RTW Trip - Russia, China, Thailand - Winter 1990

Continued From Previous Blog

Lenningrad

Leningrad

After a six hour train ride from Helsinki, I arrived in Leningrad - chatted with a Hungarian guy most of the way.  I arrived in Russia with no money and no idea of what to do - and no where to change money.  It was not the warmest welcome: customs officials going through all my stuff and reading my letters, and the station looked like something form the 1930s - including old cash registers - not a computer was to be seen.  Wandering around for 20 minutes and trying to understand Cyrillic, I was approached by a guy offering to take me to the hotel for 100 Fin-marks.  I walked away - he then dropped the price to ten.  I was staying at the Hotel Olgina, about 25 kms from the station.  After first being given a room that was locked, I settled in room 245.

The next morning I was to get bus 110 to the city, but a cab driver got to me first - 10 rubles to Nevsky Prospect, the main street in Leningrad.  I was dropped off at the foot of the Hermitage Museum, but it was closed that day.  The first stop was St Isaacs Cathedral - just stunning.  I looked around for a while and then went to the observation deck to take pictures (not allowed) From there I wandered around taking pictures of various monuments and went in a few shops - the ones I could find.  I ended in a department store - it is quite apparent that no one has taken a class in Marketing.  I found a couple of rolls to eat and finally found a place that sold ice cream - so I bought two!  As I was taking a picture I was approached by two guys trying to sell me a rabbit skin hat for $10 US.  I declined, but then ended up spending the whole day with Igor and his friend, as well as their "friend-girl" Larissa - we went to a cafe for coffee and biscuits and just wandered the city.  I took the bus back to the hotel and got some directions from a guy on the bus (Michael) - who ended up meeting me for drinks at the hotel that evening.  Michael is from Cheylabensk, a city on the border of Europe and Asia - in Siberia.  He then showed me his house, which was just detached from the hotel.  We struggled through some broken english, looking at post cards of his home town.  I tried to call Larissa and Igor at 10:30pm (as they asked me to) but never got through - the phone just rang.

Hermitage

The next day I went with Michael to the Hermitage.  It is incredible to be surrounded by all the paintings from the 17th - 19th centuries European masters.  Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Gogan, Picasso, De Vinci, and Michelangelo were all represented.  They say that is you spent one minute looking at each object in the museum it would take an entire lifetime to view the place.  With over 1000 rooms and 2.5 million objects it was just amazing.  After looking through what we wanted to see and me counting Rembrandts (100+ I saw there), Michael and I grabbed a dinner of chicken at a shop.  It took more than an hour in line for two miserable legs of chicken - ah, the success of centralized planning!  We got back to the hotel at about 6pm, and after a short time reading Larissa called for me to meet her and Igor at 7:30pm at a bar/restaurant where we spent the rest of the evening drinking and chatting.  I had to take a taxi back to the hotel since I missed the last bus.

Igor, Larissa, and I

The next morning I met Igor at 9:30am to head to Petrodvorets (now Petergof).  Igor was an hour or so late, so I walked around the station singing just to make the Russians think I was crazy.  The first stop was the Grand Palace, then lunch (good food, terrible service), then we headed to his house.  The house was a small 3-room place where he lived with his parents and brother - tiny, but decorated really nicely.  After a long day we headed back to the hotel, where I met Larissa to chat for a few hours before she had to head home.

