Ride the train to the next era ┃Russia - Zabersk

When traveling long distances, the train is always the first thing that pops into my mind.

Probably influenced by European movies, I like those detective films that fight on the train, and I also like all kinds of encounters and wonderful journeys on the train. It seems that the stories are all happening here, and on the way to the distant place, the journey is also carried out. Like Hall's Moving Castle, the train is a reassuring presence for travelers.

The day I took the Trans-Siberian Railway was the last morning in China. I was in the border city of Manzhouli, preparing to go to the Russian border - Transbaikalsk. On the day of departure, your biological clock is always more alert than the alarm clock.

I walked to the International Passenger Station, bought a transit bus ticket, and transferred the remaining 26.3 yuan to my sister via WeChat. I installed the AutoNavi map and Meituan takeout that I had used for more than two months, and told myself ritually. , to say goodbye to such convenient days in China.

After three months of crossing the border, apart from waiting for the Russian customs to check the luggage and waiting in line for a long time, the only episode was that the hair was cut too short, and the customs lady was difficult to distinguish. I also found another staff member to identify me together. Is it myself.

Transbaikalsk railway station is quite close to the border, the actual drive is less than half an hour. However, the customs checked luggage item by item and checked the visa details. It took five hours to travel from the Chinese passenger terminal to the Transbaikalsk station.

When I first stepped into Russian territory, I excitedly packed all my bags and walked into Transbaikalsk, an extremely desolate border town. Because I had already bought the Russian Railway tickets online, I waited at the station for four hours after visiting the town and going to the grocery store to buy hamburgers to satisfy my hunger. Because of the Nepalese cape on my body, I was fortunate to chat with the Russian who can speak Chinese for a while, and spent a long waiting time.

When it was finally time to leave, the station staff checked my paper ticket and passport and set off on time at 20:15 in the evening. At this time, the sky seemed to end with the long wait, and slowly darkened. Unlike the Indian iron, which is used for sleeping on the third floor, the top layer is only used for luggage, so even if it is an open sleeper, the space is still much more spacious, and the price is naturally not as economical as the Indian iron.

A pair of Russian aunts sat in the sleeper next to them, as if enjoying afternoon tea time, nibbling cakes and drinking tea in the car leisurely. The toilet is as clean as in the cabin of an airplane, without the chaos and noise of the slow train in China. Looking at the darkness outside the window, I realized that I had boarded the longest Siberian railway in the world, and there was a sense of calmness in my heart.

A total of six days and six nights of travel to Siberia, which I cut into three sections. The first trip was to Irkutsk, then to Novosibirsk, and finally to Moscow.

The three trips took nearly two full days. I always took out my laptop, put on my earphones and entered my own world, savoring these music, which was so suitable for the scenery flowing in front of me. Without the distraction of the Internet, I spend a lot of time immersed in scenery and writing.

At dinner time, from the timetable outside the car, I double-checked the time the train would stay, and quickly finished buying the bread, and went back to the car to devour. Before arriving at the destination in the middle of the night, he was woken up by the station staff, only to realize that the Russian Railway would kindly wake up the passengers before arriving at the station.

On the last trip, which happened to be the last day of Heisei, I was on the Trans-Siberian Railway, making the longest move in my small life so far. I stayed on the train for a full 52 and a half hours, from Novosibirsk all the way to Moscow. At this time, it was the season of Japan's change of the year, and I had the illusion that I arrived at the other side of the train on the train, as if the entire Trans-Siberian Railway was taking me personally to experience the fact that the world is constantly changing.

Thinking about what kind of life our friends from afar are living, and how the end of an era will give people new meanings. I always start to reflect on what I've been on this journey so far until I see the end of all forms. I just hope that before my life comes to an end, I can ask myself and not waste my life.

When the train passes through the scenery, the smiles that were once replayed in my mind. People who treat strangers so politely to me always baffles me. How honored I am to have had some warmth in this short life.

I was on the Trans-Siberian Railway, staring at the sky into the distance, until my thoughts and reality became hazy.