Club Ukraine

When I first stepped out of the train station in Moscow my first thought was that it feels a lot like home. The streets are wide, full of SUVs, buildings and monuments are built on a gigantic scale and the weather was hot and humid. It came as a bit of a shock to someone who has been strolling around quaint (by the way the British love to make fun of Americans for using this word) European cities for a while. Moscow would fit right in if you lined it up next to most of the cities you see in the U.S. It got me thinking about all the things Russia and the United States have in common. For instance, both have an eagle as the national symbol but ours only has only one head.

But let me tell you what I have been up to since leaving Turkey. After a second failed attempt at a Russian visa in Bucharest (the first attempt was made in Turkey) I continued north and arrived in Kiev, Ukraine during the last days of July. It was no small feat finding my way to the hostel by Metro not only because of the lack of English but also the lack of signs. As I was exploring the city I found that more so than anywhere else I've traveled (especially Africa) people were mistaking me for a local. They would ask me something and I would have to communicate to them that I had no idea what they just said. I figured out the first two people were asking me for the time. When a third person asked me something I just held up my wrist for her to look at my watch. Maybe she was asking me where I got my stylish shoes or where I got my hair done because she was not asking me for the time. Anyway, it made her laugh. And I was told that in this part of the world when you make someone smile or laugh it is genuine. People here don't smile to be polite.

Finally I was standing in the Metro looking at my map and carrying my backpack when someone asked me something that sounded like "shapuchalsamgetusakaperchavoalaminski?". I don't understand how I could have looked any more like a tourist in this situation but then again I guess tourism is not that huge in Ukraine yet. Suddenly I realized what was going on. Since the signs in this city aren't really that great everyone just asks each other where things are. Why go to the trouble of putting up signs when you can just ask the person standing next to you. This would be a great system if everyone spoke the same language.

Another reason that I was surprised to be mistaken for a local is that I was not wearing high heels or a skirt. The women of Kiev do not leave the house without applying make-up or strapping three-inch heels to their feet. After a few "where could that girl possibly be going dressed in a miniskirt and halter top on a Tuesday morning?" I began to realize that everyone was not headed to a club and that this was just their normal everyday attire. It's a bit of a tourist attraction in itself really. Find a cafe that is located next to a cobblestone street and watch the women try to not to fall. I have spoken to a few travellers that suddenly became interested when I mentioned: "if you enjoy seeing skinny women in miniskirts and see-through tops then Ukraine is the place for you." Maybe they should put that line on their tourism brochures.

While in Kiev I was fortunate enough to celebrate the occasion of my birthday with a friend from back home. We had a great day touring her native city and her family was generous enough to treat me to a wonderful birthday celebration. So here's a big thanks to Maria and her family!

Since the Russians in Kiev were generous enough to accept my visa application (probably because I was able to refrain from laughing even though they talked like Borat) my next stop was Russia but had to wait two weeks before they would give me permission. So I headed over to "the new Prague" better known as Liviv, Ukraine. It has been given the designation of "the new Prague" because it is a lovely and very European-looking city that is yet to be inundated with tourists much as Prague used to be before cheap flights and British stag parties ruined the atmosphere of the city. It was a great place to spend some time relaxing and seeing the sights.

Then it was back to the ice-cream eating, underground mall shopping, manpurse and mullet sporting, buttery-filled food city of Kiev. I loved the gigantic monuments and grand Soviet-style boulevards but it was time to move on to Russia. Where I got to see more monuments and wide Soviet-style boulevards. Actually Ukraine and Russia seemed very similar in many aspects. Both have and overabundance of churches. And inside these churches are people running around kissing everything in sight. Something else I found amusing was that the women in revealing clothes suddenly considered themselves "decent" enough to enter the church once they covered their heads with a scarf. And forget about waiting patiently for tickets or food or whatever else you might stand in line for. A remnant of the communist era has left people with a blatant disregard for waiting your turn. And even if you do manage to get to the front of the line the lady will only sell you a ticket if she feels like it. And if you don't speak Russian you can forget about getting on her good side.

Moscow had some very cool tourist attractions such as seeing the dead, embalmed body of Lenin (a very strange experience) or St. Basil's Cathedral in the Red Square. Plus, there were many great museums to see. I have to say I felt much more cultured after spending a few days in Moscow. Which by the way is the world's most expensive city. (It's true, look it up: http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/23/cities-expensive-world-forbeslife-cx_zg_0724expensivecities.html )

Now it was time to embark on what I had come to Russia to do: take a Trans-Siberian train to Asia. I planned to leave behind the incessant click-clack of high heels in Moscow and ride all the way to Irkusk, a journey that would take a total of about four days and many bowls of instant noodles. Luckily, I met some awesome Russian guys that spoke no English but did speak the international language of vodka. As for the scenery it went something like this: birch trees...birch trees...birch trees...birch trees... multiplied by about four days. I have to say that I did get a good sense of the scale of the country much more so than if I had flown over by plane.

I finally made it to Irkusk and had to put on every item of clothing I owned after stepping off the train. Brrr!!! From Irkusk I made a journey with a few other travelers out to Lake Baikal. The lake is the deepest lake in the world and contains one-fifth of the world's fresh water. It actually looks more like an ocean when you stand next to it. The area surrounding the lake is not very developed and some places are only accessible by boat. For that reason the lake area has some beautiful untouched scenery and incredible views from the hiking trails.

Eventually I was able to get the Tetris song out of my head and that was when I knew I was ready to head south to Mongolia.