Tadzik has visited Zhaoxing on his first trip to China in 2008. It is - or was - a traditional Dong minority village. Already at that time the village was on the verge of a big transformation, with some construction work going on, but at the time, it was still a dusty village with not much life going on there. It was a bare mention in Lonely Planet guide book. These days, with the nearby Congjiang connected with a high speed rail line with Guiyang, the province capital, the place was no longer remote, allowing the tourism could come to this corner of the world. Tadzik suggested we include this region in our itinerary, as it was easily accessible and beautiful. And according to Lonely Planet guidebook - only 'a bit' touristy.

What we found was a definitely more than 'a bit touristy'. It was basically a resort town now, with village life pushed very much outside of the center. For us living in Switzerland, we have a pretty good idea of how the Chinese do tourism, so we already had some expectations, but it was quite extraordinary how the tourism looks when it every business caters for the local taste. Daily performances of the traditional dance and customs, tourists dressing up in local costumes and hiring photographer, everyone buying and wearing clothes dyed with traditional blue dye 'as they used to do it there'. It is more like a visit to a theme park than a village - all together quite bizarre. Tourism developed at the scale that you have to ask yourself if there is anything more to see there, when it is solely catering to the tourists needs. Local customs are reduced to a form of entertainment. Obviously I don't expect people to stay poor for my entertainment - even though when looking at who is owning the business it does not seem to have created opportunities for the locals but rather entreprenours that come from all over China.

But the questions that come to my head is: does progress have to look like this? Does it have to be people buying and selling shit, dressing up and completely forgetting the real culture and customs on the way? In a sence, the outcome of Chinese socialism seems to be rather similar to the Western neoliberal capitalism - with more wealth transfer to the middle class allowing them to spend the newly earned money rather than living in permanent austerity and the cost of living crisis.

In my dreamy and naive world view, I can imagine a world where progress could come in a form of giving people electricity, sewage and access to education and allowing them to continue living a quiet village life, rather than de facto forcing them to become mere merchants, hosts or entertainers. But unfortunately China also follows the logic of tricle down economic growth - the already educated middle classes open hotels and restaurants (as they have a skillset to do it), and the villagers can only profit by selling crafts for 10 yuans or running street barbaque joints.

That was just my grumpy, forever moaning side note. We actually had a good time in Zhaoxing - traveling with 2 small children doesn't really allow for real adventure, nor does it require it.

So much has happened during the trip that the days spent in Zhaoxing blend in together a little bit. We had a lot of watermelon juices, street barbecue and family naps in our air conditioned room. The village isn't big so everyday we wandered the same streets, bought food from the same people. Baba played with local and tourist children, and watch older villagers taking the rest under the drum tower, while they watched he too.

One evening we went to an evening show of local songs and customs, which for Baba was probably the highlight of the whole stay. It was fun, although again I cannot fully turn on my Orwellian doublethink and forget that the beautiful dresses, customs and songs that used to mean something are now just a cheap show for tourists. But Baba loved the singing, and the costumes, and every time a song ended she kept on saying 'more' - for her everything was as real as it gets.

Overall it was a nice ease-in into the trip, although we probably overstayed by a day.

Would we have come to Zhaoxing knowing what we would find there? Probably not. But it was yet another reminder that China is not what you think it is, and it will not be the same even five years from now.

Our first stop had to be Beijing - what a better way to start a trip around the country than starting in the capital.

As our plane landed at 5a.m. Beijing time, we were all very tired as it was about time we would go to bed. Kids had a bit of sleep on the carriers, but arriving at the hotel at 9a.m. our room was of course not ready, so we were kind of forced to start exploring right away.

We stayed in a hotel in one of the old hutongs - old alley neighbourhoods, where life still seems to follow an old rythm, and you can almost forget that you are in a mega city surrounded by busy roads. Inside hutong it is mostly people walking ane riding bicycles, having some food or buying grocceries in tiny shops.

Very quickly the heat drove us to sit down for a late breakfast - for me first time being completely unable to communicate, I was a bit frustrated that it is hard to know what you are ordering. In the end I got a spicy noodle soup that I was eating over sleeping Ninok’s head - now that’s a challenge!

Another challenge is that China is now pretty much cashless for the locals - you pay mostly with WeChat or AliPay, which luckily we configured before leaving Switzerland. It is relatively easy to use, BUT not every QR code works… so it is always a bit of a lottery and you still need to have a bit of cash in your pocket.

After breakfast we walked back to the room and luckily it was ready - finally a well deserved family nap!

We all literally passed out in 10minutes and slept solid 4 hours until Ninok woke up.

Still jet-lagged but hopeful for less heat, we were ready to go out again. We wanted to go to a nice big park where Baba can see some children playing and maybe we could sit on a blanket so that Ninok also gets a little stretch. So we went first to Beihai Park - but to my surprise it wasn’t like the parks I am used to in Europe - for starters, you needed to pay for entrance. But what was probably more strange to me that here people don’t seem to use parks to sit down on the grass and relax. They stroll around maybe, but have not seen anyone sitting on the grass or a blanket - yet another lesson that you should never assume that everywhere things work the same way. Don’t get me wrong, the park was still nice and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves - it just wasn’t what I expected.

So we decided to move on just across the street to Huhai Lake - and that one was really fun! It was already evening, but people of all ages were out - laughing, eating street food, even dancing! And everyone wanted to talk to us, even when they spoke little or no English. Especially kids got so much attention - I think Baba was a liitle overwhelmed with everyone wanting to take pictures with her. But we all loved it there!

The next day we were still on european time zone, so when we woke up it was already too hot for everything. We walked a bit around the hutong and got some breakfast and then we headed off to the Pacific Underwater World under the CCTV tower - first an foremost because it was airconditioned, but also great fun for Baba! It was really great - the highlight was definitely feeding fishes and an underwater tunnel where you walk surrounded by the fish.

In the evening we went out to wander the streets near Tianamen Square. Yet another great evening - so much life im the streets and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. We also found a place to try the Peking duck - one of the flagship dishes of the capital. Really good food and really good fun! On the way back we had a taste of crazy Asian weather - it quickly changed from a hot summer day to a massive rainfall. But we actually quite enjoyed the cool air that the rain brought, even if it was just for few hours. The next morning was already hot and steamy.

