Saturday, September 26, 2009
china crack down
It took my alot of work to get to the site and get this post up, china is really cracking down for their big 60th anniversary week, i'll hope to have new posts about mongolia within a week, but no pics can be uploaded on the site! i'll be in china for the next 3 to 4 weeks, as soon as i get to my next destination (vietnam), i'll have more access....
Monday, September 7, 2009
train to ulan ude
Jonas and I headed out around 6:30am to catch the tram to the train station, it would have been a 15 minute walk, but because the tram cost only 40 cents, it seemed the ideal alternative. We picked up some supplies, noodles, cookies, bottled water...just enough for the 8 hour ride to Ulan Ude in the Buratiya province of Russia. Buratiya is a semi-autononous region that is predominantely buddhist, buratyans have a distinctively asian look to them, easily differentiated from the ethnic russians who have european features. The region is split more or less 50-50 between the two groups. Jonas however was heading to Vladivostok, on the pacific ocean and the russian terminus of the trans-siberian railroad, he had about 3 days of travel ahead of him. We spent most of the time chatting and playing different card games that we taught to eachother. After about two hours we hit the highlight of the ride, and the reason why i was travelling by day instead of overnight...The train hugs along the southern coast of Lake Baikal for about 100 kilometers, giving perhaps the most incredible view I've ever had from a train (and i've been on too many trains to count)! The lake at this point seems it's clearest and gives the most gorgeous reflection of the hills and sky that lie above it. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics of this soon, as I've found some glitches to using proxy servers in China. We were lucky enough to have the train stop at one point which afforded me the oppurtunity to take some photos without the blurriness that comes with the train's movement. Jonas and I stood at the window for some time and just soaked in the panorama.
The train ride was pretty fun as we also had some interaction with our russian carriage mates. Across from us was a man, his wife and infant daughter. They were travelling with many large damp boxes and crates, Jonas and I were wondering what could be their contents, and after striking up a (limited) conversation with the man (who knew about 10 words of english:), we soon found out. He sensed our curiosity and opened the lid on one of the boxes to reveal....thousands of strawberries!!! Occasionally his little girl would reach in, take one out, and hand it to either Jonas or I. We obviously accepted the gifts with pleasure, and without hesitation took some bites...without any doubt the sweetest and most flavorful berries I've ever eaten in my life...and without doubt freshly picked from the forest. Now you can easily understand why I regret not buying them back in Irkutsk,
Later on, three boys, aged between 7 and 9, came to watch us play cards. They had been studying English in school and were very eager to show off what they had learned. They told us their names (forgotten) and where they were from, they counted for us...vun, too, tree...and tried out other small phrases. They were quite interested in America, and knew of Obama, George W, and when i showed them a one-dollar bill, they easily recognized 'George Washington, first American president' a piece of knowledge, i'm afraid to say, is probably lacking from more than a few American kids of their age. Suffice it to say, I was impressed. The kids basically hung around us for the majority of the ride, and even taught us a few russian phrases...the unforunate thing in all this was that the super-hot russian chick sitting next to us didn't speak a word of english, and because of this was not social at all... but at least she presented us with a nice view (to compliment the lake ;).
As we approched Ulan Ude I began to think about how I would find accomodation. You see, the night before I had called a hostel trying to book a bed, but the man on the line didn't speak any english, although it was clear I had reached the right number. I decided to write an email to the place to inform them of my arrival time and inquire about their free train station pick-up, but as of my departure from Irkutsk, i had received no reply, and had been unable, for obvious reasons, to check my mail again. However my concern turned to surprise...after deboarding the train, I stood on the platform for a minute to say goodbye to Jonas and the russian kids, and as i did this a woman came up to me and inquired 'matthew?', i guess once agian my backpack gave me away! She was the administrator from the hostel, she had received (and replied to) my email, and was there to pick me up! These little unexpected pleasures are the certainly some of the best reasons to venture around the world....
