olia:
Russia/Mong ty,
itali
Ample hosp nd
a
with no Wifi y
t
vodka aplen
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
B1
Travelogues
‘Living vicariously through the adventures of our friends’
‘We are settling down on our first night when we are visited by the owner’s daughter,
her baby girl and her friend. They come bearing Mongolian beer. So fun to find oneself in a
foreign countryside, in humble surroundings, sharing life in broken sentences.’
Steppes in the right direction: making
new friends via Tran-Siberian railway
By JONATHAN MALETZ
It started as a casual con-
versation. We were spending
a long weekend at the coast
with some good friends.
Out of the blue, my friend
Dan asked me if I’d ever be
interested in riding the
Trans-Siberian Railroad. I
didn’t know if he was bluff-
ing, but the next thing I
knew, I was ordering a Lone-
ly Planet guidebook. Seven
months later, Dan and I em-
barked on a two week jour-
ney that included time in
Moscow and Mongolia
(where my son, Elijah, has
lived for the past year) as
well as four days and five
nights on the Trans-Siber-
ian. Following are a few
‘snap shots’ from our travels.
Welcome to Moscow:
Arriving at the airport in
Moscow, leaving customs
and scanning the proffered
placards. Which one is our
driver? We pre-booked a ride,
so where is the ‘Godzilla’s
Hostel’ sign? Nowhere.
That’s okay, we’re early. Until
we weren’t and it wasn’t. I
brought the hostel’s phone
number just in case. All that
was lacking was a phone.
Look. There’s a nice looking
English speaking family.
And the dad has a phone! An
act of kindness later and a
five minutes phone call and
we are on our way via taxi to
the hostel. The gal at recep-
tion is so apologetic. I keep
telling her, “It’s OK, no prob-
lem”. Five minutes later she
shows up at our room with a
bottle of vodka and more
apologies. I accept the vodka
with pleasure, grin and say,
“Now, no more apologies.” In
Russia two hours and I’m al-
ready being given vodka!
Language matters:
I ask the vodka friendly
front desk at our hostel to re-
serve us a taxi to take us to
the train station, about a 20
minute ride. Just to be safe, I
plan to get to the station an
hour early. The Trans-Siber-
ian only runs every few days.
I’m waiting in the hostel
lounge when my traveling
companion, Dan, calls out
that our taxi is here. Wow.
Ten minutes early. Go
Moscow. I toss my luggage in
the trunk and off we go. Only
one problem. Dan doesn’t
speak any Russian. We go a
few blocks when I say to our
driver, “We go to train, yes?”
in broken Russian. The next
thing I know, he’s on his cell
phone and then hitting the
brakes. Our hostel is in a
See JONATHAN, Page B12
MOSCOW AND BEYOND: Red
Square’s ornate onion dome ar-
chitecture; writer Jonathan
Maletz poses with a portrait of
Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin;
a hearty meal of mutton and
sides in Mongolia, and the poet-
ic beauty of Lake Baikal, in
south Siberia, the world’s deep-
est lake.
■
“Travelogues” in recent issues
have taken readers to places as
disparate as Finland, Alaska and
Borneo. Have you had a travel
adventure, with photos, you
care to share? Send your idea to
editor Kirby Neumann-Rea,
hrnews@hoodrivernews.com
Photos by Jonathan Maletz