Pala Modernia Kiinaa

Mahataudista selvittiin yhden paivan levolla suht hyvaan kuntoon, joten matka jatkui kevyella viidentoista kilsan kaupunkikavelylla. Ensin otettiin metro pilvenpiirtajien keskelle ja mentiin Oriental Pearl TV Toweriin kattoon maisemia. Kuvassa nakyva 'Space Module' oli korkein nakoalataso, johon paasi 100 Yanilla. Maisemat oli huikeat ja ainakin 10 euron arvoiset!Tornista nakyi varsin hyvin, kuinka hirvittavalla tahdilla Shanghai kasvaa. Alla olevassa kuvassa on yksi pilvenpiirtajatyomaa. Sekin valtava. Samanlaisia tyomaita nakyi pelkastaan tornista kymmenia! Tyomaita tuntui kaupungista loytyvan muutenkin joka toisesta korttelista!



Alin nakoalatasanne oli AINOASTAAN 90 metrin korkeudessa, ja se oli avotasanne. Nakoalat oli vielakin aika hyvat.Sitten jatkettiin matkaa. Mentiin omituista turistitunnelia pitkin joen alitse. Tunnelissa mentiin junalla vilkkuvien valojen ja oudon alamolon lapi. En oikein ole paassyt selvyyteen tunnelin rakentaneen kiinalaisen sielunmaisemasta.

Sitten tosiaan kaveltiin lahemmas 15 kilometria. Haltin vaellustakki oli tarpeen, kun jo alkumatkasta alkoi sataan.

Kavelylla bongasin klassiset bamburakennustelineet.

Sitten kaytiin elaintorilla nuuskimassa lintuinfluenssaa!
Lopuksi kaytiin ihmettelemassa yovalaistusta!
Nyt ennen porukan hajoamista kirjotellaan blogia ja poltellaan valokuvia cd:lle ja juodaan punkkua.
Sinikka siis lentaa suomeen, Jori Bangkokiin ja maa painelen junalla Hanoihin!

Wednesday, September 29, 2006

A piece of modern China

Survived the stomach condition and with a day’s rest I was in a decent shape, so we went on with the program with a light, 15 kilometer walk in town. First we took the metro to the middle of skyscrapers and went to Oriental Pearl TV tower to check out the wiew. The “Space module”, in the picture was the highest overlook terrace, where it cost 100 yuan to get. The wiew was great and worth at least the ten euros!

From the tower one could quite easily see, with just how enormous speed Shanghai’s growing. In the photo below is just one skyscraper building site, that one huge also. And such construction sites could be seen just from the tower by dozens! Anyway it seemed that every second block in the city had construction sites.

The lowest wiewing terrace was in the height of ONLY 90 meters and it was an open terrace. Still had pretty nice wiews...

Then we moved on. We went under the river through a strange tourist tunnel. In the tunnel people rode a train through some flashing lights and a weird ruckus. I’m still not quite certain about the mental state of the chinese who built the tunnel.

(Captions:)

Then we actually walked closer to 15 km. My Halti trekking jacket came in handy because it began to rain already in the beginning.

During the walk I spotted the classical bamboo scaffoldings.

Then we were to the livestock market to sniff some bird flu!

And to finish off we went to wonder the night lights!

So now before our posse is splitting up we’re here writing the blog, burning our photos on CDs and drinking red wine. Soon Sinikka will fly home to Finland, Jori to Bangkok and I personally will take off by train to Hanoi!

Ei yhtaan lisaa rappusia!!!!

episode 1: Kielletty kaupunki

Toisella yrittamalla paastiin sisaan kiellettyyn kaupunkiin ja se osoittautui kahden yrityksen arvoiseksi. Yli tuhatvuotiset rakennukset kujineen ja aukioineen oli kuin elokuvasta! Ainoa mika rikkoi kuvan oli kymmenpaiset turistilaumat!

