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Published: June 12th 2013
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The Svislach River
View from my hostel room Arriving in Minsk from Vitebsk, I hopped straight in a taxi to King Hostel, hoping and praying it would be better than the last one. I'd specifically booked my own room for a whopping £27 per night, so I was keeping everything crossed.
The room was amazing! I had a double bed, a widescreen TV, surround sound, a balcony, a sofa and an armchair. Loving the room so much, I spent the whole afternoon in there, Skyping and catching up with friends.
In the evening, I took a leisurely stroll around the lake and grabbed a few supplies from the supermarket for my bus ride the next evening. On my way through the Trinity area, I passed by the Isle of Tears, a memorial commemorating the Soviet soldiers from Belarus that died during the war with Afghanistan (1979-1989). Then I returned to the hostel and watched Russian-dubbed Twilight.
On the Thursday morning, I woke up late and over-stayed check-out time. In fairness, none of the staff were present to hand the key to, so I just stayed put. I took a shower, and some time later there was a commotion coming from the hallway. When I went out,
there were some random Belorussians gathered around the shower room. I asked a woman what's going on, and she explained (in Russian, of course, so my translation isn't going to be precise) that she lives downstairs and there's water coming through the ceiling. I offered shocked and sympathetic expressions before slipping back into my room to hide my guilt. Technically not my fault, but still.
At around 2pm, I was politely chased out of my room, as the new guests had arrived. Oops! I was packed and ready anyway, so it wasn't an issue.
I set out in search of food and found myself back at Planet Pizza, out of sheer laziness. I spent a couple of hours there, eating, reading and avoiding the rain. Then I strolled back to the hostel (once again, via the Isle of Tears), read some more, showered, and waited until it was time to head to the bus station.
Shortly after 9pm, I went in search of the receptionist who said she'd book me a taxi, only to be told by another guest that she'd left. Oh dear. (Of course, the phrase I used at the time was a little harsher
than 'oh dear', but I decided to tone it down). Luckily, the guy who informed me that she'd left spoke Russian, and so after a quick look online, I found a taxi number and had him call it for me. Sorted! His last words to me were: "Learn Russian."
I arrived at the bus station with plenty of time to spare and, using my limited Cyrillic reading skills, managed to locate my stop.
At 22:20, the driver started checking documents and loading luggage, and at 22:35, we set out. I made use of the on-board wifi for a while, before attempting to sleep. This proved impossible though, as the woman next to me (whose left arse-cheek spent much of the journey resting on my right leg) fidgeted more than a hamster on speed. So, I just did my best to get comfortable and settled in for the journey.
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