Even from the Bangkok airport, Laos was already making an impression and not the best of ones as all of the Laos Airlines employees were waving once we were inside the plane. And this from a tiny, propeller plane and some of us had to move to the other side of the plane to distribute the weight. Wow! Where was I going? No man's land? Soon to find out a very laid back, country, one of my favorites so far. And it kept impressing as upon arrival, it was so very easy to get a visa and even negotiating for a taxi into town wasn't necessary. Was so used to Thailand's touts just expected more of the same here. Pleasantly surprised to find quite the opposite!
First hostel was full but no worries second one took me in and even took Thai baht and it was all I needed: a $9 room with a bed and desk, breakfast included, shared bathrooms. Met Ricardo immediately and I know I go on but he was just what I needed: a grounded, spiritual fellow American by citizenship but not in the annoying category. He found me scattered to say the least. He's the sort of traveler who really digs in to a place, I'm the sort who explores everything to the point of exhaustion so I blame him for making me stay in Vientiane so long :-) Anyway, made immediate plans for a Korean dinner with Beer Lao after a disco nap and settling in. And the beer was good!! And this coming from a cocktail girl says a lot!
Might as well start with the food....surprising to say the least! The French influence is in full force: good bread and coffee but also a wide variety of restaurants including western ones: indian, korean, vietnamese, belgian, even swedish bakeries. A foodie's dream, there are even gourmet stores selling good peanut butter and honey. Street food was delish, by day it's a riverbank, by night vendors have set up restaurants and what a view of the Mekong at sunset! Ate spring rolls and pineapple shakes giving myself my very own Buddha belly :-)
And the nightlife was even good. If you don't mind hanging with ladyboys on the 4th floor of Mekong riverfront bars that is. So I found my new go to bar every night with Ricardo and others from the hostel, an Aussie joined us most nights mostly teasing me for exciting the Laos boys. One took a liking to me and approached me multiple times telling me I was beautiful, how difficult to do in a foreign language! Seattle boys, get a clue. :-D And a tatted Laos boy wanted pictures and to sit on his lap, whoa, boy! And be careful in the bathrooms: ladyboys attacked me (sort of!) loving my hair, so blonde! I'm not even that blonde, can you imagine Gwen Stefani like hair in there?! Sex workers were obviously there too and, like Thailand, warnings of only registered guests in the hostels were everywhere. So when the Aussie invites me to his room should I be offended? Yes, I think so, no thank you, off the Aussies fo shiz ;-)
Giving up on the motorbike, I rented a bicycle to explore and got lost going to the Thai consulate, instead found the most important Laos monument by accident, I rock! And that it was Vientiane's 450th anniversary only added to the fun party atmosphere. Only visited Wat Sisaket on purpose, knowing I'd get my full of wats touring southeast Asia, it's home of my now favorite Buddha, with the largest belly to date I've seen. But I must move on, there is much more to see!
LUANG PRABANG
Worst night bus ever! And this is not just because on the tail end of it I lost my wallet to which I'm still dealing with no credit cards, only living off of cash for the past month! No, this bus was meant for Laos people and I have long legs but my Belgian seat mate had even more trouble, our legs were painfully against the seat in front of us and when the tiny Laos men tried to recline, nope, that didn't happen! No way to recline, crappy, windy roads had us practically in the air half the time any way, can you imagine trying to sleep in conditions like these?
But finally....the good stuff! The town is super cute, a UNESCO World Heritage site for good reason with it's many wats, riverside setting and laid back feel. Made friends with the Belgian girl and she was a blessing loaning me money until I sorted out the financial mess but also splitting costs and of course, laughs!
Food again...amazing! Scored pomme frites with amazing curry and garlic sauces, homemade mayonnaise and imported chocolate to go with our Dame Blanche at the Belgian restaurant. Apparently they didn't do this well enough so we ate it again the very next night on their dime! Awww, the benefit of traveling with a Belgian, they sure do appreciate food! A typical day's assortment of foods went something like this: $2 Lao sandwich (tofu, pork floss, cucumbers, lettuce and tomato on a fab baguette), fruit shake (mango, dragon fruit, banana, pineapple); snack: crepe, fruit shake; dinner Lao bbq which consisted of buffalo and water soup with vegetables, loved it so much we ate here 3 nights in a row and so cheap even with Beer Lao, $2 per person!
So a word on my new travel partner: she's young, fearless and loves to travel having lived in India and plans to work in China next year. This is important to know as I describe our adventures. She has that attitude I've mentioned of not particularly liking Americans, she swears to this day I'm not American as she's never had fun with one before. But I must mention how she learned English, it's quite common to learn from music but this girl, she learned from Move, bitch, get out the way, get out the way, bitch, get out the way! You know and love that song, right?;-) And oh no, we did not just go in a tuk tuk to the Kuong Si waterfalls and the bear park. No, we explored the village around it first seeing our own gorgeous waterfall without tourists, just the locals going about their daily life. And no, we did not just ride in a tuk tuk, we were hanging from the back of it. This is what I've termed Aurelie style traveling, it kept even me on my toes!
So next day we decide to rent a motorcycle, I'm stoked that I can be a passenger as I failed miserably at driving one. Motorcycle adventures Day 1: off to the Pak Ou caves to see Buddhas along the Mekong and Nam Ou river. Buddhas not all that impressive but the journey there taking the boat across resulting in the dirtiest face imaginable from all the dust from the bike, oh yeah, this is my kind of traveling! Never mind that I got a Laos tattoo along the way, you know the motorbike burn kind, arrghhh! On the way back to Luang Prabang about an hour away, maybe 30 km, we go to a lesser known waterfall and a man tries to charge us for admission when there's only 5 minutes of daylight left. I started arguing, Aurelie takes off running exploring his property, quite funny in hindsight but I was left to deal with his get off my property 'tude. By the time she gets back to the bike, he's ready to fight, she's bigger, taller and stronger so didn't really worry but when he went to grab something, I'm so American in my thinking imagining he's getting a gun, instead it's a huge stick, seriously?! She revs the engine, I hop on and we're off narrowly escaping what could have been a disaster. Phew!
Next day we weren't taking chances in having to pay for waterfalls so explored where no other tourists went. We found a back street leading to a village but first had to cross what would be considered a rickety bridge in the US, made of bamboo and really quite sturdy, the villagers even rode bikes across it. Once across the bridge, the villagers were working drying coffee beans, weaving and well, not really much else. The kids all wanted to play and chased us as we explored the jungle. I couldn't stop staring at one of the kids' feet: 6 toes on each! I took a picture, I hope, surreptitiously. So friendly and dirty, these villagers! What a simple life with their thatched hut roof homes yet all had satellite tv and cell phones.
Back in town, we hiked up Wat Phou Si for sunset with the masses, not the most impressive of sunsets but what a view of Luang Prabang! Ran into a scorpion along the way....glad they are so slow! On the way down, visited the night market and tasted scorpion whisky and the local rice whisky, called Lao Lao. Ummmm, I'll save that for the other tourists. And of course, had to get another massage, this one just $5, I am seriously spoiled! The only other wat I made it a point to visit was Xien Thong with its' gorgeous jewel tones and gold, truly impressive and I've seen quite a few wats by now! And the town itself is really beautiful along the river. But what made it that much more interesting than any other town were the monks just going about their daily business in their saffron robes. I even got my lazy butt up at 5:30 one morning to observe them in their daily routine of receiving their alms in the form of rice. What sacrifices they make!
Well, time to bid adieu to my new friend and Luang Prabang, what memories!
PAKSE
It's easy to forget Laos is a communist country at times but reminded when traveling around the country, seeing the red hammer and sickel flag next to the Laos PDR one. I liked the people immediately, so happy yet not a rich country and didn't act like victims nor did they beg, as I have found the Cambodians do. After my second worst night bus, at least this time it was a horizontal sleeping bed and now that I'm on my own again I got my very own bed in the middle back of the bus. Score, right? Not exactly. My seat mates are a Laos couple with a 3 year old kid who always managed to squeeze onto my bed and kick me. And I'm just imagining if the bus driver stops suddenly, there's nothing to stop me from flying through the air into the windshield! Oh and the bumpy roads and constant honking meant another night of virtually no sleep. Once in Pakse, I found a bed in a dorm for ultra cheap ($3) and managed to disco nap before going off to explore the riverside town and its' wat, of course! Met Monk Boud who wanted to discuss the basics of Buddhism, bowed out gracefully of that one. Back to the hostel and it was indian food for thanksgiving---so very non-traditional and so Cara!!
A tour of the Bolaven Plateau was a very memorable day! Started out with the coffee and tea plantations which I could have done without but did find the health claims amusing. Apparently green tea is a good cure for hangovers and oolong tea is good for cholesterol, ok, not aware of that but whatever it takes to sell a product. Laos has decent coffee, arabica and robust are the most popular but I don't get why they don't use milk in it. The white coffee is condensed milk, soy was everywhere but no dairy products, not even the yogurt drinks I grew so accustomed to in Thailand. If I never have to smell the fermented coffee beans I'll be happy....rancid vinegar.....ewww! So the plateau is also known for beautiful waterfalls and we saw a plethora of them....maybe 4?! I was more amazed by the villages though. The Alak tribe's belief system is in animism and they sacrifice a water buffalo every year! This tribe is the unfortunate site of many bombs though, there are many UXO workers blocking off bomb sites, this area was heavily bombed by the US government, a fact for which I had to apologize being the only American on the tour, never mind that I wasn't even born when my government did this horrendous action. The tour guide asked me why Laos was bombed! Can you imagine? I felt the hatred, so ashamed of my government! And ignorant as to how many people die each year still clearing land to farm---200! And it will take 100 years to clear all these bombs as this area was the most heavily bombed in the second Indochina war. Sad! The Katu tribe was just as fascinating, they are known for building their own coffins. This is sounding like a rather morbid tour now! Visiting the combined primary and secondary school was so fun but our group disrupted the whole school taking pictures and visiting. Actually, I felt like I was in a zoo and the kids were staring at us as we looked so different! Next we visited the village where these kids live and this is where the poverty and dirtiness struck me......a child with kwashiorkor! Oh my heart was breaking! Even if these kids go to school and get an education, where do they go from here? Tour ended on a more positive note with yet another waterfall and a scenic ride back to Pakse.
The next morning, eating breakfast in a cafe, I spoke with an Aussie girl, albeit too briefly, who works in Vientiane and travels around Laos and I mentioned I'd like to work for a non-profit eventually. She was reading the Laos paper and showed me a job opening with the UN's World Food Programme and after the previous days' tour to the Bolaven Plateau, I was seriously thinking I'd like to do just that and am still thinking on it! She is a vet and when I asked for what, small animals? She says, rather sheepishly, no large ones, ELEPHANTS! Wicked! How does one specialize in that in Australia? Wow! Timing of meeting her, again, I'm so believing in synchronicity at this point.
Change of pace and country: now it's off to Cambodia! 14 hours later, 5 minibuses, 1 awful border crossing literally walking across with all my bags only to find the bus is full and even the conversation with a fellow American and gorgeous Cambodian countryside wasn't enough to distract me from my thoughts. By the time I finally arrived in Phnom Penh, practically in tears as I couldn't find my hostel nor anyone who knew it for close to an hour, already late and Jai is expecting me plus Cambodian men were warning me it's late, you're in Cambodia and you have all your luggage, be careful! Yikes, what did I get myself in, yet again? I have never been happier to see a familiar face!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thailand: beach bummin' it round 1!
I can certainly think of worse places to get over a break up than the gorgeous beaches of Thailand! I had never explored this region of Thailand, having only been to Bangkok and Chiang Mai for work so despite southeast Asia not on the original itinerary, I was nevertheless very excited! Ko Samui was meant to be the first stop but the weather had other ideas so Phuket it was. And although overcast some of the time, was glad I made the switch as unbeknownst to me at the time, Ko Samui and Ko Phan gan is in my future for the full moon party New Years Eve style with my most devilish friend, and this is a total compliment: Vickie!
Aside from the cute older, Japanese men sleeping on my flight, Sonja and Ryan were the first peeps I met flying to Phuket, a couple from the Gold Coast of Australia, we hit it off and made plans to meet up along Bangla road for drinks. But first, the touting had begun. On the bus ride from the airport into Phuket, the ever present tactic of making more money from the Western tourists (wow, I'm already jaded and I've just arrived, yikes), I mean, visit to a travel agency was made. Everyone had to get off the minibus and were questioned individually as to where we were staying. They played like they were baffled that I didn't have accommodations and didn't want to book something with them, I said I wanted to see a room before booking, fine, fine, but it's high season, I was warned, I might not find a room, fine, fine, I said, I'll take my chances. Round one of touting: I win! Found a nice, music cafe themed hostel in the center of touristy Patong beach.
