Russia and China
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Beijing,
China
Friday, May 25, 2007
Greetings from Beijing!
After arriving in Moscow May 13, my group and I spent time walking around the city for a little exploration. The city is so unusual. On one hand, it is so beautiful and historical, with some of the most beautiful architecture I've ever seen, but on the other hand, there is still alot of poverty and some bleak remnants of the soviet union, such as the huge high-rise apartments that tower over the outskirts of the city. But we did get to see the Kremlin, Red Square, and St. Basil's Cathedral, all of which were such a pleasure to finally see...all those history book pictures coming to life. We visited Moscow State University where we met up with a group of Russian students our age, who showed us around and hung out with us for the next few days.
After that, it was off to the trans-siberian railroad where we hopped aboard a 4 day long train ride to Irkutsk, Russia. The train was very relaxing, but after 4 days, it was extremely cramped and I was ready to get off of it! In Irkutsk, we stayed in a house on Lake Baikal, a gorgeous freshwater lake surrouned by the Ural Mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking. After spending a few relaxing days there, it was back to the trans siberian for our last long train ride to Beijing, where I arrived this morning at 5:30 am. So far, I can say that the city is huge, bustling, beautiful, and so lively...I love it. Tonight we are getting ready to go the Peking Opera and then tomorrow, we are going to Tianeman Square to walk around and explore a bit.
We leave for Mongolia via the trans mongolian June 2, and I arrive June 3, so expect to hear an update around then!