Moscow

St Basil's on Red Square

Lenin's Mausoleum

The next stop was Moscow, where I was to meet the group doing the Trans-Siberian.  The first day I slept in until 11am when I went to meet the group - who had not arrived yet.  I chatted with the rep from Intourist - the official state travel agency.  We had lunch, then I left at 2pm to get tickets to the Bolshoi Opera and the Circus.  What an amazing bureaucracy - they drove the massive bus to the ticket place with just me as a passenger.  I then left the tour lady and went for a walk around Red Square, St Basil's Cathedral, and all the way around the outside of the Kremlin.  I then walked back to the Hotel Belgrade, stopping by Arbat Street (one of the oldest streets of the capitol) where there were a bunch of street vendors.  I played the smile game with many of the Russians I saw walking - flash the American smile and see if I can get them to smile back.  Not a lot of smiles in Russia.  I bought some ice cream and then headed to the hotel for dinner.  The Intourist lady had arranged an early dinner for me so that I could leave in time for the Opera.  I took a cab to the Bolshoi for the two operas - they were quite good - though I am not an opera fan and did not understand a thing.  The best part was just knowing I was in the incredible opera house - quite surreal.  The following morning I joined the tour group to look around Moscow - this is the group I'd be with for the next 7 days: 4 Swiss, 3 Germans (family with a 4 year old), and myself. We did many of the same things I had done on my own, but still good to spend time with the group.  In addition to this group, on the train I befriended Josh and Alex, two Harvard grads.

Trans-Siberian

Dining Car on the Train

The Gang on the Trans-Siberian

So, time for the Trans-Siberian train, the longest railway in the world.  From Moscow to Beijing is 8,961 kilometers - via Omsk, Novosibirsk, Lake Baikal, Chita, then branching off to Beijing.  I was in the same cabin as Alex and Josh - on the lower bunk which is cooler than the top bunks - the train was insanely hot.  Most of the time on the train was spent talking, drinking, and playing cards and chess.  Most stops were for no more than a few minutes - with us jumping out in the -10 degree Celsius weather and having snowball fights in our shorts and t-shirts - the amusement of the Babushkas on the train.  I learned a few card games, as well as the custom of ensuring empty vodka bottles are never placed on the table - bad things happen if you do that! The cuisine on the train was terrible: the bread palatable, the cabbage soup OK, and everything else pretty disgusting.  Throughout the trip the soup had more and more bones it it - we were all quite sure that the cooks took whatever was left in the bowls and added it back to the pot.  Yuck!  The only thing we can say good about the food is the price: at 3 Rubles a meal we are spending about 18 cents.

Fortunately, after crossing onto China the food car was swapped out and we had Chinese food - much better!  It was a very interesting border crossing.  First, the railroad stock had to be swapped out because the rail gauge in China is different from Russia.  The customs officials found about 300 antelope horns being sneaked in by the guy in the car next to us - it was all confiscated.  The good news is that one look at our cabin and the customs officials just moved on - apparently we don't look like smugglers! 

China

Tiananmen Square

Josh, Alex, and I stayed at the Qiou Yuan hotel, end of bus line #20 in Beijing. After checking in and the best shower in a while, we headed to Tiananmen Square to walk around, and also saw Mao's Mausoleum.  We ate a terrible lunch near the hotel but this was made up for by dinner at the biggest KFC in the world.  We were supposed to meet Verner and family (German family from the train) but never found the restaurant.  We ended up bumping into Herb, a guy from Florida who was studying in China.  He was staying at the same hotel so came back with us.  The following day I spent wandering the Forbidden City - what an incredible place that was built in 15 years.  Dinner was at a restaurant next to the Peking Duck Restaurant - which was pretty good - we had some hot peppers which really burned our mouths.  Josh's foot hurt so he went back to the hotel, while Alex and I headed to Charlie's Bar to meet Herb for a beer.  I stepped out to call my parents - only a 6 yuan charge to connect with AT&T - before meeting the Alex, Herb, a Kiwi, Irish guy, and some Finns.  So, we all adjourned to a private bar established by an Ozzie and Ugandan.  It is behind the Hotel Jianguo on Tiananmen Road, where Charlie's Bar is.  After a drink there a few of us headed over to the disco in the World Trade Center - China World Hotel. It was 40 FEC to get in - we could not afford it so one of the Finns paid our way.  We danced the night away, even getting requests in with the DJ.