First day was spent along the beach and of course, eating and trying the local brew, Chang. I really need to make it a habit of checking the alcohol content on those things, a whopping 6.4 % and this on an empty stomach and being such a lightweight, not my most shining moment. Also should've taken a clue from the German guys (if anyone knows beer they should, right?, hindsight 20-20) of just how strong Chang was. Yeah, they both drank just 1 small can each, I was on my second by the time they introduced themselves. Oh, my poor head, I went back to the hostel with the idea of taking a disco nap and properly going out to Bangla road later but my body had other ideas: slept 14 hours!
Quickly realized I wasn't the biggest fan of Phuket as the beaches were crowded, very touristy at least Patong beach was but I liked my hostel, met some fun peeps and experienced Bangla Road, which has to be the epicenter of ladyboys. (Seriously there's a bar people are lined up outside taking pictures of them dancing, with signs that the real girls were upstairs! The debate was on on just how to tell if they were proper lady boys, of course, obvious if they were dancing but along the streets they were everywhere. Is it the height? Or maybe their defined jawline? Or perhaps the presence of the adam's apple? I thought the latter was the answer but apparently this can be surgically corrected so your guess is as good as mine.) Although aside from the ladyboys, the only real view I had of life outside of touristy Patong beach was the motorbike ride with the manager of my hostel, Anman, who took me to see a quieter beach, Kamala and this great restaurant overlooking the ocean. Ordered all sorts of yummy Thai dishes: spicy, mango salad, massaman curry, green curry, Thai tea, some green bean, spicy mystery dish. Why I travel emphasized yet again.
So branching out of Phuket was obvious as there were so many gorgeous beaches nearby: just a few were James Bond Island and Ko Phi Phi, I decided on the latter and took a scenic slow boat which stopped near Maya Bay to snorkel. Phi Phi has nice beaches but only spent an hour or so there, half of which was spent walking the touristy village and the other half sleeping on the beach. There seems to be a pattern of sleeping emerging here but really, what else do you do in the heat of the day? Met a cool couple from South Africa living in Dubai and chatted about acting non-American, they were amazed I was from there, another pattern that was emerging. Basically, my American friends, we have a crap reputation abroad as uptight, no fun, gun-touting conservative freaks. I intend to change this stereotype with every non-American I meet!
The last day in Phuket had absolutely no rhyme or reason to it, a true wandering day, what I do best if I allow it but have decided to apply some semblance of structure and purpose to this trip which had suddenly changed direction and now feels like the ultimate self-exploratory journey. The only other productive thing I did was to go for the famous Thai massage as I was limping quite a bit. Was nervous explaining to the guy to be very careful, all this is pertinent as I noticed a girl getting a fish massage, her feet were just being tickled by these fish, I guess cleaning away at any dead skin. Wasn't feeling very extroverted but happened to strike up a mini conversation with her, thought she was cool then I was off to my massage. Yay, my knee did feel tremendously better, great decision! And later that night at my hostel, take a wild guess as to who I struck up a conversation with and hit it off with immediately, a few minutes into our conversation we realized hey, it's the fish massage girl and I was the knee surgery girl! The only glitch was I was leaving the next day to go to Krabi, to the more chill, less touristy island of Ko Lanta.
And so I am introduced to the Thai minibus experience. It all begins with a pick-up from your hostel, continues around the entire town in a seemingly random manner picking up numerous other passengers until voila! just when you think you're finally on your merry way and you get comfortable despite being packed in like sardines when they add yet another passenger to an already full bus, just where did they get that extra seat anyway? then they yell your destination and you switch buses, hoping your bag that's on top of the bus is still attached to the vehicle. Phew! Pretty similar to Central America and am still perplexed as to how the seeming disorganization somehow works. All of this transpired over 6 hours, 3 buses and 2 ferry rides and I wasn't entirely sure that I had a place to stay at the end of it meanwhile striking up a friendship with a French couple who decided to join me. Once onto Ko Lanta, I borrowed the cell phone of a local guy to call the Kantiang Bay resort where I thought maybe I had a place to stay as the previous hostel recommended this place, his friend worked there, yada, yada, yada, yes, we have a place for you and are coming to pick you up, yay, the Thai way of doing business works! They picked us up in a pickup truck with 12 others, our hair blowing in the wind, a favorite method of transport for short trips around islands, I have to say! The resort was just what I needed, the antithesis of Phuket, right on the beach, quiet enough but still had some nightlife and I stayed in a bungalow with mosquito netting! Sure, it was a bit crap, damaged from the horrible tsunami of 2004 but I thought charming at the time, even the detached bathroom seemed quaint but after two nights, I was ready for the room switch to air con and a view of the ocean. Days were spent along the beach and if not reading then taking the necessary dip in the ocean when it's too hot on the beach, you know the drill. Ahhh, the lazy, beach days with your biggest decision being what to order off the menu. I didn't even need to decide where to eat, the Why Not tiki bar with live music each night on the beach, yeah, no brainer. Jord, the friend from the first hostel I stayed at, happened to be the lead singer of the band which played great cover songs every night: Coldplay, Killers, Linkin Park, they even managed to keep the typical beach vibe cheese Bob Marley type of music to a minimum. Even played Pearl Jam and Nirvana, more memories of my Seattle roots, rock on! And the fire show preceding the music, not too shabby.
The only times my little routine diverged was when I ventured out into the little town but really my motivation was solely to buy the yogurt drinks, my RX for health and of course, visit the street vendors selling coconut pancakes, delish! And the mangoes, the fresh fruit and the shakes, heavenly! Ok so I did cartwheel on the beach. And oh yeah, took a little walk on the beach along some rocky formations towards the ultra-cute little bungalow beach side resort-y thatched roof hut with hammocks restaurant the ultimate cliche as far as naming restaurants in southeast Asia: Same Same but different. This phrase every single Asian and tourist has uttered it is the ultimate joke, on t-shirts, it's everywhere. If an explanation is too difficult to go into, same same....but different. Anyway, the food was amazing, by far the best papaya salad and spring rolls I've had yet! And other than that, tried to ride on the diving pier which moved along with the waves but security would never let me, believe me, I kept trying. Yes, I basically stuck to my little sliver of paradise for 6 days, loving my beach time, hanging with my new friends and basically, loving life! Well, aside from the bugs, geckos, mantises and other disgusting creepy, crawly things that unfortunately go hand in hand with the tropics. I was reminded why I like Seattle so much and why I chose it after years of living in the south of the US and Guam, ewwww. But I'm facing my fear of them one little scream (albeit sometimes muffled) at a time! :-)
So this seems like a pertinent time to mention synchronicity. You know when you meet someone just when you need to at exactly the moment you need to? Well, this has been happening to me consistently since traveling on my own, I have many examples in each place I've visited which continues to reinforce me that I'm on the right path whatever that may be. So, remember how my knee was messed up? I was limping, was seriously worried I'd need to return home to take care of it, well the lovely French couple just so happened to be osteopaths! They worked on my knee and assured me it was ok and of course, gave me advice on how to take care of it. And have since offered to stay with them in France! The fun Aussie couple as well! And the offer is vice versa.....if or when, I ever stay in one place long enough! And meeting Jai, the vivacious girl from London at the fish spa? Well, she joined me in Ko Lanta and we've since met up in Cambodia and plan to in Bangkok as well. It amazes me that everyone loves that I'm traveling on my own and if they're older, they say they wished they had when they were my age. Yes, I'm definitely grateful for this time so bring it, I'm ready for some more adventure!!
Aside from the cute older, Japanese men sleeping on my flight, Sonja and Ryan were the first peeps I met flying to Phuket, a couple from the Gold Coast of Australia, we hit it off and made plans to meet up along Bangla road for drinks. But first, the touting had begun. On the bus ride from the airport into Phuket, the ever present tactic of making more money from the Western tourists (wow, I'm already jaded and I've just arrived, yikes), I mean, visit to a travel agency was made. Everyone had to get off the minibus and were questioned individually as to where we were staying. They played like they were baffled that I didn't have accommodations and didn't want to book something with them, I said I wanted to see a room before booking, fine, fine, but it's high season, I was warned, I might not find a room, fine, fine, I said, I'll take my chances. Round one of touting: I win! Found a nice, music cafe themed hostel in the center of touristy Patong beach.
First day was spent along the beach and of course, eating and trying the local brew, Chang. I really need to make it a habit of checking the alcohol content on those things, a whopping 6.4 % and this on an empty stomach and being such a lightweight, not my most shining moment. Also should've taken a clue from the German guys (if anyone knows beer they should, right?, hindsight 20-20) of just how strong Chang was. Yeah, they both drank just 1 small can each, I was on my second by the time they introduced themselves. Oh, my poor head, I went back to the hostel with the idea of taking a disco nap and properly going out to Bangla road later but my body had other ideas: slept 14 hours!
Quickly realized I wasn't the biggest fan of Phuket as the beaches were crowded, very touristy at least Patong beach was but I liked my hostel, met some fun peeps and experienced Bangla Road, which has to be the epicenter of ladyboys. (Seriously there's a bar people are lined up outside taking pictures of them dancing, with signs that the real girls were upstairs! The debate was on on just how to tell if they were proper lady boys, of course, obvious if they were dancing but along the streets they were everywhere. Is it the height? Or maybe their defined jawline? Or perhaps the presence of the adam's apple? I thought the latter was the answer but apparently this can be surgically corrected so your guess is as good as mine.) Although aside from the ladyboys, the only real view I had of life outside of touristy Patong beach was the motorbike ride with the manager of my hostel, Anman, who took me to see a quieter beach, Kamala and this great restaurant overlooking the ocean. Ordered all sorts of yummy Thai dishes: spicy, mango salad, massaman curry, green curry, Thai tea, some green bean, spicy mystery dish. Why I travel emphasized yet again.
So branching out of Phuket was obvious as there were so many gorgeous beaches nearby: just a few were James Bond Island and Ko Phi Phi, I decided on the latter and took a scenic slow boat which stopped near Maya Bay to snorkel. Phi Phi has nice beaches but only spent an hour or so there, half of which was spent walking the touristy village and the other half sleeping on the beach. There seems to be a pattern of sleeping emerging here but really, what else do you do in the heat of the day? Met a cool couple from South Africa living in Dubai and chatted about acting non-American, they were amazed I was from there, another pattern that was emerging. Basically, my American friends, we have a crap reputation abroad as uptight, no fun, gun-touting conservative freaks. I intend to change this stereotype with every non-American I meet!
The last day in Phuket had absolutely no rhyme or reason to it, a true wandering day, what I do best if I allow it but have decided to apply some semblance of structure and purpose to this trip which had suddenly changed direction and now feels like the ultimate self-exploratory journey. The only other productive thing I did was to go for the famous Thai massage as I was limping quite a bit. Was nervous explaining to the guy to be very careful, all this is pertinent as I noticed a girl getting a fish massage, her feet were just being tickled by these fish, I guess cleaning away at any dead skin. Wasn't feeling very extroverted but happened to strike up a mini conversation with her, thought she was cool then I was off to my massage. Yay, my knee did feel tremendously better, great decision! And later that night at my hostel, take a wild guess as to who I struck up a conversation with and hit it off with immediately, a few minutes into our conversation we realized hey, it's the fish massage girl and I was the knee surgery girl! The only glitch was I was leaving the next day to go to Krabi, to the more chill, less touristy island of Ko Lanta.