Pepsodent hymy

Episode 1.2: Tuhansien rappusten maa

Ekana Pekingin iltana tavattiin kaupungilla suomea puhuva kiinalainen, Barkley. Barkley auttoi meita hankkimaan liput Kiinanmuuri retkelle.
Mongolia - Kiinajunassa saatu lensu ja tuhatvuotinen ihme pisti kiipeilijan melko koville! Ensin piti kiiveta ihan vaan varovasti pari tornin valia, mutta eikos jostain selkarangan pohjamudista taas tyontynyt esiin suomalainen sisu. Sinnilla raahustettiin sitten aina vaan 'viela yksi' tornin vali ja huipullehan sita sitten mentiin!

Episode 2: Vuoreen hakattuja rappusia

Sinikka sai meidat tekemaan ekstra koukkauksen Xi-Aniin, jossa lahdettiin vuorille katsomaan kiinalaisten kadenjalkia. Vuoren rinteeseen, kasittamattoman upeisiin maisemiin oli hakattu rappusten kompleksi ja rakennettu luostareita. Kaikki taasen satoja vuosia sitten ja kokonaan kasipelilla. Rappusia ja polkuja oli 2000 metrin korkeudessa kilometki tolkulla.
Taas huippu huipulta lensuinen retkikunta saavutti riittavan hienon maiseman, jotenka paluu matka alkoi ja rappusten ruoskimat jalat paasivat jalleen koikkelehtimaan alas... rappusia! Oppaina meilla oli Xi-Anilais nuoripari Meng ja Xiang Juli Kai.

Episode 3: Lisaa rappusia!

Shanghaissa totuus iski pain naamaa heti rautatieasemalla. Emme paasseet vielakaan eroon rappusista! Metroasemilla oli liukuportaita ainoastaan yhteen suuntaan ja nekin aina vaaraan suuntaan!

Pyoraparkki!


Episode 3.2: Valikuolema


Liian paljosta rappusten ravaamisestahan tunnetusti on seurauksena ripuli, jotenka toinen Shanghai paiva meni heikkipojalla nesteytyksen merkeissa. Sinikka kavi kaupungilla ottamassa teaser valokuvia , etta huomena jaksaa olla terveena ja virkeana katsomassa modernin arkkitehtuurin ihmeita.

Tuesday, September 28, 2006

No more stairs!!

Episode 1: The forbidden city

On our second try we made it in to the forbidden city and it also turned out to be worth that second try. The thousand-year old buildings with their alleys and squares were straight from the movies! The only thing breaking the harmony were dozens-headed herds of tourists.

(caption: Pepsodent smile)

Episode 1.2: The land of a thousand stairs

On our first night in Beijing we met a finnish speaking chinaman (!), Barkley. He helped us to get tickets to a trip to the China wall. The flu I caught on the Mongolia-China train and this thousand-year old wonder really put a certain climber between a rock and a hard place! At first we were supposed to take it easy and climb just a couple tower lengths, but I’ll be damned, if from somewhere deep down in the spine did not come the finnish Sisu. With that persistence we kept dragging ourselves always “just one more” tower length and to the top we finally went!

Episode 2: Stairs cut on a mountain

Sinikka got us to make an extra hook to Xi-An, where we went to the mountains to see the makings of the chinese. Cut on a mountain slope, in the middle of unimaginably beautiful landscapes, was a complex of stairs and monasteries. Each of these once again built hundreds of years ago and completely by hand. In the height of 2000 metres, there lay kilometres of stairs and pathways.

Again, summit by summit, our flu-ridden expedition caught a wiew magnificent enough to start heading back and our stair-tormented legs finally got to climb down some... STAIRS! As guides we had a young couple from Xi-An, Meng and Xiang Juli Kai.

Episode 3: More stairs!

As soon as we got to the Shanghai railroad station it hit us. We still weren’t clear of the stairs! At the metro stations there were escalators running only in one direction, which somehow was always the wrong one!