The last day in Beijing was a bit of a disaster - only a slight exaggeration. It was all our fault as we did exactly what we said we wouldn’t do! Instead of heading back to Huhai Lake for our last evening, we went full on tourist mode and failed miserably. Trying to see Tianamen Square - terrible idea to go on a concrete unshaded square in a 35 degree heat with 70% humidity. We changed our minds before we even made a reservation (which we also didn’t know we had to do). Then we went to the viewpoint of Forbidden City, which had nice view but was super crowded and hot again, and Baba was already hungry and we had nothing to eat (how dumb of us!)…

We also wanted to go to the Ghost Street which apparently has great restaurants but we couldn’t find anything we really liked so we headed back to our neighbourhood. After almost ending up eating in a restaurant that predominantly serves all types of dishes made of a donkey (picture of a donkey on the restaurant window should have been a clue), we ate some dumplings which weren’t even good even though it seemed like the safest choice. We were really disappointed that this was the way our stay in Beijing ended, but we still had a lot of good stuff ahead, we were sure.

The next day our first train journey on a high speed train in China! Given how much we enjoy train travel, we were very thrilled!

After our first very cautious and very local experiences traveling with a toddler, which were a major thrill both for us and the Baba, we felt ready for a bigger family adventure. Much bigger, and much more challenging logistically - since our last trip there was a very small but very heavy addition to our family - Ninok, our not so little baby girl.

We figured out the best time to travel would be before Ninok is 6 months old to save us the hassle of figuring out how you look for healthy, safe and easy baby food in a foreign country. And where else could we possibly go other than where COVID didn't allow us to go back in 2020 - China!

Many people instantly rolled they eyes when we told them where we were taking our 2 small kids, but I don't really understand why - China is a very safe country with the best high speed train network in the world, making it very accessible for traveling longer distances fast. And I don't think we would have gotten the same reaction if we were traveling to Thailand, so I think it is mostly due to a bias many people have against China.

Traveling with two children poses many challenges - main one being how will we carry the kids, but also what and how to pack so that we are able to move easily powered by our own muscles. We opted for no pram as we didn't know exactly what terrain to expect - we opted for one backpack style carrier for Baba (aka Babacopter) and a front carrier for Ninok, who is still too small for anything else. We knew that the way we travel will be responsive to their needs - we want to give Ninok plenty of time to wiggle on her tummy and back so that she is happy and grows strong.

We also didn't plan anything that requires long bus journeys as this would surely turn into a screaming session. Our biggest concern remained the plane journey which now after landing safely we can count as a great success - we didn't even need any toys except for the notepad to draw on. Baba is now able to come up with new games that involve only imagination and no physical toys, so the journey went smoothly. She was also very excited so was happy the whole way there. Ninok slept most of the time, chilled as usual.

As for us, we finished the journey exhausted but happy and ready to start exploring!

This part of the journey for us technically began with a bus and boat journey to Saltolukta. We spent the whole day pondering if it is a good idea or not to continue our hike, but we couldn't have hoped for a better weather forecast. As it is Kungsleden, and good weather does not come around that regularly (certainly not often can one hope for 2 weeks of consistently good weather with no rain, we decided to go for it. There was not a single cloud in the sky.

As it was the end of season, the bus came only once. a day, so we spent the whole morning waiting around and chasing Baba around the hut. What made the morning easier was a dog Monti that stayed in the hut as well (obviously together with his owners) so that made for the entertainment for the day, and Baba kept reminsescing him (which for a toddler means saying his name and wanting me to draw pictures of hime) long after the trip.

The bus and boat journeys went well, as Baba was not scared of boats anymore. Getting a room with big bed, just for ourselves was a nice change. Having a hot shower too - after having lived the simple life for few days, suddenly things you don't think twice about back at home become a luxury.

We had a buffet delicious dinner of local delicacies (two portions of everything pleeease!) and spend the evening after that doing some drawings in the library room.

We also had a chance of resupplying, but to our big disappointment (but not to be unexpected though) as it was only a week before all huts close for winter, there was not that much to choose from - not even jam or peanut butter for our porridge. And everything was very expensive - we paid 200CHF, more than we would have paid even back at home in Zurich for 5 days worth of food!

What we didn't know before, and what would have made our lives much way simpler, is that we could have actually sent ourselves a package to Saltoloukta (only with local Swedish post) with supplies of food (and most importantly nappies!) and that would have saved us some backpack weight and money. Oh well, water under the bridge now, but we will know "next time".

Day 10: Saltoloukta-Sitojaure 19km

After having a whole day break from hiking, having woken up to clear blue sky and eaten a massive breakfast, we were full of optimism and energy for the road ahead. Even though we were expecting it to be a taugh day, we knew we had it in us.

As we were on lower altitudes and there was not a single cloud in the sky (and maybe because we were slightly more south, although I am not sure if that makes a big difference), it was very warm. For the first time we took all of our outer layers and wore only T-shirts.

As we were ascending, the landscape behind was just spectacular - yellow and orange trees and the view of the clear blue lake. It was just magical, we were so happy we decided to comtinue.

And the hike turned out to be easy, too. Even though it was long by distance, the terrain was easy (no big rocks) and we had all the energy needed to walk. Our backs were rested so the weight of backpacks were bearable. And on the sunny days we could really enjoy our long picnics, so Baba was also happy.

To our surprise we reached the hut quite early in the afternoon and were greeted by the hosts with delicious cranberry lemonade. The hut was situated by the lake and we we had it all to ourselves. The hosts even had a high chair and a box of old toys which was definitely unexpected.

Day 11: Sitojaure-Aktse 12km

This day we had another motor boat crossing to do, but this time Baba was very excited about it. In the boat she kept saying "duck bubbles" which means that water was making bubbles. And since bubbles are her favourite thing, I think she enjoyed the ride.

After the boat there was an ascent, that was a bit hard but short, with views as good as all the other days. On the top there was a vast plateau with a nice surprise awaiting - there were probably 50 or more reindeers there! The biggest group so far - Baba was overwhelmed with joy!

The way down, though steep, was really nice - the day was short so we had plenty of time to stop and look down - and you wanted to stop and look down all the time.

We arrived in the hut early in the afternoon and had plenty of time to sit down, relax and enjoy the sunshine. We bought some cheeky treats like chocolate and tinned pineapple and in the evening relaxed in the sauna.

We couldn't have hoped for a better hiking day. On top of that, next day was our detour day for a day hike to Skierfe, which meant we didn't need to pack in the morning - yay!

Day 12: Aktse-Skierfe-Aktse 16km

This was the day of the detour from Kungsleden to the border of Sarek National Park with the iconic view of the Rapa valley. It was also one of the reasons we decided for that route in the first place. Already the day before we got a little taste of what the views might be like as part of the hike you go back the same way. You can do this hike also as a detour coming from Sitojaure, but we couldn't have possibly done it - it was not worth it to test our limits with Baba in the backpack possibly getting annoyed that it is taking so long.