And so I am introduced to the Thai minibus experience. It all begins with a pick-up from your hostel, continues around the entire town in a seemingly random manner picking up numerous other passengers until voila! just when you think you're finally on your merry way and you get comfortable despite being packed in like sardines when they add yet another passenger to an already full bus, just where did they get that extra seat anyway? then they yell your destination and you switch buses, hoping your bag that's on top of the bus is still attached to the vehicle. Phew! Pretty similar to Central America and am still perplexed as to how the seeming disorganization somehow works. All of this transpired over 6 hours, 3 buses and 2 ferry rides and I wasn't entirely sure that I had a place to stay at the end of it meanwhile striking up a friendship with a French couple who decided to join me. Once onto Ko Lanta, I borrowed the cell phone of a local guy to call the Kantiang Bay resort where I thought maybe I had a place to stay as the previous hostel recommended this place, his friend worked there, yada, yada, yada, yes, we have a place for you and are coming to pick you up, yay, the Thai way of doing business works! They picked us up in a pickup truck with 12 others, our hair blowing in the wind, a favorite method of transport for short trips around islands, I have to say! The resort was just what I needed, the antithesis of Phuket, right on the beach, quiet enough but still had some nightlife and I stayed in a bungalow with mosquito netting! Sure, it was a bit crap, damaged from the horrible tsunami of 2004 but I thought charming at the time, even the detached bathroom seemed quaint but after two nights, I was ready for the room switch to air con and a view of the ocean. Days were spent along the beach and if not reading then taking the necessary dip in the ocean when it's too hot on the beach, you know the drill. Ahhh, the lazy, beach days with your biggest decision being what to order off the menu. I didn't even need to decide where to eat, the Why Not tiki bar with live music each night on the beach, yeah, no brainer. Jord, the friend from the first hostel I stayed at, happened to be the lead singer of the band which played great cover songs every night: Coldplay, Killers, Linkin Park, they even managed to keep the typical beach vibe cheese Bob Marley type of music to a minimum. Even played Pearl Jam and Nirvana, more memories of my Seattle roots, rock on! And the fire show preceding the music, not too shabby.
The only times my little routine diverged was when I ventured out into the little town but really my motivation was solely to buy the yogurt drinks, my RX for health and of course, visit the street vendors selling coconut pancakes, delish! And the mangoes, the fresh fruit and the shakes, heavenly! Ok so I did cartwheel on the beach. And oh yeah, took a little walk on the beach along some rocky formations towards the ultra-cute little bungalow beach side resort-y thatched roof hut with hammocks restaurant the ultimate cliche as far as naming restaurants in southeast Asia: Same Same but different. This phrase every single Asian and tourist has uttered it is the ultimate joke, on t-shirts, it's everywhere. If an explanation is too difficult to go into, same same....but different. Anyway, the food was amazing, by far the best papaya salad and spring rolls I've had yet! And other than that, tried to ride on the diving pier which moved along with the waves but security would never let me, believe me, I kept trying. Yes, I basically stuck to my little sliver of paradise for 6 days, loving my beach time, hanging with my new friends and basically, loving life! Well, aside from the bugs, geckos, mantises and other disgusting creepy, crawly things that unfortunately go hand in hand with the tropics. I was reminded why I like Seattle so much and why I chose it after years of living in the south of the US and Guam, ewwww. But I'm facing my fear of them one little scream (albeit sometimes muffled) at a time! :-)
So this seems like a pertinent time to mention synchronicity. You know when you meet someone just when you need to at exactly the moment you need to? Well, this has been happening to me consistently since traveling on my own, I have many examples in each place I've visited which continues to reinforce me that I'm on the right path whatever that may be. So, remember how my knee was messed up? I was limping, was seriously worried I'd need to return home to take care of it, well the lovely French couple just so happened to be osteopaths! They worked on my knee and assured me it was ok and of course, gave me advice on how to take care of it. And have since offered to stay with them in France! The fun Aussie couple as well! And the offer is vice versa.....if or when, I ever stay in one place long enough! And meeting Jai, the vivacious girl from London at the fish spa? Well, she joined me in Ko Lanta and we've since met up in Cambodia and plan to in Bangkok as well. It amazes me that everyone loves that I'm traveling on my own and if they're older, they say they wished they had when they were my age. Yes, I'm definitely grateful for this time so bring it, I'm ready for some more adventure!!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Konichiwa!
Clean, orderly, funky Japan, a culture I still can't fully grasp, how you are so appreciated after dirty, loud, unruly China! Truly, the clash of cultures is amazing. When planning this trip I was almost more excited to revisit Japan than to see Russia and Mongolia for the first time. Having only explored Tokyo and the area near Yokota air force base, I had regretted living so near Japan and missing Kyoto. That regret is now gone! Woo hoo, I got to see kinky kimonos in Kyoto!!
After flying into the Osaka airport, frustration set in trying to figure out how to get to the hostel, locating an ATM for yen and on top of that being completely exhausted from my previous night's escapades, what a relief to finally arrive at the cutest hostel imaginable, Hostel 64 Osaka. Think pure Japanese style: beds in the form of futons on tatami mats, shoji screens and the most unique showers (tatami and a seated shower with swinging arms to name two--wait until you see these pictures!), I was in love!
It was Halloween and this girl loves a dress up but just couldn't get my act together with all the traveling and lack of sleep so merely wore colored glasses and some flare and enjoyed others' creativity instead. It was hard to tell if the locals were dressed up for Halloween or if merely dressed in their usual style but as far as sheer numbers go, it's not like the droves of people dressed up in the States so even harder to tell if they were true harajuku girls or not. We checked out the local scene in the Tenjinbashi-suji shopping district, an area of arcades (the Japanese form of gambling), tons of bars and lights: think Vegas.
So many good eating experiences and this just in the course of 4 days but one of my favorites was the Takoyaki, octopus in fried dumplings, wicked good street food. I think Seattle should adopt this instead of the hot dog, street dogs are so last year and hot pockets just haven't taken off yet ;-) Another yummy experience was okonomiyaki, do it yourself grill type cooking but I have no idea what kind of meat I was eating, come to think of it nor did we have any idea what we were ordering, no wax foods at this joint. And here's another: just a typical udon restaurant yum! Soba in soup, ground beef with egg in rice, common ingredients but how do they always make it taste so damn good? Ramen with garlic, great ambience in the escort district, oh yeah! Breakfast at the hostel was homemade baked bread using rice flour vs. wheat and what a difference, so light with a touch of sweetness. And the sushi, honestly, don't have to say anything, do I? Besides YUM! But the ultimate gastronomic experience was by far the 10 course, fixed meal in Kyoto. Oh but before I describe probably should mention we weren't even hungry but thought, hey, let's check out this place, looks cool and random, we'll just order something light. Yep, 10 courses later, we rolled out of there. My favorite course had to be the whole fish that came out with the explanation in English: fish boiled in broth. (Love the Japanese, again I know I keep repeating but they crack me up always wanting to practice their Engrish, so cute, I want to just pinch every one of their cheeks!) So I attempted the whole fish, well the eyeballs, specifically. And I can't even brag I've eaten it as here's another foodie faux pas: fish eyeball, the first food that I've ever spit out. So sorry for my rudeness but crunch, gulp, it wasn't even the texture, just. wouldn't. go. down. :-(
Again I must point out the differences between China and Japan, which let's just get right down to it, can be summed up in one word: toilets. Yes, I am back on to my second favorite topic. Just take one look at the care of their facilities, no pushing to the front of the line and always immaculate. (By the way, apparently only Americans use the term bathroom or restroom, there is no bath and certainly no rest involved so why call it that? A fact that was pointed out by my Aussie travel mate, but then again they say dunny and the English say loo so what's wrong with bathroom or restroom? But clearly the rest of the world says toilet or WC, duh.) Have you any idea how nice it is to not only have clean and dry facilities but a WARM seat with a bidet and buttons that do everything from play music to splash water to dry and could probably pick the name of your firstborn if you let it. Pure BLISS after squat toilets.
Kyoto: dear God, can this country get any more perfect? LOVE!!!! It's as simple as that, quaint but big enough to have the most amazing Zen gardens, temples, and pagodas. It was apparent the moment you step out of the train station, Kyoto is more traditional than Osaka and Tokyo. The architecture of the buildings and the rock gardens made me feel completely at peace, this after a visit to an especially beautiful temple ground complete with a rock garden ending with a walk through a bamboo garden. Truly Zen! Kimonos were almost commonplace and the sheer variety was brilliant! And on one occasion, a group of girls in kimonos wanted pictures of us, so strange as I wasn't sure if it was rude to take pictures of them and here they were clicking away at us. The best moment was when a group of 3 geishas came toward us but I completely froze and only managed a photo as they were walking away, bummer. And oh yeah, I found a Seattle's best coffee, I kid you not! Oh and even a Tully's, Kyoto must be sister cities? And how funny to see Pike Place blend in Japanese, definitely getting homesick for Seattle. But Japan, I could live here, yes, I am not through with you just yet.
It's the little things about the people that I love the most. For instance, stopping at a random little eatery one night, we were greeted by some friendly Japanese wanting to know where we were from and eager to give us food suggestions. They quickly took a fascination to us, was it the turquoise glasses or maybe the disco bear? Who knows but as the night wore on and they drank more and more Asahi, one girl kept coming over and covering her mouth laughing, pointed to spoon man and said Brad Pitt, handsome. To me, beautiful. They wanted pictures, however, none came out, there was too much laughing and covering of the mouth. Hilarious!
And then there are the weird Japanese inventions. At Starbucks they have umbrella condoms! Yes, folks, just place your umbrella in this machine and it wraps a plastic bag around it, whisking away the rain as it does, a very cool, not sure if it can be classified as a chindogu but I'm gonna anyway. Seattle, are you listening?
My last day in Japan was spent biking around Osaka, running various errands to the US consulate, mailing cold weather clothes home and just seeing the city in its' entirety. Biking is such a great way to get to know a city, plus you can just cruise through the uninteresting industrial and business parts. Really fun although in a city the size of Osaka, trying to maneuver through the massive throngs of people is not fun and made even more not fun when the local police pull you over. Really? Do I look like a menace to society? Asking for my passport? Really? I'm on a bicycle. Clearly a safe and orderly country.
And this is where the story of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell ends. Flash packer status stripped, it's now real backpacking for this pixie dust throwing wanderlust girl. Stay tuned, the real adventure is just beginning........
After flying into the Osaka airport, frustration set in trying to figure out how to get to the hostel, locating an ATM for yen and on top of that being completely exhausted from my previous night's escapades, what a relief to finally arrive at the cutest hostel imaginable, Hostel 64 Osaka. Think pure Japanese style: beds in the form of futons on tatami mats, shoji screens and the most unique showers (tatami and a seated shower with swinging arms to name two--wait until you see these pictures!), I was in love!
It was Halloween and this girl loves a dress up but just couldn't get my act together with all the traveling and lack of sleep so merely wore colored glasses and some flare and enjoyed others' creativity instead. It was hard to tell if the locals were dressed up for Halloween or if merely dressed in their usual style but as far as sheer numbers go, it's not like the droves of people dressed up in the States so even harder to tell if they were true harajuku girls or not. We checked out the local scene in the Tenjinbashi-suji shopping district, an area of arcades (the Japanese form of gambling), tons of bars and lights: think Vegas.
So many good eating experiences and this just in the course of 4 days but one of my favorites was the Takoyaki, octopus in fried dumplings, wicked good street food. I think Seattle should adopt this instead of the hot dog, street dogs are so last year and hot pockets just haven't taken off yet ;-) Another yummy experience was okonomiyaki, do it yourself grill type cooking but I have no idea what kind of meat I was eating, come to think of it nor did we have any idea what we were ordering, no wax foods at this joint. And here's another: just a typical udon restaurant yum! Soba in soup, ground beef with egg in rice, common ingredients but how do they always make it taste so damn good? Ramen with garlic, great ambience in the escort district, oh yeah! Breakfast at the hostel was homemade baked bread using rice flour vs. wheat and what a difference, so light with a touch of sweetness. And the sushi, honestly, don't have to say anything, do I? Besides YUM! But the ultimate gastronomic experience was by far the 10 course, fixed meal in Kyoto. Oh but before I describe probably should mention we weren't even hungry but thought, hey, let's check out this place, looks cool and random, we'll just order something light. Yep, 10 courses later, we rolled out of there. My favorite course had to be the whole fish that came out with the explanation in English: fish boiled in broth. (Love the Japanese, again I know I keep repeating but they crack me up always wanting to practice their Engrish, so cute, I want to just pinch every one of their cheeks!) So I attempted the whole fish, well the eyeballs, specifically. And I can't even brag I've eaten it as here's another foodie faux pas: fish eyeball, the first food that I've ever spit out. So sorry for my rudeness but crunch, gulp, it wasn't even the texture, just. wouldn't. go. down. :-(
Again I must point out the differences between China and Japan, which let's just get right down to it, can be summed up in one word: toilets. Yes, I am back on to my second favorite topic. Just take one look at the care of their facilities, no pushing to the front of the line and always immaculate. (By the way, apparently only Americans use the term bathroom or restroom, there is no bath and certainly no rest involved so why call it that? A fact that was pointed out by my Aussie travel mate, but then again they say dunny and the English say loo so what's wrong with bathroom or restroom? But clearly the rest of the world says toilet or WC, duh.) Have you any idea how nice it is to not only have clean and dry facilities but a WARM seat with a bidet and buttons that do everything from play music to splash water to dry and could probably pick the name of your firstborn if you let it. Pure BLISS after squat toilets.
