On this day last year I was in Moscow, Russia. Unfortunately my camera broke! 😦 But here is a picture of the gorgeous St. Basil’s Cathedral…
Category Archives: Russia
Throwback Thursday
Last year on this day I was on Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal, Siberia. I think it’s the only place I’ve traveled to where NO ONE spoke English! But it was a beautiful, amazing place and I loved Russian food 🙂
Saturday 9
1. Have you ever been to Atlanta?
Yes, twice to get my Korean visa. The first time we stayed downtown and went to an NBA playoff game. We also ate at The Varsity. The next time I just stayed at an airport hotel.
2. Do you enjoy traveling by train?
I do, for short periods of time. It’s more relaxing than flying or driving. I did the Trans-Mongolian Railway from Beijing to St. Petersburg last summer. We stopped three times but there still was one leg of the journey that was five days long! I really needed a shower.
3. What’s your go-to karaoke song?
I don’t really have one. My ex and I used to sing “Hit Me Baby One More Time” as a duet. Here you can see me and my friend Kathryn singing karaoke on a cruise last September.
4. Do you drink tea?
On occasion… I’ve been drinking these teas lately since I received them in a blog swap.
5. What’s the most recent thing you purchased for your home?
I bought cupcake salt and pepper shakers for my future cupcake-themed kitchen.
6. Are there dishes in your kitchen sink right now?
Not sure.
7. Have you ever been fingerprinted?
Yes, for jobs.
8. What was the last check you wrote?
To my mom to pay for the internet.
9. What color are your eyes?
Hazel.
First Things First
1. First thing I reach for in the fridge
Usually if I’m just opening up the fridge for a snack, I’ll have a pickle. Claussen’s are the best!
2. First car accident or traffic violation
The first one I can recall is when I was around 20 years old and got in a car accident while on vacation. That really sucked because I had to get someone to take me home and then come back and get my car a week later. What a pain!
3. First BIG accomplishment I’m proud of
I’m most proud of my traveling experiences (I’ve visited 34 countries)!
Trans-Mongolian Railway, June 2012
Wednesday Hodgepodge
1. Lake Superior University has once again published a list of words/phrases they think should be banished from the Queen’s English… Here’s the list for 2013: fiscal cliff, kick the can down the road, double down, job creators/creation, passion/passionate, YOLO, spoiler alert, bucket list, trending, superfood, boneless wings, and guru. Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why?
Boneless wings. They are basically chicken tenders. Chicken wings have bones. ‘Nuff said. On a side note, I use “spoiler alert” quite often! Oops…
2. When was the last time you rode a train? Where did you go?
The Trans-Mongolian Railway! I rode all the way from Beijing, China to St. Petersburg, Russia (with three stops along the way).
3. Bagels… Yay or nay? Favorite ‘flavor’? Favorite topping?
Sometimes. I like “everything” bagels with cream cheese. Blueberry and cinnamon raisin are good when I want something a little sweet.
4. ‘Tis the season of awards shows… If you could star in a movie already made, which one would you choose?
I would play Miranda Presley in The Thing Called Love.
5. The move towards single gender classrooms has been making the news in recent months… What say you? Do you think kids perform better if separated by gender and are taught differently or is that discrimination? If you’re a parent, is this something you’d support in regard to your own children?
I don’t agree with this. Seems ridiculous to me.
6. What’s your favorite thing about staying in a hotel?
Not having to clean up after myself! Blasting the AC, watching TV, clean sheets, taking a bubble bath… Everything!
7. Do you have a ‘word’ for 2013? What’s the story behind your choice?
No…
8. Insert your own random thought here.
Busy day… Job interview, manicure, Zero Dark Thirty, and my BFF Cindy’s birthday dinner!
2012 Review Extravaganza: Second Quarter Recap
April:
I went to the Hello Kitty Cafe.
I went to the Jindo Sea Parting Festival.
I went to the Lady Gaga concert in Seoul.
May:
I visited Gyeongju.
I went to Changdeokgung Palace.
I had an awesome time with friends camping on Muui Island.
I watched the Lotus Lantern Parade in Seoul.
I said goodbye to all the amazing friends I had made during my two years living in Korea. 😦
I headed out on my five week epic Asian backpacking trip… In May, I visited Hong Kong and Vientiane, Laos.
