Leaving Russia

Trip Start Jun 09, 2003
1
16
169
Trip End Jun 02, 2007


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Russia  ,
Sunday, June 22, 2003

Well I leave for Mongolia in the early hours of tomorrow morning so it's farewell Russia. I've just spent the last 2 days visiting monasteries and museums which has got a bit tedious. The Russia Experience claim they are for independent travellers, but the last 2 days we've been herded around like cattle! One monastery we visisted was quite interesting, it was the oldest buddist monastery in Russia, the only one that's survived I think. They were having a ceremony today which only happens once a year, saying thank you for fire or something. They also had prayer wheels, which you spin and it sends a prayer for you. Lots of piccies but still no USB port:-( Yesterday we visited a typical Buryat tent (Buryat's are the people who live in Ulan Ude, very like Mongolians). We had typical food - dumplings called Poozy's and a horrible sour milk drink. We also had a rather surreal experience when we did the hokey cokey in the middle of a siberian plain! The whole thing was slightly spoilt when the Buryat's changed out of their typical clothes and caught a lift back into town with us. Today we also experienced what could possibly be the worst toilet in the world - it was so disgusting that I managed to hold it in until we returned to town.

Russia has been quite an experience, it's a fascinating if somewhat frustrating country. They have many very strange ways of doing things. For example, cows, sheep and goats are free to roam as they choose and all the houses are fenced in. Roadworks take place without actually closing the roads, cars just drive round the workers. We actually passed a transit van painting white lines down the middle of the road, the cars just swerved round it - very scary when they don't have seatbelts. Russians also drink in the streets, you can buy beer from vendors in the street, although they have no concept of rubbish bins as they just throw their empty bottles on the ground, so there is broken glass everywhere.

The food in Russia has been pretty good, I was pretty nervous about the food as everything I heard seemed to be rather negative. I even managed to find Irn Bru. I'm not sure that I would return to Russia, the people are not overly friendly and no one speaks any English, customer service is non existent, although it has been an excellent experience into a completely different way of life.

I've also seen enough trees and churches to last me a lifetime.

Farewell Russia.
Print this entry St. Petersburg hotels