China

Though the older girls attempted to outdo us with their guest blog ripe with intense narrative and pictures, we will persevere with limited internet access but the knowledge that wit can overcome all.

WE ARE IN CHINA!!

It was a long train journey … Two days from Irkutsk (middle of Russia) to Ulaanbaatar, two days in Ulaanbaatar, and two more days to Beijing.

Here are some highlights, and keep reading to the end for a well-researched lesson entitled, “What to do when you are bored on a train.”

Trans-Siberian Railway, Carriage #10.
First night: Amanda and Tori get on, get settled, and figure how out how to work everything. Score one for us. As we are just settling down, angry Russian lady gets on. She does not like us. She keeps repeating something in Russian and gesturing and scowling. We do not understand. (Something we have noticed: Everyone seems to think that by repeating something in a foreign language, we will miraculously understand them. Usually they say it louder, too.) Our inability to understand troll-lady’s commands irritates her. We decided not to poke the bear and left the compartment.
Next, a girl wearing D&G jeans enters the train. Her parents follow. Each carries a girnormous suitcase and they congregate outside our compartment door. How can they all be in our four person compartment? Mystery solved. Only the daughter is traveling. She simply has a lot of stuff. For a 12 hour journey.
We weren’t very excited about sharing with the cell-phone-addict suitcase girl and troll-lady, but they got off at 6am the next day in Ulan Ude. With all the rest of the Russians. A nice British/Irish couple got on, and the carriage quickly turned into the foreigner car. Translation: VODKA TRAIN.
Russian customs: We sit at the Russian border post for 5 hours waiting to go through customs and immigration. Tori and Amanda are slightly concerned as everyone else has these “visa registration receipts” that we have never heard of. Luckily, the officials don’t seem to care (kind of like how they didn’t care that Maggie lost her migration card).
6 hours later we leave Russia to repeat the same process on the Mongolia side. Our favorite part was the intense bag search and stowaway investigation.

Ulaanbaatar: AMAZING! Our Mongolian Mom (the woman who owned the guesthouse we stayed out) took great care of us. She cooked us wonderful meals, took us on an amazing tour of the countryside, where she showed us the famed national park, awesome gers, and let/made us try mare’s milk (Mongolian traditional beer made from mare’s milk—not as bad as we thought it would be, but not something we’d choose to drink again), sheep’s kidney (good experience), and unidentified sheep’s insides. We passed on the stomach and its blood contents. Mmmmmm.

Trans-Mongolian Train #4, Carriage 9:
No Russians to be found on this train, just Tori and Amanda in their own, beautifully empty compartment. It was an awesome ride. Chinese customs/immigration were great! It only took ab hour! Then another hour to change the train’s bogies (Chinese trains ride on the left side of the rails, Russian/Monogolian on the right). Then we set at the station for three hours. Because schedules are very, very important to the Chinese. (You know, someone might be trying to catch that train in Erlian, China at 1am!). Highlight: How the carriage attendants cleaned our entire compartment three hours before we reached Beijing. First he took the sheets, then the seat covers, then the tablecloth. We thought he was done. Then he took the rug out from under our feet and mopped the floor. It is all still very unclear.

Then we got to Beijing! And our hostel met us at the train station! Always a plus. WE LOVE CHINA. SO COOL.
We wandered around all day and went to dinner at an AMAZING vegetarian buffet. We ate alongside Buddhist monks, other tourists, and locals, and it was delicious. Mmmmmm. We love Chinese food. And Chinese shopping. And Chinese cleanliness. And China.
Tomorrow, Tori’s friend, Peter, from acapella is showing us around Beijing!

WHAT TO DO ON A TRAIN WHEN YOU GET BORED:

Drink vodka. Try to keep up with the Irishmen in the next compartment. Try to keep up with the Irishmen in the next compartment as they polish off five bottles of Chingis Khan vodka, Mongolia’s finest.
Sleep.
Lean your head really, really far out the window, have your friend lean their head out the other window. Take pictures.
Antagonize the Australian man-child by refusing his advances and not laughing at his jokes.
See if you can fit in the luggage compartment above the seats (hint: you CAN!)
Wander the entire length of the train. See half naked people lounging in their open-doored compartments. Dance up and down the compartments where all the doors are closed. Skip, too.
Sing Anastasia. Then switch to Mulan. You’ll know when the time is right.
Laugh, hysterically, for long periods of time. About nothing, mostly.


