Xi'an

Xi'an has an enormous wall encompassing the center of the city - wide enough to drive a bus on. Dus & I rented a tandem bike & took a lap around the top - which ended up being a suprising 14km/95min trip. They only allow the bikes to be gone for 100 minutes - which means a good pace must be maintained to avoid additional charges. Smart Chinese.

Found our best food yet in a tiny cafe/closet of a place. By pointing at other customers' selections we ended up with lots of fresh vegetables, stir-fried noodles and steamed dumplings - most of them heavily spiced with red chillies. We ate multiple meals there & had a few folks asking for the address after hearing our rantings. If only China had (decent) addresses, perhaps they would have found it!

We managed to cover the main sites of the Terracotta Warrior thingy in just 40min - then made it back just in time to miss our train. Refunding the tickets was an interesting (let's call it "worthwhile") experience. The official refund process returns only 80% of the face value as long as you manage to locate the appropriate refund window before the train leaves. The other option is to sell it to a scalper or someone else. Tickets seem to sell out days before a train leaves - so attempting to buy them at the station's office is often fruitless. However, if you ask around long enough, someone always seems to have a few spares they'll sell for about $6 above face value. Seems logical that they buy these tickets for every (popular) train & thus the black market is created.

The Wall & Beijing

The Wall was Great. The sections we hiked were in good shape - lightly sprinkled with hagglers & only a handful of other tourists, who all seemed to be Olympic participators. Magnificent views - plenty of things to photograph. We started at Jinshanling and hiked about 4 hours to Simatai, then took a zip-line across a small gorge to a waiting boat at the bottom of the canyon. Weather was perfect - somewhat chilly at first and a brief dose of rain, just enough to create a nice mist for photos.

Beijing was also great - felt surprisingly similar to Japan, only much more room and much less delicious sushi. Olympic venues were incredible - though unclear why so many peoples' traditional homes needed to be demolished for such massive amounts of useless concrete slabs. There was over a kilometer of empty space between the entrance & the new Olympic stadium. Ulterior motives for clearing those prime areas of the city would not be a surprise. As seemed widely reported, tickets were sold out for every event - yet we found whole sections of the stadium virtually empty at the events we attended. The general atmosphere was noticeably positive and people were anxious to help us whenever we gave even a glance. We sped around the city on bikes without the traffic we anticipated. Would be interesting to know how much things changed in the preparations for the Olympics - and where things will go from here for the city.

the chinese know how to dance

getting into the stadium to see some athletics (track & field) was a challenge. we tried one night to get tickets by bargaining with scalpers but the prices were pretty steep. it seemed like the cost wouldn't drop until after the event was completely over. we found that borrowing a large "need a ticket" sign was the only way to get in for a good deal. we enjoyed watching all the events we remembered from childhood: javelin throw, pole vault, long jump, leg races and decathlon. from our third row seats we saw maurren maggi, the brasilian gold medalist, hug her coach after winning the long jump. we then squeezed further through security and made it to the front row behind the cameramen on the opposite side of the stadium for the award ceremony when an american won... something decathlon related. on the final day of the games scott obtained a single ticket for the handball final and watched france and iceland compete for the gold - a sport neither of us had seen before, then miraculously made it into the stadium on sunday for the closing ceremonies without an advance ticket. he watched the dancing and light show from the front row again. dustin admired the festivities via a big screen on a rooftop restaurant by the canals of the houhai district with friends from england and australia. only the chinese could pull off such a creative and elaborate show. thousands of fireworks were pumped into the sky throughout the city. as for the food, we've enjoyed fried noodles, dumplings with peanut sauce, bok choy, and morning glory. chinese food here is surprising similar to american chinese food. we're taking a route south through xian and chengdu, and looking forward to train travel through gorgeous landscapes. and dustin got his hair buzzed by a chinese barber.

