Bad start to the day, as plane is delayed leaving Glasgow. Most British airports are penned in by fog; this is creating a backlog of planes waiting for take-off. Finally get away only 10 minutes late and make some time back in the air. Slight delay landing as we have to wait for a slot. Heathrow is so huge, neither of us can believe just how big it is. Thankfully we are leaving from the same terminal and we only have a 15 minute walk to connecting flight, which is also delayed! Even have time for a smoke, YES WE ARE IN ENGLAND, and can smoke in the airport. Never been so glad to be on English soil. They call for us to come to the desk, as well as a few others, so as they can put our bags onboard. Someone fails to board and we have to wait on the plane for their bags to be unloaded. Finally get away an hour late. Having traveled budget airlines for so long, you forget how good airlines like BA can be. It's more the little things like not putting your hand in your pocket when you want a drink and the fact that the toilets are actually clean and have toilet paper. We arrive in Moscow at 9pm local time and by the time we get through customs and collect our bags it's closer 10. We fumble about trying to work out how to get into the city centre, while constantly being disturbed by taxi drivers every 2 seconds. We'd rather try and figure it out by ourselves, than be ripped off. We make our way to the train desk, but this is very difficult as no-one speaks a word of English, and I mean no-one. Of course neither of us can speak any Russian. A couple of taxi drivers suss this out and start pestering us again. We decide to ask one how much he will charge. 2000 rubles seem a bit much and after a quick calculation it works out at 40 quid. "No thanks, we'll take our chances on the train!" After buying our tickets we stand at the platform which is directly outside the terminal. It's now about half-past-ten and we are a little in the dark about where the train is actually going to. A man approaches and speaks a little English, he wants to borrow a mobile phone, which we do not have. Part of me thinks we look even more vulnerable to potential muggers/rapists/murders that could be standing among us. GOD I THINK WE'RE GOING TO DIE TONIGHT! CJ thinks it's a good idea to stick with this guy on the train, so I puff my chest out and try to look manly. He tries to talk to us during the journey but the conversation is slow and difficult. Just after the train leaves the station, the lights go out, we are in complete darkness and we crap ourselves at the prospect of a 40 minute train ride in the dark. Thankfully they come back on after 10 seconds or so, but continue to flicker the entire time. We learn that our new friend is called Yaroslav and drink some Russian vodka with him, Yuk! When we get off the train we are as disorientated as ever and our new friend is stopped by guards at the end of the station. We are not quite sure why but we are allowed to pass, and get the hell out of there. We are now walking down a random street in Moscow. We are wary of hailing a cab as it's difficult to tell which cars are actually taxis. My God NOW I think we're going to get mugged!! Dogs randomly roam the streets and we continue up the street for a mile on foot, before finally hailing a taxi. 500 rubles is now the price, worth it to get us out of this hell-hole. Let's just say that after that journey, we know what playing Gran Turismo (computer racing game), for real would feel like. I'm not quite sure, if they have speed limits over here, or whether they just ignore them. The car was flimsy and skidded round many corners. CJ thinks he has a canister of Nitrous Oxide in the boot. Of course seatbelts are optional and our driver has decided they are an unnecessary expense. We finally get to the hotel in one piece and the room is basic, at best. At least we have a roof over our heads for the next 4 nights. The reception staff don't speak English, although they speak some German, so perhaps we have a fighting chance here. We dump the bags and went for a walk at 1am! Went to a sort-of shop/kiosk and bought some Russian chocolate and cigarettes. Russian chocolate is surprisingly tasty. Back to the hotel for a game of cards, before bed.