The train ride was pretty fun as we also had some interaction with our russian carriage mates. Across from us was a man, his wife and infant daughter. They were travelling with many large damp boxes and crates, Jonas and I were wondering what could be their contents, and after striking up a (limited) conversation with the man (who knew about 10 words of english:), we soon found out. He sensed our curiosity and opened the lid on one of the boxes to reveal....thousands of strawberries!!! Occasionally his little girl would reach in, take one out, and hand it to either Jonas or I. We obviously accepted the gifts with pleasure, and without hesitation took some bites...without any doubt the sweetest and most flavorful berries I've ever eaten in my life...and without doubt freshly picked from the forest. Now you can easily understand why I regret not buying them back in Irkutsk,
Later on, three boys, aged between 7 and 9, came to watch us play cards. They had been studying English in school and were very eager to show off what they had learned. They told us their names (forgotten) and where they were from, they counted for us...vun, too, tree...and tried out other small phrases. They were quite interested in America, and knew of Obama, George W, and when i showed them a one-dollar bill, they easily recognized 'George Washington, first American president' a piece of knowledge, i'm afraid to say, is probably lacking from more than a few American kids of their age. Suffice it to say, I was impressed. The kids basically hung around us for the majority of the ride, and even taught us a few russian phrases...the unforunate thing in all this was that the super-hot russian chick sitting next to us didn't speak a word of english, and because of this was not social at all... but at least she presented us with a nice view (to compliment the lake ;).
As we approched Ulan Ude I began to think about how I would find accomodation. You see, the night before I had called a hostel trying to book a bed, but the man on the line didn't speak any english, although it was clear I had reached the right number. I decided to write an email to the place to inform them of my arrival time and inquire about their free train station pick-up, but as of my departure from Irkutsk, i had received no reply, and had been unable, for obvious reasons, to check my mail again. However my concern turned to surprise...after deboarding the train, I stood on the platform for a minute to say goodbye to Jonas and the russian kids, and as i did this a woman came up to me and inquired 'matthew?', i guess once agian my backpack gave me away! She was the administrator from the hostel, she had received (and replied to) my email, and was there to pick me up! These little unexpected pleasures are the certainly some of the best reasons to venture around the world....
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Irkutsk-Listvyanka(Lake Baikal)
July 23rd, 2009...The 31 hour train ride to Irkutsk (and lake Baikal!!!!) was mostly uneventful, there weren't any english speaking people in my vicinity, so i passed the time doing crossword puzzles and listening to my ipod. During one of the stops I deboarded for a bit to stretch my legs and loaded up on some home made russian treats from the babushkas on the platform. A bag of Vareninkis, some russian meatballs, a liter of water and a 1/2 liter of beer...paid about 4 dollars. Spent a lot of time looking out the windows at the endless forests of trees, mostly birch, which are a source of pride (and
important resource) for the siberians. While i was in Novosibirsk i had set up a homestay in irkutsk, because the hostel i wanted was fully booked, But when i arrived in the city (at 7 am) i decided to head to another hostel near the station to
check their availablity, and sure enough they had a bed for me. I felt bad ditching the homestay, but i'm sure they could find someone else, and i wanted to meet other travellers anyway. The hostel had the basic anemities, a clean-ish bathroom, kitchen with free coffee and tea, and a 6-bed dorm room. I had breakfast with some brits, got some info about the city and lake from them, then headed out solo to see irkutsk. I walked for a few hours along the riverside, then through some backstreets which were filled with old wooden mansions that now seemed mostly delapidated on the outside, but certainly kept some of the charm and elegance from days past. I walked past the main church, and up a steep hill to try to get a look at the city, but the view was mostly blocked by trees. I then headed to the city centre, which is dominated by 3 huge markets...the outdoor chinese market, the huge (indoor and outdoor) food market and the indoor shopping center. The chinese market, as expected, was chaotic and full of clothes and knick-knacks. The indoor food market was excellent. A massive supply of meats, cheeses and desserts...i grabbed a russian style kabab from one vendor and headed outside. Siberia, having a great supply of forests, also has a great supply of forest fruits...BERRIES, BERRIES and more BERRIES. It seemed that every stand at the outdoor market was selling huge cups of little strawberries and blue berries! Stupidly, I didn't buy any...something i now totally regret! I called it an early night, having arrived so early on the train, and planned to go to Lake Baikal the next morning.