Land of Milk and... Goats

August 8th, 2008
About the eclipse... it's a long story. We saw it. It was a memorable experience - just not quite like we had expected or planned. Experiencing a total eclipse for the second time was different as we already knew what to expect & could anticipate the eerie light for the minutes surrounding totality. The memories from the last event in Hungary in 1999 became quite clear for those moments. Still - it's an experience so unique, a quality of light so bizarre - quite difficult to adequately explain in words. We made a lot of new friends on the long way from St. Petersburg & met up with many of them again while in Novosibirsk. Stuck around the area for a few days after the eclipse, then continued on to Krasnoyarsk. There we found something much closer to the Russia I remember from a decade ago. People were plenty friendly and the city itself had a much less Western influence in terms of businesses and atmosphere. We spent a day clambering among the giant granite pillars of "Stolbi National Park." Visited various other sites in the area and spent a relaxing evening at a friend's "dacha" in the country. I want to build my own dacha - perhaps a Russian banya as well! Tonight we're heading further West via train - toward Lake Baikal. Trains seem to be fully booked - but we'll figure something out I'm sure.

August 13th, 2008
Spent a few days relaxing on Olkhon Island in the middle of Western Lake Baikal. The weather was less than warm - swimming was forced. Most memorable experience was the banya/Russian bath with some friends one evening. I don't think I've ever been subjected to such extreme heat and humidity. We planned various methods for circumnavigating the lake via train, hoping to snap some decent fotki - but no options panned out. So - something for next time. Baikal was great - I'd like to see more of it via motorbike I think. Next to Ulan Ude for a quick look - then hopefully get out of Russia before Dustin's visa expires.

August 15th, 2008
Mongolia. For the last few days we've been eating foods in Eastern Russia quite similar to those found here in Central Asia, but crossing the border into Mongolia we have experienced a drastic change in the language, culture and countryside around us. Folks are living in tents/gers/yurts - sparsely spread throughout vast valleys. I think I just saw one with a satellite dish....

August 18th, 2008
Returned from a great excursion into the Mongolian steppe - vast plains and rolling hills without trees. Dus and I spent a night with a local nomadic family and attempted to help with the chores - fetching water from a well, milking cows, etc... I've never eaten this much goat. Plenty of dairy products.

Pending updates...

We'll eventually add some stories for the actual eclipse - photos, etc... and for the days since then spent in Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Olkhon Island, Ulan Ude and tomorrow's route into Mongolia. Until then - keep in mind that the latest incremental updates are available via twitter - click the link to the right -->
That's what we use when internet is not available. When phone service is not available - no updates are possible. So - assume we're in the boonies if you haven't heard anything. We'll likely be peacefully enjoying wherever we're at and accept that the lack of modern conveniences is part of the experience. I think Dus and I are plenty comfortable without running water by now - electricity feels like a real treat at times...

As has/will always be the case, my US (801) mobile phone is the one reliable source to contact us - though only via SMS/text message. If you haven't heard from us in a few weeks or so - a simple message to there would elicit an eventual response - of some sort. We both caught colds in the last day or so - we're going to sleep. ciao

eclipse chasing

we found a great place for mint-jasmine tea, wifi, and the best pizza in russia so far, a cafe called il patio; it's russian-italian. the eclipse was spectacular, eerie, and well attended by many a foreigner. we were on the ob river, south of town, and we made it out there just in time. it's hard to describe how an eclipse feels and looks, but there will be one in wyoming in about 9 years. after the eclipse, our friends nastya and zhenya gave us a guided tour of the science research town and botanical gardens around akademgorodok. siberia is very unique and novosibirsk is a great city of rich museums, live music, fabulous food, and beautiful people. we've met a lot of fascinating folks traveling along similar routes toward beijing. we've kept in contact with a few of them and may meet again later on. at this point we finally have a general idea of where we'll travel over the next 2 months: southern siberia, mongolia, china, japan, and thailand. we'll work out the details as we go, which gives us more flexibility. one day at a time. tonight we’re headed to the train station where scott will work us into a platzcart spot on a train to kraznoyarsk with his russian lingo and a few rubles. poka for now

