I (Olivier) am in Japan, I've taken down my portfolio to say what I'm up to

I entered my cabin on the train to Moskow to find it a little different from my one to Warsaw. The windows did't open, it was a slightly older train, it was also full of bizzarely shaped boxes with two polish geographers cramped up under them. They explained the boxes were filled with their bikes, which was viable for one box since it had handlebars poking out of it but the other didn't even appear to have wheels under the tightly wrapped sheet. I was tempted to ask them about the second 'bike' but they were sharing their food with me and translating the polish / russian that came my way so I left it be. Also it meant that no official was at all intersted in my bag in the least.

Throught the journey we drank and played cards, and they told me about growing up in commuist russia. It was interesting, thought they both said they hated the controlling gov. and so on, they also said with the limited choice in goods afforded by communism people appreciated themselves and their lives more, instead of always chasing adverts. They left at 4 in the morning.

On arriving in Moskow I quickly became terrified, for though I had been registered coming into Belarus, I had not been acosted coming into Russia itself. This worried me so much in fact that I (and I have to be one of the first westerners to ever do this) confronted a station guard. After an hour and about seven uniformed men coming round (one of whome was bald and with albino eyes) to hear my case and finally a phone call to an english speaking friend one of them had, it turned out my stamp into belarus was actually all I needed for russia and I should just cross out anything else in pen.

Anyway, i've spent the day huting down taxis and places to eat, seen Red Square, and then finally found this internet cafe (hidden in a back door of a tiny state libruary for computer sciences). As in Warsaw there are many more stories, to do with taxis and being followed but I must go do a hundred things before I go. Also, I appologise for my spelling, but the keyboard is not arranged as I'm used to, and the spellchecker is in Russian!

It has been an experience just getting this far. The eurostar to Brussles was painless, I met a nice people, a French engeneering student, an American law student, a small boy studying at Warwick (who was very dissapointed I was only going to Japan and not North Korea where he was going).

The next leg of the journey I was sat next to a pretty, charming, but solidly untalkative German girl, still I did get to know a Sweedish family after it was announced the train would be delayed and it transpired that we were both catching the same connecting train after. Running to the connecting train was not fun and my shoulders are now bruised from my rucksack, a trial made all the more annoying my the train not even having turned up when we got the platform, it too had been delayed half an hour.

The station was pretty, made of huge metal arches like Paddington, but also dusty, and at night the faint bellows of distant trains and bright neon signs in the distance, it seemed mysterious and beautiful.

On the train to Warsaw I had a full three bunk room to myself, and while being a little lonley I did have room to stretch. This was slightly marred by a conductor stealing my ticket which had on it the connecting reservation to Moskow. I was then as annoying as all three passengers that would have filled my room in trying to get it back, until I had it painfully explained that I would get the ticket back in Warsaw. I also tried to get out at the wrong station in Warsaw.

I do have stories about my breif stay here in Warsaw but my train is soon and I cannot miss it.

I have mostly finished packing, which is as well since I walk out of the door in a number of hours. Saying I am nervous at this point is an understatement, I am terrified about changing platforms in a foreign country, let alone in one with a different script, I have not actually booked a hotel in Fushiki (where I rock up in Japan) yet (though I know where some are), and I have not heard from the ferry people in a while. Still, these are minor things, and underneath all the terror I am very excited. See you again once I've begun.

Also, thank you for the emotional Goodbye last night gang :D

Well, I have barely started to pack, and an essential ferry may well not exist. Actually apart from that things are ok!

To bring you up to speed; I just finished 6th Form, I am going traveling for two months before my long summer holidays end. I'm going to Japan (not that I speak much Japanese), BUT, to make it interesting I'm going from London via France (I DO speak french) Poland (no I don't speak polish) Belarus (not speaking to anyone there, not actually allowed off the train so not so much of an issue) Russia (I have a phrase-book!) all by train and then the aforesaid ferry to Japan.

Why do I want to go? I think it can be best explained by the associations in Japanese to 'freedom'. Speaking generally of course and largely out of my ass, in Japan freedom is linked to selfishness, in great contrast to here, where freedom (personal, financial) is more of a life goal. I dislike strongly the idea of forever chancing some goal, a freedom, without ever having been apart from it. Ignoring the problem of traveling freely to avoid a freedom based ideal system, I hope to take in some of the Japanese sense of unity, take some stock of myself from a distance, have some adventure. Also Japan is cool, can't avoid that!

As for my justifications for the whole Trans-Siberian train experience, well, why not.

Stay tuned.