We’re stopped at Kirov at the moment. Managed to get a good few hours sleep in between stops. The lady who was with us got off at her stop – Nizghy Novgorod – in the early hours. The other English guy disappeared after we had finished the Russian brandy and two bottles of Russian beer.…

Well I’ve made it to the train and we’ve just left Moscow. Bunked up with another English guy, Russian man and Russian lady. As I was warned it is boiling. Just getting into the drinks…

Day two in Moscow started with a jam sandwich the same as day one ended! There shortly followed a trip to the cheaper supermarket to stock up on more interesting food. Mission accoplished and one yoghurt later, I headed out with a couple of the people from the hostel. We headed up past Red Square…

The flight to Heathrow from Manchester was not surprisingly uneventful. The waiting in Heathrow was similar. Sat next to guy on the plane who only works two weeks a month, but in Moscow and for a magazine. He writes about the lives of the Moscow uber-rich. He also pointed out an article in the paper…

The first two legs of the journey are over – Cheadle to the airport and the flight to Heathrow! Just managed to recover my BT OpenZone account details and had a brief conversation with a couple of people on messenger. Then bought a fruit salad from W H Smiths; wonder what I’ll be eating at…

My bags are all packed and I’m now round at my girlfriend’s. The car is with my brother in Southampton. Flight is at 8:15 tomorrow morning – early start 🙁 I’m feeling both excited and scared. Will the thermals work ok???? At least wearing them will reduce the weight of my ruck sack!

Here’s the pile of stuff in the corner of my bedroom that I need to sort through this afternoon and start trying a trial pack. Now time to grab myself some lunch and then sort out the washing.