Ulan Ude, Buryatia
We've been in Ulan Ude for 24 hours, and the group is doing well. We have some adventures since I last was able to post, perhaps the most exciting coming during and at the end of our overnight journey on the Trans-Mongolian Express. I'm still interviewing group members to get their versions of their experiences with the Russian Immigration and Customs folks, so that story might take another day or two.
But, just to be sure you understand, preconceptions about Siberia are all falling away. Ulan Ude is a lovely city of 420,000, a place of diverse peoples and of sometimes startling visions.
I'll tease you with one image that ought to suffice for any place on the globe--Lenin's Head. There's a beautiful square right across from the hotel, with flowers and benches and walkways. Soviet Square. And at the east end of it -- looming and staring west is a monster hollow bronze sculpture of Lenin's head. And, yes, he does appear to be slightly cross-eyed. More about this and other wonderful things as time allows. Stay tuned!
We've been in Ulan Ude for 24 hours, and the group is doing well. We have some adventures since I last was able to post, perhaps the most exciting coming during and at the end of our overnight journey on the Trans-Mongolian Express. I'm still interviewing group members to get their versions of their experiences with the Russian Immigration and Customs folks, so that story might take another day or two.
But, just to be sure you understand, preconceptions about Siberia are all falling away. Ulan Ude is a lovely city of 420,000, a place of diverse peoples and of sometimes startling visions.
I'll tease you with one image that ought to suffice for any place on the globe--Lenin's Head. There's a beautiful square right across from the hotel, with flowers and benches and walkways. Soviet Square. And at the east end of it -- looming and staring west is a monster hollow bronze sculpture of Lenin's head. And, yes, he does appear to be slightly cross-eyed. More about this and other wonderful things as time allows. Stay tuned!
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| Lenin's Head, Soviet Square. Ulan Ude, Buryatia, Russian Federation (Siberia) |
