I Love Mongolia

Just a quick update.  After changing my plans upon an early arrival into Mongolia, and a very time consuming and seemingly pointless 10 hour border crossing I am back in the hostel in Ulaan-Bator and getting on a 30 hour train tommorow morning bound for Beijing.  I have many other updates ready to send on my phone, but they will have to wait until I reach my Hostel in Beijing in a few days.

 

This city is quite average and polluted, but a couple of nights in a tent with a nomadic family quickly allowed me to forget that... also I meet back up with the Swedes from the hostel in Moscow, and have been doing some travelling with a father/son Australia team and a lone Brazillian that I meet on the train from Russia. 

 

The main reason I like Mongolia so much better:  Mongolians are helpful and nice, Russians are not.

 

A flood of updates with pictures will be coming from Beijing shortly

- The Dues

My Mexican food

My Mexican food, originally uploaded by ericdues.

Just a quick shot of the Mexican food I am eating. Pork with vegies
and what they call Tabasco, but I call ketchup. It is a bit pricey at
about $12 for thus and espresso and some juice, but I am not
complaining. I feel I have done my due dilligance in sampling a wide
array of Russian fare. I have not yet eaten any American fast food, so
I think I am doing quite good. It is definately not as spicy as I
expect Mexican food to be, but it is certainley acceptable.

- The Dues

Three birds, one stone

Three birds, one stone, originally uploaded by ericdues.

Miracle!

I have found a cafe (I hadn't eaten more than an apple yet today), I
needed to warm up a bit (-8c and I have been walking around for 2.5
hours) and I had hoped to find an internet cafe. I found one great
place place to satisfy all three. Cafe Fiesta... A wifi southwestern
themed place in the main market district of Irkutsk.

So now I can type this email, send this and 4 other backlogged updates
(I will attempt to do them in chronological order), eat my Mexican
frying pan, as the English translation is if what I ordered, then go
buy groceries for my trip. There is not too much to see here and I
have already walked most of the city center, and I am tired of Russian
museums and churches at thus point, so I will just go wait in the
station for the remaining hours before boarding my final Russian
train. That is seven hours away, and I will likely spend 4-5 of them
in the train station, but I don't care.

Well, my food is here, so I will leave it at that. My next update will
be from somewhere in Mongolia!

- The Dues

Russian Random Thoughts

Russian Random Thoughts, originally uploaded by ericdues.

Above is one of the smoked omul after I was done with it, hopefully
you can see the spine sitting in the middle of it. I figured I would
type a few more things before left this country.

I am sitting on a bus back to Irkutsk for which I paid about $2.50
for, 1/20th the cost it took me to get here. I have know idea what the
hell is going on right now, but the cold bus (because the driver keeps
his window open so he can smoke) just stopped for 15 minutes in the
middle of nowhere. The driver said something, and some people came to
the front and gave him money while he was writing something, the what
appeared to be several small arguments broke out between him and some
old ladies. Now we are going and it will be my first mission when we
arrive to find a toilet... tge coffee and water I had for breakfast
was maybe not the best idea before sitting on a two hour cold bus
ride. Then I will walk around the city in about -10c weather for about
4 hours with my bag on my back and then hopefully find an Internet
cafe and send a short update (that will of course post before this).

This homestay that I did was really just renting a cottage on the
cheap. I had the place to myself the whole time and only saw the host
when I paid her 4 hours after I arrived. Couple that with the sparse
population and the remoteness of the location and I was pretty much
completely alone for two days. I would sit around at night watching
the Russian news channel (one of only two available out here), review
pictures, and drink a few beers every night. I am not sure if I will
remember how to talk to anyone when I return!

I fully expect to be able to talk even less to people in Mongolia, but
for the first day I should be around some people, and the last night
there I am staying in a popular hostel near the train station, so
perhaps there will be some people to hang out and drink/talk with.

- The Dues

Goodbye Russia

Goodbye Russia, originally uploaded by ericdues.

I begin this email tired and full after about 10 miles of walking/
hiking around the lake today in what was a cold but pretty sunny day.
Part of that hiking included this view at the mouth of the Angara
river (the only outbound river of the 300+ rivers at this lake), which
was after a 35 minute hike up a snowy mountain after a 3 mile walk to
reach the base of the snowy mountain. I will say that I was pretty
tired after that but since I hadn't really eaten anything all day and
I expended a lot of energy, I figured I should eat a lot of protein.
So I commenced walking down the mountain and, after a stop my the Lake
Bakail museum, another 5 miles to buy some smoked omul fish... two of
them. There is nothing quite like smoked fish caught that day being
sold by those who caught it. I finally figured out that the most
efficient method of eating it is to break the spine at the head and
tail and then most of the meat can be pulled away from the skin in one
piece by using the spine. From there you can get nearly all of the
meat off the ribs without any bones.

