Thoughts Sans Boundaries

Estonia, the land right out of middle ages

Aditya Moorthy — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:34:10 +0000

Am sitting at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Helsinki writing this post. We just arrived in Helsinki and met with the fourth member of our gang (Scott), who was flying in from China to join us in our trip to the Lapland.

This Saturday and Sunday was spent in Tallinn old town in Estonia. The trip to Estonia was one of the spur of the moment decision as we had 2 days in our hands in Helsinki before our friend would meet us. It was a decision well worth the time and effort. There are a number of ferries between Helsinki and Tallinn and it takes about 2 hrs to get to the town. We had booked ourselves in a hotel in the old town area in Tallinn which feels like nothing’s changed since the middle ages. Buildings over 500 years are plenty in this town and the neon lights and souvenir shops gives it away, as modern life exists in this middle age town.

We stayed in a boutique hotel called St. Petersbourg, bang in the middle of the downtown in the old town. Sitting in a cafe that’s housed in a 700 years old tower it was eerie yet exciting. People were quite curious to see us; probably not may from Asia travel to these places or it was just plain curiosity to see a bunch of Indian guys in the middle of winter wandering around as tourists.

Earlier on Saturday, having nothing planned to do for the day, we rented a tiny Toyota car and decided to just drive with no destination in mind.

Turns out that we drove north east of Estonia to a place called Jagala where in the 1980s they discovered one of the oldest graves dating around 3000 BC. There was a tiny museum with the unearthed artifacts on display. Having indulged in some Estonian history, we learnt that there was a waterfall nearby that place and one of the popular tourist destinations in the summer time. We are not the ones to miss a chance to see a water fall and we quickly took directions and were on our way. This water fall called Jagala Juga is the highest waterfall in Estonia. At 8 meters, it was definitely worth the visit. The waterfall was almost frozen save for a small stream trickling down. We managed to walk, slip and slide close to the frozen waterfall and spent some time exploring the stalagmite like formation of the frozen water. @Nat was not too keen to go down the path and he was looking for some locations to shoot the scenery.

The person, from whom we rented the car, suggested that we visit a popular manor and marked the location in the GPS. The way we were driving on impulse, the GPS was constantly showing us the new route to the destination and we decided anyway to go there. It happens to be about 70 Kms north east of Tallinn and by the time we reached the place it was getting dark and started to snow. It so happens that Estonia has over 1300 such manors all over the country. It was in fashion to build these in the 17th – 19th century by wealthy individuals to be used as summer houses. Today they are tourist attractions and serves as a source of income to many small establishments in and around that area.

It was quite dark by then and we decided to stop for a quick bite at a nearby restaurant. We had excellent food prepared by a German guy. His restaurant was called The Coffee Pot in the Land of Bays (the English version of his Estonian name). It was a pleasant experience to find vegetarian food in almost all of the restaurants we’ve had food so far.

We finally reached the hotel at around 6 in the evening, returned the car and started to explore the old town on foot till late into the night.

First glimpse of the land of thousand lakes

Aditya Moorthy — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:44:03 +0000

Just landed in Helsinki and encountered a beautiful and perfect weather. -3 celcius, sunny and mild breeze. Last February I was at the cold land of Russia and this year it is the Nordic country. Pretty much the same gang minus couple of guys. @nat, @aish, @scott and I.

Took this picture from the plane with bright sunshine just before mid-day above the Helsinki airport. Few pleasant surprises, English is spoken by most people I’ve encountered so far, restaurants have vegetarian options and the airport is just nice, small cozy and nice coffee place to sit and browse with free Internet!

Once @aish arrives, we plan to take the bus to the harbour and a ferry to Tallinn. Two days there and then off to north Finland and hope we catch a glimpse of the northern lights.

Nine

Aditya Moorthy — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:48:27 +0000

Nine churches in one location; that used to be the St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow. Built in the 1550s, this building is no longer a church (as far as my understanding goes) and is the centre of attraction for anyone visiting the Red Square. We did the pilgrimage too and it was time and effort well spent. This building that looks like a collection of lollipops looks awesome in winter with snow-capped roofs. This picture was taken just before we left the Red Square. At the time we arrived, this place was filled with tourists and one could hardly get a decent photo without someone distracting the picture with their presence. After our visit, we went over to a cafe nearby (rather inside the Red Square itself) and when we stepped out, we were surprised to see the square empty. I believe some politician was about to visit and they cleared the place for security reasons. Time to get the camera out and we shot some decent images without any people in it. But unfortunately we couldn’t be bang in the centre to get the building in the right perspective. Nevertheless, this was one of my decent shots.

St. Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Moscow, 22nd February 2010

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Aditya Moorthy — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:23:04 +0000

It’s not always you watch a famous movie and experience something in life that fits the title of the movie perfectly. That’s exactly what happened to us in our trip. We encountered four weddings in different places and came close to a funeral. Well, I am cheating here a bit. But let me tell you the story first.