I had contacted a girl named Marina through couchsurfing, and we were supposed to visit the lake together. But about 15 minutes before our scheduled meeting time, she bailed on me because of a toothache. So I boarded a minibus for the 1-hour ride to Listvyanka, a small touristy town on Lake Baikal. At about 10 am i got my first glimpse of Lake Baikal...a seemingly endless, glass like surface of some of the world's freshest water. In fact, Baikal is the world's deepest lake reaching a mile down at it's center, imagine the grand canyon completely filled with water...and it holds 20 percent, yes 20, of the world's non-permanently frozen fresh water. Unfortunately i found myself at baikal on a cool, cloudy day. Swimming in it would have to wait. I walked along the coast for about half an hour to a point where the wooded hills met the water, passing the camp grounds where russian families paid 2 dollars to pitch their tents and along a narrow dirt path that hugs a 30-or-so foot drop to the lake below. I decided to have a hike up into the forest to get a better view of the lake, and because my fear of heights was getting the better of me on the cliff. At one point the trees clear to an open patch of land
containing an observatory (2 silo-like structures used, presumably, to watch the skies). I tried to open the steel doors, as a climb to the top would afford me a grand view of Baikal, but unfortunately they were closed. The great thing, though, about this clearing was the amazing amount of buttterflies swarming around. It felt like being in the bronx zoo butterfly exhibit, but without the huge net keeping the butterflies inside. The absolute best part...i was completely alone...A short while later i ventured back down to the lakeside, and as i walked along i noticed a group of russians singing folk
songs, accompanied by a man on guitar. I gave them a small applause at the end of the tune, and they, taking notice of me, shouted something in russian. I explained that i didn't speak russian, which seemed to be the magic words, as the next thing i knew they enthusiastically called me over to join in the fun. They first offered me a sip of 'juice' or so the box read...but i came to find out it was filled with wine! Not expecting this, i let a few drops dribble down my chin, which caused the group to laugh and a woman to shove a half-eaten nectarine in my mouth!! When in Russia....
Actually during my 26 days in russia i did see quite a few stereotypical drunks in the streets, but as this was saturday, and they seemed like working class people, i figured they were just unwinding on the lakeside. I stayed with them for a few hours, sipping wine, eating amazing smoked omul (a lake-dwellling cousin of the salmon, and a delicacy of baikal), and listening to their songs. At one point they even made me sing some beatles tunes. When they decided to switch from wine to vodka, i decided i had had enough (after doing one shot...can't offend the hosts in russia!) and we bid goodbye with strong
russian bear hugs. I completed my walk along the lake, about 15 kilometers total, and caught the minibus back to Irkutsk around 5pm.
I spent the evening cooking pelmini (russian meat dumplings) at the hostel and chatting with teddy (english) and jonas (german). I found out that jonas was leaving on the same train as me in the morning...I to Ulan Ude and He to Vladivostok. So
we planned to go to the station together...at 7am...an early start.
