Moscow

Moscow Never Sleeps

The city i called home for 5 months in spring 2009.It was love upon arrival.A sense of attachment to the city.I met some amazing people here.
Buddies who were ever so proactive , their enthusiasm caught on
People at kickboxing class who went the extra mile to help me improve and became my friends
Stangers who gave me gifts when they found out i was from Singapore
Several students from Plekhanov who were so warm and friendly

But most importantly ,after travelling to so many countries , it was the time in Moscow that made me realize that deep down inside...

It was actually Singapore that was truly home.

Russian Republic : Cheboksary

Cheboksary
Another city which looks like it was built from scratch.As we were walking around the city.A friendly dedushka came to talk to us.He volunteered to bring us around the city and along the way bragged about his riches and daughter.Whether it was the truth he was saying , we will not dispute it.But his actions touched me.

Not only did he spend his morning showing us around the city aka we did not get lost , he even discouraged Galya from smoking.A complete stranger!Isn't that sweet!He even made recommendations to us to try the locally made ice cream!

He even took us back to the bus station , helped us with buying the bus tickets and even waited for the bus to leave , waving goodbye to us.

Russian hospitality :)

Our train ride back to Moscow was from Yoshka Ola.Luck ran into us again .The whole Russian Wrestling national team was in the same train compartment as us.It isn't everyday where you get to see that !

Russian Republic :Yoshka Ola

Capital of Mari El

A city which looks like it was built from scratch.
Galya , Sebastian and I took a bus here after spending a day wandering around Kazan.( Yes , i did return to Kazan :)
We managed to get a CS host in this city.Anna.Who was so amazing to cook us dinner and let us sleep on her couch/bed.Her daughter Topolina is cute but speaks russian like a bullet train.

Wandered around the streets of Yoshka Ola til the early hours of the morning.A regular city with nothing much to shout about.

But what was memorable was Anna and her amazing family .

We were going to do a day trip to Cheboksary the next day.But will have to return to yoshka Ola to take the train back to Moscow.
Anna and Topolina came to the train station later with a lemon pie and bid us goodbye.They even came onto the train to look for us.

Grateful ..we were to her.

Golden Ring City : Sergiev Posad

After the first trip to Spetersburg in March , the next destination was a golden ring city. Sergiev Posad.With Therese ,Sebastian and the Bulgarians (Galya,Anna & Yordan) , we took an Electrichka to this small city.

Get round trip student tickets at the local electrichka train station.

Although , snow does make churches look magical ,it was cold and there was snow droplets all over the photos.Stepping out of the train station , the blue domes of the church came into view.Just walk in the direction of the church and you will be enjoying the russian wooden houses and come to a viewing point.

This church is of particular importance for the body of saint sergiev lie there , waiting to be kissed by the millions of worshippers who flood over to see him. Most of the cathedrals are closed to the public.

Our only complaint was that there was only one salesgirl at the souvenir shop with a few helpers in the shop standing around idle.The icons here are cheap!Buy something here!

The Toy Museum is a short distance away show casing old toys from all around the world collected by rich russians.It would have been more interesting if all the toys were old russian toys.

And keep the train tickets.You will need them to exit the train station on the way back!

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg -
is what will come to every russian's mind when asked about the most beautiful city in Russia.Modernized western city.
I came to this city twice with 2 different groups of people.

Trip 1
The first trip was a little upseting due to  me losing my camera on the 1st day at 9am in the morning and the behaviour of some people.
On the bright side , i met up with Elena.One of the international counselors i met at Camp Molly Lauman in 2007.Although we weren't close during camp , we grew much closer during my time in Russia.And the best times i had were the long nights and dinners when she joined us after work.Elena was born in Kamchatka, but moved to Saint Petersburg due to the instability of the Kamchatka region when she was younger.

Galya left us for the first 2 days because she was invited to a dacha near saint petersburg.By the 3rd day , my tolerance level was completely breached , i took off during the day on my own when the rest of the group went to the Hermitage.I needed a break from the sarcastic comments that I had been hearing the whole trip.From the city center , i walked towards Smolney Cathedral and later to Alexandra Nevsky Gardens.The area wasn't well connected by metro and the thought of taking a bus strangely didn't cross my mind.I did get lost.And there were a few people who were so kind to help me find my bearings again.A babushka who tried giving me directions ( in russian ..not much help).She was genuinely concerned and wanted to get me on the right track but physical conditions did prevent her from doing so.And a few kids , who walked me out of the maze of small streets to the main street.

Selma came by on the last day on her way to Finland to visit a friend.And i escaped to join her and walked around exploring the city.
We were
1.followed by security because she was snapping away at factories with her dslr camera
2.found New Holland under construction yet still printed on the tourist map as an attraction
3.found the prettiest golden church
4. saw a submarine which was actually a museum open to the public
5.Found really good and cheap piroski (savoury pastries)

There is a russian saying that if you left something behind , you are bound to come back to the city again.Well , i did.I left my camera behind to pickpockets.

Trip 2
My second trip to Saint Petersburg was a blast.Zhenya made a sudden decision to join me and Elena in Spb!Zhenya is from Kharkiv, Ukraine and was also an international counselor at Camp Molly Lauman too.I loved hanging out with her back then!She was arriving in SPB a day before me.

