Yekaterinburg - Novosibirsk

Early in the morning in Omsk there is a small pile of beer under the table of the restaurant wagon, but then this quickly grows to fill first the gangway, then the tops of the tables, then almost a half of the carriage. I snap a few photos of this collosal alcoholic heap then help Dima and Misha to sort through the different brands and tuck them away neatly in various hiding places, though the majority are just hidden under table cloths at the back of the car. I'd met Dima and Misha the night before, coming to the restaurant in search of food and finding instead a complex Russian card game. The rules were more difficult to ascertain because everyone kept cheating but my teammate and I did manage to snatch one victory from the jaws of my complete incomprehension. Having asked me to help with the beer loading ceremony the next morning, and shown me all the funny videos on their phones I head back to my carriage and try to sneak quietly into my bunk without waking anyone, a technique I have yet to master in platskart.