Kyoto: dear God, can this country get any more perfect? LOVE!!!! It's as simple as that, quaint but big enough to have the most amazing Zen gardens, temples, and pagodas. It was apparent the moment you step out of the train station, Kyoto is more traditional than Osaka and Tokyo. The architecture of the buildings and the rock gardens made me feel completely at peace, this after a visit to an especially beautiful temple ground complete with a rock garden ending with a walk through a bamboo garden. Truly Zen! Kimonos were almost commonplace and the sheer variety was brilliant! And on one occasion, a group of girls in kimonos wanted pictures of us, so strange as I wasn't sure if it was rude to take pictures of them and here they were clicking away at us. The best moment was when a group of 3 geishas came toward us but I completely froze and only managed a photo as they were walking away, bummer. And oh yeah, I found a Seattle's best coffee, I kid you not! Oh and even a Tully's, Kyoto must be sister cities? And how funny to see Pike Place blend in Japanese, definitely getting homesick for Seattle. But Japan, I could live here, yes, I am not through with you just yet.
It's the little things about the people that I love the most. For instance, stopping at a random little eatery one night, we were greeted by some friendly Japanese wanting to know where we were from and eager to give us food suggestions. They quickly took a fascination to us, was it the turquoise glasses or maybe the disco bear? Who knows but as the night wore on and they drank more and more Asahi, one girl kept coming over and covering her mouth laughing, pointed to spoon man and said Brad Pitt, handsome. To me, beautiful. They wanted pictures, however, none came out, there was too much laughing and covering of the mouth. Hilarious!
And then there are the weird Japanese inventions. At Starbucks they have umbrella condoms! Yes, folks, just place your umbrella in this machine and it wraps a plastic bag around it, whisking away the rain as it does, a very cool, not sure if it can be classified as a chindogu but I'm gonna anyway. Seattle, are you listening?
My last day in Japan was spent biking around Osaka, running various errands to the US consulate, mailing cold weather clothes home and just seeing the city in its' entirety. Biking is such a great way to get to know a city, plus you can just cruise through the uninteresting industrial and business parts. Really fun although in a city the size of Osaka, trying to maneuver through the massive throngs of people is not fun and made even more not fun when the local police pull you over. Really? Do I look like a menace to society? Asking for my passport? Really? I'm on a bicycle. Clearly a safe and orderly country.
And this is where the story of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell ends. Flash packer status stripped, it's now real backpacking for this pixie dust throwing wanderlust girl. Stay tuned, the real adventure is just beginning........
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Shanghai--the World Expo, travel thoughts and more of that mystery organ meat
I immediately liked Shanghai with it's certain Hong Kong-esque feel, very Western compared to Beijing: the poorer, dirtier and probably more authentic China even as Shanghai is China's most populous city, weighing in at a whopping 19 million. The stores in the subway were more upscale, even the trinkets seemed nicer, though still made in China, of course.
The strange, questionable foods finally did me in here. There will be no more pointing at the menu and blindly ordering things (well, until ? safer Japan anyway). I blame it on the probable kidney mixed with vegetables and more of that mystery meat, the smell nauseated me. And this from the Szechuan region, known for it's excellent, albeit, spicy fare. I realized, although adventurous, I do have certain reservations about my food, this chica ain't no Anthony Bourdain. So I vowed to stick to safer food options of the chicken-esque variety in meals such as hot pot soup. So for the record, it was Shanghai, 3 weeks into the trip where I broke down and had my first real western meal: pizza. Read 'em and weep, China will do that to a girl, even a self-proclaimed foodie.
Explored the happening Nanjing pedestrian shopping district, slightly akin to Vegas with it's garish lights. Hawkers kept trying to sell those laser things, you know what I'm talking about? It's fun to respond you're looking for, say a Ferrari or a yak, they'll still persist with trying to sell you their crap, gotta love their persistence anyway....or not. Moving along at the far end of Nanjing street is the Bund located on the banks of the Huangpu River with it's gorgeous 20th century neoclassical and art deco architecture. What a view of the Shanghai skyline at night, gorgeous! Took a ferry for 2 yuan to the Pudong Financial district, home of the world's third tallest skyscraper, the Shanghai World Financial Center, then hopped on board an open-air tourist bus to the Oriental Pearl Tower. Again, great view of the city at night. Then it was off to try out the Shanghai nightlife on a Wednesday night, ok, not bad but then again we did put on a bit of a show. Who me? Yeah ok, I was dancing in my seat, saving the knee and all, and when a Chinese girl wanted me to dance, this li'l disco diva just couldn't say no! Love the Chinese for their fun loving 'tudes. However, due to the price of liquor, this cocktail girl made best frenemies with Chinese beer.
Timing to Shanghai was great as the World Expo was being held! We braved the very Chinese crowds, avoiding a long queue by hopping into the special needs line (being a foreigner sometimes rocks) then proceeded to stand in a very long line for security, yet again. Ok, it's official, I feel safe in this country. We searched for bike rentals which were nowhere to be found despite being advertised and as the Expo covers a big chunk of real estate, no way could bum knee navigate. So the oxen attempted to first give me a ride on a trash can with the lid closed, ewwww, I couldn't do it (but I did manage to meet someone who works at my first professional job, Christus Santa Rosa hospital in San Antonio, small world!) There were no bus options either and since we had already tried the shoulder ride with some success although lots of Chinese pointing, laughing and taking lots of photos, maybe it was the spoon waving again that did 'em in. So the only feasible option left was a wheelchair. So you know those peeps who are disabled and get first access to everything and you secretly hate them because you've had to stand in line way longer than them and as you're waiting you begin to wonder if they're truly handicapped, well that was me and it got us into way more countries at the front of the line with barely any waiting time. Yeehaw, now I'm loving my bum knee! ;-)
So the Expo is pretty much a traveler's biggest dream or biggest nightmare. Dream, in terms of all it did for me was add yet another country to my already growing list by the minute and nightmare in that there's not enough time to see our big, wide, world. Little did I know at the time how soon I'd get to go back to further explore southeast Asia, and this time not for business. I had been talking to other travelers about Cambodia and Laos especially, so southeast Asia was on my mind. Better get cracking, I'm not getting any younger. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm actually doing, right now, in the present, the kind of travel I've always dreamed of doing. Jobs and responsibilities will always be there. Youth, not. I'm in a time rich cash poor situation which makes southeast Asia the ideal locale for me. I can not tell you how strongly I feel about this, starting to feel that the universe has conspired to get me to exactly this point. Either that or I'm reading entirely too much Paulo Coelho. But I majorly digress.
Another short trip to a big city, this one about 3 days. The last day explored the City God temple and Yuyuan Garden. The latter was pretty with the classic Chinese architecture and koi ponds although heavily touristed but my heart wasn't in it. Had to experience the Chinese foot massage, which was very nice and then a man with a light on his head came in, from now on he will be called torch dude. Torch dude took care of the dirty business of scraping off all that dead yucky skin, oy, and there was a lot of it, yuck. Sounds scary but was painless and left with the softest skin imaginable. After a bland but safe Chinese meal, finally, nightlife in a swanky club, a high rise building with a view of the river Huangpa and the Pudong skyline. And I did it up right, my friends, 2 caipirinhas, 2 tequila shots and a cigarette later, wow. (And oh yeah, managed to get locked in yet another bathroom stall, this is getting embarrassing.) Yeah, I felt this one and it didn't even wait 'til the morning. Cab ride home I couldn't get enough air and it's cold, peeps! Ok, I'm off the cigs foreva! The 2 hours of sleep and flight the next morning to Osaka was bearable, barely, courtesy of my lovely friend, the anti-emetic.
So China, here are my thoughts: I loved ya at times but sorry to say, you're not my favorite of countries. Perhaps once you relax the Facebook, news ban, and any other sort of means of freedom of expression, stop pushing everyone in crowds, spitting everywhere and wait your turn in line, I will reconsider. This last point gets me, I truly don't understand the logic behind the anything goes in bathroom lines. Why is it ok to jump right in front of someone? Ok, I obviously need to not be so judgmental and realize this is their cultural norm but these are my gripes. I like many of your people but if I return it will be to a prettier part like Guilin in the southwest and when it's warmer. Noticing the correlation yet? Girl needs some heat ;-)
The strange, questionable foods finally did me in here. There will be no more pointing at the menu and blindly ordering things (well, until ? safer Japan anyway). I blame it on the probable kidney mixed with vegetables and more of that mystery meat, the smell nauseated me. And this from the Szechuan region, known for it's excellent, albeit, spicy fare. I realized, although adventurous, I do have certain reservations about my food, this chica ain't no Anthony Bourdain. So I vowed to stick to safer food options of the chicken-esque variety in meals such as hot pot soup. So for the record, it was Shanghai, 3 weeks into the trip where I broke down and had my first real western meal: pizza. Read 'em and weep, China will do that to a girl, even a self-proclaimed foodie.
Explored the happening Nanjing pedestrian shopping district, slightly akin to Vegas with it's garish lights. Hawkers kept trying to sell those laser things, you know what I'm talking about? It's fun to respond you're looking for, say a Ferrari or a yak, they'll still persist with trying to sell you their crap, gotta love their persistence anyway....or not. Moving along at the far end of Nanjing street is the Bund located on the banks of the Huangpu River with it's gorgeous 20th century neoclassical and art deco architecture. What a view of the Shanghai skyline at night, gorgeous! Took a ferry for 2 yuan to the Pudong Financial district, home of the world's third tallest skyscraper, the Shanghai World Financial Center, then hopped on board an open-air tourist bus to the Oriental Pearl Tower. Again, great view of the city at night. Then it was off to try out the Shanghai nightlife on a Wednesday night, ok, not bad but then again we did put on a bit of a show. Who me? Yeah ok, I was dancing in my seat, saving the knee and all, and when a Chinese girl wanted me to dance, this li'l disco diva just couldn't say no! Love the Chinese for their fun loving 'tudes. However, due to the price of liquor, this cocktail girl made best frenemies with Chinese beer.
Timing to Shanghai was great as the World Expo was being held! We braved the very Chinese crowds, avoiding a long queue by hopping into the special needs line (being a foreigner sometimes rocks) then proceeded to stand in a very long line for security, yet again. Ok, it's official, I feel safe in this country. We searched for bike rentals which were nowhere to be found despite being advertised and as the Expo covers a big chunk of real estate, no way could bum knee navigate. So the oxen attempted to first give me a ride on a trash can with the lid closed, ewwww, I couldn't do it (but I did manage to meet someone who works at my first professional job, Christus Santa Rosa hospital in San Antonio, small world!) There were no bus options either and since we had already tried the shoulder ride with some success although lots of Chinese pointing, laughing and taking lots of photos, maybe it was the spoon waving again that did 'em in. So the only feasible option left was a wheelchair. So you know those peeps who are disabled and get first access to everything and you secretly hate them because you've had to stand in line way longer than them and as you're waiting you begin to wonder if they're truly handicapped, well that was me and it got us into way more countries at the front of the line with barely any waiting time. Yeehaw, now I'm loving my bum knee! ;-)
So the Expo is pretty much a traveler's biggest dream or biggest nightmare. Dream, in terms of all it did for me was add yet another country to my already growing list by the minute and nightmare in that there's not enough time to see our big, wide, world. Little did I know at the time how soon I'd get to go back to further explore southeast Asia, and this time not for business. I had been talking to other travelers about Cambodia and Laos especially, so southeast Asia was on my mind. Better get cracking, I'm not getting any younger. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm actually doing, right now, in the present, the kind of travel I've always dreamed of doing. Jobs and responsibilities will always be there. Youth, not. I'm in a time rich cash poor situation which makes southeast Asia the ideal locale for me. I can not tell you how strongly I feel about this, starting to feel that the universe has conspired to get me to exactly this point. Either that or I'm reading entirely too much Paulo Coelho. But I majorly digress.
