100908 – Russia, St Petersburg

After a well deserved sleep-in, I packed and ventured out. I wasn't prepared to risk getting lost on the metro, so decided to walk. I'd used the WiFi at the hostel to update my iPhone maps and had plotted out how to get to the joining hostel. With a healthy amount of confidence, I set out. Looking like an over-burdened turtle, I attracted a few looks, but after a little work of mimicing the facial expressions of the locals, I seemed to pass mostly unnoticed.

Nevsky Prospect looked identical to my wanderings of the night before. This has always surprised me a bit, as it is the major night-spot in town. Walking through Northbridge back home is a VERY different experience at night as compared to the day, the glamorous clubs and lights are shown as gaudy, peeling facades with little attraction. Daylight here highlights the architecture and hides the little shops that had been so obvious the night before.

Glimpsing at the screen in my little pack, I followed the red pin and the blipping blue light to the intersection known locally as “Five Corners”. Sounding out the signs, I took what I figured was the correct street and tried to follow the direction of the Trip Notes. I think I found the right doorway, but it was a little non-specific.. there was a big sign with a stylised house on it, I figured that meant “hostel”...

Confidence on a dangerous slope, I retreated to the coffee shop on the corner... I was still a couple of hours too early for check-in and wanted some coffee anyway.. Successfully ordering in english, I sat and typed my blog for as long as the battery would last while enjoying a particularly good Black Forest Cappuccino.

Paying and double-checking the street name (I had been right :D ) I went back to the doorway.. I'd re-read the trip-notes, but it didn't help clarify much. Going on faith, I pushed the combination of buttons and said the magic word.
~bzzzzzz~
Phase one went smooooooothly.

Up the stairs, the doorway opened and indeed I'd been right. Welcome for a new night!

This new hostel also boasted free WiFi, but was much more spacious than the last. Several other Intrepid Travellers for my tour were already here. The two Asian ladies from last night appeared and introduced themselves, the guy from last night was here as well. I met the two other guys who were doing the “long haul” with me, Adam and Andy seem pretty chilled.

The next few hours consisted of meeting everyone, skyping home (It's Mum's birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!!) and Jenny, talking to my new comrades and making plans. The day drew on and I ventured out for US dollars to pay the local payment.

*gah*

While most ATMs in St Petersburg will offer Rubles or US Dollars, I could not find one! I ended out resorting to withdrawing the money at an exchange bank using sign-language :p

Running back to the hostel, I made it to the trip meeting and the usual questions and paper-work began..

Adam, a professional photographer who works half the year in England and spends the rest of the time in Thailand. He is using the trip as a scenic way to get back to Thailand.
Andy, a New Zealander who has been working in the UK for the past few years. He's also using this trip as a long way to get back to NZ.
Liam, Network Admin for a company in Japan. He's originally from Sydney
Natalie, an Aussie who has lived in New Zealand long enough to pick up an accent. She's a vet-nurse.
Greg, an Aussie who works as a psych researcher. He's got a fairly good grounding in some basic medical sciences.
Alice, is Greg's girlfriend. She is a Journalist back home.
Shanika, works in finance in the UK
Presh, Shanika's boyfriend who works in IT in the UK for a telco.
Denesh, is a programmer in the UK and is travelling with Presh and Shanika.
Choo,
Lu-weng, Choo's sister.
ME! I introduced myself as a professional student who had spent this year as an engineer.
Anne is our tour leader, from Thailand, who has been working for Intrepid for 3 years. We don't get a Russian or Chinese leader, as they would have issues with getting visas.

Adam and Andy are the two other guys doing the long haul.

I used the cover of Engineer and Professional Student and left out studying medicine, considering the dramas of the last trip. I quietly informed Anne, in the event of an emergency. Greg seemed pretty well read and willing to be first-aider while Adam was a Master Diver and would have much better hands-on and crisis-management experience than me. I figured I'd fill in Adam and Andy at some point, seeing as we'd be travelling together for nearly 4 months. I was kind of looking forward to being invisible for as long as possible.

Once we had been suitably orientated and paid our local payment, it was off to dinner and the orientation walk. Liam, who had been running late for getting lost, caught up with us just as we started down the street.

Walking through St Petersburg, we got a fair idea of where we were staying, the train station we would be leaving from and the other major sites. While we went, the lights came on as the darkness grew. The city reminded me a great deal of Paris. The buildings standing tall, almost over us as we walked below. The side-walks were as busy as the streets, the density a mix between Madrid and Paris. If it had been as settles as Lille, it would have been bliss.

The girls in Russia can only be described as stunningly beautiful. Tall, slim, immaculately groomed and attired, they bear themselves in a manner that you would expect in most fashion magazines. Across the next week, several of us made the following observations.
Firstly, that almost without exception, the girls were very thin. Anne said that this came from a mix of the weather and quite a restrictive diet. Staying thin appeared to be an ingrained imperative amongst the girls here.
Secondly, their attire and personal possessions were impeccably fashionable. The proportion who were wearing “Perth summer” skirts and shoes, despite an average temperature of 6-10 degrees, was more than half. These girls were absolutely freezing for fashion. They really take it to a new level.
Third.. Though there were a great number of beautiful girls, the gradient of “smiles” to “hard-lipped” was extreme. The beauty of youth and care-free younger years disappear quickly here. Perhaps this is the reason behind the embrace of western fashion..

While we saw a lot of very beautiful girls that we would guess were 18-24 years old, none of us could spot someone we would have said were 25-28. They appeared to jump from 24 to 30. I hope that this is because that age-gap are typically in professional careers or families and hence not walking the city in daylight hours, rather then the suggestion that early-adulthood life is so tough and difficult that they simply loose those years of life. I would like to know, if anyone has an answer..

Dinner was at a restaurant that offered a buffet that you paid per item. This seems to be a trend in Russia. Checking out the entire range, I lashed out on an entire four courses. It was absolute BLISS. After the cuisine that Justine and Isabelle offered me, this was the very best food that I'd been offered. Hearty :D

After dinner (and cake) Anne took us on a walk down Nevsky Prospect. Half of the group took off back to the hostel just after passing the MacDonalds, which was absolutely kicking.. It seems that MacDonalds is the teenager hangout of choice here.. bizarre... Shanika, Presh, Denesh and myself continued on with the tour. Anne took us all the way up to the bridge at the end of Nevsky. Walking through the courtyard in front of the Winter Palace. The size and scope of the place is astounding under the artificial light. On the corner overlooking the water, the Peter and Paul Fortress in the distance, the grandiosity of this city is astounding.

This city is called the Venice of the North. If I'd been to Venice, I'm sure that I would agree.

Heading back to the hostel, Anne went on to give Liam the rest of the briefing that he'd missed. The four of us went to grab a drink nearby.

Slight problem, just about everywhere was shut. Except for one pub.
An Irish pub. Complete with already drunk Japanese businessman and sports channel.

So, before heading back for an EXCELLENT night sleep, one Australian and three Brits drank Vodka, in an Irish Pub, in Russia.

Awesome :D