sidenote

hello y'all. got back from ger camp today though dont have time to update properly. leaving for beijing tomorrow morning so on the train for 2 days/1 night so no internet so will get back on in beijing. have booked hostel for 3 days in beijing after my tour ends so i can plan what i'm doing, might go round china with brian for a bit which would be cool. also my email needs verifying which means they send me a code by text but not receiving texts so cant send emails, grr. dad: my credit card is working now, and i understand the interest malarkey, thanks very much for that. can i ask another cheeky favour and if my postcard from couchsurfing has come can you email the verification code (i can still receive emails). great result for saints the other day, hopefully can keep it up against preston tonight. I'm off to bed as early morning, night x

day 111, ger camp

This morning after a bit of a weird sleep where was too hot/cold woke up at half 5 to go see the sunrise. It was bloody cold and after walking up the hill realised the sun wasn’t going to come out for another hour or so. After keeping yourself warm and convincing yourself that it would be worth it the sun came up, which me and Lukas witnessed from a big rock which offered a better vantage point. Also something that was quite cool was Goat legs and heads, where the wolves had eaten them and that was all that was left. We headed straight back to bed which was heaven, though there were rumours of the hot water working so quickly went in for a shower. It was the big head and the little coily sprinkler so I turned the water on and the flick for the coily one, though it was just dribbling, however noticed that it didn’t have any pressure though it worked if you went down low, I was that desperate for a warm shower I showered on all four. Only later over breakfast when I asked everyone else what they did to over come this did they say that it was a switch that I thought it was, but 2 taps and it didn’t work if you turned both on, though if you tried just one it worked perfect, so I looked like quite the buerk. After getting up for breakfast. From there we headed to see a traditional family which was a bit of a let down, it wasn’t that traditional though was interesting to see how the everyday man lived and we got to ask him some questions through Dava. Following that we all partook in Archery using the traditional bow and arrow which was really good fun, the weather was amazing and everyone had a right laugh. After a bit of relaxing and playing this game using Goat Knuckles me and Kim went for a walk which was amazing. We headed for the ridges opposite us to give us a different perspective of the place, past plenty of yurts, yaks and horses into some amazing scenic views and the sunset. We walked home just in time before it go proper dark, straight to dinner of tomato and cucumber salad with feta cheese and a traditional Mongolian meal, slow cooked sheep with different vegetables which was magic. Bloody love Mongolia.

day 110, ger camp

After finishing my blog I went downstairs with Seb, Andy, Jake and Brian to watch the man utd Chelsea game, which I left full of anger after torres missed that bloody open goal. Slept pretty damn well, woke up to go get breakfast with Andy, Brian and team swiss, where we went to a bakery which was pleasant. At half 10 Dava picked us up with the bus to  make our way to the Ger Camp. We stopped off at the supermarket to stock up. We got the bus out of the city, through to the national park where our camp was situatied. It was an amazing albeit bumpy bus ride with the views ranging from little built up areas to hills and cracking views. We stopped off to see 2 eagles and vultures, where you could pay a bit of money to hold them. They were huge and impressive looking though it was a bit weird to see them tethered up and they were quite tame, didn’t stop me taking a few pictures though. From there we stopped  off at a war memorial made of stone which was good to see, we walked round 3 times and added a stone for good luck. After a while of rolling landscapes  we pulled up into a ger camp, made up of about 30 Yurts and 2 modern buildings, one as the toilets/shower and one as the common room/food place. It’s a bit of a shame that the ger camp is a tourist camp, ie there is no locals living here part from the people running the camp. The camp itself is very nice though, situated either sides of  mountains and really cool rocks. I’m sharing a yurt with Brian and Jake. Inside is laminated flooring with a fire in the middle (like a metal box with the chimney  going through the hole in the roof) and we have proper beds.  We met for lunch where we had a right unexpected banquet of carrot salad, creamy chicken soup and beef goulash, which was amazing. After that we only went for a bloody horse ride! I say horses, they were like big ponies, and my one was called gary (Neville) and it was great fun, riding around amazing scenery with the bluest sky and massive rocks all around. We just walked for a hour and half and my stirrups were too tight/high, and my knees were fucking killing me. After that we stopped (by a rock that looks like a turtle which was fabulous) and my stirrups were loosened and I was set free. I undid my leash a bit and gave gary a bit of a nudge with it, and he started jogging/galloping. Lukas was insistent on a race and despite me being scared shitless and  my arse/lower body hurting we set off, it felt fucking fast but probably wasn’t, and we weren’t in control where we verged from the road to the trees where we stopped, avoiding some trees which was a little close for comfort and a concrete pole where I wanted to go left and the horse wanted to go right, Gary won that round. After a little bit more of a trot we did another race, with quite a few people galloping full pelt. It was amazing to gallop with the surroundings and the fact that I’m in Mongolia, and I was winning the race when we came to a ditch. I was scared Gary was gonna jump it, and scott who was also in the race pulled up on his reigns, so I did the same. Gary didn’t respond so I pulled back harder, standing up on my stirrups, however where one foot was in more then the other I leaned over and the reign was pulled out of my hand. I was off balance and the horse slightly reared up throwing me off, though somehow I managed to hug his neck during my fall, I didn’t feel any more impact, was wearing a helmet, and was straight up running after Gary who pelted. It was strange falling off a horse that had been shifting only a few moments earlier, though I couldn’t help smiling. I got back on the horse and made it walk very slowly to the end, which was only another 5 minutes. From going to our turning point which took 1 and half hours it took half hour to get back. Horse riding was insanely good, and everyone was on a high and enjoyed it hugely. After that and having a drink, me, Brian, Jake, Hollie and Kim walked up the hill to see the sun set. It was amazing to see the views from atop a hill, everywhere was so pretty and the place is stunning. After walking back down for a game of cards we had dinner, which was meat and veg soup then  dumplings stuffed with mutton I think with beetroot which was tasty. At the moment we are all in one yurt with the fire going (it’s ridiculously hot) playing this amazing game of Lukas’ called Werewolfs and Farmers, a sorta who dunnit/group psychological game which is awesome while having a couple of drinks. Tomorrow we are waking up early to see the sun rise, then going for a walk to meet a local family before some archery. Oh, after dinner we and Brian went for a walk a bit downward where there was no light and the stars were the best I have ever seen, like glitter in the sky. You could see the Milky way band going right over the top. So far Mongolia is amazing, I have never been anywhere like it, and despite it’s failings it’s fabulous place.