So somehow in my head this day was supposed to be the day of rest. I don't know why I would think that hiking up 700m on a quite steep ascent would be easy. Yes, since it was a day hike it was only Baba and a daypack that we needed to carry, but it was still a long and definitely challenging hike - maybe one of the harder days! Terrain was the whole way either muddy or rocky, so you didn't really get a break. And, I don't know why, maybe because I wasn't carrying the backpack so my muscles were moving differently, or maybe it was just the accumulated effort, but on the way back I started to get pain in new places that were previously fine.

But, and I cannot stress it enough, the pain was absolutely worth it - the views along the way and especially from the top of Skierfe are spectacular, one of the best views I have seen while hiking. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be when you get a chance to camp up there and see the sunset and sunrise over the valley.

Once again we had an indulgent (for hiking standards) dinner of pasta carbonara and fish balls (which Tadzik turned to a hit song that we sing with Baba even now). With desert of tinned pinapple of course! We need to gather strength for the next day, which was yet another hard day on the agenda.

Day 13: Aktse-Parte 22km

Another boat ride, yey! The boat was at 9am, which on one hand meant we didn't need to rush as much in the morning, but on the other meant we were starting this long day quite late. When we got to the boats, some people were debating rowing. There was only one boat at our end, which by the rules of the park that require that there shall be at least one boat on each side of the lake would mean that you need to row three times to get across the lake - go once, pick up the second boat and row back with it and only then row once again to the other side. According to the estimates of people who wanted to row, it was "about 20-30minutes each way". We looked at each other and rolled our eyes. The boat guy looked at those people with "what a bunch of idiots" written all over his face. When they asked him if they can row 4 in one boat (the rule is  max 3 people per boat) he calmly replied: "well you are free to do whatever you want, of course there are only 3 life jackets, and you have your backpacks on top of that, the water is now around 6 degrees, which in case you fall gives you around 5-10 minutes before you get hypothermia. Good luck". 2 people bailed instantly (and it seemed that they never actually had an intention to row), 2 decided to row. We were laughing in our heads.

I was all in pain and could barely walk, so I suspected the day would be very hard and slow.

And I was right. I could barely walk uphill, so we had to take it very very slow. Baba was also quite annoyed (maybe by how slow her mummy is). After the ascent it got much easier (and I was full of hope that the hard part is over). The views once again did not disappoint - autumn in "full bloom", if one could say that. Weather was still good until late afternoon, only to get cloudy later on.

The painful part came at the end - it was already late, Baba was bored and the descent was... terrible. Fooling ourselves that this would be the easy part, we soon discovered that it was the definitely not going to be so. The whole way down was covered in big stones, so even on the flat bit at the end you had to concentrate all the time. My feet were in pain every step of the way, and there was no way to speed things up. We arrived at the hut at 18:30 exhausted.

Funnily enough the "rowers" arrived 30minutes after us, and we were very very slow. They said it took them 3 HOURS! It means that they started hiking at 12. We were imagining how they must have felt when 30minutes have passed and they were in the middle of the lake with still 2.5lengtgs to go. That has made our day - even though they didn't seem to feel stupid about their slight miscalculation.

Day 14: Parte-Kvikkjokk 16km

Last day and the weather already turned. It was misty and dump in the morning, and we were so scared of the rain that we stopped only once and powered through the last 10km non stop. We were glad it was the last day - and I honestly don't believe we could have done any more. We didn't take almost any pictures that day, and there was nothing to take pictures of - only cloudy forrest all the way.

We were really happy to arrive at the tourist center. It wasn't as nice as the previous ones, and to our disappointment (and mostly Baba's) they didn't sell soft toys in the shop - we've been telling her the whole way that we will find her a big one as we didn't want to carry it all the way from Saltoloukta.

Other than that it was like a perfect ending - we knew that it will rain for the next week so we had no regrets about the hike ending. We were ready to start our journey back to the civilisation and spend a night in a warm hotel with hot shower.

Epilogue

... in the end, Baba got her Cheeky Reindeer on the way back waiting for the bus from Jokkmokk to Gällivare!

After a long journey to Abisko, the anticipation was mounting up. Finally we were there. We didn't really know what to expect. Not because it was a multiday hike, the longest we've done so far with heavy load, but because it was a multiday hike with the Baba. The little toddler, who had no idea what is ahead, how long it will take and why are we doing this. We didn't have almost any toys - we took with us 2 books (not even her usual ones we read at bed time, but the ones which were small and allowed for more creativity), a small notebook and pen, favourite Duckie and the new friend from the gift shop - the Doggie. Will it be enough, we had no idea, but we simply had no capacity to take more.

We also didn't know if many people do this hike with small kids. My only source of confidence was googling "hiking Kungsleden with a toddler", which gave me some kind of proof that at least 2 couples did it. We are used to doing day hikes in Switzerland, but that is a very different experience - here you are never too far from the "civilisation" - there is always a restaurant or even a playground somewhere near by. How it would be in real nature? We were about to find out.

Day 1: Abisko -Abiskojaure 13km

First day of the hike. After big breakfast buffet and lots of energy we set out for our hike. The weather was cloudy but with no rain expected. The landscape still didn't look very Autumn-ish, with leaves only starting to turn yellow.

The walk turned out to be easy, as we were still full of energy. Baba had 2 naps allowing us to walk mostly when she was sleeping and avoiding boredom and tears. She especially enjoyed the break and eating tortilla with cheese and sausage lunch - what more can you ask for?

We arrived at the hut early, having enough time to cook, walk around and relax. The huts at Kungsleden are quite basic, there is no electricity and you have to make fire and carry water in and out yourself, but this only adds to the feeling of adventure.

Some people were surprised seeing a toddler on the trail, but rather good surprised rather than assuming we are mental for taking an 18month old on a trip to the far north.

Day 2: Abiskojaure-Alesjaure 21km

From the beginning we knew that it would be one of the most difficult days of the hike. It was long, so we had to leave very early to allow for plenty of time for breaks. The day started early as Baba was still not used to sleeping with me in bed and woke up 5:45, but it also gave us plenty of time to get ready.

The day started off not that great - we left early, 7:30, but Baba thought we are putting her in the backpack for a nap. So she tried to fall asleep but she was not tired yet - she just woke up! So she started to wine and cry and we had to take a small break after 3km already. The weather was still a bit dump and misty, so we just gave her a sausage and explained that we have to go to look for reindeers and we will take a break later. She wasn't thrilled, but fell asleep soon after, so we were able to keep on walking.

