Departures & Arrivals

Dear All,

We are leaving Bangkok from Hualumphong Station at 8pm on the 2^nd July for anyone who would like to bid us adieu!

We are arriving back in Blighty (hopefully) on the 5^th August and would like to invite everyone and anyone to a ‘Welcome Back’ picnic on Saturday 7^th August on the grass outside the Tate Modern from midday. If it rains we will move the picnic inside to the Turbine Hall!  (There are no supermarkets nearby so it’s worth stopping off at Tescos or Sainsburys on the way.)

Look forwards to seeing you!

Caldwells

xxx

Kit: Entertainment, Electronics & Tools

Travelling light and travelling with enough vital stuff to keep everyone entertained as we cross the endless steppe was not easy.  

First up is the old iPod- 160GB Classic, filled to the brim with BBC podcasts, cartoons (who can ever tire of Roadrunner?), Dr Who Season 5 and several hundred TED talks to get your mind in gear. 

Two decent sets of headphones (made by 'Shure'- they also double up as ear plugs for all those snorers on the train!) and a splitter.

A set of small, but perfectly formed speakers. (X-mini Capsule Speakers)

Last but not least, a set of cards- these are waterproof/vodkaproof and made of plastic.

Two Mac chargers, one for the MacBook the other for USB devices.

Two iPod leads, one for the iPod, the other for Maisie's Shuffle.

Rechargable batteries and a USB battery recharger.

A Lifetrons universal plug adapter.

A pair of Uniden walkie talkies with a 5km range (a bargain at MBK!) and very useful when speaking to the family from the bar carriage.

Lastly, a 'Built' neoprene bag to keep all of the junk in. It has separate compartments and is very, very James Bond.

I ummed and ahhed, but finally decided to bring my MacBook 13". I am less concerned about it being nicked, or getting broken than the additional weight. It does mean that we can write our blog entries then and there, but it also means we can watch some DVD's and have somewhere to backup photos.

It is nicely protected in a fetching purple and orange 'Booq' sleeve, also in neoprene, but more Manga than 007. This fits very snugly in a dedicated pocket in the rucksack and is very well protected.

Moving Out, Moving On

It's T minus 72 hours and everything is moving at a pace. I spent my last few hours in the hallowed halls of Patana and then snuck out while no one was watching...

At home the removers had arrived and were busy wrapping, stuffing and boxing the remnants of our eight years in Thailand. We arrived with two boxes and left with sixty eight! (Most of it consists of Superheroes I am sure...)

Maisie says:

I am really sad and it feels like we've just moved in because the rooms are empty. I went upstairs and screamed. It made me feel so small and lonely. We saw them putting the boxes in, piled to the roof. When I saw them driving off I felt worried because Elephant (my special toy) was in there. In Bristol I will be really happy to see him again.

Harry says:

The packing was so great because then I can see my toys in England. My room looks like I'm in the Tardis- it's big!

Still no word about Harry's visa, but our fingers are crossed...

Visa Vortex

Marcelle says:


At my leavers speech the lovely Colin described me as a STRONG WOMAN. So, today I thought I’d put that to the test by trying to get four tourist single entry visas for 12 days in Russia.


So I left school at 8am and arrived at the embassy an hour later, traffic in BKK lived up to its reputation!


The building is cold, austere, cramped and lacking in information and comforts. I was not perturbed; I can do ‘basic‘ I am strong.


The conversation started off well to test my strength!
Embassy Man: “You have NO chance of visa, this form you give me is a joke”


Me: (This will put my skill to the test! Lots of smiling, apologising  and smiling and offering to fill in the forms some more smiling and lots of chat about how excited we all are about our trip and smiling.)


Embassy Man: Show me flight tickets.
Me: (Explained our crazy trip.)
Embassy Man: Show me train tickets then.
Me: We collect them in Bejing, I have all the documents here, I’m sure we are not the first to do this (fingers crossed in my pocket. smile smile, smile.)
Embassy Man: Alright (was that a smile? it was I am sure it was. YES!)


After 45 minutes of signing forms to show that None of my family has done military service, been involved in or been near political riots,(Red shirts are long forgotten) that we have no skills in explosive manufacturing, nuclear bombs, and chemical warfare I submitted the forms again. (I left out Harry’s potion skills that can zap you to Mars using the right mixture of shampoo, toothpaste and peppercorns...)


At this stage I’ll be honest, there was an enormous boulder in my belly. My hands appeared to be shaking and my head was spinning. It was the staff party last night and I decided I’d enjoyed myself too much. I AM strong, Colin said so.