June:
Continued/finished the five week epic Asian backpacking trip which included the Trans-Mongolian Railway! I visited…
St. Petersburg, Russia
Wednesday Hodgepodge
1. It’s a brand new month… Share one thing you’re looking forward to in October.
All things Halloween!
2. Is chivalry dead? Explain.
Mostly, although I am sure there are still a few gentlemen left out there.
3. On October 2, 1950 the Peanuts comic strip made its debut. Which character is your favorite? Which character is most like you?
I don’t really have a favorite and I don’t think I’m like any of them!
4. What’s something you’re competitive about?
Board games.
5. October is National Popcorn Popping Month… Are you a fan? How do you like your popcorn?
Sure… Smothered in butter!
6. When did you first realize the world is small?
When I went on the “It’s A Small World” ride at Disney World. 🙂
7. In terms of architecture, what’s the most beautiful building you’ve seen up close and in person?
Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg are both stunning.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
I am doing my first storytime at a preschool tomorrow… Wish me luck!!
Moscow & St. Petersburg
We arrived in Moscow at 1am after a long 83 hours on a train from Irkutsk. We took a very expensive taxi (just don’t even bother taking taxis in Russia!) to Bear Hostel on Mayakovskaya, where we checked in for three nights. I hated this hostel. It was filled with stinky Russians who lived there and their crap was everywhere: under our bunk bed, hanging from our bunk bed, hanging from every hook in the rotten broccoli-smelling ladies shower room, etc. I woke up one morning to find a guy digging under my bed. Creepy. The dorm room had a constant BO stench that never went away. When we got there all I wanted to do was wash clothes but the washing machine was broken and no one could ever give me an exact answer about when it would be fixed (we ended up being able to wash clothes the next night, thank God). There were no lockers or any other security measures to keep your valuables safe, the beds were squeaky and worn out, and there was no alcohol allowed. WTF? I could go on but this place sucks and the bottom line is: Don’t stay there! Unfortunately before my camera broke, this was the only pic I managed to take…
Needless to say, I was not happy on my first day in Russia. So, Daniel and I didn’t do much other than go souvenir shopping on Arbat Street. Highlight of the day: A delicious Frosty at Wendy’s! (Sad, huh?) Shortly after that my camera broke, which is when I got really upset. 😦
I was determined to have a better time on our second day in Moscow. We went to the Kremlin (not inside because we’re too cheap) and St. Basil’s Cathedral. St. Basil’s is gorgeous!! We wanted to see Lenin but his tomb appeared to be closed and under construction. (All of the following photos are from Daniel’s camera.)
On Thursday we took the train to St. Petersburg, where we checked into Soul Kitchen Hostel for our last three nights in Russia. It was definitely a step up from our crappy stay in Moscow! The staff were extremely helpful and the dorm room was spacious and clean. Great location right next to the train station and the main street (Nevsky Prospect). Lots of friendly fellow travelers to meet. Everything you would want from a standard hostel, plus free laundry, breakfast, and international phone calls!
On Saturday we walked down Nevsky Prospect to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. Another gorgeous cathedral! Next we wandered down to the Hermitage, but chose not to visit (I’m not one for stuffy art museums and was kind of “over” sightseeing after five weeks!). We did come across the United Buddy Bears in a garden across the street though. So cool!
On our last day we went to the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. The way Lonely Planet described it made it sound really interesting: a “ghoulish collection of monstrosities, notably preserved freaks, two-headed mutant fetuses, and odd body parts”. But inside the exhibit there was a sign saying that the original collection had been destroyed in a fire and that what was displayed were replicas. And they were poorly replicated… Very fake-looking. Disappointing!
This morning we got on a plane back to America. We had an overnight layover in Warsaw and we are now at the airport Novotel watching the Euro Cup. Can’t wait to be home tomorrow!
Trans-Mongolian Railway
We did the Trans-Mongolian Railway from Beijing to St. Petersburg over two and a half weeks in June 2012. We booked the train tickets and stopover hostels and tours through Lupine Travel for 999 euros per person. According to both my research and other travelers we met on the train, their price is pretty cheap. I highly recommend them. Everything went smoothly and it was much easier than if we had attempted to book everything ourselves. And you don’t need to pay a bunch of money for a guided tour (with a guide with you on the train); that’s just silly. As long as you do your research ahead of time, everything should be simple to figure out. Also the tours we did to Terelj National Park and Lake Baikal were amazing and we might have thought them too expensive if we had booked them ourselves separately. So it was nice to feel like we were splurging!
