Wrap Up No.2

Inspired by Cameron I decided to jot down a few of my own post-adventure unblogged events and observations. Unfortunately my post is both shorter and unalphabetized but I hope you'll read anyway.


Hands on the ceiling seat belts.

The 'blueberry', the van we rode through the Gobi, didn't have seatbelts but we quickly learned that pressing your palms against the roof was a good way to avoid having your bum fly in the air when we went through potholes or small ravines. Despite Mooch's expert driving I would estimate we hit a pothole every 15 minutes and a particularly eventful pothole every hour or so, so we spent a great deal of time with our arms raised.

Pancakes that taste like nothing.

We ordered potato pancakes several times in Russia and they were always disappointed. I would describe how they tasted but quite honestly they didn't taste like anything. At times it was hard to know they were in your mouth at all. After some consideration I can honestly say that my repeated failure to find delicious potato pancakes-not in Irkutsk (at 'The Liverpool' or the swanky place on the river), nor in Moscow at the weird Ukrainian place near the Kremlin, was the single most disappointing part of the Trans-Siberian. I had really high expectations.

The Bristol Scale.

I realized something after the trip, Cameron. You're adventures on the Bristol Scale, remember how they were somewhat more eventful than my own? And remember our discussions on what it might have been that you ate? 'Bad peanut', for example? Drinking water around the rock covered in tp? I realized that we overlooked, or I at least overlook, a fairly important factor-you used to be a vegetarian! That probably explains everything. Mystery solved.

The girl at the desk of the 'Napoleon' in Moscow who thought we were twins.

I really don't know what to say about this. Was she blind? I don't think so. She was very insistent and she brought up the whole 'twins thing' at least three or four times though. One possibility is that her limited English vocabulary is clustered around subjects relating to people being twins. Maybe she did a diorama or something on twins in English class. Alternatively she could be colour blind. Or she may have mistaken my "niet" for "no, but please ask me again in 2 to 3 hours when I return". Going to Russia leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions.


great post Cameron, you reminded me of a lot of things,


Andrew