29 Dec 2010
by The Harebeat
in Republic of Buryatia, Russia
Tags: Baikal, Buddhism, Buryat, frozen, hambo lama itigelov, harmony, hitchhiking, Irkutsk, january, lake Baikal, lama, legends, miracle, Moscow, Russia, sacred lake, shamanism, shore, spiritual, Ulan-Ude, winter
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” This quote is from Mark Twain, one of my favourite American writers.. Inspired by him, and by other dreamers, I once realized that if I want my dream come true, I have to go for it.. Many dreamers, and I was one of them, sit in their offices, dream, but never take that first step that will lead them to their dreams.. Then I gave up! I gave up everything.. My job, my study.. An I left for my dream.. For many years I’ve been dreaming of visiting lake Baikal.. On January 19th, 2009, my dream came true!!
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28 Dec 2010
by The Harebeat
in Travel Stories
Tags: cat, criminals, hitchhiking, hungry kitten, Irkutsk, jailbird, kitten, on the road, road, roadside cafe, Russia, siberia, travel, travel stories, traveling, Ulan-Ude, winter
Hitchhiking in Siberia, I would often come across released jailbirds.. As being released they usually have no money, they hitchhike back home.. They are not really dangerous for hitchhikers on the road.. Once one of them even helped me to get a ride when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere at -30°C.. I can’t explain this, but criminals have some kind of special respect for hitchhikers.. It happened so many times when I was in the car with some gangsters, who were eager to help me.. They would offer me food and drinks..
This story happened when I was hitchhiking from Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk with a friend.. We were on KAMAZ truck with a friendly driver.. It was around 4 PM when we stopped at the rest area and went in the roadside cafe to have dinner.. There were not many customers.. We ordered some food and tea, and I went to wash my hands.. When I was washing my hands, a 40-45 years old man entered the cafe.. He wore big black glasses and a fur hat.. Upon seeing me, he said some words in Georgian.. “Gamarjoba.. Genatsvale”..
“Psycho,” I thought of him.. But later, seeing the tattoos on his hands I realized that he was not a psycho at all, but a jailbird, just released..
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27 Dec 2010
by The Harebeat
in Travel Stories
Tags: cafe, coffee, hitchhiking, roadside cafe, Russia, strange people, strange places, travel stories, travelin
“Thank you very much! Goodbye”.. We got off the car and closed the door. Driver started the engine and soon we could only see the car as a dot far ahead.. Me and my friend Wind we were on Tula bypass.. Hitchhiking from Moscow to Kursk wasn’t easy on that cold December day.. There was a cafe on the roadside, so we went in to have lunch..
The owner, a 40 years old man, was very surprised and in the same time happy to see customers..
“Plain rice, carrot salad and 2 cups of coffee, please”..
“Sit down, please, I’ll bring your order”..
Another strange cafe on the road.. How many of them I’ve seen already.. And how many are still waiting for me.. I believe, all the roadside cafe keep some secret that no one knows.. And that’s why they are all strange..
We sat right in front of the TV.. Two old freaks who claimed to be members of Russian Science Academy, were hosting some stupid TV show for children.. Is it because they think children are stupid?.. Or?..
Our order was soon on the table.. I started eating.. Another customer came in.. I was still eating.. And the two old freaks were smiling from the TV screen.. The customer got his order.. Wind was sitting near me.. And I was eating.. Freaks were smiling.. The customer was eating, too.. And Wind was sitting near me.. And it all lasted for 20 minutes.. I called the owner..
“What happened to our coffee?”
He came out of the kitchen and looked at me as if I was his servant and he was angry on me..
“Can’t you wait a bit? I have to cook it, right?”
We were surprised.. It’s been 20 minutes that guy was cooking an…….instant coffee?!.. What’s there to cook?!..
We got our coffee in 10 minutes.. I took one sip.. And called the owner again.. Ha came to us..
“You know what? This coffee is cold,” said I..
“Are you sure?” He was surprised..
“Yes, I’m sure. The coffee is cold”..
He took the cup and drank a bit.. Then he said:
“Indeed! It’s cold.. How strange.. Well, I’ll warm it now, wait a little”..
He took the cups of coffee and put them in microwave oven, and few minutes later brought them back to us.. Neither me nor Wind wanted to drink that coffee.. We took our backpack and left..
25 Dec 2010
by The Harebeat
in Republic of Buryatia, Russia
Tags: Buddhism, Buryat, Buryatia, Chita, deity, hitchhiking, klyukovka, local beliefs of Siberia, offerings, pagan, Russia, siberia, traditions, Ulan-Ude, vodka
Offerings for Deity
This story happened to me when I was hitchhiking from Ulan-Ude to Chita.. I left early in the morning, took a marshrutka (a type of public transportation in Russia) to the road.. I had to walk a little bit along the road to find a good roadside to start hitchhiking.. Got a lift in 5 minutes.. A Buryat family took me to the Kyakhta junction.. While in the car, we talked about Buddhist and local pagan traditions and beliefs of Buryat people.. From Kyakhta junction I had a 30 minutes walk, because there were few cars passing by, and they all were full of passengers.. Maybe there was a holiday, I don’t know.. I kept walking, singing Beatles songs and hoping to catch a ride as it was pretty cold outside..
But soon, realizing that it might take long, I dropped my backpack, took out the thermos with hot tea, thinking of having the second breakfast.. Not so fast, boy!.. At the moment, when I got the thermos, a van passed and stopped on the roadside about 10 meters away.. I was confused.. Is it for me? No, can’t be.. So I opened the thermos, but the van drove back and stopped right at my side, softly touching the backpack.. There were 4 Buryats sitting inside.. One of them opened the window..
“Where are you going?”
“I’m hitchhiking to Chita.. Can you give me a ride?”
“Get in.”
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24 Dec 2010
by The Harebeat
in Republic of Buryatia, Russia
Tags: Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist monastery, Buddhist temple, Buddhist university, Buryatia, datsan, Hambo Lama, hitchhiking, iconography, Itigelov, Ivolga, Ivolginsky datsan, philosophy, tantra, Tibetan Buddhism, Ulan-Ude, yurt
I‘ve been dreaming about visiting Ivolginsky datsan since the time when I watched a short documentary about Hambo Lama Itigelov.. Seeing the beauty of the temple, I decided that I have to go there no matter what.. I mean, no matter how cold are the winters in Siberia.. Ivolginsky datsan is the spiritual capital of the Buddhist traditional sangha of Russia.. The monastery is located in Buryatia, Russia, about 30 km from Ulan-Ude near Verkhnyaya Ivolga village.. On a sunny winter day me and my friend from Ulan-Ude, Sin, took a public bus from Ulan-Ude to Ivolginsky datsan..
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