Updates from Warsaw

Taken at the Red Square in Moscow.

Hi guys, it’s been a real roller coaster ride this trip round. Where do I start..

Moscow was rather uneventful this time around but very productive business-wise.

Stayed in a beautiful hotel in the centre of Moscow, a stroll away from the pedestrian walk of Arbat Street.

The busiest intersection in Moscow, view from my room
Rubles, currency of Russia
Red Square in the evening…
Deja vu… St. Basil’s Cathedral
Arbat Street, at night
Balls galore!
My favourite Russian dish – Blinis (pancakes) with mushroom
My hotel, The Golden Ring hotel
Night view from my room

Part 4 of 5: Moscow, Russian Federation

This post is kinda long, please click on the link below to view the full post.. Cheers!

WAR-SVO: LOT Polish Airlines L0677
Total flight time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Total flight distance: 717 miles

What can I say about Moscow… It was worse than I expected it to be.

Oh yeah! Met up with my very good friend Qing Link, who was really kind to take me around the various places of interests in Moscow. Coincidentally, also a proud owner of a cool Nikon D80 DSLR. For those who don’t know what that is, neither do I.

Views from my hotel room during sunset.

The Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro operates between 06:00 and 01:00 and about 8 million people use the system every day. Frequency of trains is 90 seconds during rush hours and 2-4 minutes during the rest of the day. 10 minutes headway after midnight.

The Moscow Metro is 269 km long and has 165 stations. Although there are line numbers on some maps, lines are identified by names referring to the areas they serve. There is also a 20 km long circle line connecting all other lines.

The first line was opened on 15 May 1935 between Sokolniki and Park Kultury, with a branch to Smolenskaya which reached Kievskaya in April 1937. Two more lines were opened before the World War II. In March 1938 the Arbatskaya line was extended to Kurskaya station (now Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya). In 1938 the Gorkovsko-Zamoskvoretskaya line opened between Sokol and Teatralnaya.

After the War construction started on the Koltsevaya line which was first designed to run under the Sadovoye Koltso (Garden Ring), a boulevard ring along the limits of 16th century Moscow. From the beginning metro stations were decorated like palaces, Stalin wanted them to be the working class’ cathedrals. Later extensions got a more functional design due to lack of funds.

Touristy me in Moscow.
Mr. Photographer / Good Friend / Med Student in Moscow, Mr. Qing Link

I so dread this…

Heading for Moscow in a couple of hours. Honestly, I dread going to Moscow. Heard many horror stories from industry colleagues on “difficult” customs officials who want to be bribed, taxi drivers waiting to rip you off, language difficulties…

My first decent meal in about 2 weeks! Sweet and sour pork and fried broccoli with garlic.
Anyhow, wish me luck. Won’t have internet access in Moscow so don’t expect any updates till I’m back in Kuala Lumpur.