Later on it got much better, as the sky cleared out and the views were beautiful. We also were more relaxed so it was easier to keep Baba entertained. We kept on talking about the cheeky reindeers who love being cheeky and chase the ducks, and I was really hoping we would soon see one, as the trick might get old pretty quickly if she realizes there are no reindeers.

The last 5km was difficult. If it was mid-season, we could have taken a boat to shorten the hike, but now they were no longer operational, so we had to walk. It was getting taugh, as Baba already had her 2 naps, and we were also getting tired. Luckily, a reindeer saved the day! We saw one just 2 or 3km before the hut and that gave us enough energy to power through and finish the hike.

Day 3: Alesjaure-Tjäkta 13km

The next day was again more relaxed. We left around 8:30, and set out to look for reindeers. The day started out quite windy and cold, but by midday it got warm, and we were able to enjoy a long picnic break, with time for running around and drawing in the notebook. Baba seemed very happy, and since the hike wasn't long, the mood stayed this way until we got to the hut.

The last few kilometers turned out the hardest, as the day ended with an ascend - we were able to see the hut from the distance, and that made "the last bit" seem quite long. On the top it was quite cold as Tjäkta Fjällstuga is situated at approximately 1000m. The hut was small and cosy, and Baba enjoyed waving and smiling at people. She even got a small piece of chocolate from a fellow hiker - definitely good day for her!

Day 4: Tjäkta-Sälka 13km

The day started out not so great, but turned out pleasant and short. We left around 8, and it was still very cold and quite windy, as we were high up - we needed to cross the Tjäkta pass at 1140m, which was the highest point of the first part of the trail.

We were only to blame ourselves that the day started badly. Baba fell asleep quickly after we headed off, but we underestimated the cold and the wind and didn't put wind protection on the carrier, so I think it woke her up sooner than she wanted, very upset. There was no other way than to continue to the top where there was emergency shelter. She was really not happy about this, but once we got to the shelter, we gave her some sausage and chocolate to elevate the mood, and did some warm-up dance, which she found really fun!

After that it was only better - after the pass we were on the southern part of the mountain, sunny and much warmer. She could go back to sleep and we could enjoy another nice picnic, still arriving at the hut early in the afternoon.

In a small shop in the hut we bought cheese in a tub, that turned out to be a great hit with Baba - so much, that she wanted to eat it on its own and kept on licking it off the crackers asking for more!

Day 5: Sälka-Singi 12km

Another really good day, with sky clearing completely by midday. As the mornings high up were already below freezing, we took our time to let the sun reach the valley and all the frost melt.

It was the last day we were following the "busy" part of the trail, so we were passed by many people since we were probably one of the slowest ones, taking our time. We really enjoyed our long breaks in the sun. And thanks to them, Baba was in a consistently good mood.

Arriving in the hut we found a pleasant surprise - there was a reindeer hanging out there. So once again something that made Baba very happy (as the goal of the whole escapade was obviously chasing the cheeky reindeers).

And at night the clear skies offered us something you can only find in the far North - Northern Lights! We didn't expect to see them, as the nights were just at the point of returning, but so they were. We have seen some already in Lofoten, but they were so bleak that only knowing that they are there you could point your camera at them and hope to catch something, but very little was visible to the naked eye. Here it was different - with the clear sky and strong Aurora activity, it was a whole spectacle that went on for hours - we didn't even bother taking many pictures as we figured that as we had no tripod, they would turn out shit anyway, so we might as well just enjoy them!

Day 6: Singi-Kaitumjaure 12km

Since we have been warned that the weather is turning a bit sour, with more cloudy sky and higher winds expected, we started pondering whether it makes sense to continue the hike beyond Vakkotovare. We didn't want to have our so far great experience to be ruined by pointless stubbornness, most likely on my side. We were kind of sad about it, as the part we were mostly hoping to see was in the second part from Saltoloukta to Kvikkjokk, with the most awaited view from Skierfe onto the Rapa Valley. But we were also getting quite worn out, with the weight of the backpacks taking its toll.

This was the day when out paths split with pretty much all people we met who were following the same route - most hikers opt for the Abisko-Kebankaise route, which is by far the most popular and most crowded part of Kungsleden. We were actually quite happy to discover that from now on the trail stayed pretty much empty. Through out the day we've seen barely few hikers, all of them heading in the opposite direction.

At the very end of the day, we have trees covered in yellow leaves - the Autumn was in "full bloom" if you can say that. That was the moment we realized we have been above the tree line for most part of the hike, and it was nice to see those colors we hoped for finally appearing.

Reaching the hut we saw even more of them, and a spectacular view of the lake. As the trail was not busy at all, and it was a short enough to allow most fit hikers that do not carry such a heavy load to skip that hut altogether, we were happy to discovered that the hut was almost empty - it was just us and another couple! Baba had all the space she needed to run around, and the hosts were very welcoming - probably not having to deal with that many people they were happy to chat with everyone. And the sauna with a view at the end of the day, just for us! Could it get any better?

After chatting to the hosts and checking the weather, we were also pretty much decided on finishing the hike in Vakkotovare.

Day 7: Kaitumjaure-Teusajaure 9km

The day was quite gloomy and with not much sun, we felt already that Arctic Autumn is there. After saying goodbye to our friendly hosts, we continued the hike. Landscapes didn't stop to impress us - with the mist in the air and lots of yellows and reds around us, it truely felt like Autumn has arrived in the Arctic.

The hike was short and quite easy, for the first part - it was a very gentle ascent followed by a vast plateau. The last few kilometers however were a steep descent - very painful for the tired knees and feet. Because of the misty, damp air, the stones were slippery, so we had to be very careful. And since the hike was short, there was not enough time for Baba to fall asleep for her second nap, so she was also cranky, nagging us to finish fast.

So we did. The hut was situated in the forrest by a lake, and we thought we would be there alone as we were the first ones to arrive, but soon it got crowded. There were still plenty of people hoping to finish the trail before the huts close for the winter.

Day 8: Teusajaure-Vakkotovare 14km

Last day of hiking - so we thought.  The day was supposed to be hard, especially as every sign and person kept to referring to 16km distance, even though our map clearly showed 14km of hiking that day, plus very short boat ride. And the weather did not look promising - it was a misty and gloomy day.

It was supposed to be the first motor boat crossing of this journey and, most importantly, first motor boat crossing for the Baba, ever. There are rowing boats available on the lake side if you feel like testing your rowing skills, but this is obviously not what we went for. We are not THAT crazy.

Getting inside the boat Baba gave us clear signs that this is not ssomething she wants to do - she started crying and protesting but there was no way around it - we had to get to the other side. So we put on the life jacket and waited for the boat to leave, trying to explain Baba that it is going to be fun and nothing's going to happen. And once we started moving, she actually enjoyed it! After the boat stopped the first thing she said was: "more". But that was the only boat ride of that day - the rest was just hiking.

