Kind of Like Spanish, but Not...I Must be in Portugal

I am currently writing this update in a unique dual-use space. While seemingly normal to some, I am quite amused by the hair salon/internet cafe located in the corridor of a subway station. I suppose getting some extensions while surfing the information superhighway is the obvious way to spend time.

Now, while my specific locale is relatively amusing, I find it even more so that I am writing from Lisbon, Portugal. I made it. Grab a globe and follow the route: Hong Kong to China to Mongolia to Russia to Estonia (and Finland) to Latvia to Lithuania to Poland to Germany to France to Spain...and to Portugal. All by bus, train, ferry, car, subway, foot, and horse. Whew. I'm tired, but happy.



Last time I wrote I was not here. In fact, I was a long way from here. But my, how magical bus travel can be. I left several days ago from the beautiful city of Krakow. After an overnight bus ride and the strained navigation of a German subway system, I arrived in Munich, Germany. Munich is home to beer, bars, breweries, and drunk college kids...among other things. And while I feel I am getting a little old to overindulge in the aforementioned items, Munich proved to be a very worthwhile stop. Interestingly enough, apart from wild Windsor, Canada, Germany was the first country outside the United States that I ever visited. Thirteen years and nearly forty countries later, it was wonderful to return.



But my time in Munich was short lived. After two days of taking advantage of perfectly brewed beer and an efficient subway system, I made the decision to move on. And while my departure ticket for the States said Berlin, I decided that such a momentous trip was in need of a momentous end. As such, I changed my flight and booked a bus, the former departing from Madrid and the later departing for Portugal.

But, you may be thinking, Germany and Portugal aren't exactly near one another. Exactly. Leaving at 5:30 in the morning from Munich, I wasn't to arrive in Lisbon until nearly 10:00 the next evening. That's a long trip, but it was something I was willing to endure. So, with bags in hand, and enough salami and swiss cheese to last two days, I woke up early, caught the subway, and headed to the bus station.

The trip started off auspciously, as a drunken Portuguese man, upon being denied entry on the bus, stationed himself in front of the coach, forcing us to delay our departure by an hour. It wasn't until Munich's finest arrived and arrested our friend that we were able to leave. However, that was not to be the end of our excitement.



About tweleve hours later, 200 kilometers outside of Paris, our bus broke down, leading to a four hour delay that consisted of dozens of smoked cigarettes by the drivers, and, luckily, nearly as many laughs among the passengers. Once Jacques, our savior in the form of a French mechanic showed up, the bus was mended and we were back on our way.

Several hundred kilometers and a few Snickers bars later, we arrived in Portugal. The total trip, door-to-door from Munich to Lisbon was 42 hours. About 38 of those were spent trying to contort myself into a moderately comfortable position in a bus seat. Here is the trip by the numbers:

2500 cigarettes smoked by drivers and passengers of my bus
7 salami and cheese sandwiches
300 grams of gummi bears
4 Snickers bars
5 horrendous movies
2 Screaming kids
1 drunken Portuguese man

But we made it.

So Lisbon...if they spoke Spanish here, which they kind of do, I would consider moving to this city. It is BEAUTIFUL. Oddly, it is very similar to San Francisco, right down to the hilly terrain and red-painted bridge.



My time here has been spent reading, writing, and trying to stretch all the kinks out of my body. I have also taken a few photos and climbed a few hills. To be sure, I have no regrets whatsoever in undertaking such a long and arduous bus ride.

So what did my arrival to Lisbon provide me? Well, for what it's worth, my arrival was a personally momentous occasion. Nearly ten weeks ago I arrived in Hong Kong. Since then I have covered the length of the Eurasian content by means of overland travel. Over those thousands of miles I have seen and experienced so much. It has been fascinating to see how so many social and cultural aspects have changed over that distance. From Cantonese to Portuguese, Communism to Capitalism, the number of sociatal differences I have been exposed to over the past couple months astonishes me.