Well, tomorrow I catch a bus back to Irkutsk and then a train onto
Ulan-Bator (Mongolia). Assuming all goes as planned I am essentially
done with Russia (after some brief sight-seeing in Irkutsk tomorrow).

While I didn't go there this time, St. Petersburg is definately much
more westernized, A.K.A. tourist friendly, than Moscow. I actually
found that getting around outside of Moscow was not too bad; in fact I
would venture to say that it was actually easier in these smaller
cites due less of a "pushy" atmosphere and less intrusive police.
True, the same old ladies are everywhere to impose their will on you,
but the cites and towns that I visited were much more manageable.

I still find it a self-rewarding challenge to buy groceries and food,
but I tend to gravitate back towards the same stores and markets each
time (if I am in a place long enough) and the clerks seem to then know
what to expect from this dumb American that can merely point at
objects and say (very poorly I'm sure) only the most basic of words
and phrases.

I am not sure if I will ever have the desire to come back to Russia
unless it was with someone who spoke the language; which would of
course be a much different experience, but not necessarily a better
one. I think knowing the language would take some of the mysterey and
mistique from the experience, and then any city becomes just a city.
This is probably why American cities tend fail to be very intriguing
to me, because getting around them is so easy for anyone who speaks
English... you can just ask for directions. The only two other places
that I am interested in visiting here are the far northern city of
Murmansk and of course the terminus of the railway at Vladivostock.

For all of the visa hassles that I had, and the fact that they just
passed even stricter laws in the past 6 weeks, I can not possibly see
how this country will be able to succesfully welcome a large
international crowd for the 2014 winter Olympics. I would hope that by
then some of these antiquated laws and the general atmosphere of a
police-state (although it is not as bad outside of Moscow and St.
Petersburg) will subside.

I am getting very excited now about Mongolia and China (and if this is
posted, that means they let me out of Russia and into China). One
reason is because I can stop carrying the heaps of paperwork,
registrations and old train tickets with me at all times to prove that
I am not a spy or a terrorist or in some way breaking an obscure visa
registration law and therefore have "big problems" and have to pay a
fine to a corrupt border guard. Also, trains will begin runing on
local times instead of Moscow time, and since I will be in the same
time zone I can actually set my phones clock to the correct time
instead if keeping it in Moscow and constantly converting the time
into local time.

I do not need a visa for Mongolia, which is absolutely awesome. The
Chinese visa does not need registered to prove my whereabouts, and
unless I lose my passport (a catastrophe of the highest order), I do
not expect the hassles of Russia and Belarus in the final two
countries. Also, there is still much more for me do and see.

Assuming I meet up with the people from the tourist camp that I am
staying at in a National Park (Terelj), I hope to do lots of hiking
and picture taking and possibly some horseback riding. Mongolia should
make a good transition between Russia and China, as the people will
tend to look and act more Chinese but their language is loosely based
upon Russian.

I expect Bejing to be pretty incredible as well, and I just hope it is
not raining the day I am planning to hike one of the most untouched
stretches of the Great Wall. Thanks to a Canadian girl in the hostel
in Moscow, I think I might have a better idea of how to find the
hostel... but I still plan to spend about 4 hours clueless and lost
trying to find the place.

So far, the two pairs of travel socks and underwear are working out,
and the investment I made in lightweight performance travel clothing
was definately a good one, as I have not been too teribbly cold or wet
yet. I have also not shaved since Minsk, and other than some trimming,
do not plan to until I am back home; it is not the best look, but
since I couldn't grow my hair sufficiently "hippie long" enough
between shaving my head for the Tough Guy and this trip, I had to do
something.

Well, in feel that I have rambled on long enough and I will start a
new email when I have more to say.

- The Dues

Random Thoughts Novosibirsk

Random Thoughts Novosibirsk, originally uploaded by ericdues.

Well, I am starting this email in a hotel room in Novosibirsk, and I
can recharge my phone after I am done typing. I will likely send other
updates before this one, some of this is likely to be repeated... you
will just have to deal with that, as I am doing this so I don't forget
some of these random thought.

I do think that I am now "in the groove" of travelling. I like to take
longer trips because it does typically take me a little bit to get
used to the problems encountered with travelling, especially when not
knowing the language.

There were two hurdles that I felt would be two key times in testing
my meager limitations. The first was buying a rail ticket from
Ekaterinburg to Novosibirsk, and I was well prepared and it went
relatively smooth... I was even able to do it the cheap way while
waiting in line with the hordes of impatient Russians (of course also
having old ladies charge to the front of the line at various times).

