Countdown to Russia: Day 27 - we almost get our first train ticket. Almost.

It's incredible just how much grime can accumulate in one house over twelve years, and it's just our luck that we were the last tenants there and had to spend the day scrubbing and hoovering. The whole day is gone! Have had a change of heart overnight and decided that travelling 3rd class for four days in what is currently Russia's hottest summer for decades may be unbearable. I need to be able to open the windows, and I fear that I'll be no match for a Russian granny who doesn't like draughts. If I don't have enough fresh air, I can't sleep, and if I can't sleep, I can't function, and ideally I'd like to be able to work during that first stretch.

Call my sister and tell her that I've changed my mind. Delegate responsibility for booking the tickets. She may be a sloth, but she's able to mobilise herself when her holiday's at stake. She tells me that mother has suggested that we book the tickets under our British names. I think that mother really should know better, having lived in the Soviet Union for much of adult life, and that that's the worst idea since Hitler's father and mother had decided to consummate their passion and tell my sister so. The first pre-trip argument ensues.

Me: If we book under our English names, they'll want to check our visas, and when they dicover that we don't have any, there'll be no end of trouble.
My sister:  But I don't see what difference it makes which names we book under.
Me: I can see that. The names on the tickets have to correspond with our IDs, and since we're travelling in Russia, we have to travel on our Russian passports. We can't use our British passports!
My sister: But we're not crossing any borders; I don't see why they'd even check.
Me: If they see foreign names, of course they'll check! You didn't think we'd even need ID numbers to book train tickets. Trust me on this.
My sister: But I still don't see why...  [And on and on, ad nauseum].

She calls me at 5pm. The good news is, she's found a 2nd class carriage with air-con with three free berths. The bad news is, Visa's anti-fraud system has decided that she was trying to make a fraudulent transaction and blocked it. She's called them, but has to wait for a couple of hours before trying again.

At 10pm, the transaction almost went through, but was declined by Russian rail. Last I heard, she was trying a different credit card. This is only hurdle no. 1. I'm already feeling harassed and exhausted, and I'm not even the one booking these tickets.

Meantime, I've been looking up Mongolian, Chinese and Vietnamese visa requirements. For the Mongolian, I have to go in person, the embassy is open only between 10am and 12.30pm daily and there's no clue as to whether one has to book an appointment. I'm assuming not. The Chinese visa is the cheapest, and the Vietnamese is the optional extra. If I do a visa a week, I may just be ready on time.

Have just completed an excellent section on Peruvian food (if I do say so myself) and trying to finish the intro to outdoor activity. I really need to set aside a day or two just for editing, because am already five pages over the original limit, and my brief tells me to cut the original text, not add to it.