托姆斯克／Tomsk

在西伯利亚的第三站是托姆斯克。原本在看了旅游指南的介绍后，对这个城市充满期待。不过老天爷似乎非常爱整我，火车一进站就开始下大雨。好不容易冒雨找到想要落脚的地方，才知道旅舍正好在装修。之前在中国扭伤的左脚开始作怪，那雨又下不停，这里又没有其他青年旅舍，没有办法只好随便找了一家便宜的酒店入住。虽然严重超出预算，但以酒店来说，850卢布（约48新元）已经算是超便宜了。而且重要的是，因为是自己一人一个房间，保证睡得安宁。
My third stop in Siberia was Tomsk. I was interested in this city based on what I’d read in the travel guide, and was looking forward to visiting the city. But the Russian weather seemed to have something against me; it started to rain the minute the train pulled into the station, making me dislike the city before I can get a good look at it. Worst still, after trudging through the rain to find the hostel recommended by the guidebook, it turned out that the hostel was undergoing a renovation and happened not to be accepting guests on the two days I was going to be there. With the ankle which I had twisted back in China throbbing and the rain still falling on my head, I could only chose a nearby hotel to check in since there are no other hostel in this city. Actually, at 850 roubles (48 SGD) per night for a single room, it was dirt cheap for a classy business hotel. But still, it was way out of my budget and I felt the pinch. At least I could be guaranteed a good night’s sleep.

雨一直下到隔天都没有停，最后只好来个雨中漫步。这天气也真奇怪，几分钟前才下着大雨，一会儿又出太阳。连那天空也是一半一半的，一边乌云密布，一边放晴。可怜那些选择在这种怪天气出来拍婚沙照的情侣，因为夏天是欧洲的结婚季节，到处可见情侣冒雨拍婚纱照。
The rain did not let up the next day, so I had to tour the city in the rain. It was really crazy weather. One minute it was sunny, the next minute, it was raining again. Even the sky was in two halves, with one side bright and sunny, the other side full of dark clouds. This being the wedding season in Europe, I could see lots of couples taking wedding pictures around the city centre. My heart goes out to the poor brides and grooms who had to deal with the funny weather. 托姆斯克其实与伊尔库茨克有点类似，只不过这里的街道比较宽，人也比较多，沿路看到的旧式木制房子也较多，保留的也较好。那里还有个小山，爬上山可以看到整个托姆斯克。当然，还有就是那每个城市都会看到的列宁铜像。　　～伟
Tomsk actually resembles Irkutsk, however, the roads are wider here, you can see more people on the streets and you can find more wooden houses lining the sides of the streets. There was a small hill which you could climb and get a fantastic overview of the whole city. And of course, there is that must-have for every Russian city – the statue of Lenin.　　～wei