This time on the train I had the room to myself for all but the first
three hours. I actually enjoyed this because I could spread out
without being bothered.

At some point about half way through the trip (whenever sunrise was)
the "train attendant" (there is a team of two ladies who control and
clean each carriage) befriended me and we tried to talk to each other
for a while. After about an hour of "conversation" in no common
language she went back to work and I went back to sleep. Later, about
an hour before we were to arrive she came back in and began to ask me
for a dollar as a souvenir. I explained to her that I only had roubles
(although I do have a stash of American money in my shorts) and she
seemed upset, and actually began to ask for $10 or $50 or $100 bills.
After explaining to her how much that was in roubles I remembered that
I had bought a bunch of postcards at the airport. I signed a postcard
of Columbus and translated my name and Columbus Ohio into Cyrillic for
her. This did not seem to completely satisfy her, but she left shortly
thereafter. The main reason I mention this is because it felt at times
like she was trying to extort money from me but I was just too dumb
for her to accomplish it.

So I arrived in Novosibirsk at around 7:30 pm local time... a new city
that exists only because of the trans-Siberian railway and is the
largest station in Siberia. I had read that getting a hotel as a
foreigner in this city is notoriously hard and I nearly pre-booked a
room online for $200 just to avoid the hassle. But me being cheap I
figured I could find something cheaper when I got here.

My first stop was to attempt to get a room in the hotel in the train
station that is only available to those who are travelling the next
day, which I am. The guide book said that this place is often full,
and they were either full or the lady just didn't seem like dealing
with me (which I find highly likely given her uninviting demeanor) so
I proceeded to option 2, the huge hotel across the road from the
station that bears the cities name.

After my walk through the sleet/snow I made my way to the hotel only
to be met with the same result. I then had the lady call the next
hotel I was going to try, and she seemed to indicate that they would
accept me there.

So, after a trip to the metro through the sleet, I made my way down
the main square (Lenin Square of course) and found the hotel
relatively easilly. At first they appeared to not want to accept me,
but I think my dumb insistance that I deserved a room wore on the lady
and after some obscure check-in procedure that I will never understand
I secured a room for roughly $37. The only problem is that they accept
only cash and I did not have that many roubles on me. After a 25
minute walk around back in the elements I was able (after finding
several out of order) to procure the funds and return victoriously
with cash. After a few more unintelligable forms I was finally handed
a key and I think I detected a faint smile on the ladies face. The
room is average and small with only two toilets for many rooms, but I
am happy to have saved a wad of cash, which will help me to absorb
some of the costs incurred in the first week of visa problems and plan
changes.

I ate something that may have been salmon (but more than likely it was
some random local fish) and some sort of fried meat patty. After that
I went to my room and was suprised to see on Russian "TNT" was
"Married With Children" with an all Russian cast. I attached a picture
because it was funny to watch if you have ever been a fan of Married
With Children.

So, tommorow after checking out this city, it is off to Irkutsk to
find the cottage that I am to stay in for two nights... that ought to
be an interesting experience as well.

For the most part, this has been a pretty relaxing trip. There are
times of intense pressure and frustration, followed by long stretches
of relaxation on trains or in my room wherever I am at. The last 5
days in Beijing will likely be the most hectic, since I will be
completely clueless with the language, but I kind of expect Beijing to
be more English speaking friendly than siberia due to the forthcoming
Olympics.

- The Dues

Random Thoughts Irkutsk

Random Thoughts Irkutsk, originally uploaded by ericdues.

Well, I begin this email at a small resturaunt in a small hotel in a
small valley in the small town of Listvyanka (population 2500), which
is 70km from the train station in Irkutsk and on the shores of the
most volumeous lake in the world... Lake Bailail. I will say that
getting here in the winter is in itself a small feat not to be
overlooked.

After walking around in the blizzard in Novosibirsk a few days ago, I
hopped on the main "Rossia" train across Russia from Moscow to
Vladivostock. I expected this to be an experience in itself, and it
did not fail me!

I was immediately greeted by some younger dude in my "kupe" a.k.a.
room in the train. He was followed by two younger women, one of whom
who did not mind flaunting her apparently fake but none the less very
nice breasts, which I of course did not mind at all! Then the train
ride got interesting after many beers and shots of the "Putkinkia"
vodka that I supplied.

Of course none of my kupe-mates spoke English, but yet we managed to
have what appeared to be a very lively and funny conversation until we
all went to sleep/passed out. The next day after everyone laying
around and sleeping off and on, the trip took a new turn... possibly
for the worse, but I don't think so.

I was showing some pictures to, and playing some music for, the girls
when I was invited to go drink some beer with Russian dudes, two of
whom spoke some English. So I went to the dining car and bought myself
some peeva. After having one I was pulled into my kupe by the girls
and urged to stay because they explained that the dudes I was drinking
with were Russian Mafia (including the younger dude that was in our
kyle).

