My Name in Russian Has a 3 in it, and other tales from Siberia

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Russias flagPublished: October 26th 2006Europe » Russia » Siberia » Novosibirsk
October 26th 2006

Jack's Place, IrkutskJack's Place, Irkutsk
Jack's Place, Irkutsk

The Baikaler Hostel; don't drop by, you'll never find the way in.
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 its list of Asia-Russia destinations. Not that it matters. I'm simply trying to shake off a bit of writers block. Anyway, to relate my first night on the train and my crossing from Mongolia into Russia I will present an excerpt from my journal. I will even italicize it to make it more journalish. Journaly? Journalesque!

Oct. 15/2006 - Somewhere on a train in Mongolia

Truely going tran-Siberian now. I have a compartment full of Russians and vodka. Several large shots before the train started moving. Should be an interesting ride.

-~-

I have been
Aldar and SashaAldar and Sasha
Aldar and Sasha

Oddly, all my pictures of the vodka guy turned out blurry. Funny that.
on this train for an hour and a quarter. The handwriting (trust me on this -ed.) is due to the motion of the train, not the booze. I think. Passenger 1: Sasha - Tajik truck driver. Passenger 2: Aldar: Buryatian kid who went to uni in UB. #3: Vodka man Andre. Keeps feeding me and others booze. Aldar sat down and started crying. Said goodbye to his university friends today. The only one who speaks English.

Oct. 16/2006 - Russia!

I have felt, since about 11:00 last evening, like I am in hell. Lights out at about 10. At 11 Andre, having been helped into his berth by Sasha earlier, falls from the top bunk and cracks his head on the table. After (slightly) regaining his senses he proceeds to unzip his pants and piss all over the door, floor and foot of my bed. Great. I summon the provodnitsa (train lady), shouting ensues. I am rescued by M and M of England and Holland, Hong Kong-business types who booked out an entire compartment for the 2 of them. Sleep out the night in their bunk. Life savers. I'm not sure the other Russians in my kupe understood
World's Biggest Lenin HeadWorld's Biggest Lenin Head
World's Biggest Lenin Head

I dunno, its pretty big....
that I was a bit grumpy over someone having pissed all over the place. Cultural difference? Since then we lurched through the night until about 7:30 this morning. We have barely moved since, taking ages with customs procedures (in the end it was 9 hours -ed.).

Funny what differences a border makes. Faces, language, currency all change.

Mr. Vodka has spent most of the day with his head in his hands, but is drinking beer, which is hardly encouraging. Sahsa, the Tajik, doesn't do much, but sings "Michael Jackson, cigarette" to me as our only form of communication. Aldar woke up, had some vodka and has not been particularily interesting. Perhaps annoying, but that this point I am easily annoyed.


My Russia experience has been better since then; I got off of the train in Ulan-Ude, saw the worlds biggest Lenin head, disn't get smiled at much, and got back on the train the next day. Its odd that on entering Russia the architecture and customs change from Asia to Europe, although I am very much still in Asia. Differences noted; public displays of affection (couples wearing matching t-shirts is about as close as it gets in most parts of Asia I've visited), pedestrian right of way (however marginal, it still exists) and dill. In everything. I'm about dilled-out.

From Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk and Lake Baikal (the worlds deepest, although I couldn't really tell). Spent some time hiking around the lake and in Listvyanka. Having got off of our mini-bus half way to Listvyanka (to check out a wooden architecture museum) we were stuck with the dilemma of actually arriving at our destination. Ended up hitching a ride with a couple of Russian girls, the driver with talon fingernails and pink hair, and the other who heldf two beer bottles, looked grumpy and sent constant text messages, who were kind enough to a) give us a mini tour of the area on our way to town and b) not ask for anything in return.