Galya and I went with 4 guys from Moscow to Spb.4 guys who got drunk during the train ride to Spb and ended up sleeping alot in Spb.Hilarious it was.

Although i was revisiting a few of the spb tourist sights again ,walking around with the girls were amazing.Checked out Yelagin.A green park.Would have been nice to cycle around here in summer.Walking was a little painful.The guys were either sleeping or on a tour bus going around spb.

During summer ,SPB enjoys the white nights when the sky only gets dark around midnight the bridges along the river in Spb will open up for the ships to pass through.So cars will have to make a detour if they want to be at the other side.

Petergoff, is another tourist attraction which is a highlight.There was a tour group from Singapore nearby.The singaporean accent was ringing from far :)

We ended up drinking quite a bit in the afternoon after lunch on the last day when we found out that beer was cheap at the restaurant that we were in.Elena invited me over to her house for a quick meal again.Unfortunately , the beer and wine didn't go too well in my stomach at all.The food was amazing though.

Saint Petersburg.Either you love it or you hate it.My love hate relationship with the city continues.But perhaps it won't be that memorable , especially after Elena leaves russia for work purposes in March 2010.Visiting Saint Petersburg won't be half as fun as before. Or perhaps it will be :)

As i think about my experiences in Spb , i recall a conversation with Nate , a dutch exchange student .He was right.It is really the people who make a city or life more interesting.But then again , it is also people who can destroy the fun.Culture influences people's behaviour.Or perhaps the other way round.
chicken and egg issue.

Victory Day - 9th May

День Победы

Celebrated by russia and the former soviet states. The celebrations start in the morning with a parade at Red square, followed by protests along Tveskaya ulitsa in the afternoon and end off with fireworks around the city at 9pm at various locations in Moscow.

The best place to catch the fireworks will be at Sparrow hills.Right next to Moscow State University.But getting there is a problem as the militsa closed off many paths leading to the area.So people were taking short cuts by climbing up a hill.Therese and I joined in the climb and was helped up by a few russian teenagers at the top.Boys that we didn't know , held out their hands to pull us all up. Russian men , they were all taught to be gentlemanly.

Golden Ring City : Suzdal

After Victory Day on 9th May , We decided that Suzdal was still on the books , but spending some time in vladimir will be out.

We left the obshezhiteye at 6am in the morning.to catch the 7am bus.
At the bus station , the time of departure was listed as 740am.But on our ticket ,it said 7am.Well, the bus left at 7am sharp.so the 740am timing was misleading.

Buses do pass by Vladimir on the way to Suzdal.It took approx 5-6 hours before arriving in Suzdal.Beautiful village with too many churches.Nothing in particular that was really fancy but there were just so Many!
Wonderful handicrafts here.If wooden bookmarks are your ideal souvenir, this will be the place to buy them because they are pretty non existant , ugly and expensive in Moscow.

there was hardly any cafes in sight.And 1 atm in the whole village

The bus ride back was a horror.The bus directly back to Moscow was full.So we ended up going to Vladimir and pray that there will be a bus from there.Arriving in vladimir , buying the ticket came to a problem.The bus ticket seller didn't say nyet or da.( signalling a no or yes) but went on about something else which Therese and I didn't understand.A russian in her 40ties was supposedly going to Moscow too.She told us to wait and tried to explain the issue but none of us understood either.

Well, lady luck shone on us ,a girl in her 20ties came up to help and explained to us the situation in english.Bus to Moscow is late so the ticket seller doesn't know if the bus will even come.So we should wait.If the bus comes, we can buy a ticket.If it doesn't , the train station is next to the bus station.The train tickets are more expensive.

The bus did come eventually and we got our ticket , but when we walked out and saw the bus....our jaws dropped.That was the same bus that left Suzdal full.People alighted from that bus and went their separate ways.....
Why can't the bus ticket seller in Suzdal just put people taking the Suzdal - Vladimir route on one bus instead of the Suzdal - Vladimir - Moscow bus?

Night traffic was bad and we ended up in Moscow at 12am.Long day it was.
But the prettiest village it definately was.

Maslenitsa - Pancake Week

Also know as Pancake week is celebrated in Feburary this year!
A celebration to welcome the end of winter.
Restaurants will have special menus serving vegetarian dishes and blini dishes.
Unfortunately, i won't be experiencing the excitement this year, but here are some photos of the festivity held in a forest 45 mins walk through a forest from a train station 1 hour away from Moscow.

Snippets of Maslenitsa celebrations can be found in the movie "The Barber of Siberia"

Siberia 11th Stop : Nizhy Novgorod

Nizhy Novogorod aka Gorky

Though the group of us loved travelling.The 3 weeks of nomadic life was taking a toll on us and the thought of being back in Moscow was indeed appealing.I was looking forward to a weekend of lazing in bed instead of sleeping on trains with no showers and carrying heavy backpacks.

Though tired , we went ahead with our plan to check out the city.When lonely planet says take Bus 1 to the city center , it means just take Bus 1.
We couldn't find a bus 1 at the nearest bus stop , so we assumed that information given was outdated.Turns out that we overlooked the fact that there was another bus stop around the corner.