Another short trip to a big city, this one about 3 days. The last day explored the City God temple and Yuyuan Garden. The latter was pretty with the classic Chinese architecture and koi ponds although heavily touristed but my heart wasn't in it. Had to experience the Chinese foot massage, which was very nice and then a man with a light on his head came in, from now on he will be called torch dude. Torch dude took care of the dirty business of scraping off all that dead yucky skin, oy, and there was a lot of it, yuck. Sounds scary but was painless and left with the softest skin imaginable. After a bland but safe Chinese meal, finally, nightlife in a swanky club, a high rise building with a view of the river Huangpa and the Pudong skyline. And I did it up right, my friends, 2 caipirinhas, 2 tequila shots and a cigarette later, wow. (And oh yeah, managed to get locked in yet another bathroom stall, this is getting embarrassing.) Yeah, I felt this one and it didn't even wait 'til the morning. Cab ride home I couldn't get enough air and it's cold, peeps! Ok, I'm off the cigs foreva! The 2 hours of sleep and flight the next morning to Osaka was bearable, barely, courtesy of my lovely friend, the anti-emetic.
So China, here are my thoughts: I loved ya at times but sorry to say, you're not my favorite of countries. Perhaps once you relax the Facebook, news ban, and any other sort of means of freedom of expression, stop pushing everyone in crowds, spitting everywhere and wait your turn in line, I will reconsider. This last point gets me, I truly don't understand the logic behind the anything goes in bathroom lines. Why is it ok to jump right in front of someone? Ok, I obviously need to not be so judgmental and realize this is their cultural norm but these are my gripes. I like many of your people but if I return it will be to a prettier part like Guilin in the southwest and when it's warmer. Noticing the correlation yet? Girl needs some heat ;-)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Beijing: culture shock as only the Chinese can provide
Leaving Mongolia was a departure from the usual train travel: ahhhh, the luxury of flying after days on a train, you have no idea, I might even stop complaining about domestic air travel in the US after this. The idea was to train it all the way across the Trans-Siberian and then (technically) across the Trans-mongolian into Beijing, a journey of 9611 Km or 5972 miles, phew. In our defense, there was just one train per week and it left UB the day we arrived ergo a different mode of transport was mandatory. There would be no bogey changing in the cards. Disappointed, yes, but a girl even lowish on the princess scale can only take so much. And the toilets just did me in :(
Beijing is 15 million peeps strong, massive. It took 2 hours to get to our hostel by Tiananmen Square from the airport via train and subway. We stayed in an older, more typical hutong neighborhood near Tianemen Square, in a hostel featuring a typical Chinese courtyard. Street food vendors were everywhere: mystery meat on a stick, one vendor used a hairdryer to cook it faster. This was more culture shock than I had experienced on the trip so far, even having visited China before. Trying street food is so up my alley so baptism by fire it was. First night we ate fried eggs out of a plastic bag, egg yolk crackers, dumplings, probable liver with peppers, meat from a shoulder maybe, and a soupy dish with slimy, spicy stuff. Quickly learned to adopt the policy of not asking what you are eating in China. Of course tried Peking duck and lemme tell ya, seeing the head is not the most appetizing of ways to start a meal. Then again neither was the snake tincture of something or other shot I had. Ewwwwww.
It is impossible to visit Tiananmen Square at night, security is tight everywhere, even in the subway and before visiting the square, one must go through screening. So a venture to tourist hell was to be had instead the first night: a pedestrian street full of western shops such as Nike, Starbucks, Tiffany and Rolex amidst Chinese architecture, a strange clash of east meets west. And here my semi-blondness was desired, I was asked to take a picture with a mother and her Chinese daughter, cute!
Off to the Great Wall of China! With traffic, took ~ 3 hours from the hostel via mini bus with a fun bunch of peeps, with the exception of myself all had some sort of British accent. It was a clear but cold and windy day, lucky with the weather as the previous days it had snowed preventing any kind of view. I still managed to slip on ice, not once but twice, once breaking one of my trekking poles, yes, I am officially a dork. The Badaling remnant of the wall was impressive, so high up, used to be the border of Mongolia and China, truly a magnificent sight to see! Spent 3 hours on the wall, which was plenty, especially with my bum knee. A new travel symbol, the plastic teddy bear affectionately known as Disco B, the potential Pin E replacement, was introduced. For it's first day to travel and see the Great Wall, wow, now that'll be a feat hard to top. Maybe disco-ing at the top to Fergie and blowing bubbles with a toy gun. Huh? Yeah, brought to you by spoon man.
After a family style traditional lunch complete with Chinese beers and Disco B almost left behind, we were off. Traffic on the way back was horrendous, a true reminder of China's population enormity. But we made it back just in time for an acrobatics show of contortionists, men jumping through some very high rings and general Chinese random acts of bravery. The most impressive act was the five motorcycles spinning together in a cage, joined one by one, for the finale.
Would avoid bar street unless you don't mind getting fleeced because you are a Westerner. Beers and cocktails all cost much more than local spots with nowhere near the ambience. Although I have to admit I did get my fix of American pop culture with Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera music videos. Ok, if I must be separated from my girlfriends and traveling with an Aussie, I'm gonna need this taste of home occasionally, indulge me.
Last day in Beijing, another fast tour of a massive city at only 48 hours, I couldn't miss the Imperial Palace, or Forbidden City, which I almost passed on until I got a view of the massivity ( is this a word? My iPad thinks not) of the complex and knew I couldn't miss it. Day started late with a bike rental and since my knee was wrecked after the Great Wall, I got to sit back and semi-relax as I rode Dutch style through Tiananmen Square and environs. I would recommend this as a mode of transport, especially if one is in possession of an orange spoon, it's a great thing to wave while waiting in traffic and making the Chinese laugh! All this on the way to visiting a beautiful park, Jingshan, for an amazing view of Beijing along with the Forbidden City.
Phew! It was a quick trip but on to a more Western feeling city: Shanghai. This time via train and this was a true Chinese experience, 6 bunks in each compartment with no doors. And lemme tell you, the Chinese are not the quietest of peeps! Sleep was only had due to mr. Sleeping pill, thank you very much. We barely made the train, a mere minute later and we would've been shit out of luck, ahhh, the adrenaline. Another 12 + hour trip that if we had waited to travel in one month, could've been on the high speed line at only 4 hours. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
Beijing is 15 million peeps strong, massive. It took 2 hours to get to our hostel by Tiananmen Square from the airport via train and subway. We stayed in an older, more typical hutong neighborhood near Tianemen Square, in a hostel featuring a typical Chinese courtyard. Street food vendors were everywhere: mystery meat on a stick, one vendor used a hairdryer to cook it faster. This was more culture shock than I had experienced on the trip so far, even having visited China before. Trying street food is so up my alley so baptism by fire it was. First night we ate fried eggs out of a plastic bag, egg yolk crackers, dumplings, probable liver with peppers, meat from a shoulder maybe, and a soupy dish with slimy, spicy stuff. Quickly learned to adopt the policy of not asking what you are eating in China. Of course tried Peking duck and lemme tell ya, seeing the head is not the most appetizing of ways to start a meal. Then again neither was the snake tincture of something or other shot I had. Ewwwwww.
It is impossible to visit Tiananmen Square at night, security is tight everywhere, even in the subway and before visiting the square, one must go through screening. So a venture to tourist hell was to be had instead the first night: a pedestrian street full of western shops such as Nike, Starbucks, Tiffany and Rolex amidst Chinese architecture, a strange clash of east meets west. And here my semi-blondness was desired, I was asked to take a picture with a mother and her Chinese daughter, cute!
Off to the Great Wall of China! With traffic, took ~ 3 hours from the hostel via mini bus with a fun bunch of peeps, with the exception of myself all had some sort of British accent. It was a clear but cold and windy day, lucky with the weather as the previous days it had snowed preventing any kind of view. I still managed to slip on ice, not once but twice, once breaking one of my trekking poles, yes, I am officially a dork. The Badaling remnant of the wall was impressive, so high up, used to be the border of Mongolia and China, truly a magnificent sight to see! Spent 3 hours on the wall, which was plenty, especially with my bum knee. A new travel symbol, the plastic teddy bear affectionately known as Disco B, the potential Pin E replacement, was introduced. For it's first day to travel and see the Great Wall, wow, now that'll be a feat hard to top. Maybe disco-ing at the top to Fergie and blowing bubbles with a toy gun. Huh? Yeah, brought to you by spoon man.
After a family style traditional lunch complete with Chinese beers and Disco B almost left behind, we were off. Traffic on the way back was horrendous, a true reminder of China's population enormity. But we made it back just in time for an acrobatics show of contortionists, men jumping through some very high rings and general Chinese random acts of bravery. The most impressive act was the five motorcycles spinning together in a cage, joined one by one, for the finale.
Would avoid bar street unless you don't mind getting fleeced because you are a Westerner. Beers and cocktails all cost much more than local spots with nowhere near the ambience. Although I have to admit I did get my fix of American pop culture with Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera music videos. Ok, if I must be separated from my girlfriends and traveling with an Aussie, I'm gonna need this taste of home occasionally, indulge me.
Last day in Beijing, another fast tour of a massive city at only 48 hours, I couldn't miss the Imperial Palace, or Forbidden City, which I almost passed on until I got a view of the massivity ( is this a word? My iPad thinks not) of the complex and knew I couldn't miss it. Day started late with a bike rental and since my knee was wrecked after the Great Wall, I got to sit back and semi-relax as I rode Dutch style through Tiananmen Square and environs. I would recommend this as a mode of transport, especially if one is in possession of an orange spoon, it's a great thing to wave while waiting in traffic and making the Chinese laugh! All this on the way to visiting a beautiful park, Jingshan, for an amazing view of Beijing along with the Forbidden City.
Phew! It was a quick trip but on to a more Western feeling city: Shanghai. This time via train and this was a true Chinese experience, 6 bunks in each compartment with no doors. And lemme tell you, the Chinese are not the quietest of peeps! Sleep was only had due to mr. Sleeping pill, thank you very much. We barely made the train, a mere minute later and we would've been shit out of luck, ahhh, the adrenaline. Another 12 + hour trip that if we had waited to travel in one month, could've been on the high speed line at only 4 hours. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Mongolia: home of yaks and two humped camels
Images of Mongolian horsemen laughing hysterically while riding beside the two humped camel caravans across the Gobi desert was my idea of Mongolia due entirely to my guidebook. This didn't exactly transpire as my first breath in the capital of ulan bator it was obvious, this place was even colder than Siberia. They don't call UB the coldest capital in the world for nothing, extreme temperatures of -46 degrees F in the winter are not uncommon. Unfortunately, visiting in October was already too late to do camel and yak trekking across the desert and steppes. But it was possible to visit nearby Terelj national park and stay in a ger (not a yurt as I thought they were called) to explore the rocky area.
Upon arriving in UB, a man approached us asking if we needed a hostel, spoon man negotiated and off we went to what I swear he said was France hostel, a bargain at $10 per night, ladies and gentlemen, we have left Russia and the highway robbery prices. He helped us with our luggage, (which is still entirely too much for flash packing), a big bonus in the cold and with my bum knee and at 6 am, having barely slept on the train again, a nice touch but I am not nearly as trusting as spoon man. Indeed, it was not a hostel, it was his home he took us to and did not smell the cleanest, it was not what I would have chosen but in the end turned out to be a good thing, much better to give to a local family vs. a hostel. I wasn't the happiest though as a cold shower after hours of skanky train travel wasn't my idea of a good time. But after crashing into sleep all morning and the family boiling water for us and giving us a padlock for the room, I shed my paranoia.
Decent, non-Russian (!) food was found and then a quick exploration of the city and travel arrangements were made. We were lucky with clear, not freezing weather to explore the monuments and hoods. UB is a dirty city, like most big cities but people were friendly and it was super easy to walk around. Did the usual pictures in warrior pose and of course no Mongolian visit is complete without cartwheeling in front of Genghis Khan statues.
Made a major foodie blunder: ate at an American franchised Mongolian BBQ restaurant. Gasp! But, hey, all in the name of research and yes it works the same although try not to add fat as one of your meats, yuck. Tons of Irish pubs, likely the result of ex-pats of the UN and the peace corps variety. Hit a major tourist destination: the first Mongol Irish pub, cheers, mate!
To truly experience Mongol life, it's recommended to spend time in the countryside. The drive out of UB was through poor, non-arable land with a thin top layer of grass and much trash. UB lies in a plateau with mountains all around and they didn't quit the whole 2 hour jeep ride. In the park itself, it began to turn rocky with horses and a two-humped!!!!!! camel hanging out by our ger-side. Due to the already unbearable winter in late October, the true nomads had already pushed on to warmer pastures, only the crazy tourists would want to spend a night in a ger. Cozy times, right? Yes and no, either you are so hot from the wood heater or brrrrr in a ger. Sorry, couldn't resist. The bathroom situation was good, used the main house where we had 3 hot, probably traditional Mongolian meals: meat-filled fried dumplings, coleslaw, beef stir-fry with bell peppers and rice and my favorite: the plastic wrapped choco-pie for dessert ;) Coffee consisted of a 3 in 1 mix of instant coffee, non- dairy creamer and sugar which was actually not bad, where has my coffee snobbiness gone?