New Siberia

Just finished brushing my teeth with "highly carbonated" seltzer water. Seems like a typical sort of thing to do in this part of the world. We left Yekaterinburg last night on the famous "Sibiryak" train bound for Novosibirsk. Having only good luck, we arrived 10 minutes before departure but managed to negotiate a reasonable fare for the overnight journey from the conductor. There were whole train cars full of foreigners - many from the Spanish Canary Islands and elsewhere. Dustin and I enjoyed practicing our Spanish with them - but I found myself slipping Russian words into every sentence. With so many interesting people to speak with - I postponed sleeping until sunrise in lieu of interesting conversation. Luckily managed to get in a nap later in the day as we made our way from Omsk to Novosibirsk. Again out of luck, we managed to arrange a home-stay with a great couple with an apartment on the Ob River. Our hosts, Simon & Valentina, had an amazing meal prepared for us which was exactly what I was hoping Dustin could experience. Fresh food prepared in a very Russian way. For dessert we had ice-cream (from a bag) with a bunch of home-made jams from local Siberian berries and hot "piroshki" which are similar to pastries, containing apricot, raspberry, and black current filling. Even had some fresh mint tea, slightly sweetened... perfect Russian meal. Afterwards, we trotted down to the Ob River and took a dip in the light rain. Water was plenty clean.... well... clean enough in the dim light. Our hosts showed us photos of their recent excursion into Central Asia - a route Dustin and I are considering for our return to Europe in a few months. Tomorrow we'll coordinate with a pile of other foreigners, photographers, local astronomers, German physicists, Austrian astrophysicists... in order to best view the eclipse.
Photos Here

New Ekaterinburg

Made it back to Ekaterinburg - just a bit more than 10 years after leaving. Having a hard time recognizing people and things - they don't match my memory at all. The kids I remember teaching English slang to now have kids of their own. We're staying in an apartment across from what used to be the only Western restaurant in town - we were so excited to see it open in 1997... The countless others that have sprouted nearby since then make it seem insignificant. New malls, hotels, roads - I'm glad I saw it while it was still Russian.

Continuing East from here - either overnight as far as Omsk, or all the way to Novosibirsk - depending on train tickets. Eclipse should be total from there. We'll meet up with some local astronomers to make sure we're properly prepared for the event. Taking a good amount of photos - just need to stick them online here... stay tuned.

moscow

i'm getting accustomed to a random sleeping pattern, depending on the day. now that we've been out a week, i feel like i was over jet lag a while ago, but the pattern of sleeping a little here and there has remained. up late, up early, catch some sleep on a couch or train, or a nap at the hostel. walk around the city at 3 am to find bottled water, pasta, and dark chocolate with cayenne spicy. we have tickets for a train to kazan tonight. clothes are drying on a rack at the hostel. i feel like fixing a bowl of museli before we go out.

Semi-plan

Landed in St. Petersburg in the evening, realized we hadn't even looked for a hotel. I somewhat enjoy traveling without a plan - but approaching an extreme of some sort perhaps. Haven't planned much better since - we wanted to make our way from St. Petersburg to Moscow last night but all the train tickets for Russia's most popular route were sold out long ago. Regardless, we headed to the train station in the evening and proceeded to inquire of the train conductors themselves about any extra spaces for "sale" - essentially bribing our way into beds on a night train. The first few attempts were unsuccessful - then one space available for about the price we would have paid had we booked in advance... then we were approached by a police officer of some sort - which turned out to be a good thing as he offered to sell us spots on the "#1 / Red Arrow" train on which he was working. We negotiated a price plenty below what the other forward-thinking passengers had paid - and proceeded to board. I think Dus enjoyed his first train experience. We'll have many more to come in the coming weeks.

From here we'll head East - Kazan, Ufa, Yekaterinburg, Omsk... looking to make it to Novosibirsk by the 1st of August for the eclipse, then continue on to Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk before crossing into Mongolia and finally China before the end of the Olympics there. Trains all the way!