I told my story to another person in the queue who agreed I should keep the anguish from Matt who would have spontaneously combusted under the pressure.


Three lovely Russian ladies wished me luck, with a worryingly clear look of sympathy in their eyes.


I was doing ok, I told myself I could do this!


The man returned to say that I had ticked the wrong box. Our passports are tourist passports NOT ‘official’ passports . Did YOU know that? I always thought passports were official.


Me: “Oh thank-you sir I had no idea, I learn new things every day and I will never forget this, thank-you”


Back to the queue


A scary lady with very dark hair severe eye make up and harsh dark rimmed glasses took my passports while Embassy Man went for his Coffee World break (NO facilities for customers, the toilet was directly connected to the waiting room and all sounds from inside were shared with the group waiting outside...)


Passport 1 Check (internal sigh of relief)
Passport 2 Check (way-hey, whoop whoop I'm in the clear, yippeeeee!)
Passport 3 Why does the woman keep looking from one page to the other again and again? Oh no, she got up and left the room. My strong heart sank.


I decided she’s gone for her Coffee World drink, calm deep breathing Colin said I was strong, I can do this....


Scary Woman: Your passport number is WRONG for boy child. (internal screaming/wailing/chest beating)


Me: Well it must be from his old passport, Harry has just got a new one. (Smile) His passport is here, we can update it now.


Scary Woman: NYET (Now I don’t speak Russian but that word I can work out. Arghhhh!)


Embassy Man returns 12 minutes before closing at 12pm.  I have options...


I paid for Matt, Maisie and myself to have a visa which will be ready next Thursday. Harry may get one in a day, at extortionate cost, or perhaps next Friday. The day we leave.


I got home, and Harry announced he would rather fly!!!!!


Would anyone flying to the UK from BKK like a companion, GSOH, likes Iron Man, and will watch Cartoon Network for the entire duration of the 11 hour flight....


75% sorted, remained externally calm. Mai Pen Rai, ka. Thank-you Thailand.


To be continued.....

Kit: Harry's Bag

Harry says:
In my bag there's going to be:

• Hyper Rescues. They are toys that are cars and boats and stuff. But some of them fit in other cars and stuff. They help people.
• Superheroes. My favourite ones are Iron Man.
• Camera. It can take pictures. I'm going to take pictures when I'm on the train through the window. And I can do a video of the beautiful trees and stuff.
• Water bottle. So I can drink.
• Games. I like Uno and Snap.
• Pillow. To sleep.

I think the train trip will be quite boring. I really want to go on the horsies but I don't want to eat yucky food.

In Thailand I will see lots and lots of trees.

In Laos I will see lots of grass.

In Vietnam I will see a lot of fun stuff. Oliver told me.

In China I will see lots of people.

In Mongolia I will see lots of water.

In Russia I will see lots of people rushing!

In London I will see lots and lots of taxis.

Kit: Maisie's Bag

Maisie here! This is my kit. I have: Littlest Pet Shops, Family FLUXX, Knights, Catan dice game, Yahtzee, a bag to put all the games in, my dairy and two pens, a small compass, my pen-knife, my ipod, a torch (not a stick with fire though!!) and Inkspell (a VERY long book.)

I will write EVERY day and tell you what I've written. I have also LOTS and LOTS of songs on my ipod for the train. And a big book.

Kit: Guides

For the Trans-Siberian journey a 1994 3rd reprint of the Trans-Siberian Handbook by Bryn Thomas has come into my possession. It will be interesting to see how much things have changed (although the pictures of Russian dining carriages looked more 1960's than 1990's...)

I believe that as of 2010 it is in it's 7th reprint and gets very good Amazon reviews.

I was also looking at buying a couple of guide books, but for the time we will be spending in Beijing and Ulaan Bator it didn't seem worth it. Then I came across the  Lonely Planet 'Pick & Mix' where you can buy individual chapters of guidebooks as PDFs. This makes it cost effective and doesn't take up any room as long as you are prepared to bring a laptop with you anyway.

I paid for and downloaded the Beijing chapters (Background, Excursions, Great Wall & Neighbourhoods) for £7 and the Ulaan Bator chapters (History, Ulaan Bator & Language) for £5.

As long as there is a way to power my laptop then we'll know where we're going!