day 109, Ulaanbaatar

Got woken up this morning at five to five by the angry Russian wench who was our cabin attendant, had a bit more of a doze, then packed up and got ready to step out into Mongolia! Off the train and it was pretty damn cold, though we were met by a lovely Mongolian named Dava, who took us to the bank (credit card still not working) then into our hotel, literally 5 minutes drive away. Checked in and went to bed for a few hours before going to a restaurant to devour a steak which was amazing and go for a walk round Ulaanbaatar (the worlds coldest capital city according to Brian). We went to a Monastery which was very cool, the climax was this building with  a 26m gold man in which was very cool, then onto a massive government building, before going to see a traditional Mongolian show. It was a tiny theatre, about 75 people in there and was full, and we were treated to traditional musicians, folk singers, throat singers, dancers and contortionist  (who did some crazy shit, including holding herself up with only her teeth with her legs over her head) and it was thoroughly entertaining, and the musicians were insanely good. After that we headed off to a restaurant for dinner before retiring for the night. As my internet is working catching up on a few things before going to the ger camp tomorrow for 2 nights in a Yurt!

Day 108, train to Ulaanbaatar

Slept amazingly well overnight ready for the day in hand. There was a bit of apprehension about the boarder crossing, both about the smoothness of it and also horror stories of not being able to use the toilet for up to 10 hours and being messed about generally. At quarter to 2 we arrived at the Russian boarder and we were instructed to leave the train for 2 hours. There was a sand hill/dune that we went up which gave amazing views all around, and with a mini football that andy had bought along were able to wile away the hours. There was also a toilet on the platform which we were able to use and a little shop providing the basics. Also yesterday we met Hannah and Alex, 2 German girls doing the trans sib railway who are lovely and did the hill with us. We got back to the train when advised, was left for a hour sat down not allowed out of our cabins, before our passports being taken from us. 2 hours later they were returned, while customs came on board and did a very quick search of our cabin looking for stow-aways. What seemed like ages in a hot cabin was about 4 hours and we were moving! About 10 minutes later we were at the Mongolian boarder and the same hoo-hah, taking our passports (after we filled in a arrival form and customs declaration) and making us stay on the train. Played a bit of cards (learnt Hearts!) and cracked on with the Dice Man as finished with Richard. After another couple of hours passports came back and we were allowed off the train for 40 mins, before having to board for another night ready for a early morning arrival in Ulaanbaatar. The whole process seemed full of faff and because everyone had heard horror stories we didn’t want to ask to many questions, the customs and officials were all very stern and serious, and it felt like we were children and that we’ve done something wrong. Taught Rashine and Kelly Blob, had a chat with others, wrote

day 107, Listvyanka

Had a bit of a disturbed sleep courtesy of a dicky tummy. Woke up about half 10 ready for breakfast however gave that a miss, and sat about in the hotel while others went for a walk not feeling too great, however wasn’t the worse thing as got near finishing Richard E Grant’s book. After the group finishing the walk and checking out we got a bus to Irkutsk, stopping on the way at a supermarket to stock up on food for the train tonight and tomorrow. We stopped off at Irkutsk and had a walk around the city, it feeling very soviet and a bit run down. After eating dinner in a café we went to a pub where I treated myself to a hot chocolate and had a good chat with Kim and Kelly, before getting the bus to the train station and after a bit of faffing boarding the train Mongolia bound. It was a shame I wasn’t feeling great as the weather had perked up a fair bit and in complete contrast to my first impression of Lake Baikal (grim, barren etc) it was beautiful.

