Travelling Vol. Russia
My family never fails to take 2 weeks or so off in a year to travel abroad, slowly ticking off places we been to from the world map. We’ve been to countries in the Asia continents such as Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia.
Other places outside of Asia include Australia, United States of America, Dubai, Egypt and the marvellous countries of Scandinavia which are Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Switzerland, Italy and Germany are on the list too.
Among all of these countries our family visited, I was not with them every single time, the members of family being 14 in number, we are a rather big group and naturally not everyone shares same taste and same vacation time of the year. So, there were countries we went together as one whole group and also occasions that we split and went on differently.
This year as of 2014 however, as one complete group of family we decided to make a stop in Russia, the largest country on the planet with approximately 17,075,400 square kilometres of land.
16th April, 2014
It’s 10:30 am local time as we are heading to the old Moscow which is about 71km away from the new Moscow.
The time we landed in the former USSR was 2 days ago. A long and daunting not less than 10 hours flight from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport with a Russian airline called Aeroflot.
14th April, 2014
5 pm was the local time when we entered the immigration. We were welcomed by a strong gust of wind with a temperature of 5'C at Moscow, it was refreshing to say the least.
Day 1
Marriott is the place where we will be staying for the next 3 nights during our visit in Moscow.
It was 8 pm by the time we done checked in and put on outer coats.
Dinner was the priority, hence we set out to fill our tummies. However to my dismay, our group was sent to asian restaurant called “ancient china” where we were presented with a plethora of Chinese food from sweet and sour chicken to stir fried cabbage.
First meal in Russia was Chinese food in a place decorated like a palace, at least I was disappointed.
Tired from jet lag, we went back to our hotel to catch some rest.
Day 2
Morning call rang at 7 am sharp, it was a good night sleep, fully rested, I sprang out from the bed and started to get ready for the exciting day.
After breakfast at 9 am, we headed to the famous Kremlin palace with our local guide Mr Alex.
Moscow view:
Stopping at the road side, we went off to appreciate the grand and gigantic red wall constructed with bricks of Kremlin palace:
Our family group photo with Mr Alex:
One glance and I know I’m indeed in Mother Russia, the building which was once used as fortress in the 15th century is unmistaken, I was reminded by the architectures and buildings from “Red alert” an RPG game which I spent a good deal of my youth playing the Russian campaign. It was magnificent, awestruck and childhood comes true.
We took a couple of photos here on the view point and then we went inside the palace:
Naturally, my little sister quickly went on to disturb the royal guard:
Our guide Mr Alex is extremely knowledgable and very much eager to share the stories and histories of every significant building and place. At one point, we had to stop him from explaining as we wanted to move along to the next spot.
Anyway, we were told many great tales of Russian origin, the times of Soviet Union, wars and braveries of the people, and of course both the famous and infamous leaders of Russia, you may have heard of Stalin.
Inside Kremlin palace, serval governmental offices reside including a presidential office where Mr.Putin crunches his six packs and plans the next raids on Ukraine.
Apart from political buildings, a handful of churches and cathedrals were built within the palace compound. To my surprise, Russians are rather religious and pays great deal of attention to the Christ.
As Mr Alex was ambitiously throwing out dates and times of when these churches were built and the symbolic meanings of each structures, I couldn’t helped but being amazed by the drawings, the craftsmanship that were put into the wall and ceiling of the church. They are beautiful and the attention to detail is unreal.
An afternoon was spent inside and around the Kremlin palace. By the time I realised I was hungry, it was already 1 30 pm, lunch was the next item.
Lunch was done in a 19th century western themed restaurant, inside decoration was fantastic, no doubt I was impressed with the atmosphere.
Food comes in a 4 course menu.
Church of Christ also known as Christ saviour was our next stop, out of all the churches we been to so far, this one is the most remarkable and most beautiful.
The holy building was built entirely with marble stone and granite. Inside the church, it was so serene that I can’t help but felt enchanted and moved. Unfortunately no picture taking was allowed inside, being that I tried to burn as many memories and impressions as I can into my brain, definitely a sight not to be forgotten. This church was built in memory of 7 million soldiers whom died on this very place to protect Russia from nazi.
