoid those which say:" location difficult to find" etc...
2. I can't guarantee it's 100% safe. But I stayed in youth hostels the whole trip, and saw a lot of female travellers staying there too. So for me it is safe. Take some time to read about the hostel's review and rating when you book. Whether to stay in hostel or hotel is depend on your preference and budget, staying in hostel will need to share room and facilities with others.
3. Yes, there are wide variety of dishes other than meat in Russian restaurants, or you may go to the local cafes where you can choose & mix different dishes with rice, noodles & soup.
4. I have missed out Kazan during my previous trip, people said it is a must-visit beautiful city, with unique locals and culture. If there's a chance, I would definitely wanna go to Kazan. For first time visitor like you, please don't miss St. Petersburg, it is rated as the most beautiful city in the world by alot of travellers, no joking!
Also, if you travel self-help, I recommend you follow the free walking city tour in Moscow & St. P (I mentioned it & the link is in my Moscow blog), then you can learn more about the city and you might ask the tour guide about where are the good places to eat. Anyway, this is just my suggestion.
Hi, Cheng Hing Goh
ReplyDeleteI appreciate what you have done for me.
I hope that I didn’t bother you too much.
It took you so much time to type it, so that I could know so much information and might get there one day.
It is really useful and helpful.
I am afraid of causing trouble to you. If I have asked something strange before, please never mind it and ignore it would be ok.
Just wanna reply something to the messages you sent last time.
1. Yes, I am a membership of booking website. Thanks for your suggestions.
I will pay attention to the key point about what you said.
2.There is no doubt, I am an adult who needs to be responsible for myself.
I asked you about the safety situation in Russia not because hope someone give me guarantee.
So please no need to worry about your advice or sharing.
3. I am very glad that you told me what attractions is your pity (Kazan).
Hope that you would never miss any beautiful things and memories.
It is time for me to go to bed.
Looking forward to your sharing more and more.
Have a nice weekend.
Off to bed
Sochinyo
Hi Sochinyo,
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to help, no worry.
Please feel free to drop a message to my blog anytime, or you may DM me on my FB page Roaming Wanderlands if you have more questions about travelling self-help.
Thank you for being supportive on my articles. Have a great weekend!