We decided to just hop onto a bus and just hope that it brings just a few stops closer to the city centre.Throughout the trip , we have been hoping onto buses, taking trips to nowhere to have a view of the city center and a little of the neighbourhoods.This time ,unfortunately got onto a bus take took us a tad too far into the neighbourhoods.Minor hiccup, but we had plenty of time to kill anyway.

the Kremlin was an absolute letdown.Having being wowed by so many kremlins along our journey , this one was boring.Nothing spectacular about the architecture.But there was something that caught our interest.A group of young russian men in the army taking photos with military tanks and displays in the krelim.Therese and I tagged along like excited schoolgirls trying to take a good photos of all of them.Something cool to add to our photo collections.They apparently understood why these 2 girls were hanging around nearby taking photos.Especially after they stayed in their pose while we made haste to take photos of them too.

There was a pretty unusual baroque church in N.Novgorod which looked like a lollipop,Stroganov Church.To many , it looked just like St Basil in Moscow or the Church of Spilt blood in SPetersburg.But this was different.Instead of the swirls ,it was fish scales.

The city center was similar to Kazan, european pedestrainized shopping areas.There was a flea market selling soviet badges and stamps etc.People watching along the main street of Nizhy was a pleasure, so was the Austrian Apple strudel that came with it.The Russians have a different sense of dressing.A mix between european and asian , which you can't quite place a definition on.Bright colours are a hit in summer times and the high heels are there to stay.But as we moved away from the two main cities of russia , loud colours on clothings were a common sight.Though different , but most of the time , we cringed.

As we head back to get onto the last train back to Moscow , it struck all of us that classes start again the next day at 9am.3 hours after we reach the train station in Moscow.

Tatarstan 10th Stop : Kazan

Kazan

Capital of the Tartarstan republic,nicknamed "Muslim Disneyland of Russia" by Edwin's Professor in SPetersburg.This republic is filthy rich, with legends of gold and jewels hidden in the waters.( If interested in the legends of Kazan, i do have a short fairytale book in english which i'm happy to lend )

After sitting a few 4-8 hour bus/marshutka rides over sometimes not so pleasent potholes rocky grounds and a heavy backpack, Selma started suffering from strained back .Unfortunately for us , there wasn't a direct bus going from the train station to the hotel that we managed to book.Hotel Fatimah.We weren't able to find any hostels in Kazan.

And this hotel was the cheapest as listed in Lonely Planet.For a room for 3, 1800roubles per night .that'll be 30sgd per person.Like all hotels , registrations needed to be done and as we fidgeted in our seats waiting to get our passports back , the security guard came up to us and started telling us the various places to go on a map.Room was decent.Toilet however is communal along the corridor but fantastic conditions.(Edwin however had a disastrous experience the weekend he was there _ rejected from the hotel without any help given)

Wandered along the streets , and checked out the Night view of the Krelim.Breathtaking and photos do the view no justice.

We checked out the Krelim the next day.It is sweet to have both a church and a mosque within the same compound.The museum in the mosque is definately worth checking out.Malaysia appears to be a well known country in that area.I chatted with a salesgirl at the souvenir shop.Very basic broken russian.She didn't know where singapore was.But understood when i said Malaysia's neighbour.She knew Malaysia and got excited when i mentioned the country.

I did end up buying a souvenir from her shop,perhaps paying a high price for it.She kept thanking me and gave me a bracelet and a magnet as a gift in return.Although i seriously didn't need that souvenir , that 200 roubles spent is now hanging in my room ,at a spot that i will see whenever i wake up in the morning.

The market was our next stop.Therese went ahead to the jewellery shops in there , looking for some stone necklaces which she tested by biting them.( i've never seen anyone do it like her ).Nothing out of the ordinary except Selma not feeling comfortable seeing dead pigs being chopped up.

If you have been to a completely new place , stepped out of the train and as you walk around , a feeling of familiarity overwhelms you .Then , that was Kazan for me.A city i really liked and a city i knew i was going to go back to again.

Siberia 9th Stop : Omsk

Omsk

On our homebound journey back to Moscow , Omsk was the next stop.We were able to get a couchsurfing host,Tanya in this city!Our very first CS experience.

Her friend( Let's call her A) picked us up from the station and brought us back to Tanya's apartment where Dima ,a temporary flatmate insisted that we sit down and have some tea.We were pretty anxious to just head to the city thinking that we didn't have much time .but they were insistent on us sitting down for awhile and drink chai ( a striking similarity among many older russians we've met.ie.dejurneya)

A is a beautician,had some problems with love and spoke only russian.We did have problems understanding her, but she was still really nice to walk us through the city.

We met Tanya and her son that night.That was when interesting conversations started , about her life , russia and travelling.
Her son AT , although intimidated to have 3 females as guests ,still stayed up late and refused to go to sleep because he insisted that he won't get to see us anymore tomorrow.He skipped school the next day , to say goodbye to us and play computer games,and show us some of his drawings.Very cute....

