| The first day of our month-long trans-Siberian journey |
Warning:
There's a lot of writing on this page. |
|
Malaysia
- Beijing
(pg 1) - Xian -
Beijing
(pg
2) - Train to Mongolia -
In
Mongolia - Irkutsk - Moscow - St.
Petersburg |
|
| May 31st, 2004 We left New Delhi on Sunday, after a long and tear-soaked day of goodbyes. Mark and Katie and I went out -- not bike riding this time, since his bike was already packed away and in his shipment to the US -- but driving around for some last-minute touring. We went to the Qutab Minar, an ancient mosque complex; the Begumpur Mosque in South Delhi, and one last cup of coffee at Barista. Then after a quick shower, we all went out for brunch at TKs, the Japanese restaurant. Katie, Tricia, Jan, Mark and Jen and their baby Aidan, and Kathy -- it was her birthday, so in addition to a goodbye lunch, it was a birthday party. It's a champagne brunch, with unlimited refills of Spanish sparkling wine. Great food and our closest friends. We watched one final movie at home before leaving for the airport -- Nemesis Game, which was pretty good. Then one last check of the bags, and passports, and it was off to the airport. Because of the luggage limitations on the train, we could only take one bag each. Imagine packing up a small backpack with everything you'll need for the next two months! Not to mention, Siberia and Tucson are just about as opposite climactically as you can get. We decided that it'd be easier just to pack for China and Siberia, then buy new clothes in the states -- rather than carry Arizona clothes around with us for the next month. Anyway, after all the champagne, we had a slightly tipsy afternoon, and then had a few more beers in the Delhi airport. It's one of the world's worst airports -- there's only one place to get food, and it's a tea stand that also sometimes has food when it's open. I managed to fight my way through the "line" to the front a couple of times. Tricia wanted potato chips -- they were out. I went back, got in line, elbowed my way up to order samosas. Either they were out or the samosa machine was broken. Either way, no food. But the duty free shop sells cold beer, so you can get a can of Tiger beer for 50 cents. It's the best deal on cold beer anywhere in India, and the only place in the country where you can buy a Tiger beer. By the time we got on board, I was ready to sleep. I don't usually sleep on planes. Mostly that's due to the lack of room. I can't straighten my legs, let alone lay down comfortably. But we lucked out and got an exit row, so I could stretch out. The flight left at 11pm, and landed in Kuala Lumpur 5 hours later. I slept almost the whole way there. Tricia got sucked into a bad Indian or Malay movie. Since it was subtitled, she didn't even have to put on the headphones -- just read the screen. We had a full day In Malaysia. Just caught a taxi to Dave's house, let ourselves in (he hid a key for us) and crashed in his bed from about 9 a.m. to 11. He came home for lunch, and we had just enough time to wake up, head down to the mall, and grab some lunch. We ate at Chili's -- dinner salads and nachos. Dave had to get back to school for his afternoon class, but we had 3 hours at the mall to shop while he was gone. Tricia got some MAC lipstick. We almost went to a movie, but decided against it. The lines were really long, and just the edges of the line were claustrophobic. But there were lots of movies playing -- Van Helsing, Day After Tomorrow, Troy, Shrek 2 -- they open worldwide nowadays, to cut down on piracy. I guess it was a Malay school holiday, because the place was packed with kids all wanting to see the new movies. It was Memorial Day, but I doubt that they get a school holiday in Kuala Lumpur for that!!! |
 |
 |
| Sure, lamb sandwich is an "Old Southern Delicacy." Maybe Southern Malaysia! | |
| Malaysia's famous Petronas Towers |
We met back up with Dave after some shopping and eating. What did I notice this time about the mall . . . Auntie Anne's pretzels has a green tea frappucino-type drink. There was a bagel place with a durian smoothie. Lots of high end clothes - Zegna, Boss, Tag. Fun to window shop. Oh, about the airplane. Maybe it's because globalization, reduced air fares, and increased flight schedules have opened the world up to new travelers. Maybe it's because the increasing standard of living in India and Southeast Asia allow more people to fly. Maybe it's because we were sitting near the bathroom. But we noticed an inordinate number of people having difficulty getting into the airplane toilets. The door folds in half. It says "push" in three languages. A gentle push will pop it right open. Yet these people -- and these were nicely dressed adults -- not illiterate farmers or clueless teenagers -- stood there trying to figure it out. They ran their hands over the surface of the door, feeling for a handle. They played with the metal "lavatory" sign -- the only surface that protrudes from the door -- thinking that perhaps twisting it would somehow pop the door open like a secret entrance in Scooby Doo. I saw four different people put their fingers into the niche that goes from red (occupied) to green (vacant,) feeling with their fingers to get a hold that would allow them to pull the door open using the green lettering. Two separate people (an Indian lady on the flight to Malaysia and a Chinese man on the flight to Beijing) disengaged the door from the track that it slides on. They each had the same modus operandi -- since the only movable part of the door is the tiny flip switch at the very top corner of the door, it might provide the clue to the operation and allow access to the secret chamber within. By using their thumbnails to pry down the flip, they pulled the roller inside off the track, allowing the door to swing freely into the aisle, thereby gaining entrance. Good thing no one was in there, because I think that's also the secret opening switch the stewardesses use to get people out of the bathroom if they pass out or die inside. Nearly every third or fourth person trying to go to the bathroom had difficulty in one way or another opening the door. Usually the stewardesses would push the door for them as they walked past delivering drinks to passengers. Oh, and so many people sat in the darkness inside, unable to figure out how to lock the door, and thereby turn on the light. More than once, when I went up to go, there was someone inside, behind the green Vacant sign, pushing the door closed with their hands. Wacky. I think that for a lot of people, this weekend was their life's first airplane flight. I laugh now, but in two weeks, that'll be me, unable to figure out the taps on the Siberian sink, or trying to wash my hair with tea water from a samovar, or some other equally silly "clueless traveler" faux pas of my own. When Dave came back to the mall, he brought Darryl and Michael with him -- friends we had met at Thanksgiving when we last visited. Nice guys. We sat at this great bar on the ground floor drinking "towers of beer." The mall is in the Petronas Tower complex -- the tallest buildings in the world -- so you can order a 3-liter giant tube of beer with a tap at the bottom. Then you fill up your glasses at the table. It's fun. Well, the first two are fun. But the sixth one is more of a mistake. We had already been running on lack of sleep and too much alcohol, and then this pushed us a bit over the edge. Luckily, we didn't miss our flight or anything. We made it back to Dave's, Tricia slept for ten minutes, Dave and Michael and I ate some pizza (takeaway from the California Pizza Kitchen in the mall). Dave's taxi-driving friend was waiting for us, took us to the airport, and we caught our flight no problem. Well, the main problem was waiting for it -- it was about 9:30 and the flight didn't leave until about midnight. This flight wasn't nearly as comfortable, and neither of us slept much. When we landed in Beijing, we headed straight for our hotel. Luckily we were able to check in early, and crashed for several hours. The taxi driver pulled a slight scam on us -- never take any taxi drivers who are waiting for foreigners inside the airport. |
Malaysia
- Beijing
(pg 1) - Xian -
Beijing
(pg
2) - Train to Mongolia -
In
Mongolia - Irkutsk - Moscow - St.
Petersburg