Well, I will say that I was a bit creeped out the whole time while
drinking with them anyhow, and so those two girls (Svetlania and
Natalia I believe) telling me that just made my suspicions more valid.
I actually sat next to the door the while time with my foot "resting"
on it so that it could not be closed. I then went back to the dudes
kupe and explained that I needed to sleep before I arrived in Irkutsk
due to me needing to figure out the city when I got there, but they
continued to try to get me to stay. After a bit, I did take off and
drink with the girls for a bit before actually trying to sleep in the
500 degree kupe.

About every hour, I was urged to go smoke with the girls, and I of
course said yes (anything else would just be rude). Nearly every time
the mafia dudes were there smoking as well, and their hassling of me
got worse as the night continued (but I assumed that they were tapping
into my beers that I had left there and were therefore getting to
drunk to care). Also during one of those events I found out that the
older, movie-assasin look-alike guy (who appeared to be the "connected
guy") was also getting off at the same stop as me... so immediately
thoughts of robbing and raping were abound in my mind (thanks guys).

Well, long story short; after devising many clever plans to avoid
contact with this guy ever again that likely would have failed anyway,
I ended up leaving the train last after saying goodbye to the girls
(who were headed all the way to Vladivostok) and I watched the assasin
hop into a bus and leave.

Then, after walking around the station for a while I jumped in a "van-
bus" on the advice of the guidebok. After a failed attempt to explain
that I needed them to drop me off at whatever stop of theirs was
closest to the bus station, I just hopped out (while it was still dark
outside) on Karla Marksa street. From there my compus, map, and two
feet hauled my ass and backpack to the station.

More frustration ensued as I asked one lady for a ticket to Listvyanka
she said the bus left at 11:00 (3 hours) so I stepped outside to see
if a slighly more expensive van-bus was leaving sooner. 5 minutes
later I was at her window to buy my ticket for the 11:00 bus. She then
proceeded to inform me there was no more bus to Listvyanka (at any
time). Four options here: 1) she didn't like foreigners, 2) she forgot
earlier that buses stopped going there, 3) the weather was to bad for
the bushes to run today, or 4) they sold all of the tickets in the 5
minute window that I stepped outside. My bet is option #1.

So I proceeded to get in a cab to whom I ended up paying 1400 rubles,
something like $45, to go 45 miles on an icey road in a driving
snowstorm, which I documented with video. We almost got in 1 accident
(only avoided due to a nice maneuver by my driver... the other guy was
in the center if the road at the crest of a hill), stalled the car
once, and nearly ran over some people walking in the middle of the
road. Taking into account the "experience" of the taxi ride through
the wilderness, the scenery, the constant "sign of the cross" and
apparent prayers made by my driver coupled with chain smoking very
harsh cigarettes and what I believe to be some pretty foul language:
the ride was well worth the price of admission.

I proceeded to find my way to the house I am staying in, take a nap,
and walk 3-4 mile along the lake taking various picture in this
massive storm. It appears that this is also the first major freeze and
snow if the winter here, so I wonder if it is the same system I
experienced in Novosibirsk a few days ago.

The picture above is part if the meal I had at some hotel resturaunt
(chosen solely because the guide book said that they had an English
menu). This was only the third sit-down meal of my trip thus far. I
had a dish of one of the local fish that only lives in this lake
(omul), and this salad. The salad was: crab, cucumber, egg, boiled cow
tongue, and mayo... and it was spectacular (although the only other
thing I had eaten in the past 24 hours was a smoked omul fish from a
street vendor). I also paid some inflated price for a glass of scotch
(nearly half the bill), because I am tired of vodka and I felt I
deserved some of my favorite booze as a reward for trekking along a
lake in a blizzard.

I also finished off my first memory card... roughly 950 pictures and
15 minutes of video... since I am past the half way point of my trip,
my 8gb total storage should be about right... and if I run out it will
be in Beijing, where I should be able to get another card for wicked
cheap...that will also be when this is posted, as I will not have
wireless access until then.

Weather permitting, I plan to hike to the top of a hill along the
shore and take some pictures of the lake tommorow. I believe the lake
is like the Grand Canyon, in that you can not fully appreciate its
size unless you take a week to hike and drive some large portion of
it. The statistics on the biology and size of this thing are amazing.
My hope to jump in the lake will not happen, so I will have to settle
for the 5 years of extra life that comes with dipping a toe in... but
I did my whole foot, so that has to be at least 6. I also saw a few
scuba divers in the water... if I was certified I would be all over
that.

Ok, that us all for this installment of random thoughts.

- The Dues