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Final thoughts on Russia

Monday, July 9th, 2007

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Crossing the Russia-Mongolia border

I’ll admit that I was a bit intimidated by the thought of traveling in Russia. Landing in the Moscow airport by myself in the middle of the night was more than a little unnerving. I think my current events class in school (while we were still in a cold war with the USSR) brain washed me into believing it was a cold, dark, mean place. This trip has completely changed the images that come to my mind when I hear the word “Russia.”

Russia is now a land of fairy-tale beauty. Stilettos. Jolly old men on local train rides. Beautiful women. Passionate couples. Too much mayonaise. Men with striking blue eyes. Laughing children. Stunning cities. Peaceful countryside. Long lines. Adidas. Salami and cheese. People with stories to tell. Bad hairdos. Amused but appreciative smiles for your attempts to speak Russian.

These images I now associate with Russia are invaluable to me. They are worth more than every dollar, ruple, tugrug, yuan, and baht that I’ll spend on this trip. They are but one more reason I travel.

What a ride!!!

Saturday, July 7th, 2007

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Over the last week we’ve ridden a total of 6 trains traveling from Moscow to Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. It was an experience, to say the least. [read on]

Vodka: Connecting People

Saturday, July 7th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket As "Same Same But Different" is the ubiquitous t-shirt phrase in Thailand, "Vodka: Connecting People" is the ubiquitous phrase in Russia. On our first overnight train journey ... [Continue reading this entry]

From the depths of Siberia

Wednesday, July 4th, 2007
A lot has happened over the past few days, but internet access has been limited and I haven't been able to download any pictures. I think posts without pictures are a little boring, so I've held off on my ... [Continue reading this entry]

Goodbye St. Pete, Hello Siberia

Thursday, June 28th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket St. Petersburg has been great. But I am ready to board the train and take off across the continent. As often happens while traveling, some plans have ... [Continue reading this entry]

Portrait of an Artist in St. Petersburg

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket In the middle of souvenir hell we met an artist. An artist who is passionate about photography, his family, and Led Zeppelin. We discussed pre-revolutionary Russia and ... [Continue reading this entry]

St. Petersburg

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket St. Petersburg is amazing. I think I could live here. We arrived on Sunday after a 9 hour train ride from Moscow, which was actually quite pleasant. The ... [Continue reading this entry]

Big City Life

Saturday, June 23rd, 2007
A religious protest (I think) Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket I love the streets of Moscow. It's been light until a little after 11pm each night, and the pulse of the city seems ... [Continue reading this entry]

Just Another Russian

Friday, June 22nd, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Moscow is seriously lacking a tourist infrastructure. It seems most tourism is group tourism, arranged by an agency, and involving a herd of people following a tour leader ... [Continue reading this entry]

Money, money everywhere

Friday, June 22nd, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Moscow is flooded with money. I can't confirm these facts, but I've been told there are more billionaires in Moscow than in New York, and that most of ... [Continue reading this entry]