So what's next? In a few hours I head out on the final bus ride of my trip. This one is shorter, being only eight hours from Lisbon to Madrid. Upon my arrival to Spain I will drop off my bags, sharpen up my Spanish, and head out to see La Reina Sophia, one museum in the world that I have regrettably never visited. Then, after a day of broken Castillian and undoubtably some ham, I will head to the airport where I will catch a flight to Dublin. There I have a hostel and supposedly a pub waiting for me. And then, in three days, I leave. Gone. Done. Back to the United States. There I will eat my fill of burritos and prepare to rejoin the working world that I left a little over two years ago.

Wow.

And while this may not be my last entry for this trip, I wanted to make sure, if it were to be, that I included at least some sort of ending.

Anyhow, it has been fun. Look out for some more pictures from my trip, and, perhaps, and epilogue detailing the highs and lows of Eurasia 2008.



See everyone back home!

The End of an Era (The Start of Something New)

I leave on a bus for Krakow, Poland in about two hours. That is nothing new. However, the fact that I will be doing so alone for the first time in two months is. Kyle leaves tonight, and as of 5:00 Lithuanian time I will be on my own.

It's going to be weird.

Kyle and I have pretty much been side-by-side every hour for the past two months. We have sat next to one another on trains, buses, boats, and in bars. This is on top of living with one another in Berkeley for the past two years. Now what am I supposed to do?

Thus, now that Kyle is leaving, I think I will write the first installment of my eventual epilogue. Here we go...

We have seen so much during this trip. Really, too much. It is getting to the point where we are having historical site overload. A beautiful Russian Orthodox church? Yeah, we have seen dozens. An Eastern European old town? Done it...several times. A Russian bride doing an awkward pose? If I had a nickle for every Russian bride I have seen I could probably cover this trip.

But it has been worth it. Kyle and I set off together on a drizzly day in Shanghai. Now we are parting ways on a beautiful sunny day in Vilnius, Lithuania. Between here and there we have braved Chinese crowds, scaled a famous wall, ridden a horse across the Mongolian steppe, sat on trains for thousands upon thousands of miles, seen two dead Communist leaders, learned the Cyrillic alphabet, consumed dozens of beers, and survived each others company through seven countries.

Not bad.

So now what. Well, as I mentioned before, now I am heading to Poland. From there it looks like I will attempt to reach Portugal, thus allowing me to cross the entire Eurasian continent, from Hong Kong to Lisbon. However, it isn't going to be easy. As some point I will have a 24-30 hour bus ride across Western Europe. While daunting, on the bright side I will not be spending money on overpriced fast food.

PS - Traveling and music are inseperable. My iPod has definitely gotten a workout during this trip. As it stands, this is what I am currently listening to. It is all the rage over here...I think.



Oh, there is more from where that came from. I bought Kyle the greatest hits album for his birthday. So, if you would really like to hear more Max Rabbe and his orchestra, shoot Kyle and e-mail.

Priit and Kristo take on Estonia or Photos are Worth a Thousand Words

There is nothing I can write that will take the place of some of the photos I have taken over the past few weeks. As such, I decided to post a few for all to see.

Right now Kyle and I are in Tallinn, Estonia. Beautiful city, and a great place to relax for a few days. Life has been easy. We bummed around here for a couple days, took a day trip to Helsinki, Finland, and had an Estonian waitress give us real Estonian names, thus: Kristo (Kyle) and Priit (Me).

Enjoy the photos!

Where is the Russia from my Childhood?

Greetings from the belly of the beast. Right now I am in Russia, which is also known as the former Soviet Union. Remember those days? Remember when Rocky fought Ivan Drago in Rocky IV? Remember when Matthew Broderick saved the world in War Games? How about when Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase put a stop to imminent nuclear war in Spies Like Us? Does any of that ring a bell? Well, without the Soviet Union we would not have been the beneficiaries of such cinematic brilliance.