(Caption: Bicycle parking lot)

Episode 3.2: Let me die here for a moment

As it is widely known, running too many stairs will result in diarrhea, so the second day in Shanghai was mostly hydration for Heikki-boy. Sinikka went downtown to snap some teaser shots to motivate me to be up and well tomorrow to check on the wonders of modern architecture.

Beijing

Kiinalainen sleeping bus kippasi enemman tai vahemman levanneet reissaajat savuiseen Pekingiin aamuun. Punkkauspaikaksi olimme valinneet hutong-alueella sijaitsevan Beijing Lotus Hostellin, joka todella osoittautui hostels.comissa saamiensa tahtien arvoiseksi. Pehmustetut toilettirenkaat, siistit privaatti-huoneet, kukkiva sisapiha ja ystavallinen respa saivat meidat tuntemaan olomme harvinaisen anti-backpackereiksi.. mutta kai se nautintokin valilla on paikallaan ;)

Peking ja liikenneruuhkat: pah! Mongolialaisen kaaoksen jalkeen paikalliset kadut vaikuttivat jarjestaytyneilta huopatossutehtailta, joissa jalankulkijankin on mahdollista sailyttaa henkensa. Sen sijaan yhtalo Beijing = hyva ruoka: consider confirmed! Aamupalaksi jotakin karvaista imukupeilla keittomuodossa, paivalliseksi kiinalaista ruokaetikettia opetellessa friteerattuja herkkuja hapanimelakastikkeessa ja valipalaksi grillattua skorpionia. Koiraa viela metsastetaan...

Visiitti Pekingin yhdessa must-mestassa, Kielletyssa kaupungissa tyssahti alkuunsa, silla olimme oikealla portilla liian myohaan sisaan paastaksemme. Alueella harhailukin tosin jo tuotti melkoisia nakoala- ja havaintoelamyksia, kuten kuvista nakyy. Kasittamatonta kauneutta karun kaupunkimaiseman keskella.. Ja nahtiin me ainakin Mao - ja ostettiin The Little Red Book. Tinkaaminen tuli koitettua, Tinkasin kirjan 180Y:sta 50, sitten Sinikalle myytiin sama kirja ilman tinkaysta 20:lla!!!

Illalla kaytiin kattoon selkarangattomia pikkukiinalaisia omituisissa asennoissa. Eli kuuluisia kiinalaisia akrobaatteja. Esitys oli mahtava!

Wednesday, november 22, 2006

The chinese “sleeping bus” ditched the more or less well rested travellers into the smoky Beijing morning. For our place to bunk in we had chosen the Beijing Lotus Hostel in the Hutong district, which turned out to be worth those stars in hostels.com indeed. The cushioned toilet seats, clean private rooms, the blooming courtyard and friendly reception made us feel exceptionally anti-backpackers, but I suppose there’s nothing wrong with occasional pleasure ;)

Beijing and traffic jams: bollocks! After the mongolian chaos the local streets seemed like well organised resting homes, where it is possible even for a pedestrian to walk and survive. And yet the equation Beijing = good food : consider confirmed! For breakfast something hairy with suction cups in form of a soup, for dinner, while still learning chinese food etiquette, some deep fried delicacies in sweet and sour sauce and for snacks grilled scorpions. Still tracking down some dog...

The visit to one of Beijing’s must-locations, the forbidden city, came to an end before it began, for we were at the right gate but too late to get inside. But even just wandering round the district gave us some quite wiews and perceptual experiences, as one can see from the photos. Unimaginable beauty in the middle of rugged city landscapes... And at least we saw Mao – and bought The Little Red Books. Tried out haggling also, haggled the price of the book from 180 Yuan to 50, and then they went and without a haggle sold Sinikka the exact same book with 20!!

At night we went to see spineless little chinamen in strange postures, that is the famous chinese acrobats. The show was awesome!

