It occurred to me at 40,000 ft, early this morning, probably somewhere over Chad or the Democratic Republic of Congo, that I should write a post about air travel. Of course, there are always local idiosyncrasies, however, many aspects are universally true. Firstly, let’s identify some of the best-loved air travel personalities: The first-time flyer:…
Month: May 2016
Saint Petersburg: Venice of the North
Dear reader, If you read my last post you’ll remember I left you all as I boarded my unscheduled business-class train to St. Petersburg. (If you haven’t read my last post, please do so immediately otherwise you will cause a highly dangerous rift in the space-time continuum!) I shall reprise: I awoke to a fresh…
If you haven’t been to the Russian capital you Moscow!
Moscow! After 2 weeks learning Russian culture through visits to progressively larger cities, we have finally arrived in the capital, in all its pomp and ceremony. To be the capital of a country covering 6,000,000+ square miles requires something special. And Moscow has it. In spades. Think Paris on steroids and then add enough glittering…
Ode to a mosquito
O winged oppressor! Let me be! I don’t like your phlebotomy I wouldn’t mind a small donation But for all the irritation And I’m fine with coughs and sneezes But you spread more dire diseases If you’re part of God’s design He should have made your bites benign Luckily, I’m highly skilled In ways in…
Cold (beverages) war!
We are once again on a train; this time from Krasnoyarsk, where we spent a delightful two days without mishap or mischief (i.e. not much worth including here). Our destination is Yekaterinburg, a city near the Ural mountains. We boarded at 11.30am on May 16 and, as I awake on May 17, I already have…
The rest of Listvyanka and Irkutsk
The day after or quad-biking shenanigans, our itinerary promised a 5-hour hike near Lake Baikal. Fuelled with Russian porridge and dressed to withstand both the weather and the attacks of ticks (it was the height of their active season) we awaited the arrival of our guide. Dimitri, part-time personal trainer, part-time tourist guide, spoke only…
Irkutsk and Listvyanka day 1
We were greeted early on the morning of May 10 on the platform of Irkutsk railway station by Lena, local Irkutskian (I may be creating a new noun there) and tourist guide and Kseniya, her trainee and were taken to an MPV driven, to my great delight, by a quietly polite gentleman called Igor. Our…
The journey to Irkutsk
8.25pm, Sunday 8 May: we waved a fond farewell to Boltor, our friendly Mongolian driver, at Ulaanbaatar railway station and boarded the Mongolian 263 train bound for Irkutsk. Although our itinerary informed us there would be no restaurant car on this occasion, our arrival time of 7.25am meant that the few provisions we had would…
Genghis woz ‘ere
We take up the story once again with our protagonists aboard the overnight train to Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital. Due to being on the “shoulder”of buddy season, we were lucky enough to have a4-berth cabin to ourselves, so we stretched out to watch the scenery of northern China hurry past our static window.I’m realising, at…
I ❤️ BJ
Whoa! Get your minds out of the gutter! But, yes, even though I’m a part-time collector of “I ❤️” t-shirts, I couldn’t bring myself to buy the Beijing version for obvious reasons. But I do love Beijing. Shanghai is an ostentatious salesman, Beijing is a professor or a stern father, perhaps. Fewer glamorous skyscrapers adorn…
seen2screen 