day 106, Listvyanka on Lake Baikal

Last night after writing me blog and sitting round the table drinking a bit, chatting and playing cards me, Brian and Kim went for a walk by the lake. It wasn’t as cold as it were during the day, though sadly there wasn’t any stars on show. The tide was going out and the sound was pretty relaxing, and aside from me half falling down a slope thing where the pavement doesn’t go all the way to the railing but it was good to get out and about. Slept like the dead till about 5, when I was woken by Brian’s monstrous snoring and Andy’s breathing which was on another level, like a donkey drowning. I ear plugged up and got back to a tossing sleep, to be woken by Brian shaking me to get up as it was 9:02 and we were meeting at 9 for the dip. I considered not going but quickly got  dressed and jogged down the lake with other partakers and a couple of onlookers who didn’t fancy it. It was pretty cold out and at the lake was colder. Sergei was first in and out (of course in his tiny knickers) and jake who ran in, dived, jumped up and dived back shouting. Brian was next in who did 2 strokes albeit very briefly then Brigitte and or Seb. Then it were me, got stripped off, put me feet in and was fucking cold, kept walking forward before doing a kind of fall in, jumping up in shock, forcing myself to put my head under and get the fuck out into a towel, strip off and get into warm clothes struggling to get me socks on and feel my feet. I think almost everyone was in the lake for longer then me (part from Seb) but fuck it, was freezing. Lucas just showed me a video of him going in (like action man) and pictures of me nimbi-pambying about  looking bloody cold just to reinforce my manly self image. Had an amazing shower then motored through some porridge. Everyone with Sergei caught a bus then hopped off to do a little walk up to a view point which gave a perspective of the scale of the lake, it’s bloody huge! Wikipedia Lake Baikal and spend hours ingesting facts, like in winter it freezes and they use it as a road, it’s the world’s deepest lake with an average depth of 700 and something metres and shit like that. We walked down, back along the road into a café for lunch, a quick fish pie later and back out in the cold to walk  back to the hotel. We chilled and mooched about for a couple of hours deciding on what to do. Veto’d the seal show, the ship trip and a few of us went for a walk after having a kick about with a volleyball. We walked along the water front on cliffs and paths with amazing views over the lake, with the snow capped mountains on the other side bloody miles off. We walked home to a semi good dinner, not enough of it but pretty tasty, and some amazing biscuits that resembled a twix/ferrero Roche lovechild which were magnificent. At the moment just sat round the table with a beer having a natter. My internet aint working which isn’t the best as it is for everyone else but ah well. Tomorrow off on the train in the evening to Mongolia!