important resource) for the siberians. While i was in Novosibirsk i had set up a homestay in irkutsk, because the hostel i wanted was fully booked, But when i arrived in the city (at 7 am) i decided to head to another hostel near the station to
check their availablity, and sure enough they had a bed for me. I felt bad ditching the homestay, but i'm sure they could find someone else, and i wanted to meet other travellers anyway. The hostel had the basic anemities, a clean-ish bathroom, kitchen with free coffee and tea, and a 6-bed dorm room. I had breakfast with some brits, got some info about the city and lake from them, then headed out solo to see irkutsk. I walked for a few hours along the riverside, then through some backstreets which were filled with old wooden mansions that now seemed mostly delapidated on the outside, but certainly kept some of the charm and elegance from days past. I walked past the main church, and up a steep hill to try to get a look at the city, but the view was mostly blocked by trees. I then headed to the city centre, which is dominated by 3 huge markets...the outdoor chinese market, the huge (indoor and outdoor) food market and the indoor shopping center. The chinese market, as expected, was chaotic and full of clothes and knick-knacks. The indoor food market was excellent. A massive supply of meats, cheeses and desserts...i grabbed a russian style kabab from one vendor and headed outside. Siberia, having a great supply of forests, also has a great supply of forest fruits...BERRIES, BERRIES and more BERRIES. It seemed that every stand at the outdoor market was selling huge cups of little strawberries and blue berries! Stupidly, I didn't buy any...something i now totally regret! I called it an early night, having arrived so early on the train, and planned to go to Lake Baikal the next morning.
I had contacted a girl named Marina through couchsurfing, and we were supposed to visit the lake together. But about 15 minutes before our scheduled meeting time, she bailed on me because of a toothache. So I boarded a minibus for the 1-hour ride to Listvyanka, a small touristy town on Lake Baikal. At about 10 am i got my first glimpse of Lake Baikal...a seemingly endless, glass like surface of some of the world's freshest water. In fact, Baikal is the world's deepest lake reaching a mile down at it's center, imagine the grand canyon completely filled with water...and it holds 20 percent, yes 20, of the world's non-permanently frozen fresh water. Unfortunately i found myself at baikal on a cool, cloudy day. Swimming in it would have to wait. I walked along the coast for about half an hour to a point where the wooded hills met the water, passing the camp grounds where russian families paid 2 dollars to pitch their tents and along a narrow dirt path that hugs a 30-or-so foot drop to the lake below. I decided to have a hike up into the forest to get a better view of the lake, and because my fear of heights was getting the better of me on the cliff. At one point the trees clear to an open patch of land
containing an observatory (2 silo-like structures used, presumably, to watch the skies). I tried to open the steel doors, as a climb to the top would afford me a grand view of Baikal, but unfortunately they were closed. The great thing, though, about this clearing was the amazing amount of buttterflies swarming around. It felt like being in the bronx zoo butterfly exhibit, but without the huge net keeping the butterflies inside. The absolute best part...i was completely alone...A short while later i ventured back down to the lakeside, and as i walked along i noticed a group of russians singing folk
songs, accompanied by a man on guitar. I gave them a small applause at the end of the tune, and they, taking notice of me, shouted something in russian. I explained that i didn't speak russian, which seemed to be the magic words, as the next thing i knew they enthusiastically called me over to join in the fun. They first offered me a sip of 'juice' or so the box read...but i came to find out it was filled with wine! Not expecting this, i let a few drops dribble down my chin, which caused the group to laugh and a woman to shove a half-eaten nectarine in my mouth!! When in Russia....
Actually during my 26 days in russia i did see quite a few stereotypical drunks in the streets, but as this was saturday, and they seemed like working class people, i figured they were just unwinding on the lakeside. I stayed with them for a few hours, sipping wine, eating amazing smoked omul (a lake-dwellling cousin of the salmon, and a delicacy of baikal), and listening to their songs. At one point they even made me sing some beatles tunes. When they decided to switch from wine to vodka, i decided i had had enough (after doing one shot...can't offend the hosts in russia!) and we bid goodbye with strong
russian bear hugs. I completed my walk along the lake, about 15 kilometers total, and caught the minibus back to Irkutsk around 5pm.
I spent the evening cooking pelmini (russian meat dumplings) at the hostel and chatting with teddy (english) and jonas (german). I found out that jonas was leaving on the same train as me in the morning...I to Ulan Ude and He to Vladivostok. So
we planned to go to the station together...at 7am...an early start.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
map update
i'm having some technical difficulties, please copy the link below and paste it as web address above...
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110087376724794924774.00046d83e27421193854b
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110087376724794924774.00046d83e27421193854b
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