We departed Beijing on Tuesday, June 12. It was approximately 30 hours to Ulan Bator. This was the best of all four of our train rides. The train car was the nicest, with a fan, and there were not many people on board. On our car there were only six of us (all foreigners) and Daniel and I had our own cabin, which was awesome. (Lupine Travel states that during this leg of the journey you will be in a six-berth cabin, but somehow we ended up in a four-berth cabin.) Unfortunately I was pretty sick the whole time so I just slept a lot. The scenery in northern China and southern Mongolia is interesting though, so make sure to look out the window a lot! I ate once on the Chinese dining car (fried chicken and rice) and it was OK. When the train stopped at the border, we got out and went to the store but then got back on the train quickly so we could be on board while they changed the wheels for three hours. Everyone else was stuck waiting around at the train station. There aren’t people selling things at the stops in China and Mongolia and there weren’t many long stops other than border crossings.
We stopped over in Ulan Bator for three nights, where we stayed at Golden Gobi Hostel and did a two day tour with a ger stay.
Our next leg of the journey was the worst. It was around 35 hours to Irkutsk but we stopped for 12 hours at the Mongolia/Russia border. It was torture! So hot on the train (no fans) and a lot of the time we couldn’t get off the train to go the bathroom. (The bathrooms are locked at stops.) Apparently other trains don’t stop for so long; we were just unlucky enough to be on the one that did. For most of our ride, we shared our cabin with a nice Mongolian woman. But right before crossing the border, another Mongolian woman got on, and she was obnoxious. She had tons of stuff she was smuggling into Russia (liquor, clothes, souvenir-type items) and she and all the other smugglers on board were trading items and hiding everything in the cabins. After we crossed into Russia and dealt with immigration and customs, all the smugglers got off. I visited the dining car once (on the Russian half of the journey) and had a very small and expensive “Greek” salad.
We stopped over in Irkutsk for four nights. Two nights were spent at Admiral Hostel and two were spent at a guesthouse on Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal.
Our next train ride, from Irkutsk to Moscow, was the longest at around 83 hours. Somehow Daniel and I both had bottom bunks, which was annoying. I much prefer a top bunk so I can sleep during the day. The first night we shared our cabin with two Russian women, who were only on board for about six hours. The next morning two younger Russian men got on shared the cabin with us for a day and a half. I liked them as they were considerate and stayed on their top bunks or out in the hallway unless they wanted to use the table to eat. (I don’t like people sitting on my bed all day!) On the second day we shared the cabin with them, they broke out a bottle of whiskey and got Daniel and a New Zealander we had met, Jeff, quite drunk. Communication was attempted and we learned that they were police officers. They even let Daniel and Jeff try on their hats. A few hours after they got off, two older Russian men got on and became our cabinmates. They were kind of stinky but kept to themselves. We visited the dining car a few times on this trip, sometimes just for beer and sometimes for (pretty good but expensive) food. The last day on board was the worst. I was sick of all the food we had available, bored out of my mind, and counting down the hours until we reached Moscow. And really in need of a shower!
After three nights in Moscow, our last train ride was to St. Petersburg. This was the only train ticket not organized through Lupine Travel. Word to the wise: Buy tickets online in advance! We didn’t and had to go through quite the hassle to go to the train station the day before and figure out how to purchase them after out hostel had trouble booking online and over the phone. (And all the fast trains were already sold out!) Luckily a nice Russian in line behind us acted as our translator. (Russians are much nicer than I thought they would be!) The ride was eight hours and we shared our cabin (this time we both had top bunks) with a young Russian couple. I napped and watched TV (The Shield) the whole time. No pics as my camera broke in Moscow. 😦
Tips:
- Bring entertainment: Books, cards, games, a computer loaded with TV shows/movies, a Russian phrasebook. There were outlets in the hallways so we could charge our computers (bring an adapter).
- Hot water is provided so bring cup/bowl instant noodles, instant coffee, tea, etc. Other good snacks are: sausage, cheese, bread, fruit, cucumbers, tomatoes, candy, cookies, chips, sunflower seeds, etc. Don’t forget water and maybe a powdered drink mix. Also a mug, silverware, plate, etc. Soap and a dishrag for washing your dishes is helpful (or bring disposable dishes). It’s polite to offer your food to your cabinmates but ours never accepted.