Gourmet heppaa ja taas mennaan

Torilta siis ostettiin Chinggis Khaanin vallotuskoneen jalkelaista ja Sinikan kanssa kokattiin oikea Gourmet wokki ja perunamuussi. Kaupasta pullo portoa ja pon apetit. Panulle terveiset, etta vaikka lihassa oli aika lailla sitkeita kohtia, toimi hammas oikein hyvin. Ja muutenkaan se ei oo kiukutellu! Kiitoksia!
















Sunnuntai iltana lahdettiin Ulan-Batorista junalla rajalle Kiinan puolelle. Juna oli tahan astisista "mielenkiintoisin". Ilmeisesti samovarin tulipesa tuprutti suurimman osan savusta sisalle vaunuun, jotenka aamulla oli kurkku aikas kipea.

Aamulla satuin heraamaan juuri sopivasti nakemaan auringonnousun Gobin aavikolla!
Rajalla junan vessat yleensa suljetaan, niinkuin nytkin tehtiin. Siita seuraa, ainakin mulla, kammottava tarve ulostaa. Talla kertaa rajatoimitukset onneksi kesti ainoastaan kaksi tuntia (Rus-Mong 9tuntia).

Maanantaina kello kolme lahti Erlianista yobussi kohti Pekingia. Vaikka bussissa oli oikein hyvat sangyt, unta ei kertyny 35 tunnille kuin ehka 3 tuntia. Masuhan siita menee Heikkipojalla sekaisin. Onneks kiinassa on kuunon vanhat kyykkyvessat.

Some gourmet horsey and on the road again

So, from the market we bought some of offspring of Genghis-Khan’s conquering machines and cooked a real gourmet wok with mashed potatoes with Sinikka. A bottle of porto to go with that from the store and boing appetìt! Shout out to Panu, altough the meat had quite a lot of leathery bits, the tooth worked really good. And in no other way has it been aching also, thanks!

On Sunday evening we took a train from Ulaan-Baatar to the border, to the chinese side. The train was the most “interesting” this far... Apparently the furnace of the samovar puffed most of it’s smoke inside the train car so in the morning my throat was pretty damn sore. Yet in the morning I happened to wake up just perfectly to see the sun rise over Gobi desert!

At the border the train toilets are usually locked up, which was the case now as well. That unfortunately causes - for me, that is – a terrible need to empty the bowel... This time luckily the border routines took only two hours (Russia-Mongolia 9hrs).

Three o’clock on Monday a nightbus from Erlian headed out to Beijing. Altough there were really nice beds on the bus, I got only perhaps 3 hours of sleep out of 35. That messes up Heikki-boys tummy, but luckily they have good ole squatting toilets in China ;)

MONGOLIA

Terppa Ulan-Batorista!

Tanne paastiin keskiviikko aamuna ja majoituttiin UB-Guest houseen. Tosi hyva siisti ja hyvahenkilokuntainen perus backpacer hostelli. ekaa yota ei tosin nukuttu hostellissa vaan 'jurtassa', paimentolaisteltassa (kuvassa).

Yo oli kylma mutta paasin nakemaan upeimman tahtitaivaan ikina!!! Vessaan mennessa ei nahnyt omia kasia! joten pimeys tosiaan oli totaalinen. Linnun radan oon kuvitellu nahneeni aiemminkin, mutta nyt ainakin oon.

Isantina meilla oli tavallisia paimentolaisia, jotka kasvatti arolla laiduntavia lehmia, hevosia, vuohia, yhta kamelia ja yhta jakkiharkaa.

Paivalla kaytiin ratsastamassa. Hevosia vahan kavi saaliks kun ne oli semmoosia vajaa kokosia ja inasan laihan puoleisia, ja me niihin nahden turhan isoja. Jos australiaan asti paasen, aion menna kengurufarmille hevosmieheks!
Ratsastaminen tosiaan oli mukavaa, mutta elainten kohtelu taallapain on aika karua. Se vaha latisti tunnelmaa.