Visiting a nearby market was on our agenda.what was really annoying at these markets is that
1.they don't give plastic bags
2.If they did , they were so thin, it tears within 10 minutes

And they were quite a few stores selling better quality plastic bags.These were the same plastic bags we will get free of charge with purchases when we go shopping in Singapore( Takashimaya etc).And we were suppose to pay for them here.A higher price was charged if the plastic bag had a brand on it.If you don't bring your own bag, you don't really have a choice but to buy a plastic bag to avoid the risk of your stuff falling all over the place on the way back.

Before we left , Dima came up to me and asked me to write a few words for him in chinese.I ended up giving him my russian-chinese phrasebook that i bought in Ulan Ude.A very kind man that i won't forget either.
It was amazing that not only did our host arrange for someone to meet us and bring us around the city, she also prepared dinner for us , gave us a place to stay and shower and even gave us parting gifts!

It made me look forward to another CS experience!

Siberia 8th Stop : Back to Ulan Ude

Ulan Ude
The ride back to Ulan Ude was bearable.The same hotel took us back in.Just a day or 2 left to check out the city.Woke up bright and early to head to the temple to watch the buddhist service.Having lived in singapore and going to temples all the time when on vacation to China...temples were not exactly the most interesting thing to me.But the temples here....are different.I was told that it is similar to tibetan buddhism.Met some thais at the temple.They made their way over to check out the Buddhism scene in russia.

The service ....was....condusive for sleeping.The chanting ,smell and warmth in there with the early morning stint saw a few of us nodding off into slumberland.I found water from Arshan being sold here!Can you believe it...enterprising monks.
On the temple grounds, i was firstly mistaken to be a Russian ,secondly ,mistaken to be a person who had a religion.But they sure did seem surprised to find a singaporean here..in the middle of siberia.

Selma got tired of temples after that early morning call,so Therese and I headed off to see the Big Golden Buddha at the top of a hill which gave a good viewing point of Ulan Ude.There were plenty of trees with ribbons tied on the branches.A tranquil feeling up there.But still..a temple and a buddha with an ang mo monk.Yes.I'm not used to seeing buddhist monks who are white.

We caught sight of some celebrations as we walked around the city.It was a day where teens do community service and go around picking up rubbish.some kids from the uniform group put up a performance at one of the city squares.At the same time , a wedding photoshoot was in the background.That came out in the news that night.It's cool to know that I was at that very spot at that very time when they were filming it for the news.

dinner was at a chinese restaurant in a quiet dodgy area, which served NO RICE.And a mantou that tasted like rock.Can you believe it?If i hadn't known what man tou tasted like , i would have eaten it believing that it was that hard.And that was Selma's and Therese's birthday treat for me.Sweet.Except for eating chinese food....without the rice part.

checked out the Ethnographic Musuem the next day.A short taxi ride away.There is a bus going to Museum but we weren't sure which one to take and where to stop.The bus stops at the main road and you'll have to walk about 600m in before you see the museum.Tons of wooden houses and churhes with amazingly small doors.Were people that short in the past?Some yurts in there serving poezis/mantis ( da long baos )There was a zoo within the compunds as well.Very painful sight of hungry tigers either lying on the grounds looking sedated/dead or bears jumping and licking the cages to beg people for food.And people were not feeding them fish.They were feeding them sweets and crackers.

There was a temple along the way back to the city centre of Ulan Ude which we walked to.Took us nearly half an hour to 45 minutes.There were tons of flags tied to huge wooden poles , all wishes that the locals made tied to them.Here i met a woman in her 40ties, drunk and asking for money.and saying something about her husband leaving her.I had to scramble away for fear of being hurt.The first drunk woman i have met in Siberia.

Siberia 7th Stop : Goryarchinsk

Goryarchinsk
a village we never planned to visit and never realized existed until 20 minutes before we arrived.

Gremyachinsk was the intended destination.Lonely Planet had dedicated 4 lines to this pretty little village.In the marshutka , all the russians discouraged us to go to Gremyachinsk and told us to go further north along the shores of lake baikal.Where its more beautiful and the people are much nicer.

A lady of the bus,turned around and offered to help us find accomodation if we agreed to go to her village just 20 minutes away from Gremyachinsk.We didn't know what the village was before we arrived.but for some reason,all 3 of us trusted this russian lady.We had pretty much nothing to lose,especially since we were in a bus in the middle of pretty much we don't know where.

Ola is her name.She brought us to her house to meet her family.It was not a fancy house from the outside but definately a decent looking one.And when we walked in,there was a huge plasma tv in the living room.Siberia, you amaze me once again.

We thought that she was planning to host us in her house after her mom offered us food.It was a really good spread with soup cheese,sausage and bread.And to my horror , i found out here how shitty my chinese language actually is.To think that 红茶 is called red tea.Don't they call it red pearl bubble milk tea?But 红茶is actually black tea.It's so ridiculous.Why can't they just call it 黑茶 if it's black tea.The cultural aspect of the chinese language,always a mystery even to the chinese people.

But no,she brought us somewhere else.A sanatorium.We later found out that this village was called Goryarchinsk and Lonley Planet has dedicated 3 lines in their 791 page book to it.A sanatorium is a place where the old, the ill come to rest.Normally situated near lakes and villages for people to escape the pressures of city life.I think some pensioners get government benefits to go to places like these.