- Wear comfy clothes! If you’re going in the summer make sure they are cool because it can get a little sweaty. Bring flip flops/sandals too.
- Bring washcloths, toilet paper, and wet wipes. Sometimes the bathrooms run out of toilet paper. If you’re picky like me, you’ll use the washcloths and wet wipes to clean yourself every morning. I also changed clothes every day and used body spray, deoderant, facial toner, and facial moisturizer in an attempt to feel clean. NO SHOWERS!
- In Russia the train does stop every few hours for a decent amount of time so you can get off and buy food and drinks. Just check the time table posted in your car and remember it’s all in Moscow time. Set your watch to Moscow time! The bathrooms are locked during these stops so keep that in mind and pee a half hour before each long stop!
- The cabin attendant sells drinks. It’s much cheaper to buy beer from her, but it’s worth the money sometimes to drink a beer in the dining car just for a change of scenery and to escape your smelly cabinmates.
- If you want liquor, buy it before you get to the train station. Poor Daniel couldn’t find a bottle our whole trip.
- Try to get a top bunk if you can. More privacy and personal space.
- Pack a small bag with the clothes, entertainment, toiletries, and food you will need on the train. That way you don’t have to dig out and through your huge backpack every time you need something.
- Keep your passport, money, and valuables on you at all times. Especially if you get off the train at stops! You don’t want to end up stranded with nothing.
- Sheets, a pillow, a pillowcase, a blanket, and sometimes a bedroll and/or a small towel are provided.
- Lights are turned off during the day but at night there is an overhead light in the cabin and reading lights in each bunk that you can turn on.
- Bring bags with you for trash bags. Ziploc bags might also come in handy.
- Earplugs and a sleep mask will be needed if you’re a light sleeper.
Irkutsk & Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia
Our train arrived in Irkutsk on a Monday morning (June 18th). We stayed at Admiral Hostel, which was a pretty decent place. We started out on the wrong foot because the driver wasn’t there to meet us (turns out she was just running late) so we took a very expensive taxi. But then they let us do laundry for free because of the mix-up so that was nice. On our first night we got upgraded to the private room, which was much appreciated.
After showering, surfing the internet, and napping for a bit, we went out in search of food. We found a pizza place (a nice English speaking customer translated for us), I got two scoops at Baskin Robbins, and we bought a few provisions at the local supermarket.
After that we were pretty much in for the night. The next morning we left for a two night trip to Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal, organized through the hostel and Lupine Travel. It took seven long hours to get from the hostel to the “fisherman’s guesthouse” where we stayed. First we explored the guesthouse, which actually had several different buildings with guestrooms. There was also a dining building, outhouses, and outdoor showers. They served us a delicious late lunch of pork ravioli. (Most guesthouses on Olkhon Island include three daily meals in their rate.)
Next we set out to explore the “town” and ending up drinking beer on a gorgeous beach. Too bad it was too cold to swim!
Back at the guesthouse that evening we enjoyed another delicious meal — chicken pasta for dinner. (I was surprised at how much I loved Russian food! The use a lot of dill, my new favorite herb.)
In the morning we were picked up in a “Russian military jeep” (more like a van) for a tour of the north side of the island. There were two Russian families on the tour with us. And the guide spoke no English. (Just like the people who worked at the guesthouse. They all communicated by writing numbers in the dirt. It worked!) We saw lots of beautiful scenery but after seven hours all of the overlooks started to look the same. So at one of the stops we decided not to climb the hill to see the view. Which was where you can see seals! We were so disappointed we missed that. Also the ride was extremely bumpy. It was the only time I’ve ever felt carsick. I really thought I might vomit (but luckily I didn’t)! The tour also included lunch which was vodka fish soup, cucumber tomato salad, bread, and tea.
We had dinner at the guesthouse (fish and pizza… weird combo!) and later that night Daniel went with some of the other guests to watch the sunset (around midnight!). After a hearty breakfast the next morning, we were off on the ferry and back to Irkutsk.
Back in Irkutsk, we ordered a pizza for dinner and hung out around the hostel. The next day we ventured out for beer and German food and then later that evening got back on the train!
Grown in Southern Ground 