WELCOME TO RUSSIA
WELCOME TO RUSSIAAfter about 1 1/2 months being back home from the trip, I have finally managed to update the blogs. It runs according to the actual dates of my travels, which means that you have to scroll down for the updates.
So, what do I think about the Trans-Mongolian Railway Journey? I would describe it as "Out of This World". Mongolia's sheer natural beauty would take your breath away as would Russia's very own eccentricities. The experience on the train is another unique experience by itself.
Throughout our entire journey, we've only met the most hospitable people who would shower kindness to both of us total strangers (if you look past the Russian customer service). To this extent, I think most Russians are misunderstood as they are generally reserved but all that is needed is something to break the ice.
Not to mention that along the way, you would find some gems of friends whom you would want to keep forever.
I am most thankful to the friends that I've met along the way who had made my trip an even more memorable and enjoyable one and those who had helped us in every possible way that they could. Hopefully our paths will meet again one day and rekindle our friendships.
The friends that I've made along the way were definitely one of the highlights:-
Not to forget my travel buddy, Thong Mei, without her would have made my journey less pleasant and fun!
Imagine this:-
No one to get lost with in the Moscow metro! No one to provide entertainment during the ardously boring 4 day train ride! No one to accompany me to run to the toilet in the middle of the night! (To those who doubt and have doubted this before, shame on you!!)
I will never forget how beautiful Mongolia was on a cold winter but yet sunny day on horseback as how I would not forget experiencing the frozen Lake Baikal crack under my feet (almost!) and the exhilaration by the fact of just being in Russia itself.
The train rides were also a highlight in itself and that would equally apply to getting lost at the Metro Stations in Moscow (all the time) and grappling to understand cryllic.
There are so much more highlights which I won't be able to describe in words but that I will always remember.
As they say, "Trans-Mongolian Journey is priceless, for others, there's Mastercard"!
05/14/07 by puiyee
Yes, I made it! Qatar Airways made it! I'm finally home in Kuala Lumpur. Thong Mei managed to squeeze Qatar Airways by the balls (actually, the person in charge) and we all flew home on Business Class.
I haven't managed to update this blog for the duration of my Trans-Mongolia journey but I'll try to do it bit by bit from now onwards but that would mean that the timeline would have gone a bit wonky. Bear with me!
04/03/07 by puiyee
I'm now sitting in the business class lounge in the Doha International Airport in Qatar as I did yesterday.
To make a very very long story short, my flight home to Kuala Lumpur from Moscow is with Qatar Airways with a transit connection in Qatar. I left Moscow on 31 March 2007. It's approaching 3 April 2007 and I am still in Qatar.
What had actually happened was when we reached Qatar from Moscow, we were denied our connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur notwithstanding the fact that we have been issued the boarding passes for the Qatar - KL sector in Moscow itself.
We made a fuss, got checked in into a hotel in Doha by the airways, had spent one full day in Doha.
Hence from winter clothing to desert clothing...I don't think I had prepared for this eventuality! To say that this Trans-Mongolian trip has been a BIG adventure is a bit of an understatement. I had passed I don't remember how many time zones in these 3 weeks, my body clock is all confused and messed up, so is my diet.
I have walked on a frozen lake last week with layers of clothes on and today I have walked in the desert wishing I had brought along a pair of shorts with me! EXTREME??? I think this word doesn't even come close in describing this adventure.
Nevertheless, the desert safari that we went on was absolutely fabulous with incredible scenes of the desert and sand dunes which meet the sea!
Some thrills and spills too:-
I'm still waiting to board my flight home. It's been delayed...I think I'll lay down on the couch and sleep.
04/01/07 by puiyee
This is the day that we've been waiting for. It's to be a full day spent at the Kremlin with its top draw of the Armoury Palace.
Thong Mei and I had came yesterday evening, by chance to the ticketing booth (we stumbled upon alot of things and we were getting lost in the Metro all the time) and had worked out which session we wanted to take for the Armoury Palace. Admissions times are staggered in 3 periods and it is closed on Thursdays.
The plan was for us to see the surroundings of Kremlin first before proceeding to the Armoury Palace tour for the 1pm session. Off we go to get the tickets. Man, I can tell you there is no such thing as customer service in Russia. So we bought the tickets for the Kremlin and the Armoury. We were told "Armoury, now, now in 5 minutes", "But we want the 1 pm session". "No! No! Go now, 5 minutes!!". Ok so we had to relent, it is obvious that there is still a very prevalent Soviet mentality still in practice. Do as you are told and don't ask too much (or at all).
The Armoury is probably the highlight of the entire Kremlin for me. There were treasures upon treasures collected over the years, these being gifts from foreign counterparts to the Tzars and Tzarinas in the olden days. Most of the treasures were collected from the time of Catherine the Great and Tzar Nikolas.
One of the highlights of the Armoury itself is of course the Faberge eggs. To be exact, 7 of them with 7 different themes. These Faberge eggs were commissioned as Easter gifts for the Tzars, hence were made in the shape of eggs and a must which comes with any Faberge egg would be a surprise hidden inside the egg.
There were tens of thousands of treasures, from armours to horse carriages, costumes and made in the highest degree of craftsmanship. It really does make you wonder how people in the olden days do it. As we progress with further technological advancement, we have fallen into a state of craftlessness.