Ola helped us with negotiating prices at the administrative office , settled all the paperwork for us and even translated the required information slowly to us.Never once did we ask her for help, she offered her time , her energy and even resources to make sure that we were alright and happy.

The weather was amazing when we arrived, no snow, cooling weather.Half an hour after we settled down in the room , it started snowing.What once was green grass became white.We spent our time here watching tv and recuperating from the long road trips we had.Somehow we got sucked into the resting phrase after walks along the baikal shores.The sanatorium was near the baikal shores .A quiet stretch of beach with a puppy tagging along with us and hoping to get a bite of anything that we have in our pockets that was edible.Selma and Therese surprised me with a easter cake , some balloons and a card on my birthday.And i left some lighted candles on the frozen waters of baikal:)

Meals were interesting here.we had to dine in a hall at specific timings.Dinner on the first day was interesting.Firstly, a good looking dyedushka was arranged to sit at our table and he had the privilege of speaking to 3 of us, young foreign girls.The sudden snow showers had wiped out the electricity for a while and cooking took a longer time.THe first meal was great.THere was some meatballs, mash potatoes and some healthy food.Kasha for breakfast.But we came to realize that that was about it that people here get to eat.People had to eat meatballs for breakfast too.The biggest regret was not joining the babushki and dedushki for disco night.

An old babushka approached us on the last day , before boarding the bus.She was an english teacher, with plenty of golden teeth and she spoke really slowly.Pretty impressive ....especially since, THIS IS SIBERIA.it's in a village ,that tourists hardly come to and this babushka is probably in her 80ties!

Siberia 6th Stop : Ulan Ude

Ulan Ude , buryati republic.
A complete change in scenery , a complete change in landscape.
We arrived in Ulan Ude much earlier than planned having forgone the Circumbaikal train trip and visiting Lisviyanka due to unforseen circumstances ( according to the Baikal Map, travelling would be a pain and with unpredictable schedules , Therese and I thought it will be the best to forgo it and spend more time in Ulan Ude , hopefully doing some tours around the area and exploring the Buryati Region more )

Had a LONG 10 hours? mashutka ride from Arshan to Ulan Ude, and it ended off with the mashutka driver being extremely surprised to find out that I was from Singapore.Quite a few people on this side of Russia know the existance of Singapore but perhaps very rarely do they meet a Singaporean!Even if they do, they can't tell us apart from the locals.(The trick is in our accented English!We have a really flat tone)Most of the people in the city are asian looking and I didn't have much of a problem fitting in , except for the clothes ,shoes ,camera and huge backpack part which basically already screams TOURIST!And my two fellow travellers who were blonde and fair ( for once , they really stuck out from the crowd )also in their tourist gear also attracted quite some attention from some locals :)

grabbed some food at a funky westernized cafe near the drop off point ( near lenin's big head ), we met a danish couple.The gentleman was the danish ambassador to Moscow and guess what!Their son went for an exchange programme in SMU, and after that experience , went on to set up a tee shirt printing company in Shanghai!THey were amazed at why I will ditch the amazing school system in Singapore and come over to Russia ( all in the name of adventure ).Yes.Despite some problems with the wireless connections in SMU,I appreciate having wireless internet on campus.the variety of food in school,the million and one special interest groups( hello?wine appreciation club?gourmet club?is there going to be a spa and massage club soon?We City Slickers need that with such a fast paced lifestyle)the amazing technologies that SMU has and The Singapore Government pumping in so much money into education, giving me so much resources in my course of studies.THe learning curve is steep,but pressure is intense and the expectations are high.

7pm at night , sky is dark = status : no accomodation still.Check with 1 hotel ( Too expensive ) and the lady at the counter was so kind to give us recommendations to another hotel with possibly a cheaper rate.It was still expensive but that suffice for 1 night.
the next day , we headed down to a tour agency to enquire about possible tours around the area and cheaper accomodation.The owner of the agency recommended us a hotel that he claims will not cost more than 400roubles per person per night( SGD20-Euro10).
And recommended us not to take any tours with them!can you imagine an owner of a tour agency telling us that?Reason : tourist low peak season.camels or horses do not come out to play because it is still cold in April.Costs will be high.And we students cannot quite afford it.He recommended us heading to the destinations on our own and gave us advice and directions:)I have met so many tour agencies who are all out to sign people up for tour packages but this is really the first experience where the tour agency owner told us not to join any tours and even helping us with directions!

Checked in the hotel he recommended.600roubles a night as the paper at the counter stated.they refuse to go any lower.Foreigners , we have to play their game....
Went around exploring the city.Modernized city centre, similar to the siberian cities that we have visited.Alot of Asian Russians.The market was amazing.There was a bakery selling Soft white bread with filling!Finally, something that taste familiar!I didn't like the brown bread sold everywhere here and the loafs of white bread were a little dry for my liking

We didn't stay for long to explore the whole of Ulan Ude as we were proceeding to a village along eastern baikal and will have to head back to Ulan Ude to catch a train for our homebound journey ( funny how ..Moscow becomes home )

Siberia 5th Stop : Arshan

Arshan
A village approx 4 hours by mashutka from Irkutsk.
We had the luxury of taking a spanking new Hyundai mashutka.Something we haven't enjoyed in a long time and we were the only 3 passangers in the 9 person van.The driver had great taste in music ( finally something english,think savage garden:) ,a great change and thankfully one that we were looking forward to.It was a smooth ride , not much potholes along the way.