One more train to Krasynoyarsk (4098km to Moscow) and a bunch of church and some cool volcanic rocks, then to Novosibirsk, for about 25 munites until I caught my bus to Tomsk. Tomsk is way cool, despite the crap weather. Onion-domes, wooden architecture (anyone noticing a theme here?) and 'The Oxford of Siberia', according to the Lonely Planet.

So, from Novosibirsk, 3343km to Moskova, where I will meet my dad (you wish your dad was that cool) and then on to St. Petersburg and Lithuania. I may even stop by a gulag on the way.


Ah! And congratulations to Anna on the birth of baby Myles, and to 강윤정 on the birth of JeHa!

m

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Michael Saxe
“To be a tourist is to escape accountability. Errors and failings don't cling to you the way they do back home. You're able to drift across continents and languages, suspending the operation of sound thought. Tourism is the march of stupidity. You're expected to be stupid. The entire mechanism of the host country is geared to travelers acting stupidly. You walk around dazed, squinting into fold-out maps. You don't know how to talk to people, how to get anywhere, what the money means, what time it is, what to eat or how to eat it. Being stupid is the pattern, the level and the norm. You can ex... full info
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Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynas...more info

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Windows, Ulan-UdeWindows, Ulan-Ude
Windows, Ulan-Ude

"Doors and windows are alive too" -Ali and his camera.
Tsar Alexander IIITsar Alexander III
Tsar Alexander III

Started the Trans-Sib railway
Whiter Church, IrkutskWhiter Church, Irkutsk
Whiter Church, Irkutsk

I'm sure all these churches have names, but...
Lake BaikalLake Baikal
Lake Baikal

The point of this photo is to show how big the lake is. Its real big. Those are mountains on the other side.
Museum, KrasnoyarskMuseum, Krasnoyarsk
Museum, Krasnoyarsk

You know, this is exactly how I pictured a Siberian museum to look. It had a wooly mammoth skeleton in it. No mummies though.
River Office, KrasnoyarskRiver Office, Krasnoyarsk
River Office, Krasnoyarsk

Ha! Not a church!
Rock, KrasnoyarskRock, Krasnoyarsk
Rock, Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk is a pain in the ass word to spell.





Comments
Date: 26th October 2006

Nice train ride...
What else can I say? That sounds like a fun enough train ride! Nuthin' like getting woken up by drunk guys breaking skulls and giving you a shower... lol

From Blog: My Name in Russian Has a 3 in it, and other tales from Siberia
Date: 27th October 2006

samir?
what was ali's teachers name? have i really been out of young-do that long? hahahaha! i think i would've already jumped off the train if i were you. good luck! selim? yusef? mrs. yildiz...what the "ef" ever...

From Blog: My Name in Russian Has a 3 in it, and other tales from Siberia
Date: 27th October 2006

love the nomenclature
Hi Mike, sorry to have been out of touch for a while, had girlfriend visiting etc..... Anyway, I clearly have to go to Tomsk, and the Tom river is just crying out for me to go see it! Looks amazing. Why did I return back to the UK again?? Oh yeah, job and boring shite like that!

From Blog: My Name in Russian Has a 3 in it, and other tales from Siberia
Date: 27th October 2006

Cool dad
I especially liked the comment about your cool dad. Sounds like he's the greatest. Hope you have fun traveling with him. I hope he behaves himself and does not embarass you in public. Boris

From Blog: My Name in Russian Has a 3 in it, and other tales from Siberia
Date: 28th October 2006

I guess it could have been worse!
A free golden shower...hmm...I think in some parts of the world people pay high prices for that!

From Blog: My Name in Russian Has a 3 in it, and other tales from Siberia
Date: 29th October 2006


I can't believe that a guy who has traveled in India is complaining about Russian trains. :)

From Blog: My Name in Russian Has a 3 in it, and other tales from Siberia
Date: 30th October 2006

pictures? what pictures?
i don't see your pictures, but i'm sure your times are nice.

From Blog: My Name in Russian Has a 3 in it, and other tales from Siberia




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