04 Mar 2011
by The Harebeat
in Travel Stories
Tags: border crossing, elephants, food container, Lviv, Moscow, Russia, soup, train, travel, travel stories, trip, Ukraine
In the train from Moscow, Russia to Lviv, Ukraine
Usually I don’t take trains when I travel.. No matter what.. I don’t like trains.. Maybe I just spent too much time wandering on the roads.. Or there’s something else I don’t understand yet.. It’s hard to say.. But even if it’s -45°C cold, I prefer to hitchhike..
Nevertheless, when my friend suggested me to take the train from Moscow to Lviv, I agreed.. I had some good reasons for that and the main one was my poor health as each of seventy something days I spent in Russia I was sick.. Even now sitting in a half lotus posture with The Armenoinds on my player and typing these letters for you to read – I am still sick.. Cold weather is something I have to learn to deal with after living one year in South East Asia.. But let’s go back to the train..
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21 Jan 2011
by The Harebeat
in Travel Stories
Tags: alone, Armenia, Armenian, hitchhiking, lonely man, road, Russia, siberia, soulmate, taiga, tea, travel stories, Tulun, winter
It was getting dark when I got off the truck near the little Siberian town called Tulun.. Having no wish to walk through Tulun, I decided to stay near the petrol station hoping to get a ride in a short time.. The weather was quite windy and with -30°C it was almost impossible to be on the road.. I had no hot tea in the thermos, I had no food.. And I was just jumping and dancing at the roadside, trying to warm myself when a man who seemed to be a security guard came to me.. His face was very Armenian, and I thought that it’s nice to meet an Armenian guy here in this far land..
He smiled and asked, “How many kilometers?”
His accent confirmed my guess.. He was an Armenian..
“I’m now coming from Irkutsk, but I’m from Moscow, hitching back home,” I replied and realised that my answer had nothing to do with the question..
“From Moscow? But it’s very cold outside..” He looked surprised..
“I got used to it.” Humans can get used to everything.. Cold weather comparing to wars and killings is just nothing.. My thoughts were running far..The stranger took a long look at me.. I noticed a deep sadness in his big black eyes..
“I see.. Would you like a cup of hot tea?”
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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..
07 Oct 2010
by The Harebeat
in Travel Stories
Tags: Armenia, donuts, elephants, hitchhiking, Moldova, travel stories, traveling, traveling partner, Vasya the Elephant, Yerevan
Most of the travel stories we read are usually about different cities, countries, cultures, etc. Of course, it’s interesting to read about the life in other countries or about the adventures of the traveler.. What I’ve found is that only few travelers write stories about their travel partners with whom they wander around the world.. I’m sure that the travel partners can be as well interesting for readers as the countries and cultures.. That’s why today I want to write about my traveling partner.. He’s traveling with me more than a year now.. His name is Vasya.. And he’s an elephant..
~Vasya the Elephant~
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