We arrived in Arshan with no accomodation pre booked before hand.Asked the driver for recommendations as to where to stay , he drove us to a house along the main street and dropped us off there and gave us directions to th bus stations nearby to get bus tickets out of Arshan to our next destination.THey are normally really nice , these mashutka drivers.

We knocked on the door a couple of time , no answer.
Moved on to the next house with a sign that has a "жить" something word.That indicates that there are rooms that guests can stay in.A babuska opened the door with her grandson Кирилл and showed us the room.The guest house was a separate house from the main house.Very spartan.3 beds,some utensils table.Toilet was in the backyard.Must be a pain to commune with nature during winter or during a thunderstorm.

Having 3 foreigners in the house must have been a thrilling experience for the grandson.Something to brag to his classmates in school the next day!Arshan is a touristy place for Russian tourists.In this village , there is a spring where the water is believed to heal illnesses and many Russians from all over Russia , head over to the sanatorium here to rest and to recover and of course to drink and bring home bottles of healing water.

But to have foreigners in this village is pretty rare.There were plenty of spanking new japanese cars in the village( Russian tourists).Something we rarely saw in SPB, Moscow and cities around the area.But there were plenty here owned by the russian tourists.

Checked out the open air market.Many goods sold were imported from Mongolia which was pretty nearby.We met one shop keeper who could speak english!Isn't that amazing? A village In the middle of nowhere in Siberia!

Headed over to the stream where russians were queuing up for their healing water.Further up the stream , 1 km or so , cows were seen , walking near the streams.does the water flow down?

Had a sip of it , it was awful.There was a salty taste , revolting sensation.
Walked around the village.THere wasn't much , except for a souvenir shop , some small convenience stores , river , mountains and houses and a datsan ( temple ).The first Temple we have seen in Russia!Where do people buy their meat and fish from? There do not seem to be a market anywhere nearby!

It was an interesting night at the guesthouse.The uncle came in with Кирилл ( grandson ) and started talking to us.Basic Russian.He told us that in most schools in Siberia, students are taught english and even French!And Moscovites say ," Nobody speaks english in Siberia!"
I think I have met more strangers who were willing to speak english in Siberia than in Moscow!

Offered Кирилл and his older sister полина some chocolate and after 20 minutes , he came into our room with m&ms and potato chips , wishing us good health! Isn't that cute?

Had an amazing stay in Arshan.It is a small village and 1 day there will be more than sufficient to make you leave a happy person!

Siberia 4th Stop: Olkhon Island

Olkhon Island , a dream for many seeking to head back to nature , to escape the city life.To experience the beauties of earth.Its you, land , Lake Baikal.

After a 4 hour cramped ride from Irkutsk with 16 people squeezed into a 10 person mashutka initially,dropping off people at villages along the way. we finally reached the our destination,with painful buttocks.The problem was : what is the exact destination.THere was no ferry terminal in sight.As we had found out later on , Nikita guesthouse had arranged for a driver to pick us up and drive us across the ice,much to the dismay of all 9 travellers.10 people in a van with all our bags , travelling across unstable ice?There was plenty of reasons to panic.Selma , being the best speaker for Russian was under alot of pressure to find out the situation and negotiate a solution with the driver.

We settled with the driver , driving our luggage across , while we walked.He had taken us to another route to get on Olkhon Island.Which required a walk of 12km across Frozen lake Baikal.The 3km route that the previous group of travellers had taken was currently unstable.It took us 3 hours to walk across .Something I do not regret.How many people in this world have walked 12 km on Lake Baikal?

It was a 15 minute drive from our arrival point to Nikita Guesthouse.
http://www.olkhon.info/en/

The owners of the guesthouse were shocked that we walked and even more shocked when they saw the people who came out of the van.They were expecting 9 japanese tourists instead of 9 of us.Apparently , my name sounded japanese to them when i called the day before and they assumed that the 9 people coming over were all japanese.THere were quite a few foreigners at the guesthouse.A group of British travellers were there as well making their way towards mongolia.

We paid 750roubles per night.The prices have unfortunately increased now.Selma ,Therese and I shared a house with a Canadian guy Rick, with me being in the same room as him.A really cozy house with a toilet and common area.This toilet was really environmentally friendly.No water is needed to flush anything down,whatever goes down , just goes all the way down.THere was no shower facilities and the only way to take a shower was to go to the banya (sauna) where there will be a huge tub of water to rinse down.

There was a communal banya where you can stay for half an hour for free after making a reservation.But there was also a private banya where you pay 100 roubles each to have the whole place to yourself.(Selma , Therese and I took this option.It wasn't too expensive and we had some privacy and more time).Rick had taken the free communal banya option for half an hour and was in there with his swimming trunks on , enjoying the heat when an old man ( performer at the dining hall on the first night)walked in completely naked leaving Rick a traumatised person.He had forgotten to lock the main door.He quickly left the banya and the traumatizing sight.

