A Trans-Siberian trip down memory lane

I wonder whether the name Tadek Hutyra still rings any bells amongst any fellow westward bound Trans-Siberian travellers who passed through Beijing in 1989.

A nostalgic web surf the other night on all things Trans Siberian turned up, rather unexpectedly, an online novel called GLASS CURTAIN I almost surfed on, being in the market for pictures and travelogues of the Siberian Steppes rather than literature, but something at the foot of the page made me do a double take. The authors name. Tadek Hutyra. Now that rang a bell, 20 seconds with the hard disc in my head spinning at full speed and I was there.

The guy who sold me my Ticket to Moscow all those years ago was called Hutyra. Two brothers, Tadek and Marc Hutyra, they hung out around the backpackers haunts of Beijing, the Qiao Yuan, Yongdingmen and Jing Tai hotels, providing cut price Trans-Siberian tickets and travel advice to shoestring travellers. 17 years on the coincidence that this novelist, who from the info on the website appeared to be living in Belgium, and the one time king of the Beijing black market for Trans Siberian train tickets could be one and the same seemed like a very long shot indeed. Curiosity dictated that I e-mail him.

24 hours later Tadek replied and confirmed that my rather wild hypothesis was correct. Further reading of the Glass Curtain and the basis for large parts of the hero Tadek Vanguard is in no doubt.

I recommend a browse for all those who remember those golden days when hutongs still outnumbered skyscrapers in the Chinese capital and one was still young enough to get drunk on Special Fine Brandy and come up smiling the next day. And especially to those who were there in the Beijing Jing Tai hotel and during those 7 heady days on the train to Moscow.

You can check out "Glass Curtain" in the literature section of the Belgian web portal www.funworld.be: www.funworld.be/literature.htm