I totally stole that title from a t-shirt. Always cite your sources. So my father and I rolled out of Saint Petersburg and out of Russia on a train bound for Vilnius, via Latvia. Contrary to what I expected, I was not detained by the Russian border officers. We were, however, woken at several points in the night by men wearing large fur army hats of various colors who demanded our passports, which we wearily produced. From Vilnius station we made our way to the flat of Kerry Keys, poet, located in the old Jewish Ghetto of Vilnius. The city can [View Full Entry]

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This is a seperate entry because, well, because it deserves to be. This is something I do from time to time. It clears my head. More on Lithuania later. ********** In the forest of Paneriai I breathe the damp, cold air of the dead. Trees with black rings of memory sway in grey sky. Feet sink into wet forest floor and I sink into the memory of 100 000 here and the millions. Sand and earth are rich with the bones of my ancestors in the forest of Paneriai. m [View Full Entry]

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It is very damp in Lithuania and my hands are cold. Typing is difficult. Well, when you last pretended to read my blog, I had just left Tomsk/Novosibirsk and was on my way to Nizhny Novgorod (previously Gorky, after the writer). I spent two uneventful nights on the train, with only a screaming child to interrupt my reading (my Russian isn't so good, but I figure most of what he said was 'No! Its mine! I want it!'). In Nizhny Novogorod I stayed at at totally dodgy Soviet-era hotel. As I have come to learn, when a hotel is described as [View Full Entry]

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Privyet, comrades! Well, in Russia. Its big and cold...not that I expected "sunshine, deck chairs, and Mojitos" (Kierans, 2006). Since I am taking the trans-siberian train, I am obviously spending a lot of time on trains, although to try and perserve what precious little is left of my sanity I have not yet spent more than one night on the train, although that will change beginning tomorrow night when I begin my 3000km jaunt to Moscow from Novosibirsk. Note: I am not in Novosibirsk now, but in Tomsk. Travelblog.org however does not include Tomsk (although does include the nearby Omsk) in [View Full Entry]

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In my last entry I made reference to the city of Ulaanbaatar as being "The Napanee of Asia". For those of you who do not know of the 'city' of Napanee, this will serve as an introduction, and for those of you who do, well, I will do my best to explain why Napanee is indeed the Napanee of Asia (according to my experiences). Napanee, Ontario (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napanee,_Ontario, http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=napanee&sa=N&tab=wi (why someone Wikied this I'll never know)) is the town where I went to high school. It has its charms, er, maybe it has a charm...yes, probably only o [View Full Entry]

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Agent Reporting: Michael Saxe Current Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Mission Report: 2 Weeks in China Mission Status: Complete I arrived in China from Macau, slipping undetected through Chinese customs and their heat scanners. Despite my headache and nausea (sp?), I did not have the bird flu, but merely a hangover. To Gulin, arriving by the cover of night, then to Yangshou where I was met at the bus station by the Chinese agent meant to meet me at the airport, but screwed up. Luckily my survival skills are sharp and I managed my way without having to erase anyone. Many travelers become [View Full Entry]

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I believe that when I last left my dear readers I had just departed Vietnam and was spending too much money in Hong Kong. Thus, here is where I will begin. Hong Kong Hong Kong mostly owes its present state of existence to opium. If my brief scanning of museum texts serves me correctly, the British, who had nothing to offer the Chinese (who provided spices, tea and silk) turned to importing opium to even the trade deficit. When the Chinese rejected the junkifcation of their citizens, war ensued, the Brits won, and Hong Kong was claimed. Class. (If any of [View Full Entry]

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Here are photos that compliment the last entry, once thought lost, now recovered. Currently in Hong Kong. Will update that once I finish shopping. There are loads more pictures, but I've had just about enough of computers for one day, thank you very much. m [View Full Entry]

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H is for Hoi An and tailor made threads, H is for Hue to visit the dead. H is for Hanoi, big, dirty and hot, H is for hydrated, which I was not. H is for Ho Chi Min, a leader entombed, H is for Hilton, where propaganda has bloomed, H is for hills, of which Sapa has plenty, H is for Halong, where I am now, And H is for Hong Kong, and I'll be there soon and I can't be asked to rhyme anymore. ************************************************************************** Ahem. When we last parted, our hero was making his way by overnight bus [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) on Thursday. Finishing my contract in Korea, I found departure to be surprisingly non-cathartic. Perhaps because I was so perpared to leave, or that mentally I was already gone, as I boarded my Vietnam Airlines flight in Incheon with little to no sentiment. It is, I suppose, time to leave Korea. I have made some fantastic friends and had amazing experiences there, but as of August 24th, 2006, it is time for us to part. Which brings us, of course, to the interesting part. Saigon, for the most part, is architecturally uninspiring. Block [View Full Entry]

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