day 105, listvyanka

Woke up still on the train after an unsettled sleep, my body not making it’s mind up which time zone I was in, so I either woke up at 4 in the morning or 9. At 9:45 we got off the train and was met by a bespectacled, long haired  tall kid all in black called Sergei, who got us in a bus and after a bit of faffing with passports and money took us to the hotel thing that we are staying in, about a hour’s drive from Irkutsk. The hotel is just by the lake and is small and quiet, and they had laid on a nice breakfast, and we are 3 to a room with lots of space which is excellent, has power ports (thank you) and had the chance to do a bit of sink washing which was hugely appreciated by all. After a bit of settling time Sergei took us for a stroll, first down to the lake (which has the biggest volume of water in the world, and is clear for the first 50m as it is inhabited by a organism that eats everything, it takes them 7 days to completely devour a human body). It was bloody cold when we got off the train (2 degrees) and was colder by the lake, and with the wind I had me base layer on, me t shirt, a sort of fleece thing, a big ol wooly jumper and a coat, with a buff and a hat and was still a bit nippy. We walked along the lake front, before taking a right and doing a loop, stopped into a small church, then into the “retro park” where this bloke has just made different creations out of scrap metal and cars bits, which was quite cool. Just after that it started snowing a bit, and we stopped in a café for a cheeky lunch. I had chicken and vegetables and it was fucking magic to have a bit of food that was good, nutritious and tasty, not just bloody hydrated.  We carried on our stroll through the increasing snow (but it weren’t laying) and back to the hostel. Another 45 minutes of downtime before we all had a banya, like a Russian sauna thing which was excellent. We met in the common room all in cossie’s with t shirts or hoodies, part from lucas the swiss who came out in his trunks and his skin which provided a giggle. We got took into this little cabin just next door with 4 rooms, the changing room, the sitting/tea room, another pre-room then the sauna thing. I say rooms though it weren’t anything huge. To everyone’s surprise the slightly awkward nerdy Sergei got his kit off to reveal a body that no-one really expected and also some small briefs, turned out he was joining us. It was done in 3 stages, to begin with you just sit in a room with white hot logs, it’s a bit hot but not too bad, we did it in 2 groups of 7 so swapped, and had some tea in the break. Next time in the hot room Sergei added some water and it reached 90 degrees, and we sat and sweated for a bit, which was just about manageable. There was quite a lot of giggling and silly remarks about Sergei’s choice of attire, (which I got a right old eyeful of when he decided to check the thermometer, I could have bitten it) and his sudden surge of confidence and use of broken English, it really kicked off the third time in the hot room, with the “massaging” of each other via the force of birch leaves. To start with me, jake, andy and Sergei went in, all hot and sweaty. Me and jake were told to lie down, while andy took about going at it with jake and I of course had Sergei. I might describe being hit by a very enthusiastic Russian kid in budgie smugglers while all hot and sweaty in front of 2 other half naked blokes a bit weird, but it was really nice. Inbetween relaxing and enjoying it I was shitting myself (and others shitting themselves(with laughter) with the whole situation, with people listening in the room next and door and the laughter audible. It went up a notch when Sergei shouted “turn over and move position” and  then possible the funniest thing ever said, and worse thing for everyone else to hear when he half shouted with joy “close your eyes while I make on your face” before getting a whack in the face with a bundle of birch twigs. Of course that comment set everyone off, I walked out feeling a little abused to people laughing. Sergei then set about us with bloody cold water while others went in and had/did the bashing, before being splashed with the cool water. It was a fantastic experience and loved the whole thing, although somewhat bizarre. After another half hour downtime we all had dinner round the table, a home cooked meal (heaven)  of this rice and vegetables and chicken thing which was lovely, followed by a shot of local vodka (pronounced “Wodka” by Sergei, who first got taught how  to drink ‘wodka‘ by old papa aged 7) as it was Brigitte’s birthday, and then followed by a good old cake. After Sergei showing us the Russian way to drink vodka (breath out, breath in while drinking the shot, sniff a bit of bread heavily then eat  the bread) and Brigitte opening her card and present just sitting around the table now playing cards with the odd bit of drinking feeling done in and it’s not even 10 yet(local time). Tomorrow we are getting up at half 8 to go ‘swimming’ in the lake, which is probably gonna be a very brief dip with lots of profanity and elaborate body language as it’s fucking freezing. There’s not a lot to do round the lake, but it’s very interesting to be around and about, anything off the main road running adjacent to the lake (I say lake but it looks like a bloody ocean) is just a gravel-y/mud track with ramshackle housing next to it. The hotel we’re staying in is like a small guesthouse,, and it’s lovely, even lovelier considering where we have spent the last 3 and half days!

day 104, still on the bloody train...

Polished off most of my Nutella, quite bored of the train however the landscape perked up a bit, Autumn was in full swing and the colours outside were lovely. Got our “everyone in one cabin” photos , and stopped off at a Krasnoyarsk, a cool train station with a interesting mosaic of lenin and co. Also cracked on Richard E Grant’s book which really enjoying despite not seeing any of the films he is talking about, played a game of Blob while listening to some tunes on a rubbish speaker before going to bed ready for the morning departure looking forward to it immensely.

day 103, train again...

After the exciting life of Gary today was a bit dull, the novelty of living on a train was wearing off.  I started reading Richard E Grant’s ‘With Nails’, a diary of his through filming in Hollywood. Inbetween that played Blob, changed time zones another 2 hours (meaning that’s 5 in total that we gained) and got some attention from a couple of Russians, mostly the 2 girls who were our cabin attendants and this woman next door with a young child who took a particular interest in Jake, getting his email, his phone number and even going as far as taking his picture without him knowing while out on the platform which was a bit creepy. Had some gourmet hydrated food (noodles and soup) , followed by some kings and more attention from the women who were armed with the little kids “my first English book.” Also we stopped off at a few train stations, Tyumen, the first Russian settlement in Siberia founded in 1584, Karasulsk, Ishim, Omsk (where the writer Dosoevsky was exiled and spent 5 years in case it sounded familiar), Barabinsk and Novosibirsk, the 3rd biggest city in Russia.

day 102, still on the train

Slept pretty damn well considering the bed is 2 foot wide and the train isn’t the most modern. First thing I wake up to is boris in the corridor with his shirt off looking a fucking state. Seb had finished Gary Neville’s autobiography so cracked through that during the day, most of it pretty standard and formulaic though there were a few things that made me laugh about how things were done and made me miss playing football. In-between Gaz we played uno, stopped off at Perm, which is the last big city before entering the Ural mountains and Siberia, got some chicken and potatoes off some Russian woman on the platform which was excellent,  had another stop at Ekaterinburg where did meself some noodles and ate them while walking round the train station, and the city is located on the asia/Europe boarder, and was also where the Tsar family were killed. Also during the day I stuck my head out of the window which was fabulous, (like a dog, Beethoven comes to mind) was really cool to see the train roll around corners and past forests and fields and odd settlements. In the evening had a game of Kings and a few drinks, though a few too many for Brian who ended up not feeling great, but was a thoroughly enjoyable day.