After an hour of exploring the area, eating a huge meal, and taking a disco nap, what next? Our ride back to UB and civilization was 18 hours away and it ain't toasty here, what are two hyperactive peeps gonna do all cold with no camel or yak to ride? I know this might come as a total shocker but we read and talked like normal people. Yeah, ok, not entirely, we did decide to perform an exhumation of our party pinata, affectionately known as Pin E. Our hardy paper machie friend did not want to go down despite being nearly headless and in desperate need of some mechanical ventilation and nutrition support, he clearly had signs of kwashiorkor. It was time for Pin E to move on, in pinata years he was probably 90, we were doing him a huge favor. The wind was a factor, every last match was used to help him on his way, not a thought of how we would stay warm was given, all a sacrifice for the beloved child of spoon man. And so there he rests, on a rocky hillside in the Mongolian countryside aside gers and two-humped camels.
So....on to the ger. Caution: watch your head upon entering, at 5'6" I would've been a giant in nomadic times, yes, folks, I whacked my head forcefully upon entering, that'll learn me. At night, it was only necessary to have a candle and heat, the full moon was our lantern, nice light! Slept well even when the fire went out courtesy of a million blankets. Ahhhh, quiet countryside made a bit more fun during mealtimes with a local 3 year old entertaining us with his pow-pow antics and wanting his picture taken. Very cute!
Back to UB and another afternoon of exploring, this time in the snow, beautiful but cooolllldd! Visited the now working Gandan monastery, after years of Soviet rule, the monks were not allowed to practice and nearly 14,000 died for their beliefs. Gorgeous grounds!
Overall, loved Mongolia and want to return to get my yak on.....in the summer!
Upon arriving in UB, a man approached us asking if we needed a hostel, spoon man negotiated and off we went to what I swear he said was France hostel, a bargain at $10 per night, ladies and gentlemen, we have left Russia and the highway robbery prices. He helped us with our luggage, (which is still entirely too much for flash packing), a big bonus in the cold and with my bum knee and at 6 am, having barely slept on the train again, a nice touch but I am not nearly as trusting as spoon man. Indeed, it was not a hostel, it was his home he took us to and did not smell the cleanest, it was not what I would have chosen but in the end turned out to be a good thing, much better to give to a local family vs. a hostel. I wasn't the happiest though as a cold shower after hours of skanky train travel wasn't my idea of a good time. But after crashing into sleep all morning and the family boiling water for us and giving us a padlock for the room, I shed my paranoia.
Decent, non-Russian (!) food was found and then a quick exploration of the city and travel arrangements were made. We were lucky with clear, not freezing weather to explore the monuments and hoods. UB is a dirty city, like most big cities but people were friendly and it was super easy to walk around. Did the usual pictures in warrior pose and of course no Mongolian visit is complete without cartwheeling in front of Genghis Khan statues.
Made a major foodie blunder: ate at an American franchised Mongolian BBQ restaurant. Gasp! But, hey, all in the name of research and yes it works the same although try not to add fat as one of your meats, yuck. Tons of Irish pubs, likely the result of ex-pats of the UN and the peace corps variety. Hit a major tourist destination: the first Mongol Irish pub, cheers, mate!
To truly experience Mongol life, it's recommended to spend time in the countryside. The drive out of UB was through poor, non-arable land with a thin top layer of grass and much trash. UB lies in a plateau with mountains all around and they didn't quit the whole 2 hour jeep ride. In the park itself, it began to turn rocky with horses and a two-humped!!!!!! camel hanging out by our ger-side. Due to the already unbearable winter in late October, the true nomads had already pushed on to warmer pastures, only the crazy tourists would want to spend a night in a ger. Cozy times, right? Yes and no, either you are so hot from the wood heater or brrrrr in a ger. Sorry, couldn't resist. The bathroom situation was good, used the main house where we had 3 hot, probably traditional Mongolian meals: meat-filled fried dumplings, coleslaw, beef stir-fry with bell peppers and rice and my favorite: the plastic wrapped choco-pie for dessert ;) Coffee consisted of a 3 in 1 mix of instant coffee, non- dairy creamer and sugar which was actually not bad, where has my coffee snobbiness gone?
After an hour of exploring the area, eating a huge meal, and taking a disco nap, what next? Our ride back to UB and civilization was 18 hours away and it ain't toasty here, what are two hyperactive peeps gonna do all cold with no camel or yak to ride? I know this might come as a total shocker but we read and talked like normal people. Yeah, ok, not entirely, we did decide to perform an exhumation of our party pinata, affectionately known as Pin E. Our hardy paper machie friend did not want to go down despite being nearly headless and in desperate need of some mechanical ventilation and nutrition support, he clearly had signs of kwashiorkor. It was time for Pin E to move on, in pinata years he was probably 90, we were doing him a huge favor. The wind was a factor, every last match was used to help him on his way, not a thought of how we would stay warm was given, all a sacrifice for the beloved child of spoon man. And so there he rests, on a rocky hillside in the Mongolian countryside aside gers and two-humped camels.
So....on to the ger. Caution: watch your head upon entering, at 5'6" I would've been a giant in nomadic times, yes, folks, I whacked my head forcefully upon entering, that'll learn me. At night, it was only necessary to have a candle and heat, the full moon was our lantern, nice light! Slept well even when the fire went out courtesy of a million blankets. Ahhhh, quiet countryside made a bit more fun during mealtimes with a local 3 year old entertaining us with his pow-pow antics and wanting his picture taken. Very cute!
Back to UB and another afternoon of exploring, this time in the snow, beautiful but cooolllldd! Visited the now working Gandan monastery, after years of Soviet rule, the monks were not allowed to practice and nearly 14,000 died for their beliefs. Gorgeous grounds!
Overall, loved Mongolia and want to return to get my yak on.....in the summer!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Lake Baikal: world's deepest fresh water lake
Irkutsk/Lake Baikal to Ulan Bator
Arrived, very skankily, after 60+ hours on the train to our small hostel in Irkutsk. A hot shower never felt so good! Explored the town a bit, known as Paris of Siberia, ate omul, the fish from nearby Lake Baikal, in a friendly, funky restaurant. Met lots of peeps from the hostel, including Richard, from our first train ride. Touristally (this can't possibly be a word, my first bush-ism), drank beers at a German beer haus, odd to see Russian girls dressed in dirndls in the middle of Siberia. After a nearly sleepless night coughing up my lungs and likely keeping up half the hostel where I earned the nickname of coughing vampire due to my inability to sleep before say 2 am or so, about the time my coughing fits commenced, a hike to the deepest fresh water lake was in order.
Lake Baikal is said to be able to supply the world with it's water for 40 years if there were no other source. Michael, a very well traveled Canadian, joined us, well more like I was joining them, the banter was quite, how should I put this, boy-ey. I slept through most of the apparently windy and icy drive to the trail head, which was nothing more than some railroad tracks and we were told to meet her in the second village, her white car would be waiting, it would only take us 2 hours. 4 1/2 hours later, 12 km walked, we arrived but I digress.
The first part of the hike to the lake was though forest and some shoddily made bridges, reminiscent of the Blair Witch project. (Pictures will explain this correlation). An hour or so we approach a "town" of 6 buildings and were unsure which way to follow the train tracks, our only directions from our driver. This was our first glimpse of Lake Baikal and she is a beaut! Luckily, Jake, from Baikaler hostel, where we were staying, spoke enough English to point us in the right direction but not before he offered us the use of his canoe, as long as we could name the colors of the Jamaican flag, very cool dude. He was also running a hostel here for only 200 rubles per night ($7 US dollars/per night!, even more amazing as Russia is not cheap) so close to the lake and what a chillaxed feel it had. If it weren't so damn cold, I would've wanted to stay here for longer but we were lucky enough in having a clear day so alas, another time I'll be back to kick it with a bottle of vodka and hear some random stories from fishermen.
After our cold canoe ride, we were off for the portion of the trail on the railroad tracks and through some tunnels, the old railroad. Stopped for a picnic lunch and more bantering with our new Canadian friend then off again to walk the never ending trek back to the white car. Normally this would have been easy but my knee had different ideas, just 3+ months post ACL surgery, I was limping towards the end but was so glad I survived!
Back at the hostel front, we joined a group who was leaving that night on the same train as us to Ulan Ude, the last stop in Russia. We ate at an I restaurant having grown tired of the Russian fare, meanwhile exchanging traveling stories and suggestions.
On the train again, this compartment was older than the last, it seems the further we were from Moscow, the older they were. We shared it with 2 Russian girls who giggled for most of the trip, making me sorely miss my girlfriends. :( 6 am (or was it 1am Moscow time? Still so confused.) we arrive and we must gather all our belongings and change carriages, on the same train although. And the carriage was the oldest/worst yet although we had 2 very cool Dutch guys who we entertained and vice versa. One guy worked for the government as a lawyer in The Hague, the other a more melancholy freelance writer. This company was most welcome as this was by far the most frustrating portion of the trip, crossing into the Mongolian border. 4 1/2 hours still for just one carriage!!! And then more waiting once in Mongolia proper. Have you any idea how difficult this is for two 7 personalities on the enneagram scale? It's quite one thing when you're moving to be on a train for 24 hours, another to be stopped for half of that during daylight hours when the Siberian scenery was just getting interesting. Even more frustrating was learning the bus just took 12 hours and was cheaper. But I rant. This is when we started drinking vodka and warm beer and turning our train into a disco!
Arrived, very skankily, after 60+ hours on the train to our small hostel in Irkutsk. A hot shower never felt so good! Explored the town a bit, known as Paris of Siberia, ate omul, the fish from nearby Lake Baikal, in a friendly, funky restaurant. Met lots of peeps from the hostel, including Richard, from our first train ride. Touristally (this can't possibly be a word, my first bush-ism), drank beers at a German beer haus, odd to see Russian girls dressed in dirndls in the middle of Siberia. After a nearly sleepless night coughing up my lungs and likely keeping up half the hostel where I earned the nickname of coughing vampire due to my inability to sleep before say 2 am or so, about the time my coughing fits commenced, a hike to the deepest fresh water lake was in order.
Lake Baikal is said to be able to supply the world with it's water for 40 years if there were no other source. Michael, a very well traveled Canadian, joined us, well more like I was joining them, the banter was quite, how should I put this, boy-ey. I slept through most of the apparently windy and icy drive to the trail head, which was nothing more than some railroad tracks and we were told to meet her in the second village, her white car would be waiting, it would only take us 2 hours. 4 1/2 hours later, 12 km walked, we arrived but I digress.
The first part of the hike to the lake was though forest and some shoddily made bridges, reminiscent of the Blair Witch project. (Pictures will explain this correlation). An hour or so we approach a "town" of 6 buildings and were unsure which way to follow the train tracks, our only directions from our driver. This was our first glimpse of Lake Baikal and she is a beaut! Luckily, Jake, from Baikaler hostel, where we were staying, spoke enough English to point us in the right direction but not before he offered us the use of his canoe, as long as we could name the colors of the Jamaican flag, very cool dude. He was also running a hostel here for only 200 rubles per night ($7 US dollars/per night!, even more amazing as Russia is not cheap) so close to the lake and what a chillaxed feel it had. If it weren't so damn cold, I would've wanted to stay here for longer but we were lucky enough in having a clear day so alas, another time I'll be back to kick it with a bottle of vodka and hear some random stories from fishermen.
After our cold canoe ride, we were off for the portion of the trail on the railroad tracks and through some tunnels, the old railroad. Stopped for a picnic lunch and more bantering with our new Canadian friend then off again to walk the never ending trek back to the white car. Normally this would have been easy but my knee had different ideas, just 3+ months post ACL surgery, I was limping towards the end but was so glad I survived!
Back at the hostel front, we joined a group who was leaving that night on the same train as us to Ulan Ude, the last stop in Russia. We ate at an I restaurant having grown tired of the Russian fare, meanwhile exchanging traveling stories and suggestions.
