Travel: Nakhodka to Moscow

David Bowie arrived in Nakhodka in Russia on 24 April 1973. From there he boarded a boat train to Khabarovsk, accompanied by Geoff MacCormack.

In Khabarovsk they were joined by UPI news reporter Bob Musel, who was covering Bowie’s voyage as part of his Great Train Journeys newspaper series. Musel had previously been UPI’s Moscow correspondent and had seen Bowie perform in Aylesbury on 15 July 1972.

Upon arriving in Khabarovsk, the party boarded the Trans-Siberian Express and began the 6,650-mile trip to Moscow.

There are three ways you can travel. Deluxe – two bunks in a simple compartment, sharing a toilet and bathroom with the rest of the carriage – that’s what I had. Then there’s first class, which is four bunks per compartment, and hard class – bunks right up both sides with people sleeping on the floor.

The journey stopped at Irkutsk, Krasno-Yarsk, Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk, and arrived in Moscow on 30 April. In Irkutsk they were joined by MainMan’s Leee Black Childers, who had flown there from Japan. In Moscow the party stayed at the Intoirist Hotel on Tverskaya Ulitsa.