More to come later! We’re headed to Xi’an in a few days to see the Terracotta warriors.

As an aside, we understand many of you enjoy our blog and anxiously await entries. We enjoy blogging. We enjoy comments even more!

Russian Ladies of the Highest Order

Da da da. Da da da da da. We are now proud to present the much anticipated guest entry from
"The Girls." Our trip went by in a blur, however we would like to thank the "Little Girls" for giving us a reason to visit the motherland. As we have now had two days of rest and relaxation down the shore we find ourselves reminiscing on the highlights of our Great Russian Adventure 2009. After finding the little girls (who following our distinct instructions were clean, showered, and fully laundered. yay!) we embarked on St. Petersburg determined to take it by storm. Luckily when our flight landed it was still light and we had at least 4 hours to get started (can we mention how confusing nearly endless daylight is to the jetlagged body and mind?). The little girls were elated at our arrival and Amanda did an excellent impression of a Bolshoi ballerina running across the lobby to hug our necks.

St. Petersburg was a surprise in its exquisite architecture and mullet haircuts (choice, not product of function). We all made sure to sit on Peter the Great's lap so we would be sure to visit another time.






We (aka Maggie) found this sign highly amusing. It details all of the "don'ts" for the Peter and Paul fortress. But there was no English translation so we guessed: No jumping off of the roof? No playing the saxophone? No alcoholics? Definitely no snow skiing. No pregnant people? And or sure, 100%, absolutely no leaning on trees and breaking them.

We saw where Catherine the Great was buried, and Amanda was called cheeky by a German tourist. Because Jessie cut the German tourist off on line to see where Nicholas, Alexandra and Anastasia were buried. Jessie apparently was not apologetic enough, so the tourist went after Amanda. Amanda's response? "No Engliski".

Then on the Hermitage. We had a great tour, similar to an open house - we are all sold, and are ready to move in. Please forward mail to our attention, Winter Palace, Russia.

Then we went to the Church on the Spilled Blood.

Next was the Summer Palace, with its fountains. We decided we did not need a guide. So we stood on line for about an hour, went inside, and had no idea what we were seeing. But it was pretty. And the fountains were beautiful.

The we joined every other American in St. Petersburg for the ballet, at the Marinsky Theatre. It was a collection of scenes from other ballets. If we had had an English program, we would know what we saw. But, the theatre was old, fancy and beautiful, and the ballet was a perfect Russian experience.

On our train to Moscow, we made friends, rested and ate snacks from the grocery store we finally found. Upon arrival, we were met with our gracious host for our time in Moscow, Maggie's Uncle Mike's Friend, Nils. (Yeah, its a complicated connection). Nils surprised us by explaining that we would be going out that night, to a private Russian dinner club, and then out afterwards. It was about ten when we left. So we had our first real Russia vodka experience, with many shared shots. After our delicious dinner, Amanda's eyes nearly popped out of her head when Nils said, okay, lets really go out now. We did, for a little, and then home to our hotel to rest up for our big day of sightseeing the next day.

We met Dahlia/Daria, our tour guide for our time in Moscow. She made our trip, and we would highly recommend anyone in Moscow have her show you around. Luckily, we didn’t have to meet her till mid morning, which was good. Especially since we were all four sharing a room, moving slowly after our Big Night Out, and not bright eyed and bushy tailed that morning. Dahlia/Daria arranged a car to show us around Moscow, pointing out the major sights -- Red Square (insanely amazing), the Church of the Savior (was a church, Stalin bombed it, then a swimming pool, then made into a church again nine years ago), Moscow State University (our schools are definitely not that grand), the statue of Peter the Great (which was rumored to have been commissioned for the U.S. as a statue of Columbus, then when the U.S. didn't want it, Moscow took it and changed the face to Peter's), a convent and many other things that were unexpected and a blur. Then a nice, relaxing boat tour down the Moscow River, and a little shopping in open-air markets. We got to put our bargaining skills to work. We were good bargainers!

We went to dinner at the Academy of Sciences (which Dalia/Daria calls the Brainy building, since people that go there are so smart) and had another late night.

Since the little girls already covered our visit to the Kremlin, Armory and, especially the Diamond Fund, we don't have to repeat. But, Jessie is serious about selling just one diamond to end the 'crisis'. And, if they are looking to barter for legal services, she knows just the buyer.