On the train again, this compartment was older than the last, it seems the further we were from Moscow, the older they were. We shared it with 2 Russian girls who giggled for most of the trip, making me sorely miss my girlfriends. :( 6 am (or was it 1am Moscow time? Still so confused.) we arrive and we must gather all our belongings and change carriages, on the same train although. And the carriage was the oldest/worst yet although we had 2 very cool Dutch guys who we entertained and vice versa. One guy worked for the government as a lawyer in The Hague, the other a more melancholy freelance writer. This company was most welcome as this was by far the most frustrating portion of the trip, crossing into the Mongolian border. 4 1/2 hours still for just one carriage!!! And then more waiting once in Mongolia proper. Have you any idea how difficult this is for two 7 personalities on the enneagram scale? It's quite one thing when you're moving to be on a train for 24 hours, another to be stopped for half of that during daylight hours when the Siberian scenery was just getting interesting. Even more frustrating was learning the bus just took 12 hours and was cheaper. But I rant. This is when we started drinking vodka and warm beer and turning our train into a disco!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Trans-Siberian shenanigans
1st jaunt on the trans-siberian railroad from Moscow to Perm was 20 hours and we were spoiled compared to the train we're currently on which unfortunately is triple the time although much more authentic but I digress. Finding the platform for the train was interesting, we had electronic tickets and were told that's all we needed, hmmmm, I tried to go through without a ticket and was quickly stopped by the scary Russian men in uniform. Backing up with my huge pack was not an easy feat, good thing they caught me as I was heading to the subway, that would have been a much less scenic 20 hour trip.
Compartments in second class consisted of four bunk beds: 2 up, 2 down, we had the upper accommodations which was cool as we always had our private space but did at times mean we were impeding on the downers' space, where the only common area to talk or eat was. Our carriage was shared with a young Russian couple, Dmitry, 23, and Oksana, 19, newly married couple and pregnant. Very nice Russian couple, engaging and interested in speaking to us in English. Aside from Richard, a friendly American traveling from Moscow to Irkutsk and eventually all the way across the Trans-Sib to Vladivostok, we were the only tourists. We all debated the virtues of American collegiate sports, politics, traveling, and life in general, over many a beers, well the boys outdrank me at least 3 to 1. Good fun!
Our first stop was Perm, a city built only due to its' strategic position along the Trans-Sib and made famous by Dr. Zhivago. It had a lot of Soviet charm and by this, I mean white, white, and more white with the random green alien selling computer gadgets on top of a white, white and more white shopping center. Stayed at the Hotel Ural, as we were on the western edge of the Ural Mountains, although the scenery was very flat and stayed this way for most of the trip. Perm did not leave much of an impression, was mostly just a stop off point to take a hot shower and watch clothes as the trains don't have showers and the next jaunt would be 60 hours, whoa! What I did notice was a lot of straight hair in Perm.
On the longest train journey I've had to date: 60 hours. Dreaded this knowing the train wouldn't be as nice and from the moment we spotted it, we were sure this would be a much more authentic experience as we were far and away the only tourists on board. Our time schedules never quite adjusted to the locals. All trains run on Moscow time and there are 9 time zones across Russia so going to bed at 2 am after reading, watching movies and what not in the dining car, we were really going to bed at say, 5 am and waking up mid-day Moscow time which was really 3 pm local time. We were never sure when to eat and one night, missed dinner entirely, were told only vodka and beer was available but managed to phenangle instant noodle soup, prawn crackers and peanuts out of the staff. I'm pretty sure today is Saturday, we got on board Thursday mid-day Moscow time which was two hours ahead in local Perm time. We arrive in Irkutsk Sunday morning 4 am Moscow time which probably means local time maybe 8 am? We will sleep 3 nights on the train, this is longer than we spent in Moscow. And somehow time does fly by, the daily routines of sleeping, waking, eating breakfast, reading, changing clothes and trying to converse with others and mostly just talking to each other seems to eat up the day.
I was quite sick when arriving on the train and felt badly at bedtime knowing I was waking the others with my cough. The lady from Vladivostok is a Doctor and gave me nasal decongestant and a throat spray and proceeded to show me how to use and wash the device, taking me to the bathroom in order to be sure I knew to wash it in between uses. Awwww, so sweet. She was a chatty woman, spoke no English, the only way we know where she was from was Andrew, the first man from Moscow who spoke some English. His replacement, Sergei, came in the middle of the night, this just when two Russian men took an interest in me with Igor kissing my hand repeatedly and giving me a thumbs-up, all this transpired when spoon man took advantage of the long train stop to get in a run. We were then invited into their room for some beers, I only knew the invite as he flicked his chin in an okay symbol, thanks for the tip, Amie! Found out he's in the military, doing what we have no idea as when we tried to leave, he proceeded to lock us in his room. Alrighty then. Most embarrassing moment so far was when we needed a private moment and both our bunkmates were gone so we locked the door but Natasha needed something in our room so spoon man let her in, she came and left quickly, closed the door and said "bye-bye" and proceeded to leave us alone the rest of the day. :-)
Food can only be described as passable at best. Fish, fish bones, and more fish bones, beans and mashed potatoes for breakfast, and instant Nescafe coffee, yeah, definitely not in Seattle anymore. The translations on the dining car menu are quite amusing: caesar salad is mayonnaise, peas, corn and cucumbers, not the worst meal I had although. That would have to be the bloated sausage and Eastern fairy tail steak. Lovely. I say all this and yet it was all a part of the experience, and one we did not share with the other Russians as they would never consider eating on the dining car according to the guide book. That explains the emptiness in the dining car and the reliance of the food cart and meals eaten in the compartments. I would go nuts spending as much time in the compartments as the locals do, each stop I wanted to get out and MOVE! I had train fever, got testily antsy only once and this was quickly solved with some fresh air, a walk outside at one of the many stops. And here I will only make one mention of the bathrooms: GROSS.
As a thank you to Natasha, we tried to give her a bottle of wine which then turned into a chocolate and wine fest for all with our bunkmates and Viktor, who spoke some English. Topics discussed included petrol costs, education, what we thought of Putin, why we were traveling, how we met, and where we've lived and traveled.
So far from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk we have traveled 3,742 km or 2,296 miles!
Compartments in second class consisted of four bunk beds: 2 up, 2 down, we had the upper accommodations which was cool as we always had our private space but did at times mean we were impeding on the downers' space, where the only common area to talk or eat was. Our carriage was shared with a young Russian couple, Dmitry, 23, and Oksana, 19, newly married couple and pregnant. Very nice Russian couple, engaging and interested in speaking to us in English. Aside from Richard, a friendly American traveling from Moscow to Irkutsk and eventually all the way across the Trans-Sib to Vladivostok, we were the only tourists. We all debated the virtues of American collegiate sports, politics, traveling, and life in general, over many a beers, well the boys outdrank me at least 3 to 1. Good fun!
Our first stop was Perm, a city built only due to its' strategic position along the Trans-Sib and made famous by Dr. Zhivago. It had a lot of Soviet charm and by this, I mean white, white, and more white with the random green alien selling computer gadgets on top of a white, white and more white shopping center. Stayed at the Hotel Ural, as we were on the western edge of the Ural Mountains, although the scenery was very flat and stayed this way for most of the trip. Perm did not leave much of an impression, was mostly just a stop off point to take a hot shower and watch clothes as the trains don't have showers and the next jaunt would be 60 hours, whoa! What I did notice was a lot of straight hair in Perm.
On the longest train journey I've had to date: 60 hours. Dreaded this knowing the train wouldn't be as nice and from the moment we spotted it, we were sure this would be a much more authentic experience as we were far and away the only tourists on board. Our time schedules never quite adjusted to the locals. All trains run on Moscow time and there are 9 time zones across Russia so going to bed at 2 am after reading, watching movies and what not in the dining car, we were really going to bed at say, 5 am and waking up mid-day Moscow time which was really 3 pm local time. We were never sure when to eat and one night, missed dinner entirely, were told only vodka and beer was available but managed to phenangle instant noodle soup, prawn crackers and peanuts out of the staff. I'm pretty sure today is Saturday, we got on board Thursday mid-day Moscow time which was two hours ahead in local Perm time. We arrive in Irkutsk Sunday morning 4 am Moscow time which probably means local time maybe 8 am? We will sleep 3 nights on the train, this is longer than we spent in Moscow. And somehow time does fly by, the daily routines of sleeping, waking, eating breakfast, reading, changing clothes and trying to converse with others and mostly just talking to each other seems to eat up the day.
I was quite sick when arriving on the train and felt badly at bedtime knowing I was waking the others with my cough. The lady from Vladivostok is a Doctor and gave me nasal decongestant and a throat spray and proceeded to show me how to use and wash the device, taking me to the bathroom in order to be sure I knew to wash it in between uses. Awwww, so sweet. She was a chatty woman, spoke no English, the only way we know where she was from was Andrew, the first man from Moscow who spoke some English. His replacement, Sergei, came in the middle of the night, this just when two Russian men took an interest in me with Igor kissing my hand repeatedly and giving me a thumbs-up, all this transpired when spoon man took advantage of the long train stop to get in a run. We were then invited into their room for some beers, I only knew the invite as he flicked his chin in an okay symbol, thanks for the tip, Amie! Found out he's in the military, doing what we have no idea as when we tried to leave, he proceeded to lock us in his room. Alrighty then. Most embarrassing moment so far was when we needed a private moment and both our bunkmates were gone so we locked the door but Natasha needed something in our room so spoon man let her in, she came and left quickly, closed the door and said "bye-bye" and proceeded to leave us alone the rest of the day. :-)
Food can only be described as passable at best. Fish, fish bones, and more fish bones, beans and mashed potatoes for breakfast, and instant Nescafe coffee, yeah, definitely not in Seattle anymore. The translations on the dining car menu are quite amusing: caesar salad is mayonnaise, peas, corn and cucumbers, not the worst meal I had although. That would have to be the bloated sausage and Eastern fairy tail steak. Lovely. I say all this and yet it was all a part of the experience, and one we did not share with the other Russians as they would never consider eating on the dining car according to the guide book. That explains the emptiness in the dining car and the reliance of the food cart and meals eaten in the compartments. I would go nuts spending as much time in the compartments as the locals do, each stop I wanted to get out and MOVE! I had train fever, got testily antsy only once and this was quickly solved with some fresh air, a walk outside at one of the many stops. And here I will only make one mention of the bathrooms: GROSS.
As a thank you to Natasha, we tried to give her a bottle of wine which then turned into a chocolate and wine fest for all with our bunkmates and Viktor, who spoke some English. Topics discussed included petrol costs, education, what we thought of Putin, why we were traveling, how we met, and where we've lived and traveled.
So far from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk we have traveled 3,742 km or 2,296 miles!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Moscow: cold and conformist
Cold and conformist Moscow, at least that was my first impression. 4 1/2 hours by train from St Petersburg and it feels like a different universe entirely. Gone are the brides everywhere, here men in uniforms reign. And they really are everywhere. Have I traded in kitschy beauty and hope for the future for post-Soviet blah? Thankfully, this was not to be the case, Moscow grew on me, a mere 48 hours allowed just enough time to get a feel for the city. And I'd go back. But only in summer.
Arriving into the city, architecture is stunning but wow, what a big city, the largest in Europe. Having a bit of a cold and it being so cold, the first night was just a foray into the subway system, where I quickly learned it was acceptable for two people to use one ticket or jump over the turnstile entirely to avoid paying, all this within plain sight of scarily clad men in uniform. I participated in this as well, except for the time the turnstile caught me in the leg as I went through the wrong stile, oops. In my defense, those men in uniform freaked me out. The subway stops themselves are worth visiting for their art. Oh and this is where it's apparent we are no longer in Kansas, Dorothy, there is no English anywhere. Had to match letters of the alphabet to where we were going. Also much less smiles going on. On one occasion, we boarded an extremely packed train, you know the kind reminiscent of sardines, where an otherwise crabby old lady was complaining of getting pushed. Well, our friendly little pinata pressed into her and what do you think happened? Yes, Pin E brought a smile to her face; and many strange looks from others.
First tourist destination: the Red Square. Mother Nature decided to make our visit extra special with a hailstorm. St Basil's was colorful as expected and the one place we visited inside. Lenin's mausoleum was closed but the blingy shopping center, the GUM, was a warm respite and likely where the Oligarchs shop if nothing else. McDonald's by the Kremlin in the Cyrillic alphabet was hyper capitalism at it's finest along with the usual tacky souvenirs. Who wouldn't love a girly pink ushanka with the soviet symbol anyway?
We searched for an Azerbeijini and Armenian restaurant without luck. What we did find was a Ukrainian restaurant with Texas sized portions complete with a Ukranian babushka tending animals in the middle of the restaurant. I kind of wish I were kidding. Basically, everything was either meat or came with a side of meat. The usual borsch, or beet root soup, even had meat in it. I think the beer might have too. Another restaurant experience worth mentioning did not have an English menu so our waitress asked us if we wanted pork, beef or fish and brought out the corresponding meat meal, now that's service.
