Heartland

And I'm flying far, far away

Moscow, for starters, then a month travelling by train (and a few assorted boats, buses, camels and, when all else fails, pushbikes) to Beijing.

Stop-offs in Syktyvkar (because I have a friend there and I can't find it in any guidebook, officially making me an explorer!); Yekaterinburg, Severobaikalsk, Irkutsk, Ulan Baatur and hopefully Chengde during my week in China.

Advice will be listened to, and probably ignored in my usual fashion. If I'm feeling sad enough I'll arrange for photos of a Smoke and Mirrors T-shirt to be taken outside various key landmarks, just for chuckles.

It should be quite fantastic, but right now it's also quite terrifying. At the time of writing I have two flights, two visas and two nights in a hotel booked up. Something tells me more preparation is needed, if only to avoid being arrested at the Mongolian border. Project pincushion is busy turning me into a cocktail of unpredictable illnesses and I've come to the conclusion that Mandarin is not technically a language.

But still, a month of hiking in the Urals, sailing on Baikal, drinking on trains, womanising in Irkutsk , watching traditional local sports in Mongolia and trying to explain the concept of knives and forks to the Chinese!

I think I'm unfashionably excited. Oh well.

I tried to go to Russia once. I got as far as Riga Central Station, and told the woman at the counter - - in my almost non-existent Russian (still better than my nonexistent Latvian) that I wanted to go to Moscow. She shrugged her shoulders, looked uninterested, and the women behind me in the queue giggled. Eventually I gave up and went back to my hotel. I then remembered that there are two ways of saying 'to go' in Russian; one of them implies transport, and the other implies walking. Guess which one I used?

Sounds great - have fun Andy!

I'll be exploring St Petersburg and Moscow for a couple of weeks early next year.

MrChris wrote:I tried to go to Russia once. I got as far as Riga Central Station, and told the woman at the counter - - in my almost non-existent Russian (still better than my nonexistent Latvian) that I wanted to go to Moscow. She shrugged her shoulders, looked uninterested, and the women behind me in the queue giggled. Eventually I gave up and went back to my hotel. I then remembered that there are two ways of saying 'to go' in Russian; one of them implies transport, and the other implies walking. Guess which one I used?

Authentic former-Soviet customer service.

Nice choice of verb, though

Avoid the police at all costs in Russia. They're the only criminals you're likely to encounter...

andymackem wrote:Stop-offs in Syktyvkar (because I have a friend there and I can't find it in any guidebook, officially making me an explorer!); Yekaterinburg, Severobaikalsk, Irkutsk, Ulan Baatur and hopefully Chengde during my week in China.

Going to Komi? I wish that I could offer some suggestions, but instead I am a tad envious. I hope that you have a great trip.

vexillology: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ru-ko.html
UNPO: http://www.unpo.org/members_list.php
UNPO member list: http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/UNPO
appeal on behalf of another Finno-Ugric nation within the Russian Federation: http://www.ugri.info/mari/

That sounds f**king marvellous, mackem.

Hope you have a great time. I have a wierd obsession with Mongolia (and all those funny Central Asian republics that end with -stan ).

But leave those Eastern Europeans alone! You might upset some people...

@ Laz - someone else mentioned that trip to me If you need advice on hotels, travel etc let me know.

@ Begemot - too right. Don't understand people who think a uniformed police presence will make them feel safer.

@ Petseri - I really don't know much about Komi (though apparently it was visited by envoys of Alfred the Great in Saxon times) so it should be interesting. Luckily Nina will be able to guide me a little when I get there.

@ Boudicca - I'm sure I don't know what you mean

Hope you have a great time. Last year I travelled across Vietnam on my own which was great. This year I'm only travelling around Holland

I wanted to go to Georgia (not U.S. Georgia) but it's too dangerous

MrChris wrote:I tried to go to Russia once. I got as far as Riga Central Station, and told the woman at the counter - - in my almost non-existent Russian (still better than my nonexistent Latvian) that I wanted to go to Moscow. She shrugged her shoulders, looked uninterested, and the women behind me in the queue giggled. Eventually I gave up and went back to my hotel. I then remembered that there are two ways of saying 'to go' in Russian; one of them implies transport, and the other implies walking. Guess which one I used?

That remind me of one situation that happened to my husband in Poland - he wanted to buy a train ticket to visit me in Warsaw and I told him how to ask for a ticket in Polish. He tried a few times, woman just sat there, looking unimpressed and uninterested, said "NIE" a few times and eventually totally ignored him saying "next please!"! Luckily the person behing knew a bit of English... But in Eastern Europe that "NIE" attitide is still very commonh!

Brideoffrankenstein wrote:I wanted to go to Georgia (not U.S. Georgia) but it's too dangerous

I have been there in the late 80s (I was 10 or something then) and I remember being very impressed by that country (it was still part of Soviet Union then). It seemed very luxurious and you could actually get stuff in shops over there comparing to having nothing in Poland!!! I even went to Stalin's house (where he was born and spent his youth) - he was still very idolised and cherished back then, so it was like a major point of our trip! BTW Black Sea area is absolutely beautiful and I'd love to go back there again!

sadly the problems in Chechnya have affected our plans!

Brideoffrankenstein wrote:I wanted to go to Georgia (not U.S. Georgia) but it's too dangerous

Who told you that? I've got two friends (well, a couple) living (quite safely) in Tbilisi and I know of a very good travel agency who can help. PM me if you want a contact email to ask my friends directly.

Take plenty of pictures, Andy. Especially Sisters merchandise in odd places.

Brideoffrankenstein wrote:sadly the problems in Chechnya have affected our plans!

Be fair ... they affected your plans to travel overland to Georgia. That's not quite the same as stopping you visiting Georgia at all. (I hope )

Andymackem, enjoy your trip and please share some photos with us afterwards. I'm slightly envious - it sounds like a wonderful trip!

Sounds like you'll have a great trip.

I was in Moscow 15 years ago. Very interesting town. Doubt if it will be the same today though.

Have fun.

Brideoffrankenstein wrote:I wanted to go to Georgia (not U.S. Georgia) but it's too dangerous

I went to Tbilisi in Georgia last year for work - had a great time. Amazing food, wine, people, scenery. Can't wait to go back. Didn't feel any less safe there than in of the other CIS countries I've been to. Probably a different matter in some of the flashpoint areas though....