So we put Baba in the carrier, and started moving. The first part was a rather steep ascent, but after that came a flat plateau, pleasant to walk, even though the weather was still rather cold.

When we took our break we saw some reindeers, and even more going down.

It turned out that the ascent wasn't the hard part - it was going down on that big rocks that was going to be pain. Actually, it was consistently so throughout the trail. Navigating between rocks and slippery mud is not that fun, and not easy with a heavy backpack on. So few hundred meters from the destination we were relieved that it is soon done.

But after arriving in the hut, I actually had a feeling of sadness - seeing a concrete road, car park and electricity line meant the adventure is finished and we are back to reality. Even the hut didn't feel like a mountain hut anymore - and almost nobody stopped there, as most people finish their hike early enough to catch the bus straight away and continue to Saltoloukta.

But we had a nice, quiet evening, talking to the host. In the evening the sky cleared completely and the weather looked perfect for the next few days. Maybe we should continue indeed? We were torn - and because the host had a very different attitude than the previous ones - he was kind of surprised that we didn't want to continue with such perfect conditions. He also said that the trail is not any more difficult than the first one, maybe even the opposite as the surface of most of it is less rocky.

Next day we were woken up to a perfectly clear sky. We felt that it was a sign we must continue. So in the afternoon we took a bus (since this is the point when the trail is broken up by 32km of a concrete road) and then a boat to Saltoloukta.

There, at the mountain station, properly showered and fed, we felt ready to continue.

Coming back from Norway by a night train, I found an unexpected inspiration on a table mat of the restaurant carriage. They were advertising Sweden's, and apparently also one of the world's, most famous trail - Kungsleden, the King's Trail. Embarrassing for someone who claims to love hiking and traveling, I have never heard of it. After coming back home, I kept on looking at the pictures from the trail and told Tadzik we should do it. He was not so thrilled about the idea - he is the one to know better that things that are "one of the most popular ofs" are usually overcrowded, and full of people who are there just for this Insta story that will blow away... most likely no-one. I dropped the topic for a while, but when it turned out that Baba's playschool closes for 2 weeks in the summer and a) we had no real plan what to do with her, b) we didn't want to take a holiday that requires taking a plane and c) we hate heat which pretty much ruled out most of Europe, the idea came back. What if we did take our summer holiday in the Arctic Sweden? It seemed to be a fairly good idea, so I started planning - this time it was all on me.

Kungsleden is a busy trail, so everywhere I read about it, the recommendation was to book the mountain huts ASAP, as they can get quite busy. And having the perspective of carrying a 12kg toddler for more than 10 days didn't leave quite as much capacity to carry additional 8kg of camping equipment.

I looked at the trail and chose a path that seemed to fit what we were capable of doing - a route from Abisko to Kvikkjokk, about 200km that we had to do in about 2 weeks if  we were to stop at each hut on the way (which we certainly needed to do given the foreseen weight of the backpacks). As soon as we decided on the route, I booked all the huts. We were so happy that we decided to do this!

But it turned out that our joy was premature - I did book the huts, but what I did not predict is how busy European night trains get in the summer! There was no reasonable way for us to get from Stockholm to Abisko overland - with an 18 month Baba it is unrealistic to even consider taking a shared train compartment, and even more so a seat on a night train or a bus! We were so disappointed, as we already set our hearts on that journey.

Then there came the idea - why don't we do it in September! End of season, so less people, no mosquitos, less busy trains... and the views! Autumn has definitely more magic in it for such vast landscapes with trees and bushes! I wasn't entirely sure if it was the smartest idea (after all it is Arctic, so September can already see temperatures below zero) but I tried to keep my doubts to myself and stay positive - after all, if we don't enjoy it or the weather is horrible, or both - we can always turn back.

So we happily rebooked our huts and bought train tickets (this time as soon as we had the dates figured out) and the excitement came back.

One tricky thing left to do - another thing that I was anxious about - packing! How do you pack 2 adults and a toddler for 2 weeks of hiking in unpredictable weather conditions that require both rain and cold weather gear, with food and nappies on top of that?? Most of which has to fit in one backpack as the other one is the toddler carrier... not to mention it all needs to be of weight that we would be able to carry.

We ended up buying the biggest Deuter backpack we found, and hoped for the best. With Tadzik's unmatched packing skills, we managed to fit everything in... but it was sooo heavy! His backpack containing all our stuff was approaching containing 30kg, and mine (carrier+Baba+water+daily essentials) was almost 20kg. Both of those were at our limit (or slightly beyond). But with a big dose of completely unfounded optimism we were ready to go.

This was going to be another long train journey. This time we opted for getting Interrail tickets and taking only night trains - it seemed an easier way to travel. On the way there we had to take the Nightjet from Zurich to Berlin, then Snälltaget to Stockholm, then another long trip with SJ from Stokholm to Abisko Turiststation. What we underestimated a bit was how tired we will be after night trains to be able to provide a whole day entertainment for a toddler. As we needed to spend the whole day in Berlin, we decided to go to the zoo, which was great fun for Baba, and took half a day. The other part of the day we spent mostly sitting in a park, luckily with a sunny weather!

Skipping the details, the journey went well, and after 3 nights of travelling we reached Abisko tourist station, where we spent the night. We all enjoyed being able to walk around and sleep in a big bed! Baba loves rolling around the bed so she loved it even more than we did. Before setting out for the trip, we did visit a small shop with supplies/gifts that was there and Baba found a new travel companion - a husky dog soft toy - aka Doggie! - which she played with throughout the trip.

Next day we were ready to set out for our hike!

...although not as cold as we wanted!

A lot has changed since our last trip. Covid has forced us to abruptly cut our trip short  - after 2 months of extensive chess playing, yoga practicing and book reading in Mongolia, we returned to a fairly normal day to day life of daily routines of weekday work and weekend rest. But in the meantime we also welcomed a little human into our family, which has made life much more adventureous and fun... and exhausting.

After enjoying the family time in multiple lockdowns, in March 2022 we were finally ready to pack our backpack once again, only it would be only one big backpack and one child carrier (and a travel cot to make it a bit more difficult)!

Our dream was to travel through Russia by train once again, to the far north Murmansk and back through Sweden or Finnland, however after the pandemic international train connections were not restored yet, and the situation was still too volatile to plan a big trip anyway.

So we went for realising another dream of ours - Lofoten islands in Norway. And of course, we had to do it overland - after having such great time on South American buses and Russian trains, we simply couldn't imagine just flying to the Arctic, without experiencing the actual journey - I stay firm in my belief that just flying around the world is not really traveling but extensively damaging tourism.