But the cold war is over. Apart from the worn-out Lenin statues and the Soviet kitsch being sold on the streets, there really isn't much remaining from the USSR of our childhoods. Really, we just have the cola war now.

Anyhow...We have traveled a long, long way since I last wrote. But I will get to that in a minute. Two things:

1.) Sorry for not writing in awhile. Internet access isn't exactly prevalent in Russia (weirdly).
2.) When it is around it is expensive...which means this entry is going to be short. Leave it to the Russians to charge $6 an hour at an Internet cafe.

Right now I am in St. Petersburg, Russia. This is several thousand miles from Ulaan Baatar, which is where I was last time I had a reliable internet connection. Since then I have done the following:

1.) Left Mongolia
2.) Taken care of two sick friends on the train
3.) Waded into lake Baikal
4.) Slept in a Siberian train station
5.) Had dinner with the Vice Consul of the United States in Yekaterinburg
6.) Spent a month's salary in Moscow
7.) Walked miles and miles through the streets of Russia's spectacularly beautiful, most european city
8.) Learned the Cyrillic alphabet, which has been invaluable...and annoying.

It has been one hell of a trip across Russia. While I don't know exactly how many miles I have traveled, I do know that I have covered around five time zones and have spent nearly 200 hours on trains since leaving Hong Kong. For those of you interested, pull out a map, or better yet, a globe, and measure the distance between HK and St. Petersburg...not close.

And I still have a ways to go.

How do I feel...spent...and by spent I mean poor. Moscow, and its $10 McDonalds meals, really took it out of us. But I also feel great. Over the past couple weeks we have seen a tremendous amount of the world. Whether along the gorgeous shores of Lake Baikal, in the central Siberian towns of Tomsk and Yekaterinberg, in the depths of Lenin's Tomb in Red Square, or from a seat in a Trans-Siberian rail car, we have seen both the Russian landscape and Russian culture literally unfold before our eyes.

But now that is over. Upon arriving in St. Petersburg this morning, we more or less have ended the train travel portion of our trip.

Crazy.

It is only crazy because I have been riding trains since leaving Hong Kong on the 21st of June, about forty days ago.

Here are some of the highlights since I last updated:

1.) Touching the ice cold waters of Lake Baikal from the shore of Olkhon Island. While that was the main highlight, missing our ride to the island, watching a track suite-clad russian woman fight some russian men, and trusting my life to a Red Bull-driven Russian mini-bus driver were all part of the adventure as well.

2.) Seeing Tomsk for about 12 hours before realizing that we had no way to get back to the main Trans-Siberian line to catch our train. Thus, we packed up all our stuff and caught the final commuter train to Taiga, where we spent the night in metal chairs watching dubbed-over english movies and eating pigs in a blanket.

3.) Enjoying both the sights and sounds of Yekaterinburg...but mainly the sights.

4.) Shaving my head in Moscow. I haven't done this...really ever. But I did it a few days ago.

5.) Arriving into Moscow at 4 am and promptly going to an American diner for an ommlette and beer. From there we went to Red Square at dawn. Being more or less the only people around the Kremlin and St. Basil's was one of the highlights of my entire trip.

5.) Hanging out at the US Embassy's dacha just outside of Moscow. It was a nice way to relax and spend the day with some cool people on the outskirts of Russia's slightly neurotic capital city.

Now what?

Well, we are playing with the idea of taking a bus to Helsinki, Finland before dropping into Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. From there I am still playing with the idea of burning a path through western Europe to Portugal so that I can say I covered the entire Asian and European continents on this trip. Hong Kong to Lisbon...it could happen. Stay tuned.

PS - The next entry won't have as many bullet-pointed lists. Sorry about that.
PPS - Remember Russkies? A classic Cold War meets suburban Florida movie.

Across the Mongolian Steppe on a Horse Named Roger

I am not nearly as sore as I thought I would be. I expected three days of riding across the Mongolian steppe on a horse to cause a bit more pain than it did. Maybe I am tougher at 29 than I thought?