We saw St. Basil's Cathedral, went to the mall at GUM department store, bought chocolate and vodka, walked home, bought more chocolate and vodka and went to dinner. We were excited about the delicious chicken parmesan, delectably described on the English menu as chicken with tomato sauce and cheese. Who knew that the friend chicken and french fries that arrived was chicken parm.

After we mastered the subway the next morning, we got in line for Lenin's Tomb. And waited. And waited. As a bonus, we got to see the Russian version of the changing of the guards. Two guards stood there, two more showed up and they switched places. Hooray! We finally checked our cell phones, checked our cameras and made our way into the mausoleum. It was pitch black. No talking, no crossed arms, no chewing gum, and, as Maggie found out, no stopping as we walked past Lenin's body.

Then, sad, the little girls had to go to the airport to start their trans-Siberian adventure. Maggie and Jessie went off to finish up their shopping, and final attempt to stimulate the Russian economy. And again, we were good bargainers!

Maggie and Jessie were rock stars, and went to a super trendy, fun restaurant (Galeryia). We watched to woman next to us (not Russian), drink so much that she had to be escorted back and forth to the bathroom, pass out at the table, and be walked out of the restaurant. We were glad it wasn’t us. Then there was a little urchin boy - and we think, based on our newly acquired Russian translation skills, that he was offering to tell tables jokes in exchange for money. But he must have realized we didn’t speak any Russian, as he never offered to regale us with jokes. Another late night for us.

The next morning, we met Dalia/Daria for our last day of sightseeing. Intending to go to the Stanislavski House, but, since it was not open until noon, we stopped at the Gorky House. It was an art nouveau house, with an amazing staircase. But, the guide was not happy when we inquired as to who Gorky was. When we finally broke free from the very enthusiastic Gorky expert, we went to the Stanislavski House. Maggie guaranteed her future theatre success by touching the doorknob and making a wish.

Our most memorable experience in Russia was next. We went to the banya, or bath house. We decided that after all of sightseeing and walking, we deserved a massage. So, we went in, paid our admission, got the requisite towels, sheets and robes, tried to go in the sauna but quickly realized it was way too hot. After asking about our massages, the traditional Russian massage with birch branches, we were told that our bodies were not ready yet and we needed to go in the sauna first. So we did. Then our masseuse, the Russian woman who had been walking around the sauna, came to get Jessie. We don’t know her name, but assume it was Olga. She laid a yoga mat down on the top level of the sauna and told Jessie to lie down. And proceeded to beat Jessie with birch branches and birch leaves. Then, she took Jessie out of the sauna and poured buckets of cold water on her. An unknowing Maggie went through the same thing. And ended up covered with birch leaves, and with broken capillaries all over her chest. Yes, we paid a giant Russian woman to beat us with birch leaves. It was far from what we thought we were getting, but has made for a great story. Unsurprisingly, we treated ourselves to cocktails and appetizers at the new Ritz Carlton in Moscow. It was at the top of the building, with a gorgeous view, but those four drinks and four appetizers cost four times as much as most of our full meals.

And then it was time to go. We had a relatively uneventful trip back to New York, managed the ten hour flight just fine and enjoyed being able to yell at people in English at Kennedy airport.

A few things we noticed about Russia:
-everyone gets flowers, all the time. Not fair.
-people dress a little like clowns. Weird.
-people don’t wait in line at theatres for the bathroom, they wait for the bar. Lucky for us.
-if you can say please in Russian, you can also say thank you, excuse me, get out of my way, and would you mind helping me with directions, nice man.
-we felt safe and welcome throughout Russia, and people went out of their way to make sure we had a good trip.

We will return the blog to the little girls, who we understand just crossed over the China border.

from Russia with love

Our first Russian experience:
Tori and Amanda stand at the baggage carousel, and look around. Sniffing ourselves, we realize to our relief that the smell isn't coming from us.
The customs lady yells at us for coming through together, sends Tori about 30 feet back, and then makes Tori take off her glasses to better compare her with her passport picture.
The hotel people express confusion at our arrival - Why are two dirty girls with giant backpacks standing in the lobby of the Radisson? (Thanks for your credit card points, Sandy and Paul!)
We successfully ordered dinner off the entirely Russian menu. Pointing and gesturing works just fine when no one speaks English, especially if the menu has pictures!