Evening wind was already creeping in as we went off to contemplate on the Moscow university, it’s claimed to be the biggest university in Russia as well as in the world. I didn’t have any doubt, when the scholar household is looking like this:
Make me wonder why Russian love big stuffs.
In front of the very building is a viewpoint that one could stretch his eyes over the whole Moscow city. It was breathtaking, panorama was en route.
After that, we went back to the centre of Moscow to visit “Red Square” where the iconic Saint Basil Cathedral is located. It was past 6pm and the drizzling rain reinforces the 5'C wind:
We were warned to be careful of pickpockets around this area and told not to buy anything as it’s a tourist trap down there. Moving along, I walked into a vast bricked field flocked with locals and tourists alike, people were taking pictures with the big red cathedral as backdrop. I decided to move closer to get a better view
There are meanings and reasons to why it was built in such manner, why such shape and structure. Shamefully, all I could recall now is the difference in colour of the domes was only for aesthetic purpose.
The rain at this point was close to pouring, so we hit the local luxurious shopping mall which is just beside the red square called “RYM”. First step into the building and I noticed that this is what it would look like if you cramp orchard road and marina bay sand into a 50s inspired building. The brands are of those a man would cry if his girlfriend/wife wants something.
The ambient and vibe was good though, with 1950 music blaring out loud and vintage interior design, I visual myself as godfather with top hat, heavy coat and a cigar in between my fingers.
Dinner was served promptly on 8 pm and we concluded the day.
Day 3
16th April and 10 30 am was the time when I looked up my watch, a few minutes later, we made a stop on top of a view point to observe the church of sergiev.
Our local guide didn’t spare us with the details as he dived into the history of the church’s founder saint sergiev and how this church came about, as usual somewhere along 14th and 15th century, my brain was overheated.
A look at nearby village:
*Some love for babushka"
The episode was continued when we made our way into the church itself. Interesting tales and legends about the church and it’s founder were in the air as we were led into the compound by our church guide; a small framed and well mannered old lady.
We parted our ways to have lunch in the nearby restaurant, a nice and cozy Russian styled place called Russkiy Dvorik.
The food were just okay, nothing exceptional:
A small souvenir stall is setup inside the restaurant, a good collection of Russian dolls and other collectibles makes the place not so boring.
I was tempted to get one but believed there will be a better opportunity to buy at a cheaper price in our next visit.
With that we made our departure and went back to the new Moscow, the 71km distance was spent by writing down draft for this very journal.
Views from outside car’s window as we passed by a couple of towns and big vast plain of snow and trees:
Once we are back in new Moscow, we went to Arbat street which is said to be the oldest and Most-Russian street, to the extend of saying that “You didn’t get to Russia if you didn’t visit Arbat Street”.
“Puskin” a well known poet from 15th century was born and raised here on this street, fast forward to modern days his house was made into a museum and is open to the enthusiasts.
However, this whole stretch of street is filled with souvenir shops and western restaurants such as Beverly Hills and home grown fast food chains. I assume this is a place for the modern kids to hang out with their Starbucks infused hipster friends. Nevertheless, it was a good walk starting from one end to the other end, covering may be 3 blocks of buildings.
I finally bought some Russian dolls from this street, the sale assistants were “helpful”, here a look at local currency 1000 Ruble (Roughly around 29 USD) I spent on those souvenirs:
I took this opportunity to take a photo with our guide Mr Alex:
By this time, the rain was almost over and the gloomy sky is already making its farewell:
We were greeted by clear sky, fresh wind and golden sunshine when we stepped out from the diner, I had to recheck my time and yes it was 8 pm in the evening:
After dinner, a small group of us who weren’t tired to call it a night went out for a little stroll in the neighbourhood, needless to say we lost our way and ended up walking almost 2 hours for what was supposed to be just a quick 30 mins walk before bed.
Day 4
The fourth day was all about Kremlin palace again, however this time we made salute to those great leaders of yesteryear.
