http://www.russiangirlfriday.com/ - Her name is Olesya - she is awesome. After having blind faith in Olesya and sending her money for procuring 3/5 of my train tickets, I actually received them. Anyone who may Google her looking for information and stumbles across this lowly blog of mine can be very confident in using her services. We met and she even went so far as showing me the important bits of information on the ticket.... and she gave me change, a totally unexpected turn of events that speaks volumes as to her professionalism. A big "thank you" and strong recommendation goes out to her and the service that she provides.
In other news... I have managed to lay together a plan that should allow me to keep occupied or inebriated in Moscow for 5 days (sometimes both at the same time).
Yesterday (day 1) was an art museum and sleep and checking into the hostel and a lot of walking and riding the metro and trying to get access to the free wifi in the hostel and then getting a bit inebriated at the hostels with a bunch of friends of one of the workers. It was his birthday that night and it was holloweeen and he had to work, so his friends through a party in the hostel... and most of them even spoke a bit of English. Lots of drinking with a lot of talking in alot of languages that I do not understand... and even a few 'friendly' wagers on some games of Foosball.
Today (day 2) was waking up expected late due to the cheap Russian beer, heading down to see Lenin, but I arrived too late. Then I went to large (1km x 2km) shrine/park dedicated to show off Soviet might and technical prowess (lots of pictures here... even though it was very overcast).... it is now just a glorified shopping mall... but the monuments and architecture is absolutely amazing. Also, I had some very interesting meat on a stick with onions that I believe to be beef, but I can not confirm that. Most people do not go here, but it should be on the top of everyones list while in Moscow... especially if you want to see a lot of hammer and sickle insignias on stuff. I could only imagine that during Soviet times that this place would make any Russian full of unbridled national pride, and likely still does that for many. I may have been the only non-Russian speaker in the entire place!
Shopping... what a grand experience... I both dread it and look forward to it.
I received a dysfunctional metro card (it was supposed to have 10 rides on it, but she forgot to activate it) today, and had to explain that to the attendant during rush hour... holding up the line a bit (after only 30 seconds of random Russian and English words and absolutely ridiculous gestures I was able to convey this information successfully).
Buying groceries every day that largely consists of items that i can only point at and in quantities less than or equal to 5 (fingers). There are no supermarkets that you can just walk around, pick stuff up, and then pay... you have to tell them what you want and then pay and then they give you the items.
My old leather sandals smell like rotten feet, so i am going to buy some new sandals tomorrow... that should be interesting because I will likely purchase them from a street vendor.
All of this has one thing in common... I have to give up all dignity to get my point across and I get an immense feeling of satisfaction after completing even the most menial of tasks. I walked away from the grocery store tonight thinking i was king of the world because I was able to successfully purchase iced tea, cheese, sausage, bread, and yogurt. I never feel that way when I leave Krogers or Walmart. Also, I am doing most of my shopping well out of the tourist areas (where prices are ridiculous, even my Moscow standards) and where English is EXTREMELY uncommon. The fact that doing even the simplest of tasks is rewarding makes the entire day more interesting because I am constantly getting a sense of accomplishment.
Even more good news, I just fixed the wireless Internet access for the hostel, and now I can use my iPhone again on a wireless network... so the next few updates should be more frequent and a bit more "real time". I was able to get into the router settings and add the MAC addresses of both my iPhone and some Latvian guys computer... so now we don't have to wait in line for the computer at the hostel... everything was in Russian, but a computer is a computer anywhere, and i was able to get my way around and get some shit done... they should let me stay for free, because they keep receiving complaints about the non-working wifi... and now they will not (and I made sure that me and Latvia guys computers will always get fast access).
A quick summary of what is likely to come.... Kremlin and armory tour, Lenins tomb, Soccer game (Russia v Chechnya... can anyone say 'tension filled atmosphere') on Sunday, and other random monuments and parks and onion domed churches and random street food.
Also (Mikey, Ween, Eli)... I have not been raped or robbed yet... if I do you will be the first to know (Mother Dues was concerned over those comments, so I felt I would address them publicly).
Ok, my beer is gone, so I must go to bed and prepare to waste more time in Moscow tomorrow.
-- The Dues
2 comments:
Make sure you visit the black market (usually found in the tourist areas by a park). Last time I was in Russia I got some pretty sweet military stuff from the black market people (gas mask, smoke grenade, etc.). I thought about the AK-47 they kept offering (the firing pin had been removed so it was just for show), but thought customs might not like that one. The only problem these days would be getting anything back into the states. I am sure it is much more difficult now than it was in the late 90's.
Also make sure to visit the raping district. Ask for the one they call "Machine." He is the best
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