I’ve taken a lot of trains in my day, and can honestly say that the sleeper from Simferopol to Kiev was one of the least pleasant ever.
It wasn’t the lack of private berths or the smelly folks walking back and forth – that’s pretty common in 3rd class sleepers anywhere.
It was the fact that it was about 50,000 degrees, and the windows wouldn’t open more than an inch.
Although the weather was incredibly pleasant outside, the train honestly felt like being locked inside a boiler.
A big, metal, rolling boiler. I was constantly stuck to the sheets with sweat.
Having the last set of bunks by the toilet didn’t help a lot either.
Mental note: next time, make sure to get tickets towards the middle of the car. And top bunks, so you can put your feet by the tiny window opening.
But hey, at least it got us to Kiev in one piece 😉
Note: These posts are behind realtime; the above took place on August 23rd, 2011.
As much as I love reading your blog i could have easily lived without ever seeing that toilet..just sayin’
Yeah, but…a picture is worth a thousand words. Would you rather I’d used a thousand words to describe why a seat by the toilet is not preferable? 😉
Lol…try Indian trains 😀
I will. But I’m scared.
sounds miserable…..i like the last photo
Thanks…my favorite part too, hehe 😉
doing sprints just to warm up even more?
Don’t ask me. I wasn’t the one doin’ ’em 😉
What a horrid train 🙁 Why did Tanya advise against the Babushka food?
Because it’s just “something homemade” that they brought over to sell – you have no idea what’s really in it. Could be unwashed vegetables, spoiled meat, etc. It’s not like buying a premade meal at the supermarket 😉
I hear ya, it’s putting trust in the vast unknown! I still would of tried it right along with you!
why weren’t you supposed to try the homemade snacks?
See the reply to Allyn just above 😛