Day 134, Touchdown Day -1
We've bonded, we've grown, we've laughed and we've cried - and we've certainly come together in a way that only friends who hear news secondhand through an amateur website can; but today is the last travel day - 19 weeks to the day since Jules and I set out from Shiga-ken in Japan.
I'm holed up in Chris and Vika's flat here in Moscow, after a whirlwind journey around town, ready to fly out tomorrow morning on a Trans Aero IL-96, direct to London. With recent family events, as well as my motivation to stick it out on the train being eroded by the fact that I'm now only a few hours from my final destination, I have decided to fly, meaning my final overland distance tally will come in at approximately 16,469kms. I have gone further than I could ever have imagined, and the offers of 'cats on laps' and other assorted Xmas cheer is too hard to resist.
From there I will attempt to maintain some of the glory of my previous travels by writing about ordinary life in a less than ordinary way. Bear with me, as I'll be less interesting, but trying harder.
Moscow has been a blast, it's easily one of the best places I've ever been. I've seen one statue of Dostoevesky, two of Karl Marx, and at least 15 of Comrade Lenin. We've been assaulted by the ticket inspector on the bus, resulting in a fantastic showdown with Chris doing some great work for the team. I've eaten at an Uzbekistani restaurant with a Sausage Casing entrepreneur while watching belly dancers, seen dogs begging in the metro (no, that's not a typo) and sampled the delights of the Metro system. The Seven Sisters buildings are incredible, as is the Academy of Sciences building, as is all of the Kremlin and the famous St. Basil's Cathedral.
I've enjoyed Russian music videos (think pigtailed milkmaids, oily monarchs, and aaaaaaging stars with dangerously young girls), pel'meni, and classical architecture. I've been so well looked after by Chris and Vika that I'm thinking of leaving them some property in the south of France.
Above it all, I miss my trusty volleyball, Julie. She's just boarded the train from Mongolia (where she cracked her tooth eating a meatball) and will arrive here a few days after I leave. Why we decided to travel our separate ways for this part of the journey is beyond me, but I expect the countdown to our reunion will be a feature of future postings.
This time tomorrow I will be washed, unpacked, and parked up at Bec and Mike's in sunny Reading, London Towne - reflecting on the last four months and whether or not I managed to 'find myself'. I'll spare you wry witticisms in summation of my time travelling for The Christmas Special Issue, but know that every topic will be covered as Bec, Mike and I catch up on over two years of not seeing one another. For all the rest of you, take a number and join the queue on the M1 headed to their house...
More detail to follow on Russia in the special photo edition of the blog, and keep checking for the aforementioned Christmas Special.
Your man, looking forward to finally not having to carry toilet paper everywhere,
Arch :)
2 Comments:
Yo Arch! Give us a bell when you hit the shores of blighty - 0114 2669790.
until then matey - Ben
"You'll never walk alone"
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