Finally deciding to leave Moscow (since my visa expires Dec 9th), I made a plan to get to China: Kazan to Yekaterinburg to Tomsk to Irkutsk to Ulan-Ude and finally to Harbin, China.
The train left Moscow for Kazan from the Kazansky Vokzal (station), and my friend Sarah (whom I met in Tallinn as well) came along to see me off in the Russian tradition. We met Andrew from Ukraine there who was with a lady he met only 15 minutes before on the Metro also going in my direction and we shared some beers and stories before I departed.
I slept in the "platscart" Wagon #1, seat 24. The platscart is the open carriage where about 50 people all sleep in little divisions of 6 people in 3 bunkbeds. Only the older man sleeping across from me spoke a little English. And with my little Russian phrasebook we had a nice evening and morning trying to converse.
The oddest part was being awoken at seven in the morning by the bright lights of the carriage and a mix of Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and Eminem on the radio in the wagon. Maybe the carriage stewardess was a fan? Maybe that's the only station they can get here? Maybe they just like American pop in the morning. I have no idea...