I have been in Mongolia for about a week now. While some of that time has been spent in Ulaan Bataar, the better part of the past week was spent on the back of a horse named Roger on the Mongolian steppe. A little background...



A few years back I read an article written by a guy who had ridden horses through the Mongolian steppe. He wrote about galloping across the vast grasslands of Mongolia, meeting local nomads, and living, for at least a short time, like many Mongolians have for centuries. Well, me being the hopeless romantic that I am, became very much attached to this story and made it a goal of mine to visit this vast country and ride, uninhibited, across the steppe as well.

Done.

A few days ago Kyle and I left UB for the countryside. By means of an organization named Stepperiders, we were able to book at three day trek that would take us through a national park, to a Buddist monastery, and across the vast grasslands of central Mongolia. While we hoped to travel for a bit longer, the three days was plenty of time to see some remarkable landscape, meet some interesting people, bruise the heck out of our bums.



Here are a few notes from the trek:
1.) The Mongolians didn't name my horse Roger, I did. However, I hope it sticks.
2.) We were able to camp for a few nights and we also stayed in a ger, which is a traditional nomadic home...it kind of looks like a yurt...which is like a fancy tent.
3.) There was an American couple at the ger camp when we returned from our trek. After talking for a bit I found out that the guy is actually an english teacher at Webber Junior High School back in Fort Collins. As I should have known, Webber Panthers are always doing big time things!
4.) One of the highlights of the trek was having the opportunity to meet nomads in the steppe. While one meeting was planned, we were able to interact with several families and herders during our time in the countryside.
5.) While we did eat some mutton, we were not served NEARLY as much as I had expected. I don't know if I am disappointed or relieved.



So now we are back in Ulaan Bataar for the Nadaam Festival, which starts tomorrow. The festival is essentially the Nomad Olympics, consisting of wrestling, archery, horse racing, and lamb ankle bone throwing. Yep, ankle bones.

Finally, beer is again being served in UB. Thank goodness, my stories aren't nearly as funny without beer involved.

Oh, and yep, that is a Mongolian corn dog. Happy Birthday Paul!

The Fourth of July, Mongolian Style

Happy Fourth of July!

Right now many of you are waking up, preparing for a day filled with hot dogs, guacamole, beer, and fireworks. On this side of the world I am sitting in an Internet cafe in Ulaan Bataar writing about what I am doing for my Fourth of July...which is nothing. Really, this would have been a great place to celebrate the independence of the United States. Mongolia is one of the strongest democracies in the region, and based on the lifestyles of the youth here in UB, they are lovers of western culture as well. Moreover, the weather here is incredible and there is an abundance of pubs and bars which would have been ideal places to have celebrated this wonderfully American day. But then this happened:

Ulaan Bataar on Fire

The result was a state of emergency here in the capital. What that really means is that everything closes early and no beer is being served for four days. Yep...no booze. Our founding fathers would have been pissed.

Instead, Kyle and I ate dinner and are now just surfing the Internet, waiting until bedtime. Happy Fourth!

So Mongolia...this place is BEAUTIFUL. And that is after only being here for a day, and that day being spent in the not so attractive capital city of UB. However, judging by the scenery we saw from the train, and the mountains which surround UB, this country has a lot to offer...and if all goes well, we will be taking it up on that offer in the form of horseback riding through the steppe for the next five days. If everything goes right we will be heading out tomorrow and riding for five days across the open Mongolian plains and through some gorgeous Mongolian mountains.

A couple more things about Ulaan Bataar:
1.) This city, while note attractive whatsoever, has a wonderful vibe. People are extremely friendly and the weather is wonderful. It is definitely a place one could settle for awhile...until winter of course.
2.) Believe it or not, there is a Mongolian BBQ here in UB, just like the ones we have back home. I find it funny that there is a restaurant here serving non-traditional (at least in the contemporary sense) Mongolian food to Mongolians. I even read an interview with the owner. He spoke about having to sell Mongolians on this new type of food and an American type of service model Does anyone else find this at all bizarre?

