Our morning started with a short motorcycle ride to the nearby restaurant we walked to last night. (It’s uncomfortable walking any distance in our padded Kevlar gear and boots). The restaurant, is not normally open in the morning, but agreed to serve us breakfast. Everyone had porridge with butter, fried eggs and sausage and a choice of boiled or instant coffee. A good start to the day.”
Read the full story by Lee-Ann and David here.
Randy McClanahan wrote: “…I don’t know what your concept of Siberia is, but mine was completely wrong. We are in Novosibirsk, in southwestern Siberia. In fact, the green train station is the largest on theTrans-Siberian Railway. My guide tells me that this is thought of as the epi-center of Siberia, but he is from Latvia.
With a population of 1.5 million, it is the third largest city in Russia, behind only Moscow and St. Petersburg, both of which we have seen. So, I’m beginning to feel like we are really getting to know the place!
The ride in was pleasantly different. The road was actually pretty good, even smooth at places. It was high speed all the way. We saw forests, lakes and hills. Rural Russia appears to have a sort of barter economy. People set up little roadside vendor areas all along the highway, selling whatever they make locally. Today we saw honey, smoked fish, mushrooms, and several other things that I could not recognize. They almost always have only one thing for sale.
To get into town, we crossed the Siberian river Ob, which looks a bit like the Mississippi, barges and all. Traffic in the city was bad, as was the smog. There is culture, as is shown in the photo of the Opera and Ballet Theatre, with the seemingly obligatory statue of Mr. Lenin.
I have changed my theory of people morphing from European to Chinese as you proceed eastward. Once we re-entered Russia, the people looked Russian again. I think that the Russians on the one hand, and the Kazakhs and Mongolians on the other, must descend from entirely separate gene pools. That is, of course, pure speculation on my part, but is gives me something to do.”
Leave A Comment