December 27, 2004
Summer in Siberia
For those who want to read a more structured report about my trip to Siberia than what I posted on this blog (and with less spelling errors to boot), I just posted a travel story on bootsnall: Summer in Siberia....Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 11:42 PM |
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September 13, 2004
No picnic, no shower
Miraculously, I managed to sleep for 9 hours on the boat, in a small plastic chair. It helped that I had a front seat, so I could lay down my backpack in front of me and stretch my legs on...Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 06:16 AM |
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August 21, 2004
No picnic # 1
It`s the journey that counts, not the destination. And that`s a very good thing, for the destination turned out to be a rather dismal place, despite the guidebooks` praise....Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 10:43 AM |
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Trains
In Europe, the thought of spending three nights in a row on a train would never enter my mind, but in Russia it`s quite comfortable - certainly more comfortable than some other places I spent the night, but I`ll tell...Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 10:23 AM |
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August 19, 2004
Blessed by Buddha
As I watched lake Baikal from the Irkutsk-Ulan Ude train, I almost wished I had suffered some great hardship to get there, so I could say "this makes it all worth it". But from the moment I had left Novosibirsk...Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 02:00 PM |
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July 26, 2004
A weekend well spent
When I told people at home I was going to spend the summer in Siberia, they looked at me as if I`d finally completely lost my mind, and pressed me to bring warm clothes and a winter coat. I tought...Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 12:51 PM |
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July 15, 2004
Akademgorodok
I am currently taking a 4-week Russian course in Akademgorodok, a small academic settlement about a 40 minute drive from the centre of Novosibirsk. It was built in the late fifties, in the middle of the forest, near the Ob...Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 01:19 PM |
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Worlds apart
Moscow and Novosibirsk are 2 days apart by train, but to me it almost seems like they are on different planets. The inhabitants of Moscow seem mostly cold, intolerant and selfabsorbed, most Siberians I`ve met are warm, open, friendly, and...Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 01:06 PM |
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July 13, 2004
Moscow pros and cons
First, the bad news: 1. Ho(s)tel prices 2. Unfriendly, unhelpful, monolingual people (there are of course exceptions) 3. Traffic, and the lack of pedestrian crossings 4. Bus stops without a schedule 5. People cutting in line, or trying to get...Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 10:50 AM |
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Failure to communicate
This globalfreeloaders thing really does not work. The girl with whom I was supposed to stay in Moscow stopped replying to my e-mails a few days before I went there. The first thing I did when I arrived, after having...Read this update
Posted by Karlien at 10:32 AM |
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