day 101, train to Irkutsk

After the most amazing midnight stroll through the red square I woke up a bit before everyone else to sort myself out with some shopping ready for the 3 and half days on the train. It were a bit tricky to work out what to get, a mixture of shit that needed to be hydrated, fresh fruit, bread and nutella, sweets and chocolate and tea bags and water!  My eggs and bread had gone walkies overnight though scott and ali were kind enough to give me some eggs and kelly gave me some bread, so again ate like a king at breakfast, before boarding the bus to go to the train station. Everyone was up and about in time and we left on time, which meant we hung around the train station for a hour waiting for our platform to come up. Feeling round the camp was quiet excitement and a little nervousness of not knowing what exactly to expect. We boarded our train after a little fuss with our tickets and passports, no doubt pissing everyone off taking up most of the platform to have our picture with the train. Together we took up 3 and half cabins, hollie and kim sharing with 2 random Russian people and the rest of us together, I was sharing with Brian, the lovely irish bloke, and Seb and Nikki, the couple from Southampton. The first day was really cool, we got ourselves settled in and sorted our stuff out. The cabin was a normal 4 bed cabin, space enough to sit up on the bottom bunk, with a sort of harness to stop you falling off the top bunk. It wasn’t as nice as the train from st Petersburg to moscow but it was more then passable. We played a few card games, mostly shithead, and had a couple of drinks. This fat Russian man in a tracksuit who fucking stunk started trying to talk to us, who we immediately nicknamed boris, and he was stinking drunk and all. Imagine a stereo-typical,  middle aged, fat, drunk, ugly Russian and there you have boris. To begin with he was very friendly, showing us his tattoo, laughing, playing cards, having pictures and taking them. After a bit he became a bit tiresome and left us alone. We stopped at a place called Yaroslavl for half hour, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities on the Golden Ring, and celebrated it’s 1000 years in sep 2010, however we just saw the train station.  After a bit more cards and some people drinking, particularly lucas, Boris came back, this time a bit on the angry spectrum and wanted all pictures of him to be deleted. I was knackered from the day before so went to bed to finish my rebus book I started in Belgium, and thoroughly enjoyed it, then ended up chatting with Nikki, turns out we went to the same dance place when we were young, so spent a good hour or so playing the “do you know game”  before calling it a night.

day 100, moscow

As Brian said, I slept like the dead yesterday night and it was amazing. We were meeting at ten so I sorted meself out with some scrambled eggs on toast  (which was fabulous) and had an amazing shower then moved onto the red square and the kremlin via the metro. We got our tickets for the armoury chamber and a few churches with student discount (it’s ridiculous in Russia, verges from two thirds off to completely free) and went in to the armoury chamber. Inside was various items of Russian culture, from prince’s cots, dinner sets, Faberge eggs, swords and armour, carriages (just like the one that the queen was in, you know the gold one, that she rode round for her golden jubilee or summat), amazing dresses and suits and general outfits which was excellent, then from there we went onto a few churches which were scattered around the kremlin which was very cool. After that we went wandering down a big pedestrian avenue and figuring out where to eat, ended up at this japenese/traditional Russian joint and had a “business lunch” which consisted of Borsch (excellent) and two mains, pork in a sauce with potatoes and chicken again with a sauce and vegetables and rice which was cracking, I tagged team the two of them and washed it down with a cuppa. From there we went to the space museum which was super cool, it was situated in a good area where they had quite a few things of visual interest, including a huge shuttle monument, the shuttle itself was small but it was really high up this huge silver thing which looked like it was taking off. Inside had all the usual space stuff but it’s never boring and continually fascinates me how they think and then implement everything, makes me giggle just imaging the packing list for a journey into space. After that we only went to the bloody circus! We got tickets mostly all together (split into two) and it was an amazing permanent building and was fantastic, thoroughly enjoyed everything about the circus, the amazing acrobats, the slightly rubbish clowns, the gymnastics, the little dogs doing tricks, the ballet dancers, the fillers, more acrobats and tight rope walkers, a shit magic act (who were also the ballerinas) more acrobats/gymnasts, model aeroplane stunt flying, 8 girls dancing with a horse which was bizarre and general things like that. The only down note of the experience was when a golf cart came out with 4 monkeys varying in size, from relatively small to fuck off massive and were leashed and forced to do shit things, like hold a guitar and jump up and down and smack it’s hands. They didn’t seem to be enjoying it and the handlers were quite aggressive and it was not entertaining in the least, regardless of the animal welfare issue which was a shame, however as a whole I loved it. We hadn’t been back to the hostel since 10 that day and got back at 10 so we were all knackered, so made a shit dinner, showers and monged about, before 5 of us, kelly, bryan, kim, andy and me decided to go for a walk to see the red square at night, which was magnificent. The shopping centre which reminded me of st pancras and was rather grand was all lit up to make it look like Christmas, and the kremlin and St Basil’s cathedral was all lit up, it was raining which my imagination turned to snow and it was magic. Was really cool to walk around moscow in the night and see things lit up and lots of little cool things, like the water cannon street cleaners who turn up their cannons to get the tramp who is stood by the centre of Russia picking up the coins where people flick coins and make wishes, and the lack of underpasses and eight lane traffic all in one way in the middle of the city. We got back to the hostel around 2 and hit the hay as soon as a shower, ready to wake up to sort out breakfast and 3 and half days of food for the train which we’re catching at half 11!

sidenote

hello y'all. just so you know i'm on the train to irutsk today for 4 nights so doubt they have wi-fi there, then in lake bekal so not holding much luck, then another train to mongolia, still doubtfull before getting to beijing, so dont worry if not updated for a couple of weeks and emails go unanswered, i am fine and having a great time. i'll update when i can, x

day 99, moscow!