Sunnuntaina Lahdetaan kohti Pekingia jossa ollaa tiistaina. Matka seure on kasvanut yhdella. Suomalaistytto Sinikka tulee samaa matkaa ainakin Pekingiin, ehka shanghaihin asti.

Talla Mongoliassa tosin on tosi mukavaa ja tosi halpaa ja mustan porssin torilta saa tyokaluja tosi halvalla, niin saattaa olla , etta jaan tanne koyhaksi puusepahevosmieheksiksi. voin lahettaa teille sinne huonekaluja ja hevosmakkaraa.

Ny tarttee lahtee hostellille karistaan hevosen paistia, joka muuten maksoi alle euron kilolta!!!!!!


P.S. Kommentteja saa laittaa ihan rohkeasti. Niita kun on mukava lueskella. Laittakaa kommentteihin nimenne. Useimmissa tosin taitaa ollakin.

P.S. Ei joku valttamatta haluais kaantaa tata plogia englanniks:? Voin tuoda jonkun kivan tuliaisen:) Ja toisekseen se olis hyvaa englantitreenausta!!












Friday, November 17, 2006

MONGOLIA

Howdy From Ulaan Baatar!

Made it here on Wednesday morning and lodged to UB-guest house. Really nice and tidy basic backpacker hostel with good staff. The first night we in fact didn’t spend in a hostel but in a “yurta”, a nomad tent (picture).

The night was cold but I got to see the most astonishing starry sky ever!! When going to the toilet, I could not see my hands, so the darkness really was total! I’ve always imagined to have seen the Milky Way before, but now I most certainly have...

Our hosts were the ordinary nomadic tribesmen, who raised steps-grazing cows, horses, goats, one camel and one yak.

In the daytime we went riding. I felt a little sorry for the horses, for they were so small in size and on the thin side and therefore we were too big for them. If I’ll only make it to Australia, I’m going to be a horseman on a kangaroo ranch! The riding really was nice, but the treating of animals around here is pretty rough, which flattened the atmosphere a little.

On Sunday we’re heading to Beijing, where we’ll be on Tuesday. Our travel party has grown by a new member. A Finnish girl Sinikka will be joining us at least till Beijing, perhaps to Shanghai.

Actually it’s really nice and cheap here in Mongolia and one can get some tools really cheap from the black market square, so it might be I’ll stay here as a poor carpenter-horseman. I could send you furniture and horse sausage back home.

Now it’s back to the hostel to frizzle fry the horse roast, which by the way cost less than a euro per kilo!!!

P.S. Really feel free to send comments, for they make a nice reading. Remember to put your name on a comment. Well, most of them actually have names.

P.P.S. Anyone willing to translate this blog in english? I could bring you something nice :) and it would make good practice!!

BAIKAL

Lonely Planetin mainostama Hostel Arena oli yolla aivan sairaan kylma ja patjasta torrottavat jouset pureutu nukkuessa kylkiluiden valiin. Eli nukuttua tuli vain muutama tunti. Ja muutenkin Arena oli aikas hanurista. Talo oli luultavasti vanha Neukkuaikainen sairaala. Kaytavat oli kuoleman kalman varisia ja rappuauloissa tyhjia vastaan ottotiskeja. Hostellihune loyty paksuhkon terasoven takaa.
Aaumulla Pakattiin kamat ja vaihdettiin hostellia. Tultiin aiemmin katsottuun Irkutsk Downtown Hostelliin. Taa on tosi kotoisa ja LAMMIN hostelli. Ja taalla on jopa keittio!!

Ensin oli tarkotus lahtea paikallisbussilla Baikalille, mutta saatiin kerattya seitseman hengen porukka ja otettiin minibussi oppaineen, ja paineltiin 70 km itaan Listvjankaan ja siella si ihmeteltiin maailman syvinta jarvea (1600m, Sisaltaa 20% koko maailman makeasta vedesta)
Heikki poika paasi kokeileen uutta uistinta, joka muuten sattuu oleen Vaaksyssa valmistettu klassikko, Super Vibrax.
Sitten tehtiin pikku trekki sairaan jyrkan vuoren seinamalla olevaa polkua pitkin. Alla muutama kuva Baikalilta.