Other observations: there seem to be a lot of young, pretty women with older, larger men, money talks in this city. And this is where I'm being American, smoking is everywhere, I miss the clean air of Seattle. And contrary to what we were told about Moscow nightlife always going off, we did not go out as only Friday nights are happening. Too bad as the clubs are in factories, we saw one especially with massive bling on the outside.
Our last day in Moscow was spent visiting the site of the 1980 Olympics, the ones banned by Western countries due to the Afghan war. Spoon man lured me there under false pretenses to hit some golf balls at the range, I was under the impression we were going to the Novodevichy Cemetery. Boys and their balls. Eventually, we got there after a round of spoon tossing as witnessed by the most famous Olympic symbol, Misha, the mouse looking thing. The cemetery itself was beautiful, actually. The tombstones were mostly of military men who died serving their country (most of which looked angry) although there were some surprisingly abstract tombstones as well as Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev's wife, and I'm kicking myself I didn't know this at the time, Nikolai Gogol. Just neighboring the cemetery, is the beautiful convent grounds, again, home to some pretty amazing church architecture.
On a random side note, the problem I have with locking myself in bathrooms reared its' ugly head. I did it not once, not twice, but three times in 48 hours in Moscow. The first was in the hostel but here's a tip, it's a rather amusing way to make friends. From there on out, I didn't want to lock the door and once I finally did, yes, I locked myself in yet again. And the last was in a crepe cafe, by this time I can't stop laughing at myself. My most favorite bathroom I've ever locked myself in all time is a Paris port-a-potty. Just a random side note about bathrooms.
Onwards to the first leg of the Trans-Siberain railroad journey. First up: a 20 hour overnighter to Perm, a city that would not exist had it not been for the railroad, which Dr. Zhivago also calls home.
Arriving into the city, architecture is stunning but wow, what a big city, the largest in Europe. Having a bit of a cold and it being so cold, the first night was just a foray into the subway system, where I quickly learned it was acceptable for two people to use one ticket or jump over the turnstile entirely to avoid paying, all this within plain sight of scarily clad men in uniform. I participated in this as well, except for the time the turnstile caught me in the leg as I went through the wrong stile, oops. In my defense, those men in uniform freaked me out. The subway stops themselves are worth visiting for their art. Oh and this is where it's apparent we are no longer in Kansas, Dorothy, there is no English anywhere. Had to match letters of the alphabet to where we were going. Also much less smiles going on. On one occasion, we boarded an extremely packed train, you know the kind reminiscent of sardines, where an otherwise crabby old lady was complaining of getting pushed. Well, our friendly little pinata pressed into her and what do you think happened? Yes, Pin E brought a smile to her face; and many strange looks from others.
First tourist destination: the Red Square. Mother Nature decided to make our visit extra special with a hailstorm. St Basil's was colorful as expected and the one place we visited inside. Lenin's mausoleum was closed but the blingy shopping center, the GUM, was a warm respite and likely where the Oligarchs shop if nothing else. McDonald's by the Kremlin in the Cyrillic alphabet was hyper capitalism at it's finest along with the usual tacky souvenirs. Who wouldn't love a girly pink ushanka with the soviet symbol anyway?
We searched for an Azerbeijini and Armenian restaurant without luck. What we did find was a Ukrainian restaurant with Texas sized portions complete with a Ukranian babushka tending animals in the middle of the restaurant. I kind of wish I were kidding. Basically, everything was either meat or came with a side of meat. The usual borsch, or beet root soup, even had meat in it. I think the beer might have too. Another restaurant experience worth mentioning did not have an English menu so our waitress asked us if we wanted pork, beef or fish and brought out the corresponding meat meal, now that's service.
Other observations: there seem to be a lot of young, pretty women with older, larger men, money talks in this city. And this is where I'm being American, smoking is everywhere, I miss the clean air of Seattle. And contrary to what we were told about Moscow nightlife always going off, we did not go out as only Friday nights are happening. Too bad as the clubs are in factories, we saw one especially with massive bling on the outside.
Our last day in Moscow was spent visiting the site of the 1980 Olympics, the ones banned by Western countries due to the Afghan war. Spoon man lured me there under false pretenses to hit some golf balls at the range, I was under the impression we were going to the Novodevichy Cemetery. Boys and their balls. Eventually, we got there after a round of spoon tossing as witnessed by the most famous Olympic symbol, Misha, the mouse looking thing. The cemetery itself was beautiful, actually. The tombstones were mostly of military men who died serving their country (most of which looked angry) although there were some surprisingly abstract tombstones as well as Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev's wife, and I'm kicking myself I didn't know this at the time, Nikolai Gogol. Just neighboring the cemetery, is the beautiful convent grounds, again, home to some pretty amazing church architecture.
On a random side note, the problem I have with locking myself in bathrooms reared its' ugly head. I did it not once, not twice, but three times in 48 hours in Moscow. The first was in the hostel but here's a tip, it's a rather amusing way to make friends. From there on out, I didn't want to lock the door and once I finally did, yes, I locked myself in yet again. And the last was in a crepe cafe, by this time I can't stop laughing at myself. My most favorite bathroom I've ever locked myself in all time is a Paris port-a-potty. Just a random side note about bathrooms.
Onwards to the first leg of the Trans-Siberain railroad journey. First up: a 20 hour overnighter to Perm, a city that would not exist had it not been for the railroad, which Dr. Zhivago also calls home.
Monday, October 11, 2010
St. Petersburg -- land of canals, palaces, and vodka!
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell's 6 month journey has begun in style, first stop: St. Petersburg, Russia! The most northern stop on our journey. And it was cold, could've used an ushanka, even in October. The travel bug is alive and well, loving to be in a foreign land where the only words I know are yes, no, and thank you. Somehow we've managed to get by with charades, pointing, and smiles....so far. However, a crash course in the alphabet may be in order for the Trans-Sib portion.
If it weren't for the russian language and cyrillic alphabet, St Petersburg could be confused with a European city. Between the ornate palaces, churches, and canals, Peter the Great built a stunning city from swampland. Our only encounter with the Russian mafia so far had to be the taxi fleecing, cars just pull up to you, unknown if they are taxis or not where negotiation is king. We thought we could avoid this with an official looking taxi, you know the kind with a taxi sign on top and a meter, but no, he was the biggest fleece of all, a mere double the price from the airport to our hotel which took 45 minutes, this trip was just 10 minutes and consisted of driving around the block. Dinner was just over half of the cost of this taxi ride. Karma did return its favor, one Tjikstani driver walked us to our Georgian restaurant. And many others probably only fleeced us a little.
St Pete had surprisingly friendly people offering up smiles. Well aside from the security ladies manning the Hermitage Museum, that is. Or maybe that was the result of the company I was keeping, hence forward he will be called spoon man. (Apparently, it is frowned upon to carry orange spoons and make noise with it.) Very impressive art collection, impressive state rooms and wow, the chandeliers. This museum claims to house the world's most impressive and finest art collection. Yes, indeed, although I will likely remember the views and the rooms itself as well as the history during the siege of WWII, where 2,000 staff members and families were provided shelter below the museum.
History aside, our first night was very aptly begun with a trip to the vodka tasting room. Beluga!!!! Also tried fish preserved in aspic, interesting, just a weird gelatinous texture seemingly preserving the fish. And of course, the usual suspects of chicken Kiev, beef stroganoff, and borsch soup. Now is probably the most relevant time to mention my obsession with food while traveling: I talk about it, take pictures of it, write about it and can't wait to try the next food of the region. It is what I do best when traveling. Must. Try. New. Food. Every. Day. And meet new people, of course! Made our first friends at the tasting room courtesy of some lipstick lesbians kissing out front, an immediate connection was made between fellow Aussies. We joined this group of international university recruiters, some of which were Russian, clubbing. Ypa!! Nightlife is great here, multiple clubs, a cabaret and out all night on 2 of the nights, would've been more if jet lag were not an issue. If I could now make a recommendation, avoid Club Deny at all costs. The first night we tried to get in with the group of international peeps with only half of us successful, the next night my imaginary boyfriend and I tried, they took one look at his shoes and DENY. Ok, starting to get a complex here and then the last night of course, tried it. So did it with style: wearing my beanie and tennis shoes. Oh yeah. DENIED.
And a word about the girls here. It must be said. They could use some help in the beauty and fashion department. Their killer looks and hot outfits on skinny bodies are wasted on the typical Russian man, these are lucky men, my friends.
Other activities included a canal cruise which we both promptly fell asleep on; walking up to the Mariinsky theatre, famous for Tchaikovsky's works, and asking for 2 tickets to Mozart's The Wedding of Figaro, in tennis shoes; the Peter and Paul fortress with a picnic dinner of gourmet hamburgers and pizza. The most memorable parts were just wandering around and checking out the hoods, the random monastery we found after taking the water taxi purposely going the wrong direction, taking pictures of all the shoes and FMBs surreptitiously and buying cans of pre-mixed gin and tonic from a corner market, cute coffee shops, riding the Metro and last but not least, liquor lane, where any type of beer or alcohol is sold and then promptly consumed on the street.
And now on our first of many train rides across Russia. Next stop: Moscow!
If it weren't for the russian language and cyrillic alphabet, St Petersburg could be confused with a European city. Between the ornate palaces, churches, and canals, Peter the Great built a stunning city from swampland. Our only encounter with the Russian mafia so far had to be the taxi fleecing, cars just pull up to you, unknown if they are taxis or not where negotiation is king. We thought we could avoid this with an official looking taxi, you know the kind with a taxi sign on top and a meter, but no, he was the biggest fleece of all, a mere double the price from the airport to our hotel which took 45 minutes, this trip was just 10 minutes and consisted of driving around the block. Dinner was just over half of the cost of this taxi ride. Karma did return its favor, one Tjikstani driver walked us to our Georgian restaurant. And many others probably only fleeced us a little.
St Pete had surprisingly friendly people offering up smiles. Well aside from the security ladies manning the Hermitage Museum, that is. Or maybe that was the result of the company I was keeping, hence forward he will be called spoon man. (Apparently, it is frowned upon to carry orange spoons and make noise with it.) Very impressive art collection, impressive state rooms and wow, the chandeliers. This museum claims to house the world's most impressive and finest art collection. Yes, indeed, although I will likely remember the views and the rooms itself as well as the history during the siege of WWII, where 2,000 staff members and families were provided shelter below the museum.
History aside, our first night was very aptly begun with a trip to the vodka tasting room. Beluga!!!! Also tried fish preserved in aspic, interesting, just a weird gelatinous texture seemingly preserving the fish. And of course, the usual suspects of chicken Kiev, beef stroganoff, and borsch soup. Now is probably the most relevant time to mention my obsession with food while traveling: I talk about it, take pictures of it, write about it and can't wait to try the next food of the region. It is what I do best when traveling. Must. Try. New. Food. Every. Day. And meet new people, of course! Made our first friends at the tasting room courtesy of some lipstick lesbians kissing out front, an immediate connection was made between fellow Aussies. We joined this group of international university recruiters, some of which were Russian, clubbing. Ypa!! Nightlife is great here, multiple clubs, a cabaret and out all night on 2 of the nights, would've been more if jet lag were not an issue. If I could now make a recommendation, avoid Club Deny at all costs. The first night we tried to get in with the group of international peeps with only half of us successful, the next night my imaginary boyfriend and I tried, they took one look at his shoes and DENY. Ok, starting to get a complex here and then the last night of course, tried it. So did it with style: wearing my beanie and tennis shoes. Oh yeah. DENIED.
And a word about the girls here. It must be said. They could use some help in the beauty and fashion department. Their killer looks and hot outfits on skinny bodies are wasted on the typical Russian man, these are lucky men, my friends.
Other activities included a canal cruise which we both promptly fell asleep on; walking up to the Mariinsky theatre, famous for Tchaikovsky's works, and asking for 2 tickets to Mozart's The Wedding of Figaro, in tennis shoes; the Peter and Paul fortress with a picnic dinner of gourmet hamburgers and pizza. The most memorable parts were just wandering around and checking out the hoods, the random monastery we found after taking the water taxi purposely going the wrong direction, taking pictures of all the shoes and FMBs surreptitiously and buying cans of pre-mixed gin and tonic from a corner market, cute coffee shops, riding the Metro and last but not least, liquor lane, where any type of beer or alcohol is sold and then promptly consumed on the street.
And now on our first of many train rides across Russia. Next stop: Moscow!
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