Walking around the area near the accomodation brought us to the famous sharman rocks and beautiful view of the frozen baikal lake.As we started our walk out of the accomodation , we had some friendly dogs trailing after us , escorting us everywhere we went.Being a seasoned city slicker ( who sometimes dream about living a quiet life on a farm growing vegetables and fruits ), It started to occur to me that I was going to become really bored if there isn't anything exciting to do on this island.As it turns out.There were exciting things to do on this island for horse back riders and cyclists.But just not in April, when we were there.It was too cold for the horses to be outdoors.We could rent bicycles to go for a ride or go on a tour in a van.We chose the latter as cycling in the cold with bicycles that did not seem reliable wasn't our idea of a vacation.

During the tour which lasted about 6 hours, the mashutka driver drove us to various scenic spots of Olkhon Island.It was beautiful but really, too much Lake Baikal for me.We made a lunch pit stop where the kitchen ladies brought food for us.Fish soup which they heated up on the spot , bread and home made cheese , biscuits and chai.Being a huge fan of fish , this was yet another feast.There were 2 vans taking all us travellers on this tour.We joined a group of 4 germans.Selma had yet another privilege of translating everything the driver had to say about Olkhon Island, which was great becuase the trip would have been boring if we didn't understand anything about what we were seeing.The ride back was on pretty rough terrain , with Selma terrified that the van will flip over anytime.

All 3 meals are included in the 750roubles per night that we paid for and the meals were AMAZING.I swear that what i had there was seriously the best food i've had in Russia in the 5 months when i was there.I love fish and welcomed any meal with Omul ( speciality of Lake Baikal ), they make the best breakfast kasha and they have amazing berry tea!

And the first time i saw a Baltika 9 was on this island, away from civilization.I do not remember seeing any Baltika beer strength 9 in Moscow or anywhere.The maximum i had seen was 7.And according to a french guy who had to pass a parcel to a lady living on the island , he personally witnessed a 2 year old girl sipping beer and enjoying every sip of it.And again, where do the people on this island get food from?There was no market in sight!The local convenience store sold basic stuff but not the hard core meat , fish , rice etc.Do they store up by driving over to mainland?Do they live on the fishes that they catch?

We stayed 2 nights in Olkhon Island and it was time to leave.And there was a problem.How do we get back?We finally agreed to head back on a lada car. Selma , Therese ,Rick and I.Nikita had arranged for a marshutka to pick us up on their scheduled drive back to Irkutsk.Think Speeding Lada across Lake Baikal.It was a great experience:)Once in a lifetime,yes.If given a chance , I will come back in summer when all the leaves are green and the waters inviting.

The most memorable part of the trip was perhaps the people i met during the trip , i wished i had spent more time with the other 6 travellers as i did on my last morning on the Island, laughing and joking and talking about travelling and our lifes.It just amazed me how westerners have a mentality that they will continue travelling regardless of whether they have financial stability.They just travel til their money runs out..

Siberia 3th Stop : Irkutsk

Irkutsk
One of the biggest cities in Siberia ,center of intellectual and social life for exiles (thanks to Tsar Nicholas 1 )and by far the most European looking city around.

Upon arrival at the train station , we were approached by many cab drivers hoping to make a few bucks from these tourists.Unfortunately ,they didn't manage to convince anyone to hop in,but they were so kind to give us the direction to where we wanted to go and we hopped onto a bus.When you step out of the train station , turn right and hop on the tram moving that direction.

When at the train station , do buy a map of Lake Baikal/area around lake baikal.This is something very difficult to find not only online but also in travel guides.This will give you a snapshot of the possible villages to travel to and the accessibility of these villages.Unlike Singapore,where everywhere is accessible , only certain roads lead to these villages from a certain location.This map came in extremely useful in the later parts of our trip.

Baikalers Hostel.( Lonely Planet )The hostel that we made reservations in was really comfortable.600 roubles(SGD30) a night.There was one laptop with free internet,and there was a bathroom!You had no idea how excited I was to get to shower after 4 days.The feeling was just indescriable.I guess after having the privilege of showering at least once a day being stripped away from me for a few days, I've come to appreciate this privilege very much!I don't know how the Singaporean army guys survive weeks without showering especially with humid weather..really.

We met a few travellers at the hostel who were keen on heading to Olkhon Island as well.A french couple ( Kami and ....I forgot his name )studying anthropology in France were backpacking across Russia towards Kamchatka with their Camping gear!Isn't that cool ?the girl reminded me so much of Lori,a spunky friend of mine from Columbus,USA!( Both Lori and her are about the same height , blonde hair , blue eyes )The 5 of us trooped over to the bus station to get marshutka tickets to bus station near the ferry jetty of Lake Baikal.As usual , Therese and Selma walked pretty fast,and the french couple and I were taking our time , enjoying the conversations and the streets of Irkutsk.

