Sunday, April 20, 2014
Faces explained.
Not sure if I've explained this already or not. I find incredible stories in the faces of the people where I travel. When I did this in India it was an enlightening experience. Those photos still never fail to make me smile. I try to ask as many Russians as I can for permission to take their picture. Some of them I know very well, others are strangers. They are all beautiful in their own way and speak about their amazing country like no words ever could. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as I do.
April 9, Arrival in Kazan.
After 22 hours on the train, we arrived in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, around 1:45 in the afternoon.
This ride was one in which we had a lot of providnitza attention. They would come by with a basket of souvenirs---then a basket of cookies,candy etc. There was a pretty big language barrier and we knew we were touristy looking, but we all got along very well. They finally came by near evening with a wine list....after some haggling, I chose a Spanish red wine that looked OK---750 ml---not too expensive for here...400 roubles or $12. I ordered 2. It was a long ride and we had a ways to go. The providnitza looked at me and basically implied that I wouldn't need 2, that they were big bottles. All in Russian of course. Five minutes later she shows up with 1 bottle of airplane sized, 300 ml, wine. THAT is what was $12 apparently.....though I swear it said 750ml on the menu----AND she had with her hands and speech that it was a big bottle. Whatever. We didn't argue. We had ample stores of anything we needed. After that, door locked. They were very nice, but visited us a little too often.
Also on this train we had the typical Russian 1980s meets techno meets Neil Diamond disco music going and we couldn't stop it. Windows did not open either, but we were assured there was in house ventilation. Trains can get more than a little stuffy and many Russians smoke like chimneys in the place between cars and this can pervade the senses after a while. I didn't sleep that well on this ride, the train was a little jolty. In the morning my back really hurt. I don't fit all that well in train sized accommodations. In the middle of the night, someone cleaned their dinner plate in the bathroom sink, blocked it up, filled it with water. It was sloshing all over the bathroom for a few hours. I felt bad but I wasn't going to fix it. Apparently one of the Providnitzas did overnight. Tough job.
Our friend, Stepan, who apparently has connections in every town in Russia, texted me saying that someone he knew would meet us at the train and help us to our hotel. We roll into Kazan, exit the train with relief, and there is a young lady named Ksenia waiting for us on the platform. Whenever someone meets you at the train here, they can pick you out from the crowd VERY easily. She walked right up and said, "Mr. Corrigan"? She didn't know Stepan directly, but was part of a network of young people who had volunteered at the "Kazan Universiade" in 2013, this huge cultural and athletic event with participants from over 160 countries. Artyum, who you can see in some of my student photos also volunteered at this event. Anyway, Ksenia took immediate charge, marched us out of the station(which by the way is more confusing that those in bigger cities---multiple levels, tracks, stairs, elevator), brusquely shooed away a group of cabbies, and off we went. I had figured out a route to walk to the hotel---about 1km away---before I knew we would have an escort. We did not go the way I planned. Instead we headed toward a kind of industrial/shopping area heading towards the river. The girls were pulling large suitcases and we did some off-road traveling at times. Ksenia pointed out some of the city landmarks, cut us through a McDonald's parking lot, and headed us toward what we recognized as the Kazan Kremlin. Then a good uphill climb on roads heading up to this. She explained many things about the city on this excursion, and I knew we were headed toward our hotel which was down the street a bit from the Kremlin. Soon she dropped us off, said goodbye, explained that some other people would call us at 3pm for sightseeing! This did not happen. We were exhausted. When a young woman called and texted me at 3pm, I politely asked if we could reschedule. She was very gracious, asking could she bring her friends, and we made plans to meet the next day. Some photos of our first day in Kazan to follow.
This ride was one in which we had a lot of providnitza attention. They would come by with a basket of souvenirs---then a basket of cookies,candy etc. There was a pretty big language barrier and we knew we were touristy looking, but we all got along very well. They finally came by near evening with a wine list....after some haggling, I chose a Spanish red wine that looked OK---750 ml---not too expensive for here...400 roubles or $12. I ordered 2. It was a long ride and we had a ways to go. The providnitza looked at me and basically implied that I wouldn't need 2, that they were big bottles. All in Russian of course. Five minutes later she shows up with 1 bottle of airplane sized, 300 ml, wine. THAT is what was $12 apparently.....though I swear it said 750ml on the menu----AND she had with her hands and speech that it was a big bottle. Whatever. We didn't argue. We had ample stores of anything we needed. After that, door locked. They were very nice, but visited us a little too often.
Also on this train we had the typical Russian 1980s meets techno meets Neil Diamond disco music going and we couldn't stop it. Windows did not open either, but we were assured there was in house ventilation. Trains can get more than a little stuffy and many Russians smoke like chimneys in the place between cars and this can pervade the senses after a while. I didn't sleep that well on this ride, the train was a little jolty. In the morning my back really hurt. I don't fit all that well in train sized accommodations. In the middle of the night, someone cleaned their dinner plate in the bathroom sink, blocked it up, filled it with water. It was sloshing all over the bathroom for a few hours. I felt bad but I wasn't going to fix it. Apparently one of the Providnitzas did overnight. Tough job.
Our friend, Stepan, who apparently has connections in every town in Russia, texted me saying that someone he knew would meet us at the train and help us to our hotel. We roll into Kazan, exit the train with relief, and there is a young lady named Ksenia waiting for us on the platform. Whenever someone meets you at the train here, they can pick you out from the crowd VERY easily. She walked right up and said, "Mr. Corrigan"? She didn't know Stepan directly, but was part of a network of young people who had volunteered at the "Kazan Universiade" in 2013, this huge cultural and athletic event with participants from over 160 countries. Artyum, who you can see in some of my student photos also volunteered at this event. Anyway, Ksenia took immediate charge, marched us out of the station(which by the way is more confusing that those in bigger cities---multiple levels, tracks, stairs, elevator), brusquely shooed away a group of cabbies, and off we went. I had figured out a route to walk to the hotel---about 1km away---before I knew we would have an escort. We did not go the way I planned. Instead we headed toward a kind of industrial/shopping area heading towards the river. The girls were pulling large suitcases and we did some off-road traveling at times. Ksenia pointed out some of the city landmarks, cut us through a McDonald's parking lot, and headed us toward what we recognized as the Kazan Kremlin. Then a good uphill climb on roads heading up to this. She explained many things about the city on this excursion, and I knew we were headed toward our hotel which was down the street a bit from the Kremlin. Soon she dropped us off, said goodbye, explained that some other people would call us at 3pm for sightseeing! This did not happen. We were exhausted. When a young woman called and texted me at 3pm, I politely asked if we could reschedule. She was very gracious, asking could she bring her friends, and we made plans to meet the next day. Some photos of our first day in Kazan to follow.
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