Our first wedding encounter was at Ekaterinburg. We were walking to a church and just when we reached the stairs, we saw a couple who were just married, getting into a car. I was a bit too late to get my camera out so I could only get a shot of them just before they got into the car. @nat was quick and he has a very good shot of the couple.

Wedding No. 1 - Married couple getting into the car, Ekaterinburg, Russia, 20th February 2010

The second wedding was again in Ekaterinburg but this time it was more interactive. We were walking along an isolated park, knee-deep in snow. We came across two guys drinking champagne standing next to a big van. They smiled at us and enquired where we were from. Initially we weren’t too thrilled to talk to them thinking they must be drunk as they had the bottle in their hands with plastic cups for drinking. But courtesy demands and we said hello and were looking for a quick exit. Just when we were about to walk away after the pleasantries, they asked us to wait. Remember all this not in fluent English but just enough to understand each other. So we stopped and the guys opened the van door and one of them walked in and after a few seconds, a big bunch of people, men and women , got out of the van. And finally out came the just married couple. Apparently they had just finished the wending proceedings and took a break to have a drink and celebrate near the park. We realised our apprehension was unfounded and enjoyed a nice conversation and photo session with them. Below is a picture of the bride and the groom.

Wedding No. 2 - Bride and groom at a park, Ekaterinburg, Russia, 20th February 2010

The 3rd wedding encounter was beautiful. We were in Moscow inside the Red Square, walking towards the St. Basil’s Cathedral. It was snowing mildly that day. Close your eyes and imagine the scene. Mild snowfall, ground carpeted with snow in a large open space with the colourful St. Basil’s Cathedral as the backdrop. Here was a newly married couple dancing in the snow for their photographer to shoot pictures. I didn’t waste anytime and shot a few pictures myself. I like this one the best.

Wedding No. 3 - Bride and groom dancing in snow, Red Square, Moscow, 22nd February 2010

The next stop in the trip was St. Petersburg. And the most important place to visit in St. P is the Hermitage. It is a museum today with innumerable artworks. More on that in another post. This is where we encountered the next wedding couple. Unfortunately, for wedding number 4, I don’t have any pictures. But @nat took them. I was running out of battery and storage space in my camera and there was so much to take in that place. I had to make the tough choice and decided not to fire away.

Finally the funeral bit. I fudged a bit when I said we experienced everything. We didn’t see any funeral, thankfully. But we did see the Lenin’s tomb in Red Square and that makes up all I need to put a catchy title to my blog! Here’s a picture of it.

Lenin's tomb, Red Square, Moscow, 22nd February 2010

Cold war between Russia and America?

Aditya Moorthy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:51:37 +0000

Who says Americans and Russians don’t get along. All my life I grew up hearing the differences between the USA and erstwhile USSR and how they started an arms and space race. That may have been true in the 60s or even up to the 90s but the Russia today is a very different place and they don’t hold any grudge against anyone, atleast from my perspective. We visited the Red Square on the 22nd of February and the emotions I experienced was something unique. I grew up studying about Trans Siberian Railway in my Geography lessons, enjoyed Misha children’s magazines, bought books publised by the MIR Publications that sold at phenomenolly cheap prices and had a poster of the St. Basil’s Cathedral next to the Kremlin in my bedroom wall for many years. When it really happened and I was about to enter the Red Square, I was thrilled… hmm for two reasons. One, I just mentioned and the second, to see this in front of the Red Square…

Homer Simpson posing for photo with a young Russian girl, Red Square, Moscow, 22nd February 2010

Ahem… and do I spot Sponge Bob in the next photo…

Homer Simpson and Sponge Bob galavanting at Red Square, Moscow, Russia, 22nd February 2010

Beautiful People

Aditya Moorthy — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:26:08 +0000

Russians seem to have a natural flair for fashion. It is not surprising to see most people walking on the streets and dressed as if they are on their way to a party or some event. They don’t dress expensive if that’s what you are thinking. Some do of course, you can see some ostentatious display of fur (which I frown upon though) but most of them are dressed in simple clothes and winter wear. But what adds to the fashion flair is the way they carry it. Apart from the fact that people (especially women; of course I am biased here are very beautiful, the dressing style just accentuates their innate beauty. If you are keen to see more people pictures and fashion, go to @nat’s picasaweb album. But today I am not going to be posting and talking about beautiful women, but about kids – they are simply adorable as anywhere in the world.

Kids playing in a playground made of ice, Irkutsk, Russia, 17th February 2010

We came across a some ice sculptures in the middle of the town in Irkutsk. It was late afternoon and a bunch of kids with their parents were having fun in the playground in which everything was made of ice. A brother and sister duo were coming down the ice slide and I fortunately had my camera ready.

Click on the pictures to see the full versions.