Traveling through Europe by train is definitely not as easy and straight-forward as through Russia, mainly because there are no long distance trains covering multiple countries, so you need to change trains and break the journey a bit, especially travelling with a toddler. But we were sure that it would be a great experience, so I used the time during our little one's naps to plan the trip.

Getting from Zurich to Lofoten (specifically, the last island of the Lofoten connected overland, Å i Lofoten), is a long trip - a night train from Zurich to Hamburg, then 4.5 hour train to Copenhagen, break in Copenhagen, 4.5 hour train to Oslo, night train to Trondheim, 8 hour train to Bodø, night in Bodø, a 4 hour ferry to Moskenes, and finally a 10 minute bus to Å i Lofoten! Uff, just enummerating the stops is challenging - but taking the trip not as much as we thought - luckily The Baba enjoyed it as much as we did. Time went by quickly strolling along the train, waving at fellow passengers and looking out of the window.

When we got there, it was all we have hoped for - well, could have had more snow, but this is something you cannot plan for. Our accomodation was a humble rorbu ("red cottage") directly at the seaside, where Baba could run around and play, and we could relax looking at the sea and listening to the seagulls. Because we were taking the train and had to carry everything we were taking with us, Baba had only few toys to play with, which turned out to be beneficial - at home she spent more most of the time taking stuff off the shelves, but there, since there was nothing on the shelves (and not many shelves either), she was just finding new ways to play with the toys.

Every day gave us an opportunity to see the island in a different light - every sunrise and sunset was different. On a sunny day we could enjoy breakfast on the porch, on a not so sunny day, the cosiness of our living room.

In the middle of our stay we took a trip to Hamnoy. It must be one of the most popular and busy places in the southern part of Lofoten island. Even though the views are stunning, we were very happy we went there only for 2 days. The "fishing hamlets" are not really fishing hamlets, but a holiday resort, creating a sort of Disneyland experience. They are built very close together and in the morning we could see a constant stream of people strolling on the porch behing the huts. It was still nice to see the views around another part of the islands, the atmosphere of remoteness of Å is definitely something that suits us better.

It is hard to convey the exèrience of the trip - we did not do much at all, eating very simple food every day (there was only a very little museum shop on our island, so had to do all our shopping in Coop in another village) and taking walks. The pictures show how beautiful it was and how happy we were. It felt like we took few months off rather than just few weeks.

Traveling with a toddler is also something else than what we have previously experienced. You always have to keep naptimes in mind, as a tired toddler is a crying toddler - so even though we did stopovers on the way there, we have not seen anything  of Copenhagen or Stockholm, we just made sure Baba gets a chance to run around before the next train journey. But having the opportunity to share what you love with a child, and see her eyes widen with curiousity when she looks through the window of a train. For us personally it is a much better time spent with her than taking her to some "family-friendly hotel" with all kinds of entertainment. For her at this age being with her parents all day long was the best thing we could offer.

Yakutsk is best known for being the coldest city on Earth. With winter temperatures staying consistently way below zero (the January average is -40°C) it is hard to imagine people living there. Most people, although not many, come to Yakutsk to experience what the city is famous for - the foggy days of cold -50°C when your even eyelashes stick together covered with ice. We came exactly for that but that is the only thing this city did not allow us to experience - during our whole visit there, the coldest we have seen was -34°C and it wasn't even in Yakutsk city but a town on the way. The days were pleasantly 'warm', with temperatures rising as high as -16°C, dropping at night to barely below -25°C. What we did find was much more then the superficial search for the extremes - the city that is buzzing with energy and good spirit, and people who not only survive the cold, but are embracing it as a way of life.

But first things first - how do you even get there? Most people fly as Yakutsk is so far east from the capital (6 timezones away!) that it takes 6 hours to get there by plane from Moscow. The Amur-Yakutsk Mainline construction was for a long time underway to connect Yakutsk with the rest of Russia's railway, which reached only as far as Tommot (which is still 2 days away from Yakutsk by bus). However, as of summer 2019 a train line to Nizhnii Bestiakh on the opposite side of the Lena river from Yakutsk was finished. Even with the train line operational, getting to the other side of the river is not an easy task, as there is no bridge over the 2km wide Lena. In the summer you get to Yakutsk by ferry and in the winter an ice road is established over the frozen river. In the spring and autumn however, there is currently no way of crossing the river. There is a long term vision to build a bridge or a tunnel, but this is both challenging both technologically and financially due to the permafrost, so Yakutsk might have to wait a long time to be permanently connected with the rest of the world overland.

We were very excited about the train journey itself, because, and I cannot stress this enough, trains are by far the most comfortable, entertaining and satisfying way of travel. And for this particular trip, it is very true what the lame pillows and posters in hipster-wannabe cafes tell you - 'life is a journey not the destination'. The train journey, though spectacular, requires you to have a lot of time on your hands, which luckily we did. From Severobaikalsk, it took us 3 days and 2 trains to get here, but it is a journey we would without any doubt love to repeat. The Sakha Republic, where Yakutsk is situated within Russia is the size of India and yet only one million people live there! Harsh conditions and remoteness make it an unlikely candidate for a habitat, but this is what makes this place what it is. On the way to Yakutsk you see the landscape transform from snowy mountains to a vast taiga forests further north. It is incomparable to anything I have ever seen - we spend most of the time taking pictures and videos of the journey in awe of the landscape.

All the people we met on the train thought we were crazy to want to go to Yakutsk, as there is 'nothing to see'. It is true that Yakutsk is not a city where you will experience eye-pleasing architecture. Even exploring the surroundings is not easy if you are not willing to pay a substantial amount of money for a tour (5-day trip to Oymyakon for $2300 anyone?). As we don't enjoy 'tours' and after a brief considerations we rejected idea, and rather spend our time in Yakutsk walking around the city, people-watching and try to understand the place.

One of the most surprising things we discovered was that Yakutsk has a vibrant punk-rock scene and thanks to Bandcamp and an article from the LA times, it was now getting traction also outside of Yakutsk. It was the day after we had arrived when I was browsing internet to see what is there to do in Yakutsk, one click led another, and I found that there is in fact a punk concert happening that night in the local bar. Having plans to go out anyway, we thought we would check it out.