Other highlights:
Laundry. At first we thought we'd send it out at the hotel. But then we realized our underwear alone would cost $200. We found what may be the only "laundromat" in St. Petersburg. Amanda thought it was close. So we walked, 3 weeks worth of laundry in hand, for about 45 minutes. We arrived at Cafe Sketch (actually Stirka), and the man with the half-shaved head/half dreads (worked really well on him) pointed us to the 3 machines in the dingy basement. 5 hours later we emerged starving but with clean laundry. We only did 2 loads. But we now had clean underwear!
Tori and Amanda thought they got pizza for lunch at Tsarskoe Selo, but instead it turned out to be round bread with cheese, cut up hot dog pieces (not visible when we pointed at it), and ranch dressing and ketchup (both added without our knowledge). Yum. If anyone wants us to bring some back, let us know.
Amazing Georgian food to counteract the pizza.
75% of Russians have mullets.
100% dress like clowns.
Fishnets totally acceptable, even cool, for everyone. Both whores and grandmas alike.
Palaces. If anyone wants to buy us belated graduation presents, or med school housing (we'll commute!), Tori likes the Catherine Palace, complete with grounds, please! and Amanda will take the Winter Palace.
Red Square and the Kremlin. Phenomenal. Again, presents from the Diamond Fund are appropriate for any occasion. This, we believe, would apply to Jessie and Maggie as well, judging by the gleam in Jessie's eyes. (Jessie to tour guide: "Why don't they sell just one of these diamonds? It would end the recession.")
Lenin's tomb. Or more accurately, more policemen than we think we've seen anywhere. Totally the 2 hour wait just to see the intensity and glimpse the communism. No talking. No stopping. No folded arms. No hands in pockets. Just walk past the dead man somberly. We were shushed, snapped at, and whistled at.
Irkutsk. The small city we're currently writing from. We flew in this morning and get on the train tonight to head to Mongolia. Incredibly fun open air markets. Hysterical Russian clothing. The best part? Explaining at the airport at 6 am this morning that we wanted to go to the train station. We pointed it out on the map, pointed to the Russian spelling of the word "train station", and finally something clicked. One taxi driver said, "ch ch ch ch choo choo!" and moved his arm up and down. Success!!

More to come!! We'll write about our train adventures from China! Look forward to perhaps a guest blog entry from the other Ruskys :)

P.S. Cary freaking Mosley. Do you know everyone from San Diego? We met two couples waiting in line for Lenin's tomb. They were from San Diego! When they found out we went to Pomona, they asked if we knew you. Not sure of their names; one husband was British, and they said they travel with you and your family.

Better late than Never... Jordan >>> (and we really mean >>>) Egypt

Moscow internet was expensive. We're sorry!!! And Maggie's Uncle Mike's business associate kept us out very late. Too tired to blog. And the big girls were too tired to make us.

Jordan.
We loved Jordan.
Jordan was amazing.
Jordan was everything Egypt was supposed to be and more, minus the pyramids. But it has Petra!

Jordan versus Egypt:
- customs in Jordan, including a free visa and disembarkation off the ferry, 5 minutes.
customs in Egypt, including the boarding process, 5 hours.
- hotels in Jordan = amazing. helpful, generous, kind, non-sketchy owners complete with adorable babies and not skeezy 12 year old boys who comment on the inappropriateness of your conservative clothing.
hotels in Egypt... already covered.
- Petra. so so so cool. not as cool as the pyramids, but only one man inquired if we wanted to be his wife. also, really does feel like in Indiana Jones minus the old crusader and Nazis (just for you, Peggy).
- overnight in Bedouin horsehair tent in the Wadi Rum desert versus Luxor. one 32 degrees C, one 45 degrees C. one had amazing people and hosts! and amazing food cooked traditional Bedouin style. one had the most persistant hasslers we've ever encountered, and overpriced bad food.
- the Dead Sea!!! well, the Red Sea was pretty cool too, so this one is almost a toss-up, but the Dead Sea is amazing. you can actually read a book sitting up while floating. NB. when they say not to put your face in, don't! (bad call, Tori) use the public beach that has a shower, it's definitely worth the extra $1.
- the Automatic Bakery! while desserts in Egypt were fine, pastries at the automatic bakery were unreal. AND just walk in with really big eyes (as we were told from a valuable source) and your get all the free samples you could ever want.
- TABOULEH. despite many attempts, none to be found in Egypt.

We did love Jordan, and would love to go back to both Jordan and other countries in the Middle East. Our two complaints: the flights leave super early (we're talking 3 AM), and the closeness to Saudi Arabia is a little disconcerting (when we first got there, our taxi driver said, "Look! Saudi Arabia! 10 km!" but don't worry, Sandy, we didn't go).