The traditional Russian dinner was excellent, had a right old laugh round the table and tried a few different things. Started off with the soup , something like “sloyanka” which had 2 different types of  meat, onion, lemon, a tomato based broth and olives. It was not a usual taste but I enjoyed it, followed up by some fish thing with cauliflower and a tomato sauce thing which was very average. After that and heading back to the hostel to chill out for a bit we took a bus to the train station to board our train to moscow. It was a really nice train, the nicest sleeper train that I have been on, and was really nice that I had a cabin with 3 of the 14 that I was travelling with, so was more relaxed then usual when taking a sleeper train as no need to constantly monitor where my stuff was as could just lock the door. Slept pretty damn well and woke up with no time at all passed 9 hours later arrived in moscow. We were picked up by a local girl called Maria and driven to our hostel, as was early couldn’t check in we moved out to the kremlin, saw st basil’s catherdral, the iconic one on the red square and went in and had a look around, where there were 5 men singing which was amazing. From there we wandered around to the mausoleum and saw lenin which was really cool,  st Petersburg felt very European whereas moscow feels very Russian,  people are a little less friendly and strict and I love it. From lenin we went round around the kremlin, before taking the metro to the river for a boat trip round moscow which was great. Saw a completely different angle to moscow, taking loads of pictures and having a chat. From there we took a ski lift up this hill (next to a artificial ski jump slope!) for a view of the city, then the bus back to the hostel. From there was the supermarket to get food for dinner and I cooked for 5 of us, as no-one fancied dinner out after a few splashing outs. Tonight spent the night chilling out in the hostel, chatting and playing card games ready for an early morning tomorrow and a full day in moscow which should be great” sorry this entry is a bit misjointed, it’s taken me ages and constantly distracted, but I love Russia and there’s cool things all around, from the metro to the buildings!

day 98, st Petersburg

My alarm didn’t go off on me watch so I woke up at 10:20 for meeting at half ten, grr. After a shower, change and teeth brush was out the door to head to Paul and Peter’s fortress. At 12 they fire a cannon which was bloody loud. After a brief stopoff for a cuppa we carried on walking around, past numerous weddings and to st Isaacs church, also past a particularly animated statue of a man on a horse, which has become a personal favourite. From there we went to a pie café for lunch, and treated myself to a rabbit and mushroom pie which was awesome, then onto the hermitage for a few hours, which was fabulous. The place is ridiculously big and had lots of different things in, we were told on out boat yesterday that it has 12 million items however only displays 20% of them! Saw the Egyptians, earliest Eurasian   art and culture, Russian culture, the palace interiors (which would even make Lawrence Llewellyn boywn jizz), Flemish art which had some very cool paintings by a peter pauls reuben, French art, british art, dutch and netherlandish art, Italian art ( a few da vinci’s), some arms and armour, then up a floor to see 19th-20th century artwork by different European artists, monet, Picasso, Renoir, moret and the like. Also saw a exhibition by annie lebowitz which was awesome, it was her life in photography and was stunning. Back at the hostel now, going to a traditional Russian restaurant for dinner before leaving at 11 to take the overnight train to moscow

day 97, St Petersburg

Woke up having had an ok sleep, had a few snorers in my room but ah well. Nazim (our guide) met us around 10:30 and took us to a pancake place for breakfast, which was lovely. From there we got on the metro (which is in itself very cool, there are lights every 3-4 metres and I counted 23 of these lights, so the elevator must be about 69-80 ish metres long). From the metro we went round a massive supermarket to get a picnic lunch then onto a half hour bus before arriving to Peterhoff, a palace which was the summer residence of the royal family with plenty of fountains, canals and grass areas, which backed on to the sea. We had a good lunch on the beach before having a wander around for a few hours taking everything in, which was amazing. Taking the bus and metro back we went  out for a boat ride round st Petersburg with a rather flamboyant guide who had taught himself an incredible standard of English and pronounced everything with as much syllables and accentuate-ing as possible. It was really good to see st Petersburg from that angle and listen to lots of different facts about the place. It was also pretty damn choppy out there and wasn’t unhappy to get off the boat in the end. After that we went  out for dinner to a traditional Georgian restaurant and had a lovely meal, I had this soup thing with chilli, beef, tomato rice and broth and it was awesome, reminded me of a curry which was washed down with some wheat beer brewed in that building. Main was this lamb stew with vegetables and it was gorgeous, proper hearty food with a bit of a kick to it. The evening was slightly spoiled by Andy’s camera being nicked out his bag in the restaurant, which was a shame, so the group split, the rest to go to the pub, me nazim and andy to check out the police station, which was closed, so me and andy went to a traditional English pub (not out of choice, we wanted to watch the football) had a pint and watched the second half, which wasn’t great, before heading on to see the bridges rise up to let the ships past and also popping past the winter palace all lit up and also the cool church which reminded me off aladin. The bridges were very cool, they were lit up and you saw them go up, then once they were up it was surprisingly tall, sorta like inception when leo and ellen page walk up the right angle wall.  We walked home and got into bed bout half 2.

