http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/chloes/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from chloes en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:42:10 +0000 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:42:10 +0000 Last day in Beijing and last day of our holiday...Could have been a miserable last few hours as it was pouring with rain and we couldn't find any breakfast. Things started to look up as we came across a woman cooking Chinese styled crepes in the street. Not quite sure what the main filling was perhaps some sort of onion paper was our guess with beans and egg and teriyaki sauce. Antony Bourdain http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-333503.html Update to come read what we did in the photo captions http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Tian-anmen/blog-333501.html Update to come read what we did in the photo captions http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Forbidden-City/blog-333499.html Update to come read what we did in the photo captions http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-333497.html Update to come read what we did in the photo captions http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-333496.html First stop the Central Post Office to withdraw several hundred thousand Turgrogs about 50.00. We are ring in Mongolia.Choijin Monastery but it was closed so had to be happy with looking at the exterior.Long walk outside of the UB city to the Bogd Khan Palace Museum the Winter Palace of Mongolia. Hardly any restoration which made the place seem even more authentic than the usual temples. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-333481.html At 5am stopped at Ulan Ude and our empty cabin is now occupied with two new mates. Petr a Russian guide for Intrepid and Alfonzo from Mexico.Tim thinks that it is only 1.30am so gets off the train ti buy beer and vodka not realising that it is really 6.30am local time and that his early morning drinking scared our new cabin mates.120km until we get to the Mongolian Border.Arrived at th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Far-East/blog-333399.html Ohhh sooo tired. I am sure if we had the choice Tim and I would have spent the day in bed. But as always check out time is in 15 minutes and today is probably the only chance we'll ever have to see the world's largest lake Lake Baikal.We made it to the drab and dingy bus station and knowing full well that we had already missed the 8am and 9am bus we attempted a cab ride which some out of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Siberia/Lake-Baikal/blog-332827.html We arrive in Siberia at 6am pitch black and cold. After 4 days with our cabin friends we say good bye wish them luck and wonder if we'll ever see them again.Get picked up from our tour agent and get taken to Hotel Anagara. According to the guide books this hotel is one of the most upmarket and classy in Irkutsk. Inside the reality is more Gulag in style a truly Soviet building with I'd like t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Siberia/Irkutsk/blog-332826.html Still in our Siberian Time Warp. I have woken up at 6.50am 10.50am and it is a beautiful day. My scary Russian friend with the scar tells me that the next stop is BIG CITY which I think is KRASNOYARSKY.Feeling very hungry. Have been reading a book about China and I am craving something hot and spicy. The most exciting herb they seem to use in Russia is Dill.Breakfast is Chloe's Coffee Crea http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Siberia/Irkutsk/blog-332825.html Tried to hide Tim in an empty cabin last night because of his incessant snoring. Holiday ended when at 4am the train stopped somewhere in the middle of no where and our cabin was occupied by a very confused woman demanding her bed back.Breakfast was a peasant affair of stale bread delicious cheese and my own coffee recipe of instant coffee and condensed milk syrup. Suffering from the 'Trans Siber http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Siberia/Irkutsk/blog-332823.html The romantic notion of traveling across Russia in a train ended on my first morning with a cheap vodka hangover.We are sharing a cabin with a Dutch Father 60ish and Daughter 30ish who are great company and didn't mind sharing our vodka on the first night.After which at 2am Tim decided he really needed to go to the toilet but as we had stopped a constant problem on these trains ended u http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/blog-332822.html In what has been our longest inner city train ride so far we took a trip today out to the famous Gorky Park. Not quite sure what we were expecting but what we got was a colossal entry into a mostly deserted amusement park. Complete with that spaceship we saw on the boat. We are not quite sure if it actually gets busy.Across the road we entered the Sculpture Park formerly called 'The Park of Fa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-332803.html Today is the day we are off to see the... KREMLINBut first a qucik breakfast of cheap and nasty pizza and our new favorite ADRENALIN drink the Russian's haven't really caught on with cheap and easy cafes yetUnfortunately we're not allowed to hang out with the politburo in the dumas or any of the other official looking buildings and we weren't even allowed to walk on any of the internal roads http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-332772.html 7.23am and we are about 32 minutes exactly because the trains actually run on time in this country before we arrive back in Moscow.Our train this time is a step up from our previous affair Shiny and Red I believe they call it the Red Arrow. With Red and Gold trim and fancy curtains it felt like Royalty could ride in this train.Shared with two young Russian guys who wanted to talk more than http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-332738.html Waiting for Tim to wake up I attempted to read a map all by myself and found the Kuznechny Market. An indoor fresh food market full of meat meat pickled vegetables and fresh honey.Tourist event for the day was the Russian Museum where we made our way through several hundred years of Russian art starting with the massive religious canvases lots of halos and Jesus's on crosses. Finally did m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-332715.html Today was the day we visited the Hermitage the largest art museum in the world. Full of gold art gold statues and more gold.Dinner on Vasilevsky Island at a restaurant called 'Rssy Kitsch' where the decor is a mixture of 1001 Arabian Nights and weird pictures of Russian politicians. Ate borsch fish stews and... more vodka http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/blog-332539.html 8.20am and we have almost arrived in St Petersburg we have nearly survived our first overnight train. Tim and I had the top 2 bunks and shared with two old Russian dudes.Couldn't use the toilets 20 mins before and after a stop because the stuff gets dropped straight on the rails. In the morning the line for the toilet went halfway down the carriage and I tried to have my first sponge shower. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-332525.html Discovered Moscow equivalent of Paddy's markets and managed to order a hot meaty pastry and a great coffee like Turkish but lighter and with 3 sugar cubes.Discovered some weird Russian theme park called 'Kremlin of Izmaylovsky' complete with Vodka museum.2 hour boat cruise through Moscow. Saw obscene statue of Peter the Great and a Rocket Ship.Evening spent hanging out in a corner of the train http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-332523.html 2.27am we arrive in Dubai airport. Palm trees Dunkin Donuts Mosques and an Irish Village all under one roof.10.17am Arrive in Moscow. First contact with the locals is the ATM which we think stole our money.To get into the city we catch the metro which is called the 'Aero Express' and is a grotty old 1970s style train that rattles and smells. Not too bad a trip and we arrive in the city http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-332197.html