HYVAA ISANPAIVAA TOIVOTTAA HEIKKI & JORI (kumpikikin siis omille isille)

Sunday, November 12, 2006

BAIKAL

The Lonely Planet-advertised Hostel Arena was ice-block-freezing cold at night and the matress springs sticking out poked between one’s ribs when trying to sleep. So, I only had a few hours of sleep. In other ways the Arena sucked as well. The building seemed to be an old soviet-time hospital. The hallways were colored with a grim death shade and old reception counters were blocking the lobbies. The actual hostel room was found behind a thick steel door.

In the morning we packed our stuff and changed hostels. Now we’re in the Irkutsk Downtown Hostel, which we checked out earlier. It’s really a homely and WARM hostel. And they have a kitchen!

First we meant to take a local bus to lake Baikal, but we managed to form a group of seven people and hired a minibus with a guide and took 70 km to the east to Listvjanka, where we then wondered the deepest lake in the world (1600m, containing 20% of all the fresh water in the world).

So had Heikki-boy the chance to try out the new fishing lure, which by the way is a classic made in Vääksy, Super Vibrax. After that we went trekking a little along a track on a sickeningly steep mountain slope. I included a couple of photos from Baikal.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY FROM HEIKKI & JORI (To their own fathers, that is.)

HELSINKI - IRKUTSK

Irkutskissa ollaan neljan juna yon jalkeen! Oikeastaan viiden. Ensin Tosltoi junalla Hki:sta Moskovaan, siella oltiin aamusta iltaan ja illalla 21:25 lahti juna kohti Baikalia.

Paatettiin lahtea pietarin bussin sijaan Tolstoi- junalla yotamyoten suoraan Moskovaan, kun keli oli taysin kaaottinen. Lunta tuli vaakatasossa ja busseissa ja pikkubusseissa varsinkin oli melko kehnon nakoset renkaat.

Junassa tutustuttiinkin sitten Jukkaan ja Kirsiin, Helsingin yliopiston jonkun matka ry tsydeemiin matkan jarjestajiin. Ne oli menossa moskovaan 24 ulkomaalaisen kanssa.

Aamulla meinattiin aiheuttaa instant burn-out venalaiselle lipunmyyjatadille kun yritettiin ostaa lippuja Trans siberia junaan. Lippuluukun loytaminen kavi yllattavan helposti, noin 5 eri kassaa ja n. 2km kavelya edestakasin.
Liput saatuamme paineltiin keskustaan metrolla. Kaytiin syomassa ja ihmeteltiin idan suuruutta. Yhdelta nahtiin Kremlin luona jukka ja kirsi. Ne oli saanu dumpattua ulkomaalaisensa ostoksille moskovan shoppailu paratiisiin. Jukka oli lopun paivaa meille oppaana kaupungilla ja hyva opas olikin. Puhu erittain sujuvaa venajaa ja tunsi kaupungin kuin omat taskunsa.
Kaupungilla palloilun jalkeen mentiin J & K:n hotellille ja maa ja Jori saatiin kayda suihkussa. Ilman sita junamatkasta olis tullu tuskanen.
Parin vodkapaukun jalkeen lahdettiin juna-asemalle. Ostettiin evasta mukaan ja ehdittiin junalle hyvissa ajoin.

Juna oli oikein viihtyisa ja siella tutustuttiin venalaisiin sotilaisiin, jotka oli komennettu siperiaan, Chitaan. Ne oli kasi kapiaista Sasha & Slava ja sotapoika Gole ja nelja muuta. Ne oli tosi ystavallisia ja avuliaita. Pantomiimi toimi oikein hyvin ja muutama sana venajaakin tuli opittua. Aamulla Irkutskiin tultaessa Sasha pisti Golen siivoamaan meidan Cupeen ja kaikki tuli asema laiturille kattelemaan, hyvastelemaan ja toivottaan hyvaa matkaa.

