May 4th, 2003
Russia: Jungle Hores and mafia: Funs and Games
So I eagerly await in the Central station in Helsinki with about 7 other students for something the bus that would take us on a trip to the third world and back. I am warmly greeted by my French buddy Gaspard who is living in Turku (directly west of Helsinki). Anywho, we drive about 3 hours east to Viippuri. A small stop for lunch before we cross the border. We met up with the other 2 busses in the cafeteria. Nice to see old friends.
As we load the bus again, we get our strict instruction from the Finnish supervisiors about the border.. the ones that stick out in my mind are no pictures, no Jokes or laughing, and no funny buisness in general. That was a bit scary in itself. The next time I was afraid was after the passport checks with the smelly officer with the bandaid on his neck, and the guards walking around with knives on their boots and a dirty smelly uniform. It was passing from same old finland with regular forests and trees on the roadsides with well kept farmland and nice homes to garbage heaps on the roadsides, delapitated homes from 100 years ago, mud flooding the streets and terrible highways. We drove another 40 minutes to Vyborg, a formerly Finnish city, lost in WWII, now a rotting broken mess. Half-built appartment complexes, and half destroyed ones. Windows borken out, covered in grafiti, dirty outiside and in, Garbage everywhere, though people still live there, everyday. The bus becomes silent except for a few finger pointing and gasping. We stop at a shop to exchange out money to Roubles. 1 euro = 30 roubles. feels rich holding a 1000pr bill in your hands. I had alrready exchanged my money at an exchange stop in Helsinki so I went into the one shop in this appearantly appandoned city to get some water. Russian water is undrinkable, so we had to buy water for our 4 days in the Big R - Feeling more and more comfortable all the time.
So we continued our trip to a little deeper into this apearent hole in the earth. We drove through the formerly nice part of the St. Petersburg summer houses. These home are all amazing mansions, elaborate architechture and amazing wood work. All of this is slowly falling apart. nothing is in good condition. in between these abandon areas are tiny shanty towns with little huts in a mud puddle, the people outside carrying water, dressed in rags walking like there is no hope. Right in the middle of this local Hell is a massive mansion of a home. brand new, with a 3 meter high stone fence around its courtyard. Perhaps sheltering from the crime, or hiding from the poverty. I know a lot of you are reading this and wondering why its like this. In Russia there is either really really rich, or dirt, bare bones poor. The people with the money have it illeagally.
Russian mafia. though we have enough jokes about it, its very appearent, and very powerful. We drove into St. Petes in the evening around 5. Arriving at the hotel St. Petersburg at 6 o'clock. We get our keys, find the way to our stagnant rooms. We had enough time to check out the Russian TV , all dubbed in Russian, before we were due in the dining room.
Gaspard and I sat down with the 100 other students to caviar starters. I think hiim and I were the only ones who had had it before, and the only ones who enjoy it. We ate our share and a few others who were a little affriad to try it. The meal was some sot of meat.. who knows. anyways it was ateble. washed it all down with bottled water and tea for dessert (I wonder if the tea came from bottled water ;) who knows in russia) The waters looked as if they made their jackets from the lobby carpet. We then stuck pretty close to the Hotel for the night. The Lobby lounge filled with mafia and the extra corner of the lobby just for the hookers was a little too much for me... Oh yeah, trust me, they were hookers. (don't take that the wrong way) That night was a bit late for us.. as Rotary weekends tend to be. By This time the General attitude between the students was 'What the Hell are we doing here, why did they conciosly take us here'. We would find out very soon the next day.
We awoke to a cold, smelly 'DESINFECTED' shower and teeth brushing with our bottled water. Breakfast was nice. can't exactly remember what we had so it couldn't have been too bad.
We stepped back into the busses on an unusually sunny morning and headed out for a 3 hour tour with a russian guide whom had a thick accent. Our first stop was an old fortress, guarding the entrance to the city from waterways that flow from the Gulf of Finland. It was interesting enough. After thet we spent our time touring around the Downtown, seeing the major sites, Too many to count or remember the names of them all. We stopped for lunch at the Motropol. a very high class restaraunt in an amazing hall.. just as elaborate as the Hermitage (read on), Once again, Gaspard and I realy enjoyed the food, but we were the only ones. This time is was some kind of cabage soup. Dessert is some kind of cake with a nice strong Russian coffee, very nice.