day 96, st petersburg

Woke up this morning having slept pretty long but feeling a wee rough. I got told by the hostel people that I needed to move rooms which wasn’t a problem, so after waiting for a shower, cleaning my teeth and moving rooms it were 11 in the morning. I went out for a walk and spent half hour looking for the supermarket which was 3 minutes walk away, turned out I walked past it 4 times, damn Cyrillic. After getting some apples and water went for a walk in st Petersburg. After getting about 4 minutes away from the hostel I was bloody knackered and read my book on this bench in the glorious sunshine in front of this massive statue thing, which was cracking. While there the aussie elderly couple who I sat next to on the plane said hello, which was a bit of a happy coincidence considering the size and busy-ness of the city. After that I ran into a Russian girl who I met at the hostel, and she offered to show me around a bit, which was very nice of her. We went for a walk down the street, past this massive church which was incredible, and inside it was equally so. It was amazing to walk up and down st Petersburg streets and see all these fantastic buildings in the grandeur. From there we went to the winter palace, before heading up across the bridge onto paul and peter’s fortress, along the water, then through the park past the war memorial and back to the hostel. There we met Kim and Hollie, 2 sisters from Cambridge who are doing the vodka train, and we went for another walk around before heading back to the hostel for 5 for the departure meeting. Our honcho man was called Nazim, a cool Russian with a hair do reminiscent of sideshow bob if he had it cut a little bit, and after filling in our details and a few details we headed off for dinner together. All together there are 14 people on my trip, bryan this Irish dude, hollie and Kim, the 2 from Cambridge, bridget from Utrecht, seb and nicky, only from bloody Southampton, jake, an aussie from perth who’s lived in London for 4 years, Andrew a kiwi who’s also lived in London, rashine and lucas, a couple from zurich, kelly a pilot from oz and scott and ellie a couple from nz who lived in brighton for the last few years and on their way back. Everyone is really nice and cool, most doing more travelling onward from the train or going back to good jobs or uni degrees. After our meal (I had the borsch which was lovely, a beetroot, carrot and beef soup followed by the beef stroganoff as recommended by Nazim) with a pint before going for a little walk then back to the hostel for another departure meeting. After that we went to the pub where we had a couple of drinks and a chat, we met 2 brits who were in the pub staying at our hostel, Lawrence and ollie who are in Russia for a mates wedding, then back to the hostel to write this and bed! Tomorrow getting up in morning to have another look around then want to see the bridges rise in the early hours of the morning, too tired at the moment. It’s proper good to get back into the swing of things!

day 95, St Petersburg

I was so tempted to title it from Russia with love but thought that would lower the tone, so was quite content to use that as a subject title in emails to the parents. This morning I woke up with a banging headache which was a mixture of tiredness, drinking and inhaling smoke from a pair of burning shoes, but it was a cracking evening. I managed to get most of me packing done yesterday and just had little bits and pieces to do. Me mum and dad took me up the airport which was lovely of them (thank you!) and after a little sleep in the car was feeling hugely better. Got to Gatwick, found my desk and checked in with my bag (at a proud 14.3kgs,  including full shower gel, 2 toothpastes, 2 tubes of concentrated clothes wash,  anti mosquito stuff and 157 anti malarial tablets (that’s summat I also sorted out when back in Southampton)) and we went for a coffee before saying our emotional goodbyes. Airports have to be some of the most bland places ever so nothing really to report till got on the plane, which was one by a Russian airline and space was at a premium. It was pretty knees up stuff however they did have some nice extra’s like a complimentary drink (and not rubbish drinks either), sweets and a good meal. after just over 3 hours and some pretty immense views landed in St Petersburg!  Was quite a small airport, filled in my immigration forms and checked in very smoothly and was surprised by how chilled Russia felt. I had the choice of getting a taxi or doing the bus/metro/metro route and opted for the latter. Got the bus to a metro station and the bus driver wouldn’t let me pay for a ticket which was nice of him, then into the metro which was very well laid out and bloody cool just to be in. I met an English bloke who was in Russia to do business (something to do with selling books) and left him to get another metro to my hostel. The road I was staying on is the main avenue in st Petersburg, and the English bloke compared it to the a1. After marching up and down trying to figure out how they number houses I found the hostel, only to find it had a different name and I couldn’t get in I managed to talk to them despite me not speaking Russian and them not speaking English, and they kindly phoned the hostel’s number that I had. Turns out they had moved (2 years ago) and I had to get another metro for 3 mintutes moving at some pace (still on the same bloody road) and asked a few people along the way who were all pointing in the same sort of direction which ended up in this rather dark road near a park with a big iron gate and number pad to get in. I couldn’t buzz for anyone and 2 girls went in and I followed through. It opened up into a big dark rundown courtyard, the 2 girls were Russian and lived in one of the houses and I was a little bit apprehensive as you needed a code to get out as the gates were closed,  and there was just a door with a apple sign (I’m staying at the apple hostel) so went in, up some stairs and into a rather out of place and lovely little hostel, with a shower star trek would be proud of. Met some very lovely people but so tired declined going out for the night, Russia are 3 hours ahead so going to go to bed now to have a full day in st Petersburg!