Amulla pilkkopimeassa ei loydetty netista kattottua hostellia. Paivanvalossa kaytiin kattoon niin se oli pieni sininen teras ovi talon sisapihan sisanurkassa. seinaan oli maalattu spraylla "HOSTEL" ja ovessa oli ovikello "Backpackers". Seuraavaks yoks mennaan sinne.
Irkutskiin jamahdettiin siis vahintaan kolmeksi paivaa kun viisumeita myonnetaan vasta maanantaina ja mongolian viisumiahan meilla ei viela oo.

Huomenna (sunnuntaina) mennaan bussilla Baikkalille. otan tietysti virvelin mukaan. Lodettiin kalastusvalineliike ja sielta oli tietysti saatava uistin!
USB- kaapeli jai tietysti hostellille, joten laitan kuvia vahan myohemmin.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

HELSINKI – IRKUTSK

Here we are in Irkutsk after four nights on a train. Actually five... First on the long distance train Tolstoi from Helsinki to Moscow, spent a day there and then at 9:25 p.m. a train to Baikal took off.

Instead of the bus to St. Petersburg we decided to take the Tolstoi train by the night straight to Moscow, because the weather was completely chaotic. It was snowing horizontally and the buses, especially smaller coaches, seemed to have quite lousy tires...

On the train then, we got acquinted with Jukka and Kirsi, the travel guides of travel-something-society-shitstem of Helsinki university. They were on their way to Moscow with 24 foreigners.

In the morning we almost caused an instant burn-out to a russian ticket sales lady when trying to buy tickets for the Trans-Siberian train. To find the right ticket sales booth was surprisingly easy, about 5 different cashiers and approx. 2 kilometres walking back-and-forth.

After getting our hands on the tickets, we took off to the downtown with the metro. We had a bite to eat and wondered the greatness of the orient. At 1 p.m. we met Jukka and Kirsi by the Kremlin. They had managed to dump their foreign group to the shopping paradise of Moscow... Jukka guided us around the city through the rest of the day and a fine guide he was. He spoke excellent russian and knew the city like the back of his hand.

Then after hanging around the city we went to the J&K:s hotel room, where I and Jori had a chance to shower. Without that the train trip would have been pain. After a couple of vodkas we took off to the train station. We bought some provisions for the road and made it in time easily.

The train was very comfortable and soon we got to know some russian soldiers who were ordered to Chita, Siberia.

They were two officers Sasha and Slava and a grunt Gole and four others. The soldiers were really friendly and helpful. We got along very well with some miming and also learned a few words of russian. In the morning when arriving to Irkutsk, Sasha had Gole to clean our cabin and all of them came to the platform to see us off and wish us well.

It was pitch-dark so we couldn’t find the hostel we had looked up in the internet. On the daylight we went to see it and found a small blue steel door in the inner corner of a building. Sprayed on the wall was the text “HOSTEL” and on the door there was a call button “Backpackers”. Going to spend the next night there. We’re stuck in Irkutsk for at least three days because visas are not granted until Monday, and the visas to Mongolia we still do not have...

Tomorrow (Sunday) we’re going to take the bus to lake Baikal. Naturally I will take my fishing rod with me. We found a fishing equipment store and of course I had to get a lure! Unfortunately I left my USB-cable at the hostel, so I’ll post some pictures later.

Nysse si on lähtö lähellä!

Maanantaina lähdetään Jori nimisen hepun kanssa Tennarin edestä bussilla kohti Pietaria! Sieltä mahdollisimman nopeasti moskovaan ja kohti Siperiaa!!!

Friday, november 3, 2006

So, it’s about time to take off!

On monday I’m taking off with a fellow called Jori on a bus from Tennis Palace, Helsinki to St. Petersburg! From there as fast as we can to Moscow and towards Siberia!!!