We queued up at one small entrance that leads to Lenin’s Tomb, a place where Lenin’s actual body was on display for visitors to admire. His body has been preserved since his death in 1924.
Right after 10 am, the official opening time of the Lenin’s Tomb, the crowd began to flow in slowly.
A gate of strict officers were waiting to strip away our cameras and other electronic devices which are capable of capturing photo or video.
It goes without saying that cameras are not allowed inside Lenin’s Tomb. Pics from internet is the best I can do here:
Credit: Google
We were not allowed to stare at the body for too long, the crowd including us were asked to move quickly within the tomb by the guards stationed inside there.
Anyway, once we come out, we were greeted by several more tombs of other significant leaders of Russia, pardon me for not knowing their names and histories. (Cameras are back!)
We were once again reminded that Russia is a nation that has endured many wars and turmoils, remnants of memories and pains are still visible.
To lighten up the moods, we hit nearby underground shopping mall, nothing spectacular or whatsoever in regards to the shops and retails, at least the architecture was interesting.
It’s a pity we did not manage to have our lunch in the food court at the basement of the shopping mall though, for it’s a place filled with local and international fast food chains, I wouldn’t mind having a bite or two of mutton kebabs and baked beans.
By the time we reached Moscow Leningradsky train station it was about 1 pm noon and with that we say goodbye to Moscow for Saint Petersburg is our next destination.
We took a high speed train which runs directly between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the traveling time was about 5 hours.
Beautiful countryside:
Hello Saint Petersburg!
Our hotel in Saint Petersburg, we will be spending 3 nights over here:
View from outside my room’s window, if I recall correctly, I was on the 7th floor:
A simple dinner to conclude the day:
Well, after dinner a group of us decided to go for a stroll around the neighbourhood, secretly hoping we will make it back straight unlike last time:
Heading out to the nearby ship port:
A church just across from the street:
Being around open water, the wind here is pretty strong and cold:
A retired submarine perhaps:
Stylish mommy contemplating on the beauty of the city:
This time round, it wasn’t too difficult to navigate through the vicinity, we made it back to hotel without getting lost. With that, we ended our first night in Saint Petersburg.
Day 5
On the fifth day, we were pretty much doing merry-go-round within the ship port of Saint Petersburg:
Understanding that most of the important and influential buildings are located here since back in the yesteryears which continue to be so in present time.
A group photo of our family:
Peter the great, the then king of Russia. He was said to be a tall man, over 7 feet high, the story goes that he commanded an army to build a fort on the coastal line in order to prevent invaders.
The evidence are prominent with multiple stronghold fortress with canons pointing out from all directions:
Not forgetting a battleship as well:
He oversaw the whole constructions personally by staying in a temporary house built on the bank of the river. The house just barely big enough to fit his tall frame.
Even though the house was meant to be temporary, it lasts until today through people of Russia’s reservations:
After reminiscing on the history, we hopped into yet another souvenir shopping centre:
(It definitely connects face to ground)
Spotted something like a floating restaurant which built right onto the ship:
The next stop is a little into the city, we went to the largest church in St Petersburg, St. Isaac’s Cathedral:
Let’s go inside:
A miniature of apparatus that was employed to build the cathedral, each column of the building is said to weight not less than 3 ton:
Undoubtedly, the interior of the cathedral is grand and beautiful, high ceiling and marble columns are the main themed. Followed by stained glass and detailed paintings on every inch of the cathedral:
A miniature that demonstrates the development of Cathedral in term of size and structure over the years:
Some other parts of the interior:
An hour or so gone by when we finished touring the cathedral. It was already a quarter past 12 in the noon, a look at surroundings just outside St. Isaac’s Cathedral as we head off for our lunch:
After lunch, we visited The State Hermitage Museum:
Daddy, Mommy and little sis:
A ticket and map:
Time to explore!
Paintings on canvas rug:
Reminds me of Samual L. Jackson:
Each of the room/part of the museum is decorated differently according to their functions and period:
A massive jade vase:
Mommy posing with The Peacock Clock:
Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to capture the movement of the clockwork, so here a video from the Hermitage Museum: The Peacock Clock.