days 78-94, southampton

Well I didn’t keep my blog updated while I was away, the last 2 entries I wrote when I was at home however didn’t post them for some reason. I’m currently writing this in st Petersburg, but shh, I’ll get there in a bit. I spent a very enjoyable 2 and half weeks in Southampton, doing a mixture of jobs that needed to get done, cooking and baking far too much and trying to do lots of wonderful things and see people. Highlights included playing football, seeing the family, making goulash, having a few meals out with different friends, had people over mine then onto town, going to the common, going to the saints mill wall game with me dad, having a cracking meal round jen and joe’s with fran, nights out in town, watching harry potter again, the inbetweeners, source code and submarine, doing lunch and watching inception with a mate, mummy Wednesdays, and going for a walk to manor farm country park, catching up with tom, having people over mine for dinner beers and fire, going to the pub and of course catching up with Jason. I also got a reasonable amount of stuff done, I got all my visas which was a bit of hassle, (looking at you Mongolia…and Russia with your long counter-intuitive online application…) but I got them in the end and they immediately brighten up my passport. Got my nz visa through as well as my oz one, sent me camera for repair, bought some shoes and general things like that!

day 77, london

I awoke far too early to the sound of my alarm at 7 in order to get my train home to London. I sorted out me shit, packed up and fucked off for my walk to the train station. Arriving in the station I got some mug shots done with the hope of using them for my Mongolian visa. After a few cheeky pastries with my spare Euro coins, getting another 70 pages of my book read I boarded the train and put my ipod in. I was in good spirits in spite of my tiredness, arrived in England at 11 and was straight on the phone to my mother. I found a internet café, printed the Mongolian visa form out and went on my way to the embassy. I got a bit lost so ended up on another underground and was walking past the Afghanistan embassy and noticed that they  worked a 4 and half hour day, 9-1:30, so started running to the Mongolian embassy with the hope  of catching them in time (it was 1:20). I got the Mongolian embassy at 1:28 to discover that they work a two and half hour day, from 10-12:30, so got the metro out of the rain and caught a coach home. Me dad met me at the coach station which was great of him and had a lovely dinner out with the family, was fabulous to see everyone again and catch up, before going for a walk with me good friend Jason and sleeping in me own bed which was weird, it had 2 pillows, was dark and quiet!

day 76, brussels

For continuity’s sake I think I’m going to carry on my blog while I am home. After arriving in Brussels I decided to walk to the hostel which I didn’t know where it was, and Brussels is a bit of a weird place, it has some of the ugliest and prettiest buildings just right next to each other. I asked two girls who turned out to be american where the fuck I was and they pulled at a map that I recognised, realising that Sabina had in fact given me the same map a few days ago in berlin believing it would come in handy, which no doubt it did. I pulled the map out of me bag after a bit of faffing and wandered on down to my preferred hostel. Luckily they had a bed for me for the night, a nice little 4 bed dorm for not too bad  a price considering Brussels could be quite expensive. I met this german bloke called david in my dorm, made my bed and  wandered on down to the common room where I was relieved to use the internet which I havent been able to for the last few days. After reading a few emails and doing various bits and pieces that always seem to take longer then you’d like I decided to go and see Brussels the city. My first thought that hit me is I’m bloody glad I’m not here longer, lots of tourists, lots of bordered up shops and lots of shit. I met a nice bloke called james  from Sydney in the common room and he gave me some recommendations of what to see and do.  I wanted to see how long it took to walk from the north of town to the Brussels south train station so I started ambling along while stopping off at a couple of sights. I saw the main square with a few normal square things, then off to see the symbol of Brussels which is a child pissing, which was hugely insignificant to me  and didn’t see the fuss. I carried on walking to the train station where the neighbourhoods turned less and less classy,more busy and generally more dirty. After arriving at the south Brussels train station I just turned around and walked back wondering what to have for dinner. I needed a piss so ended back at my hostel and realised I was too tired to eat, and after having a nice little chat with an Italian girl called Martha went to bed.