The city was jamed with traffic, so it game us enough time to get a nice look at the building and for the Guide to talk about it enough. We spent a couple hours in the Czars Winter Palace which is connected to the Hermitage. moslty all museum now, but its amazing to walk through the 1500 rooms of the place. I got through about 150 or so and was ready for a nap. These rooms are nothing small, massive halls with Gold plated ceilings, walls and Chaldeleres. Marble pillars, elaborate woodwork furniture, extravagent everything. what was displayed in the museum was even more amazing than the buildings. I enjoyed most the Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet pieces. enoough said I think. After out time at the Hermitage, we loaded up again and shipped out to another amazing building where we had an evening know to us as 'Folklore Nght'. Traditional Russian music dancing and singing. It was the best part of the trip in my opinion. Funny and entertaining and cultural all in a 2 hour show. Lots of fun. We went to another restaraunt that evening, Live entertainment.. similar band as the one playing at the previous stop. A few of us tried out hand at damceing like the russians were, talented, I must say.(them, not me)
We went back to the hotel and stayed up too late again. We always make the best of our time though... hahahahhahaha!!!!!!
The next morning we were on our way through St. Petersburg to the Palace of Pavlovski. The summer palace. Even better than the winter palace. Amazing everything. The pictures on the site speak for them self. After these few hours we had lunch at another amazing restaraunt, though to get there we drove through more poverty and more garbage dumps. After lunch as we came back into the city, we arrived upon a massive monement dedicated to the lives lost in the wars. Incredble. It unfathmable the passion beind these statues. the anguish and pain in their faces. the sheer size was in itself amazine. The pictures are still to be developed, you will see them when I do, though the memory of this place is good enough for me, I feel as if the pictures will deminish the signifigence of this place in my mind. But don't worry, thats just psyco-analyzing.
We continued to the main shopping drag of the city. Don't ask me what its called, I can't remember the russian name, but anyways it was huge. A few of us spend the first 15 minutes getting our pictures drawn by some St. Petersburg locals. It was worth the 100 roubles (3 euors, 5 CAD) just to talk to this guy. The thing he said that stands out in my mind the most is his opinion of the capital city. ''Russia in and ass and Mocow is the ass hole''
We spent the rest of the time looking at counterfeit CDs as the heft price of 2 euros each. Most of the americans and Austrailians went straight to KFC, as we don't have that in Finland, we just hung around and looked at clothes and enjoyed the sun and tried to stomach the poverty. Then back to the hotel for diner, then back out to a disco, or just a club anyways. Fun fun, good show too, you other students know what I'm talking about ;)
We were ready take off at 9 30 the next morning. An hour later we arrived at Vyborg again. This time we stopped at the Market-- famous for the roberies, picpocketing and general crime that goes on there. It wasnn't any nicer than the rest of owr trip. Women walking around with babies on their back asking for money, literally taking the money from your hands as take it out to pay for something. The streets are all mud and the building are garbage. We continued to the first of 5 passport checks. quick stop at the duty free shop for some m+ms and a cool drink as it was a comfortable15 degrees outside (yeah yeah, laugh it up you aussies) after the border we had another meal at Viippori and said goodbye to the other 3 busses since we split up from there. a nice end to the trip to another world, just a few kilometers away.
The trip was amazing, I learned a lot. Its true that traveling can still be amazing even if you are going to a place not as nice as your own. Overall, 'the big ass' was a scary, uncertain, unsafe place. nothing is sure, police, sex, crime, drugs are all controlled my the Mafia. Your never comfortable, and its true you are never safe, but its worth the trip, most definitely.
If I had to compare it to anything that I've experienced before it would be crossing US-Mexico border. As little as i remember it, it was similar, but still not to the degree of difference that Russia was. I love Canada, I love Finland. I thank God that I am here and not there, that I don't have to have the hope to continue into the next week just to survive.
Since the trip, 2 weeks ago,i've been sick, stomach and head cold. Its finally dissappearing now. But now I really have to go to sleep, its really late. Enjoy the pictures, there are more coming, and come back within the next week cause I will let you know about the finnish Tradition of Wappu and a bunch of cultural jargin haha. Thats fun. so unitl next time, Kippis (Cheers)
Matthew Odynski
Apologies for the informalness and the spelling errors, its late and MS Word isn't working on this computer so I can't check it, but thats ok, just enjoy, and feedback. e-mail me, its just too easy not too Thanks to all.