At the Beijing Duck Restaurant

Great Wall of China

The next day I stayed in bed reading, then went with my roommate Aidi and his French friends the the Beijing Duck restaurant - where they use every single part of the duck.  The food was great, but not enough: so when the table next to us left, Aidi went over and grabbed their leftovers!  On the way back saw the Temple of Heaven.  That night 15 of us from the hotel went to see the Chinese Acrobats - just amazing.  The following day Josh and I headed to the Great Wall - along the way we stopped by umpteen different palaces and temples, including the Ming Tombs.  I needed to change money, so found a black marketer who gave me change for $10.  I later found this was a terrible idea, because it was bogus money - completely worthless.  Fortunately Josh spotted me some money so I could continue the rest of the day.  The movie at the Great Wall was good - the woman in charge tried to change us 70 Yuan, so our driver got us the local tickets for 10 instead.  We bumped into Aidi on the wall and spent 1.5 hours just wandering around.  And, that was it for my brief stay in China - off to Bangkok. 

Thailand

Bangkok at King's Birthday Celebration

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble, but made me poor!  I arrived without any plans which is usually a recipe for additional expense.  There was a guy who wanted to "take care of me" but he was definitely more interested in taking care of his commission.  Since it was late, I caved and signed up for the nice hotel - though it all worked out b/c the people screwed up the money - so I got a 300 baht taxi and an 800 baht room for free!  I headed out early the next morning to find cheaper accommodation on the Khaosan Road, and finally settled in at the Good Luck Guest House - only 100 baht a night.  I spent the entire afternoon wandering around: December 5th is the King's Birthday so there was a huge festival and celebration.  I watched a game of getting a ball in a basket (an extension of hacky-sack) and then went to the main field.  There were tons of Scouts helping out and must have been hundreds of thousands of people attending.  I grabbed a free dinner of rice and "something" and amused the locals as I ate with chopsticks.  I stayed to watch the parade and then ceremony - pushing my way up to the front and suggesting I was with the press with my big camera.  Dinner was at some street carts, including octopus which was very rubbery.  I walked back to the hotel and picked up some books, including Don Regan's book For the Record.  I had already read Larry Speaks book while in Finland, so I was working my way through the Regan cabinet! 

The next day I got up and did some Christmas shopping and then dropped by the AMEX to pick up some letters - four were waiting for me.  I also posted a lot of Christmas cards (that I wrote on the Trans-Siberian) and did a bit of shopping - a fake Rolex and Ray Bans for $20.  I then headed to Patpong Road to see the sights there -something a Texas boy does not see all the time. 

Ko Samui Beach

The next leg of the trip was to head down to Ko Samui.  It was a long bus ride that was brutal for me as a result of some street food I ate - terrible idea!  After the long trip down we got off the bus and I met some Israelis and a Dutch Guy (Leo) - we all took a taxi to Chaweng Beach on the other side of the island.  I ended up sharing a bungalow at K-John's for $2 a night with Leo.  The Israelis stayed at the same place, and we also met Gunilla and Annette, a couple of Swedes who were on holiday.  My time on the island was nothing but relaxing: cranking through a heap of James Clavell Asian Saga novels (Tai Pan, King Rat, Nobel House, etc), playing volleyball, swimming, hiking, watching movies, and dancing at the Reggae bar at night.  Leo and I did a couple of swims out to an island taking 45 minutes.  After a few glorious, relaxing days on the island it was time to head back to Bangkok for the flight to Australia.

Bridge on the River Kwai

After the 320 baht bus ride I arrived in Bangkok at 7am.  I found a 50 baht hotel back on Khoasan Road, and found a taxi driver who offered a free tour of the city on the condition I went to some Gem stores.  He took me to the main post office to send off 16 letters, to the AMEX office to pick up mail, and then to the giant Standing Buddha.  He took me to two jewelery stores which I had already been to, but teh driver did not get gas for taking me so he was pissed off.  This meant that I had to walk back to the hotel - great exercise!  The next day I did a Kwai River tour which included going to an old POW camp, a WWII cemetery, the River Kwai Bridge, and a train ride along the death railway before seeing the largest pagoda in Thailand (yup, another pagoda!).  I met up with Anette and Gunilla and chatted with them over lunch.  I hopped an incredibly cramped mini van to the airport, checked in the luggage, and was off to Australia!

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