I have also been checking out other blogs and stories about the Trans-Siberian/Trans-Mongolian and have provided links to them below:

• Guardian article 
• BBC article
• Clive Simpson's Trans-Siberian blog 
• Blogjam's Trans-Siberian blog
• London to Bangkok Overland blog
• Joseph Tame's Trans-Siberian blog
• Why Long-Distance Train Travel Rules (Thanks Emma G!)

The Itinerary!

It has taken months of research and planning. It has existed in numerous drafts. Here it is: 8  trains, 35 Days, over 7,000 miles...

02-07-10    Depart Hualumphong Station by train #69 at 20:00
03-07-10    Arrive Nong Kai 08:25 and Arrive Vientiane 09:30
04-07-10    Stay Vientiane
05-07-10    Stay Vientiane
06-07-10    Depart Vientiane for Phonsavanh
07-07-10    Depart Phonsavanh for Nam Kanh border crossing to Vinh and Hanoi
08-07-10    Stay Hanoi
09-07-10    Depart Hanoi 18:30 by train 
10-07-10    On train to border at Dong Dang
11-07-10    Arrive Beijing 13:20
12-07-10    Stay Beijing
13-07-10    Stay Beijing
14-07-10    Stay Beijing
15-07-10    Stay Beijing
16-07-10    Stay Beijing
17-07-10    Depart Beijing by train #23 at 07:45  

18-07-10    Arrive Sainshand at 05:21, transfer  Ger camp.  Monastery + dunes, 2 nights 

19-07-10    Day trip into the Gobi, visit a Nomadic family and ride a Camel, overnight 

20-07-10    Free time at camp. Transfer to Sainshand, depart train #285 at 21:00 

21-07-10    Arrive Ulaan Bator at 08:30, city tour, transfer to Elstei Ger Lodge. 

22-07-10    Horse-riding trips, overnight 

23-07-10    Free time at the camp, afternoon transfer back to UB
24-07-10    Free time, transfer to train #263/361 at 21:10

25-07-10    On the train crossing the Mongolian / Russian border

26-07-10    Arrive Irkutsk 07:31. Transfer to Listvyanka with museum. Homestay, 2 nights 

27-07-10    Choice of 3 activities (Diving, Soft Trekking, Quad Biking) at Listvyanka.

28-07-10    Return to Irkutsk, city tour, free time. Angara Hotel, 1 night

29-07-10    Breakfast. Free time. Transfer to train #339 at 18:35
30-07-10    On train, across Siberia
31-07-10    On train, across Siberia
01-08-10    On train, passing from Asia into Europe and the Ural Mountains
02-08-10    Arrive Moscow at 04:11
03-08-10    Depart Moscow by train at 21:09
04-08-10    Cross into Belarus and Poland
05-08-10    Arrive Cologne at 06:14, depart 12:32, Depart Brussels 14:29, Arrive St Pancras 3.26pm

Kit: Hydration

We're travelling in the summer months, so we will have to keep good and hydrated. The children have Thermos flasks which they have had for a year or so, and which keep water cold for hours. Harry has a 500ml flask and Maisie has the 750ml. Obviously they can be a little heavy for the kids, especially if they are carrying packs, and Harry usually complains bitterly if he has to carry his for any more than 90 seconds.

I bought a drinkSafe 'explorer' water filter bottle from Amazon for us. (www.drinksafe-systems.co.uk/) I haven't tried it yet, but I did a fair bit of research and these bottles can sort you out for 1600 litres from one filter. The bottle holds 1 litre and comes in a neoprene carrier, so it is not going to keep water cool for too long. Their website shows some Bear Grylls nutcase filtering water out of some sludgy swamp and then drinking it down as if it was a refreshing pint of cider. Being easily impressed impressed with 'hard nuts' I bought one instantly. We'll see what it's like...

Kit: First Aid

Here is what is in ours:

• 2 triangular bandages
• 2 packs of gauze
• Eye pad dressing
• A million plasters
• Iodine
• 2 elasticated bandages
• Arnica tablets (I don't believe in homeopathic nonsense, but it is amazing how quickly they will shut up a screaming child...)
• Paracetamol
• Handwashing gel
• Dettol antiseptic cream
• Sterilising wipes
• Germolene 'new skin'
• Vaseline
• 2 rolls of medical tape
• Paw paw cream (from Australia-swear by this stuff!)
• Rubber gloves
• CPR mask (both of us have had CPR training)
• Splinter remover
• Burn cream

All of this fits neatly into a fairly small first aid bag which will live on the outside of my rucksack. This is a variation on the kit that would go on holiday with us or live in the car, but is not quite as thorough as our home first aid kit.