That is it for now...stay tuned for stories from the steppe, and of course, the famous Nadaam Festival that will take place upon our return to the capital. MONGOLIAN WRESTING!

Beijing in a Blur

Four days. That is what we estimated we would need to truly enjoy China's capital city. The Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, The Great Wall of China, and Mao's corpse...at LEAST four days.

Well...we are going to try to do it in two. After three hours and eight train station/ticket agent desks we found out that the trains to Ulaan Bataar only leave on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The former is too early, the latter is too late, which means the middle is juuuussssst right. What does that mean?

Well, we did the Forbidden City and the Square yesterday and, somehow, was able to buy our train tickets to Mongolia, see the corpse, and visit the Great Wall of China. Kyle and I joked that if we were able to do all these things in less than 48 hours it would be a miracle. Well, based on the following photos, we made the miracle happen.






Final thoughts on Beijing...I don't have much to say. It isn't a bad place. It definitely has more character than Shanghai, but still maintains the cosmopolitan feel of a capital city. Add a dash of its Imperial past, a spoonful of its communist present, and a helping of the West, and you have what the world is about to be exposed to in August.

That's Beijing!

Let's see...what else...ahhh, Xi'an. Right...that ended well. The Terracotta Army was fascinating, highlighted by the 70's era film showed just prior to entering the statue pits. The fight scenes from the film were phenomenal...which is what you get when there are 1.2 billion potential actors to choose from.



In terms of China, that is about it. I suppose our story in China deserves an epilogue of some sort...so here goes: since arriving in Hong Kong I have traveled nearly 3,000 miles by train. That is clear across the United States. Really though that is just the start. Kyle and I purchased a Eastern Europe Lonely Planet today. We marveled at the fact that in a little over a month, assuming all goes well, we will be cruising the streets of Eastern, and, likely, Western Europe. That is a LOOONNNGGG way from China. But it is exciting to think of what lies ahead.

Anyhow, back to China. I have enjoyed it here. I have find myself giddy on a daily basis thinking of what I am presently experiencing and what I have before me. It is a great day when one wakes up knowing that the next few hours will consist of the best of Beijing and the Great Wall of China. Even the train rides have been wonderful. Watching the countryside roll by really is a great way to travel. Have the spaces been cramped? Sure. Have the miles gotten long? A bit...but it is ok. I just laugh when I think about how wonderful this opportunity to travel through this part of the world at this moment in time. There is a lot I will miss about China. The obvious being dumplings and steamed buns. However, I will also miss the genuine smiles and the juxtaposition between the country's rich history and its current aspirations. Are there things I won't miss? Yes. Surging crowds. There are times when it has been more than evident that there are 1.2 billion people in this country. I also won't miss the coughing, hacking, or spitting. If you know what I am talking about you can sympathize.

A few final notes:
1.) A quick story: I am trying to collect all of my train tickets from Hong Kong to Europe. Everything was going great until yesterday morning when the guard demanded to see my ticket on the way out of Beijing. One should note that hoards of Chinese and westerners were pouring from the exits, so her singling me out was a surprise. What was even a greater surprise was that, despite my pleas, she took my ticket, tore it up, smiled, and then motioned for me to swiftly move along. For that, I would say Communism won the battle. However, judging by the number of McDonalds', Starbucks, and KFCs there are in this country, I would say Capitalism is winning the war.

2.) The translation errors between Chinese and English are hilarious. The phrase 'lost in translation' aptly applies to China. I could have taken dozens of photos of all the misspellings and weird translations I have come across over the past couple weeks...but I didn't. I figure my Mandarin isn't much better.

3.) In nine hours I will board a train to Mongolia. Crazy. I have been a lot of places, but Mongolia is waaayyyy out there. It will take us more than a day on the train to reach Ulaan Bataar...but once we are there, it is going to be amazing.

Stay tuned and look for more jumping photos throughout the journey.