So we went. Finding the bar was not easy - it was in a four-story building that looked more like an office and the name of the Tzaki bar we were looking for was nowhere on it or inside. The building was home to four different bars and the one we were looking for was on the last floor. We barely had time to sit when someone approached wanting to talk to us. A Yakutian guy that was teaching English in Yakutsk and just came to say hello and ask how we found this place and what were we doing in Yakutsk in general. He also told us that there is a film crew from Netflix (we think the rumor was it was Netflix) there, shooting a documentary about the 'Youth of the North', as the punk rock movement is collectively called. It didn't take long before his friends joined us and we found ourselves surrounded by people. As Tadzik was walking around and taking photos, many people thought we were journalists. When they found out we were just tourists that came there by train all the way from Moscow, they were bewildered - why would we come by train? How are the Russian trains? Is it safe? Is it not boring? Many people spoke English, so it was nice to have some longer conversations for a change.

The news that we came there by train must have been a real shock - few hours later everybody seemed to have known that. Even the people shooting the documentary - later on when I approached the camera girl to find out more about what they are filming, she said 'Ah, you are the people that came here by train'. Apparently they were also familiar with the article from LA Times. What I would imagine had happened, is that some producer read the article and thought that it is a great material for a documentary. People will watch it on Netflix and think this punk rock scene is actually 'a thing' and this, my friends, is how the hypes is created. Takes a couple of people from U.S. who think something is worth recording, and soon the teens from all over the world will be into Yakutian punk...

Watching the concert was fun, and the evening was even better. We spoke to so many people, from different walks of life, all of them happy and engaged with life, none of them concerned with the city's isolation and harsh winters. In the end, this is what makes it special and interesting. We exchanged contacts with many of them, who knows, maybe we will come back and stay there longer.

The whole week we spent there, we spent walking around the city and exploring. With barely -20°C outside, the Yakutians already considered it to be spring, and the town was always busy with families ice-skating.

One of the last days we made a trip to one of the few Yakutian tourist attractions - 'The Kingdom of Permafrost'. The whole city of Yakutsk is built on permafrost, which means the few meters below the surface the ground stays frozen the whole year round. Those are perfect conditions for storage - the Kingdom of Permafrost is essentially a man-made cave in the permafrost that used to serve as emergency cold storage for the country. Now it is transformed into a year-round exhibition of ice sculptures. The best part of it were ice slides - initially we had little trust for them, but once we tried it was hard to get enough of it.

Near the Permafrost Kingdom, there is a restaurant serving Yakutian specialties that was recommended to us by one guy from the bar who was a chef and used to work there. Some of the typical dishes are made from frozen fish - in fact one of them, called 'stroganina', is just that - frozen fish cut in slices, served only with salt. Another one we also decided to try was Indigirka salad, which is also frozen fish, but cut in smaller slices and served with onions, oil, salt, and pepper. This one was actually pretty good. Stroganina on the other hand tasted like, well, frozen fish. I don't really know why I was expecting it to taste any different. Two starters of frozen fish is definitely too much, but we did enjoy it, in a way.

Last but not least, the Yakutian market! It is hard not to be mesmerized by the deep froze fish standing on their tails one by one.

When the time came to leave, even though we spent there more than a week, we felt that we are still not done with the city. Who knows, maybe we will come back, maybe even for longer.

Walking around Severobaikalsk has a cosy and familiar feel to it. Maybe because it reminds me of my own childhood, when I was awaiting the first wet and sticky snow to build a snowman and go sledging in the near by park. Being wrapped up in so many layers of clothes that you can barely move, you even start moving with a rhythm of a 3 year old baby. On a sunny weekend day everybody seemed to be in good spirits, enjoying a walk in the park, ice-skating or sliding down an ice slide in the center of town. After good night sleep we were also well rested after the long journey from Moscow and looking forward to being able to take a walk.

Severobaikalsk is a small town founded in the ‘70s during the construction of the Baikal-Almur-Mainline (BAM) and first populated by the workers on the train line. Right now it has a population of 25’000 and like many small towns when you walk there you get a sense of the community. There is a local market where you know the sellers and where doing your daily chores is also a chance to stop by your friends and have a chat. When we walk around, it could not be more obvious that we are not from there and people we instinctively very friendly and smiley.

We found a little sweet shop and went there to buy some pastries as a gift for the family with whom we will be staying with in Baikalskoe. The shopkeeper asked us where we were from - when I said I was from Poland she said she knows Warsaw and Bialystok, I don’t know if she has been there or someone from her family is there, my Russian understanding capabilities are very limited, but she seemed to know some Polish words (“dobrze, dobrze”). When we came back the second time to get some more sweets and take some pictures, she gave us 2 bars of chocolate as a gift, which felt very heart-warming and again reminded of the times of childhood. Before the era of big supermarket chains when parents went with a child to a local shop it was not uncommon that the shopkeeper would give them a lollypop or a sweet - it cost them nothing, but always put smiles on everyone’s faces. We felt like those children. As an adult working in a corporate environment you quickly learn to follow the rules, and if you work in a Tesco or Lidl giving candy to kids for free would be classified as stealing and you will quickly find yourself fired. It is refreshing to be in a place that has prevailed its human face, and its warm attitude compensates the surrounding harsh coldness. And I don't know what is the most uplifting thing about it - the fact that such places still exist or that they exist in the 'evil Russia', that you are told you should fear of.

The second part of our stay at the Baikal lake was a visit to a small village 30km south of Severobaikalsk - Baikalskoe. We have arranged a couple of days home stay at the house of a 79 year old lady. We were not sure if this is the best idea, as our contact warned us that she broke her leg in the summer and she still has reduced mobility and 'we might not feel comfortable with that' but she is happy to host us. After this warning, we had a picture in our heads that being the age she was (knowing that Russians are not known for their health and longevity), we might be a burden for her. In the end, we thought that an older person might actually enjoy hosting us and it's nice to spend money in small villages rather than the tourist cities.

It turned out that our preconception was completely unnecessary - she was using a stick to walk around the house, but both her physical and mental health were in top shape. Gertrude was a retired teacher, warm and friendly. She did not speak English, with mutual effort and some basics of Russians I picked up on the train, we managed to find out some things about her and tell her some things about us. She moved to the village 12 years ago from Almaty in Kazakhstan when one of her children was moving there with family, they were now living next door. Her granddaughter is a student living in Irkutsk and already speaking fluent English Chinese and Arabic. The best way to find a job was for her to stay in Irkutsk and study to become a teacher. Otherwise opportunities are very limited. There used to be a kolhoz in the village, but after the fall of the Soviet Union it got dismantled. She spent most of her life in Kazakhstan. There used to a lot of jobs there in the textile industry - the materials were crafted there and then clothes were sawed in Estonia and Latvia. The supply chain broke after the empire collapsed, and there were not many jobs left - and now like in the rest of the world most things are imported from China.