If you are reading the guidebooks and wondering how it is that you may visit the Diamond Fund featuring a vast collection of diamonds and gems including the very impressive Crown Jewels, the Orlov Diamond and the Shah's Diamond, fret not. The tickets can be bought just as you exit the Armoury.
After the armoury, we walked around the Kremlin which is still only 1/3 opened to the public.
TIP: You could enter the Kremlin grounds without an admission ticket but not the churches. So you would save alot of money by doing this.
It is still a working Russian government centre and this is evidenced from the fleet of black Mercs parked in the Kremlin.
Here are some photos:-
In the evening, we had bought tickets to see the Bolshoi Ballet, one of the world's finest and we chose a comedy ballet for want to anything better. We had to go the the New Stage as the 17th century Main Stage Bolshoi Theatre is currently closed for some serious restoration.
The Russians do take their ballet very seriously, all dressed up and binoculars in toe. It was a new experience for me watching the ballet and I must say that it wasn't so bad although paying 320 Roubles got us seats at the highest tier, so the view wasn't absolutely fantastic. Sounds cliche, watching the ballet but we would have kicked ourselves if we didn't.
To a fitting end of our 2 weeks in Russia, a place when I'm now back home and reminiscing, still seems a little surreal to me, we stood in the middle of the Red Square admiring the St. Basil's Cathedral. It was sad having to leave for home now despite us being a little tired and a little homesick. I don't know what to think of Russia after this, eccentric and misunderstood are probably the words that I'll use to describe the country and its people.
03/30/07 by puiyee
We arrived in Moscow on 26th of March 2007. We were too tired and had an extremely boring evening of some sleep and dinner of McDonald's (yes you could shoot me but after 4 days on the train surviving on bread and Marmite, McDonald's is heaven!).
First impression of Moscow? CIVILISATION! Far cry after being in Khuzir for 4 days and on the train for the equal number of days!
I'm impressed with Moscow, first impression was made in Kitai-Gorod, ultra trendy place with lots of cafes and too many slim and tall and overly dressed up Russian women! So many days being in the wilderness, I think Thong Mei and I are not shy in admitting that we practically sat in Coffee House (Kope Xys - in cryllic) almost everyday!
So, on the second day in Moscow, we decided to visit the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. The queue was as long as you could imagine. We stayed in line for 3 hours before finally getting in and we told ourselves that we have to be in the museum for the equal amount of hours we waited in queue. It didn't happen, I didn't find the Museum worth that 3 hour wait but I guess that's what having experienced the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the Vatican Museums in Rome do to you.
After the Museum, we walked around Moscow, taking some sights of the Church of Christ the Saviour:-
And so, happily we went off to take the Metro back to our hostel during rush hour. The effect of it wasn't good on me at all. Well, you can't expect anything good out of taking the Metro during rush hour in Moscow when 9 million Muscovites take the Metro DAILY! The result was me being literally pushed around in and out of the train by hoards of crude 6 footer Russians...the women were the worst! Notwithstanding the trauma that I had to go through, the Metro in Russia is perhaps one of the most efficient ones in the world. During rush hour, it only takes 90 seconds for the train to arrive until the next one comes in. I guess failure is not an option. Not to mention that the Metro stations are tourists draws in themselves as they are ornately decorated with bronze statues, chandeliers, mosaics, etc. They say photographs are not allowed but as soon as I saw another non-chalant tourist happily snapping away, these are what I got, although done surreptitiously:-
Travelling down to the tunnels in the Metro could be one hell of a dizzying experience. Some stations are located at least easily 150 metres to the core of the earth and couple this with ultra fast and straight escalators, it feels as though there is a magnetic field pulling you down. SCARY!!
It's been so long since I came back from the trip that I don't remember what we did. I think on the 3rd day in Moscow, we went to the Red Square and getting impressed with the St. Basil's Cathedral. We walked to the Red Square from the Armoury Tower at the Kremlin and as we approached the Red Square, there it was - the St. Basil's Cathedral...arguably THE ICON of Moscow if not Russia. It springs out to you like a fold-up fairy tale cut-out as a result of the colourful domes and spires. Mind you, the patterns on the dome are actually 3D! I couldn't help myself to getting trigger happy with the camera:-
The irony of the entire set-up at the Red Square was that Lenin's Mausoleum was right smack opposite the GUM, or as they use to call it in Soviet Times, the State Department Store. So much for advancing the principles of socialism. The father of Communist Soviet, whom the widow was against having Lenin embalmed and laid in state is now laying in state opposite a departmental store!
Mind you, having said all that about Lenin, he was difficult to see...I didn't manage to catch him on a good day as visiting times are limited and not just that, arbitrary.
The next day, we hadn't done much but went to the Izmaylova Market (apparently best during the weekends) to get ourselves on a quest to bring some matrioshka dolls home. You can't be in Russia and not buy one back. It took me 3 hours to buy 7 dolls and after walking 3 times around all the stalls before I could decide which one to choose from. What can I say, you wouldn't understand how difficult it was to choose the matrioshka doll which is now sitting atop my tele!
03/27/07 by puiyee
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