Sleeping Rough

People i met here, who contributed to and improved my trip: Juliana (Russia)

Arriving in Tomsk at 22.00, we headed for the hostel ('Resting Rooms') in the train station, to discover that it was full, so we began calling around the places listed in Lonely Planet to find each of these full also. We inquired at the information desk, who were sure Resting Rooms must have space as they are only ever full 1 day a year, if that! To our bewilderment, today was that day. With snow falling outside, we were left with no other choice but to sleep rough in the station.

The next morning, we headed into what Lonely Planet describes as 'Siberia's most likeable city' - God only knows why. Some of the wooden architecture was quite pretty, but always surrounded by ugly new skyscrapers. There were several small churches, all very normal and what you would expect to find in any Russian cuty, with the exception of the gothic Voznesenskaya Church, which i found impressive and photogenic. A walk down Prospekt Lenina, the main street, was also quite pleasant, but this had exhausted all there was to do in the city, so we headed for the train station to catch the overnight train to Krasnoyarsk.