Numbed in Novosibirsk

Aditya Moorthy — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:54:11 +0000

Traveling over 12,000 kilometers by train across a vast country like Russia leaves you with countless impressions that I’m afraid will fade over time. Photos can be a great trigger to get those memories back and little snippets of experiences that make the journey worthwhile.

Traveling from Irkutsk to Ekaterinburg, we stopped at several small stations along the way, met wonderful people, shared stories about our lives and philosophised about many things under the sun. One such person was Ilya who spoke a little bit of English and worked in a coal mine in northern Siberia with temperatures going below -60 celsius. Ilya was a nice companion who said something that made a lot of sense to us as our journey progressed. According to him, Siberia was the heart of Russia, Ekaterinburg the intellect, St. Petersburg the face of Russia and Moscow its wallet. How very true! Below is a photo of him when he said goodbye in Novosibirsk station.

I especially like this photo even though it wouldn’t stand a chance for quality photography. It was one of the very few pictures we have of Ilya, and the picture gives a surreal feeling with the wind and snow, late in the evening mixed with happiness and sadness of forming new friendship and parting quite shortly.

Surreal moment in the station. Bidding goodbye to Ilya. Novosibirsk, Russia, 18th February 2010

(L to R) @aish, @nat, @ilya and @pradeep

Update: Extremely saddened by the bomb blasts in Moscow. We were there in the Lubyanka station more than once while commuting within the city. May the dead rest in peace and their kith and kin be able to bear the loss of their dear ones. Violence is never the answer for any problem. It is sheer madness and we can only hope for a society in future that is free of violence and people matured enough to deal differences through dialogue.

Stairway to Heaven

Aditya Moorthy — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 03:15:50 +0000

Before we left for Moscow, I read a number of articles on the Internet about the Moscow subway and how beautiful they are. I had high expectations and I was not disappointed. In many ways, the subway experience will remain in my memory for a long time to come. Although the Singapore subway is arguably one of the best in the world, I always found it to be kept that way with a lot of effort both by the companies operating it and the government with strict laws. I am not a proponent of rebellious behaviour but sometimes too much of shepherding can get to you after a while. Non stop announcements as to how we should report strange unattended baggage, how we should mind our step when we get out, in loud speakers can be quite annoying. Moscow has, what I call the people train system where you are responsible for your actions. There is no loud announcements as to how you should behave on the train, no warning signs that says not to cross the yellow line, but people automatically do the right things. They are of course not as clean as Singapore’s subway but I liked it the way it was because, the level of cleanliness was something that people maintained without being threatened with a huge fine for drinking water inside the train.

Very long escalator ride, Moscow, Russia, 22nd February 2010

The trains also run quite deep underground. I timed my escalator ride and it was a good 2 minutes before I got off the escalator at the other end. Most train stations are decorated with frescos, artifacts and chandeliers. They run every three minutes and the timing was perfect. Russian train system can give a stiff competition to Japanese trains with regard to punctuality. Below is the shot of a fresco at the entrance of a subway.

Moscow art with snow and a lovely couple, Moscow, Russia, 22nd February 2010

Click on these images to see the enlarged version.

Strangers in Moscow

Aditya Moorthy — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:40:40 +0000

In the entire trip we experienced weather changes from -2 to -34 degrees celsius. Moscow was the first place where the temperatures eased a bit and when we arrived from Ekatrinburg, the temperature was about -3 or so and it was snowing heavily. Below is a photo of three of the six member gang – @nat, @aish and @pradeep. We had to look away from the way wind was blowing as we kept catching the snow in our eyes. This picture was taken right outside the Moscow railway station while we were waiting for the taxi.

(L to R) @nat, @pradeep, @aish - Strangers in Moscow, 22nd February 2010

One of the good things about this trip was that everyone enjoyed long walks and we took full advantage of it. Below is a photo taken while we were crossing a park. It was snowing mildly and the temperature was just nice for us to enjoy the day walking across the city of Moscow.

Pack of six cutting across the park, 22nd February 2010

Fire in the Sky

Aditya Moorthy — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 04:57:40 +0000

When we booked the flight tickets to Vladivostok, we had to find a balance between a not so long flight and cost. Since it was around the Chinese New Year time, any flights via Korea, Japan or Hong Kong was impossible. It was prohibitively expensive. @nat as usual did his research and got tickets for us via Dubai. But we never imagined the strain the long flight was going to put us through. We flew from Singapore-Colombo-Dubai-Moscow-Vladivostok. It was nearly 24 hours of continuous flying. I ended up getting some sort of red spots all over my leg when I reached Vladivostok. But hey, everything turned out alright and I recovered in a day or so.

Dawn at Dubai, 12th February, 2010

This photo was taken at the Dubai airport while we were boarding the flight to Moscow. I love the colours the sky throws up at dawn and dusk.