What struck me most is the number of loose change lying around on the street.1 rouble , 1 kopeck.They were all lying around.Streets were clean , cars were decent.It was difficult to believe that this can be Russia.But I later found out the reason.Siberia , rich in oil,diamonds and natural resources.The money just keeps rolling in!As we were walking along the river side taking photos of churches,The winds were pretty strong and the feeling of being swept away by the winds was pretty thrilling.Hello, Mary Poppins!We found a cafe serving up a business lunch at 190 roubles,SGD 9-10.Plov, soup,salad,drink and that filled up a great deal, pretty cosy decor as well.

Back at the hostel , we received some terrifying news that the transport minister of Eastern Siberia had died while travelling across the frozen lake Baikal.
Read about it here!
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090406/120929365.html

It shook us up a great deal , with Selma and THerese panicking about the idea of dangers while crossing the ice.I had to call Nikita Guesthouse ( accomodation on Olkhon ) to verify the situation and sought help on crossing from Mainland to Olkhon Island, which was on Lake Baikal.In summer , there are ferries that will bring tourists across to the island , but come winter , people normally go by car or by foot.We were there in April and the ice was melting and getting unstable.

The marshutka leaving Irkutsk for Lake Baikal was leaving 9am the next morning.And we found out towards the end of the day that instead of 5 people going to Olkhon Island, there was now 9 of us. 3 french, 1 canadian, 2 british,1 swedish, 1 dutch and 1 singaporean.Screw the unstable ice , we are still going.

The rest of the 6 did not have any reservations for accomodation made on Olkhon island, but as April was not the peak season ( due to the unstable ice ), there was of course plenty of rooms that Nikita Guest House on Olkhon Island could offer.There was going to be a problem.How do all 9 of us cross the ice?By foot.We planned to walk across by foot and someone from Nikita Guesthouse will be on Olkhon Island waiting for us and take us to the accomodation.

That was the plan.But as it turned out , few things go according to plan.

Siberia 2rd Stop : Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk ,

a city established by Russian Cossacks .
This was a pleasent city indeed with its mix of present and past.THere was a nice lookout point at the side of the Yenisey River.Walking down the main street , we found a travellers cafe which was obviously set up by people who love travelling.There were plenty of amazing photos from all over the world pasted in the cafe and guess what,the waitress spoke perfect english.Despite us trying to order in Russian , she replied in english.Wow.Siberia,you amaze me.We left the cafe ,contented people.

The weather in Krasnoyarsk was getting warm ,surging past 7degrees.And with a thick sweater like mine , it was unbearable.I was sweating.And i hate sweating especially when i have not taken a shower in 3 days and will not be taking a shower that day either.

THere were suppose to be beautiful churches in this city.But as we found out,it was nothing spectacular.They were really normal.The highlight was a little chapel at the top of a hill which overlooks the whole of Krasnoyarsk.

While walking towards this hill,out of the city centre,the view of Krasnoyarsk has taken a turn from cement buildings to wooden houses.we met an old lady along the way who was quite traumatised by the fact that we were taking photos of the wooden houses.Apparently , she insisted that we should take photos of the city centre because it was alot prettier over there.

Finding the way up the hill was a little tough from the Lonely Planet map but we managed after asking around for directions.THere was a cemetery in Krasnoyarsk which we decided to take a walk in.Unlike Novodevichi convent in Moscow , this cemetery had a heavy air surrounding it.Yes.THis felt like a real cemetery.There was a disagreement between Therese and Selma regarding taking photos in a cemetery.Should a tourist take photos of graves in a cemetery?Personally, the tombstones didn't look too eerie, they didn't have actual photos of the deceased on the tombstones like what we have in Singapore.But the idea of photos in a graveyard didn't sit too well with me.And I was glad to get the shit out of that place.

It was a 20minute walk up a hill to get to this chapel.And along the way , we saw squatters and more wooden houses.Kids , going home from school.Basically a normal day in a normal neighbourhood.I just don't know how the people stay warm in winter while living in squatters.It can get really cold in Siberia....I guess that's what vodka is for...As we were on our way up, we heard a loud bang.What the fuck was that?It wasn't some gun shot.It sounded like an explosion,followed by fire sirens.WHAT IS GOING ON.At that moment , I was thinking...could it be a.....terrorist attack?o well, i'm on a hill, far away from any possible terrorist targets any way.

The view from the chapel was not breathtaking.It was not mountains , green trees and rivers.It was a city, heavily constructed on the land.You see buildings , roads and a brown mountain further up.It was brown.really brown.but just being far away from that has its uniqueness.You up on a hill, with a small chapel surrounded by railings filled with locks.Locks which married couples put for a long and lasting marriage.It is that tranquility that made the stop in Krasnoyarsk ...oh so worthwhile!

As we were heading down the hill , there came a 2nd loud bang, looking out , it came from the mountains , perhaps people blowing up some parts of it to make way for development.Our next stop was the city's market .Where we chanced upon a soviet canteen selling pretty decent food at really affordable prices.Approx SGD5 for a full meal.

by this point of time , I was starting to feel a little weird of sticking out from the crowd.It was the kind of clothes the 3 of us were wearing.The Russians were wearing casual funky clothes, while we were all in hiking boots , sport shoes and bulky jackets.Yes.We were obviously tourists and we didn't look normal!