But back in Baikalskoe, it looks as few things have changed over the years. Life revolves around getting by with your daily activities and spending time with family. The village is quiet and peaceful, the houses are built entirely from wood, with beautifully crafted, colorful windows. Walking around (and on) the frozen lake, your mind is pleasantly empty. Not only you are physically far from home (and civilization), but also without the Internet in your pocket, you are allowed to be mentally away. You quickly lose the habit of checking your phone, as no news is waiting for you there. So even though I half-know that I am not cut out to live in such a remote and slowly-paced place, part of me has this romantic idea of a quiet isolation. If not Siberia, then somewhere in the north of Finland at least?

After walking in the cold, coming back to the house was always a pleasure. The food Gertrude cooked was amazing. Even though the long Siberian winter does not offer much choice of the ingredients, somehow she managed to prepare something different every day. And everything delicious!

Even though the days felt slow, our 3-day stay came to an end very quickly and before we knew it, it was time to take a train again - to Yakutsk.

After few days in Moscow, where we met more creeps in one hostel than on the entire trip to South America (starting with a middle-aged energy healer from Spain, and ending with a Russian that with a beer in his hand at 10a.m. tells you how his girlfriend smashed a bottle on his head and flushed his Xanax down the toilet...)! We had mixed feelings about the trip ahead. What if going to Russia instead of breaking with stereotypes we will just find out it is all true? Moscow certainly had a strange vibe - some places felt obscenely rich (mafia level rich making Zurich-banker-richness look rather modest), while most of the city felt grumpy and unwelcoming. I was starting to worry that the train journey might feel like being locked in that hostel in Moscow, with no way out for 4 days.

Luckily, I was incredibly wrong! We met really nice people, with whom the time flew by even though they didn't speak English and we didn't speak Russian (if you don't count understanding some words that are simmilar to Polish). But with the help of a Russian phrase book, Google Translate and a lot of good will, we managed to communicate. The train journey passed so quickly, that before we knew it, it was time to pack up our stuff and get off the train. There was no need to put in motion the "what if I get bored" contingency plan, we have neither sat at the restaurant on the next carriafe, nor have I finished reading a book. Even though we travelled almost 6000km through 5 time zones, it went by quicker than we wanted it to go.

Since we took the train all the way from Moscow to Severobaikalsk, on the way people in the carriage came and went, and we stayed, always anxiously waiting who might show up next. Next door there was monstrously (confindently wearing no t-shirt) fat guy that could barely breathe and most of the time slept snoring so loud that the whole carriage could hear it - so we knew it can be pretty bad. Luckily, no such man appeared as our train mate.

To be fair, it was 29 degrees in the carridge!!!

Our first train comrades were 2 businessmen travelling for work from Tula (which according to them is THE place to be in Russia) to Yekaterinburg. The train barely has left the station before they laid out a table full of 'zakuski' (including home-cooked pork, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, pancakes, ham and eggs).

They leant over and locked the door, my moment of concern at this was instantly put to rest as he took out a bottle of 'samogon' - 60% of home brew alcohol. They offered us to join them, which we did. We wanted to share some of our snacks with them but nothing seemed good enough - to be fair, our snacks included only packed biscuits, chocolate and crackers from Auchan (which was not appreciated either). They only pointed at ingredients for us to read, and kept on saying they prefer "natural product". We basicly got food-shamed all the way - we tried to make excuses that normally we don't eat like this, but that didn't make them any less disappointed. Even the Soplica 'pigwowa' vodka we had, that was usually appreciated by our friends was not good enough, as it was only 32% - they reluctantly agreed to drink it after everything else ran out.

The businessment left the nesxt night in Yekaterinburg and the first person that got on was a guy who looked like a cliche Russian - missing front teeth, a bit chubby, with a sleeveless t-shirt, a small scar on his cheek and his age hard to estimate (turned out he was 28). Unsure of my first impression he introduced himself as Andrey and after explaining he works in the military, he gave Tadzik a Russian army t-shirt (actually two t-shirts, so that he can wear them both in cold and hot weather). A lesson learned not to judge people by their teeth, at least not here. He is in the russian army and was travelling to Krasnoyarsk for a friends sedding. He was the happiest, friendliest guy that wanted to talk and find out more about us! Often laughing with embarrasment when he didn't know how to say what he wanted to! After one short stop at a train station he bought some beers for us all from platform kiosk! When he was leaving in Krasnoyarsk, we gave him the second and last bottle of Soplica we had.

We had few more encounters.

There were two young 'oil men', as they called themselves, traveling almost a week from Volgograd (in the south of Russia, between Ukraine and Kazakhstan) to the Irkutsk region for work in the oil industry there, leaving their homes for 2 months at a time. They were very curious about England and Europe in general - what are the salaries, are there many jobs, is the life good, do you get a good pension. They seemed to have a very good opinion about England and belief that it is a better world somehow. Life in Europe is definitely easier than in Russia, but is it better? With all the warmness and interest we encountered, people sharing their food and trying to communicate every way they can, I am not really sure. It made me sad to think that those guys, if they ever came to England, being as nice as they were with all the faith in the better life in the west, all that they count on is somebody looking down on them and telling them to come back where they came from - "the bloody foreigners"!

We also met two railway workers, one aged 38, very surprised and disappointed that we are not married and have no children (this was actually what all our companions had in common). We tried to explain that in Europe people have children later, but he didn't buy it. He said that we are old, and you don't want to be raising children when you are old and you have no energy. It is a fair point, though it seems in Russia people age much faster and more brutally - average life expectancy in Russia is 73 years, and only 67 for men! For comparison, for Polish men it is 75, UK - 80, Switzerland - 82, Bangladesh - 72. With this kind of statistics it is not difficult their perspective on age.

The last encounter was with a middle aged lady, who just could not understand why we might want to go to Siberia in winter, and that we must be crazy. We tried to explain best we can, that to see SIBERIA, you need to go in winter - after all, you go there to experience the snowy, harsh remoteness that you associate with that place. She didn't seem to be convinced and laughed with amuzment of our 'holiday' in Siberia. She was as also appalled with our noodle soups as most people, and shaking her head she cut her fresh bread and sausage and pushed in our hands. ('Jesz, jesz, jesz' she kept on saying, meaning that one sandwich is not enough and we should continue eating).

Every time newly met people got off, it felt strangely sad. Even though we just met and had very little in common, everyone genuinely just wanted to talk and have a laugh, and then suddenly we arrive to the station - somebody gets on, somebody gets off.

After four days, our journey also ended. It feels very confusing to get off the train having spent such a long time on it. Suddenly you have to go places, do something. On the train it is just you, your comrades and the endless rows of snowy trees outside of the window.