More paintings:
A lookup onto the ceilings:
He’s probably like “Yo, I just took arrows in the chest”, looks like a cool guy:
Sexy time!
Pretty creepy if you ask me:
To the exit:
After a culture tour, it’s time for some modern hustle and bustle. So, we set off to the busy part of the city. The place consists of a long stretch of shopping malls and offices, which rather similar to orchard road of Singapore.
Stream of people were flowing endlessly throughout the sidewalk with a congested traffic on the road. As typical to the big city with lots of activities and movements, people barely notice each other as each and his own go on about their lives.
We spent whole evening indulged in the rush and vibrant hour right in the heart of the city, so lively yet so dull.
After dinner, we wrapped up our fifth day by taking a metro back to our hotel.
It’s worth mentioning that Russia’s Metro is really interesting, unlike public transport stations in other countries, where everything is pretty much monotony and boring in colour and structure, Metro here is very well decorated with grand architecture and colour scheme:
Day 6
Without fail, we took morning boat ride through the city canals, which seem to connect every part of the city by way of marine:
The sun and weather couldn’t be any more perfect for this morning ride. We spent a good 45 minutes on the boat cruising around several peninsulas of Saint Petersburg.
There were many bridges with low ceiling space from the boat, passing just right above our boat, all of us were warned to sit down and keep our heads low.
Lucky enough, we managed to snag whole boat to ourselves, no other passengers were on board apart from our family:
It was chilling yet exciting, a palettes of buildings from different centuries were such a feast to the eyes. One can’t help but to contemplate on how the architectures come about. Every inch of the wall on buildings were decorated with artistry patterns.
Mommy impromptu modelling:
Once out from the narrow canals, we continued to cruise into the open water:
Stay cool bro:
Selfie with my cutie pie:
A beautiful bridge bearing French-style architecture connects the two peninsulas of Saint Petersburg:
The remaining half of the day was spent in a palace which is a bit far out from the city of Saint Petersburg itself, it took probably about 1 and a half hour to get there.
Exhausted driving but was not disappointed with the view:
A few minute walk in from the entrance and we reached Winter Palace:
And the palace’s garden:
There was a gentleman playing 5th symphony of Beethoven on the fluent, it goes very well with the scenic environment:
Not before long, we arrived at the entrance of the palace and this is how we rolled inside:
With footwear on, everyone feet were wrapped in a disposable bag, to protect the floor and hygiene of course.
The first thing in the main entrance hall is a miniature of the winter palace:
Followed by high ceiling and golden hall as to be expected from the european styled palace:
A porcelain fireplace:
An actual dust of gold was melted inside the paint:
Similar to the Hermitage Museum, rooms and quarters are divided and decorated according to their functions:
A majestic chandelier:
Paintings and decorations were abundant:
A corridor leading to another part of the palace:
Dinning rooms which host different occasions:
A colour scheme is one of the plays here:
Some items that caught my attention:
A portrait of Queen Catherine:
As beautiful as it looks, winter palace was burned down in a three days long fire occurred on December 17, 1837. (For more information)
A great restoration was carried out to reserve the national treasure:
And that’s the end of our tour in winter palace, before we call it a day we went to the last stop; Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ:
It was quite a happening and crowded place:
Despite the crowd, it was a nice place, rather pleasant and we couldn’t have picked a better spot to spend the evening:
However, since it was still quite early, we decided to go off a bit out of town to a to-be shipping port in the future which oversees Baltic Sea:
We finally wrapped up the night with some vodka and whisky:
Day 7
Today was the last day in St petersburg, a culturally-riched city with its root back to the very old days of Russia. After all, Saint Petersburg was the first capital city of Russia before the title was shifted to Moscow.
Early in the morning right after breakfast, we went off to a place like an integrated amusement park, where you can find casino, hotels and playground.
We went back to Moscow the same way we came here, by taking the high speed train spending roughly another 4 hours or so commuting. However, this time round, I wish it would take longer.
We were picked up by our formal guide Mr Alex and right after, off we were on our way to Moscow International Airport.
It was time to say goodbye.