stats

Throughout my trip (which comes to an end in 30 hours) I've kept a record of train and bus times. Since these alone do not constitute a post, I thought I would think up a number of facts from my trip as a whole. The following is what I came up with:

1. Major Train/Bus Time
- 19 days, 3 hours spent on trains and buses (19% of trip)
- 4 days, 16 hours spent on buses (4.5% of trip)
- 14 days, 11 hours spent on trains (14.5% of trip)

2. Longest Train Stretches
- 54 nonstop hours from Ulaanbaatar to Novosibirsk
- 84 hours from Almaty to Moscow with a two hour break in Novosibirsk

3. Capital Cities
- 17 capital cities: Washington, Bangkok, Vientiane, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Pnom Penh, Hanoi, Beijing, Ulaanbaatar, Moscow, Riga, Istanbul, Bucharest, Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, Dublin

4. Countries
- 20 countries (19 never before visited)
- 10 Asian countries (Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan)
- 10 European countries (Russia, Latvia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland)
- 8 former Soviet states

5. Trip Length
- 99 days or 14 weeks 1 day or 3 months 6 days

6. Least-used Item
- Thermarest

7. Least Tourists / Most Tourists
- Almaty, Kazakhstan / Prague, Czech Republic

8. Best Museums
- The State Hermitage (St. Petersburg, Russia)
- The Electrotechnic Museum (Budapest, Hungary)

9. Best / Worst Hostel
- Riga Hostel (Riga, Latvia) / Don't remember name . . . (Hua Shan, China)

10. Worst Companion Conflict
- Involving Alban losing to Lance in a Scrabble game by about 400 points. yeah . . .

11. Worst Mishap
- Having to pay the taxi driver in UB ten times as much as he deserved while he started driving away with our stuff locked in his trunk

12. Closest Transportation Call
- Almost missing the plane to Kuala Lumpur from Bangkok. We had about 30 seconds to spare. Moral of the story: Do not rely on night owls to wake you up on time.

13. Best Foods
- Thailand: Pad Thai
- Laos: French-style baguette with veggies
- Malaysia: Roti and Dahl
- Singapore: Roti and Dahl
- Indonesia: BBQ chicken on the beach
- Cambodia: Food from "The Dead Fish" restaurant
- Vietnam: Pho (beef noodle soup)
- China: Garlicky beef noodle soup from Xi'an
- Mongolia: Peter's curry noodles
- Russia: Buffet breakfast at the $200 hotel (don't tell Phil)
- Kazakhstan: Gina's gluten steaks
- Latvia: Pastries
- Turkey: Kebabs, turkish delight, baklava
- Romania: Pizza Roma
- Hungary: Our delicious pasta; fresh raspberries, peaches, plums, grapes
- Czech Republic: Our delicious tacos
- Germany: Flammkuchen (literally, "Flame Cake")
- Ireland: Alita's sweet potato / potato soup

14. Average Scrabble Scores
- Lance: 333
- Alban: 308

15. Books Read
- Name of the Rose
- James Thurber Carnival
- Harry Potter 1
- Harry Potter 2
- Harry Potter 3
- Pride and Prejudice
- Harry Potter 4
- Blue Like Jazz
- Irresistable Revolution

16. Number of Words and Pictures on the Bangkoscow blog
- 7,900 words (including this post)
- 79 pictures
- ratio of words to pictures: 100 to 1 (interesting, huh?)

17. Most Avid Blog Commenters
- Jennifer Payne (77%)
- Ted Howe (60%)
- Aaron Marson (51%)

electrotechnics

"just feelings" responses

Thanks to all of you who sent me feelings to go along with my pictures. It was a lot of fun to read them and see your various perspectives. I also appreciate having friends and family that can describe things with words I have to use dictionary.com for. After each feeling I'll put the initials of the person who sent it so you can learn a little about each contributor. I'm not sure who I'll end up sending a post card to, although if you already got one, your chances are slim (though several people from this category sent in excellent words). Oh, and don't judge if the postmark is from Boonsboro. I only have one day left . . . Anyways, here is a list of the contributors (in order of appearance) along with the initials that identify them (there were a few repeats, so I added a couple middle initials). Also, take notice of John Howe's interesting idea.

James Howe (JH)
Jennifer Payne (JP)
Ted Howe (TH)
Evan Howe (EH)
Odie Weir (OW)
Laurel Howe (LH)
Elissa Lombard (EL)
John Pace (JSP)
Brittany Jepson (BJ)
Carolyn Weir (CW)
John Howe (JEH)
Amberly Howe (AH)


enlightened (JH) illuminated (JP) awe (TH) rapt (EH) holiness (OW) pensive (LH) psychedelic (EL) history (JSP) mysterious (BJ) almost too much (CW) dazed (JEH) hu? (AH)


peaceful (JH) tranquil (JP) cheerful (TH) poetic (EH) indecision (OW) blithe (LH) tranquil (EL) escape (JSP) solitude (BJ) blah (CW) dreamy (JEH) lonely (AH)


imposing (JH) solitary (JP) insignificant (TH) dwarfed (EH) progress (OW) inquisitive (LH) small (EL) timeless (JSP) triumphant (BJ) triumphant (CW) doleful (JEH) small (AH)


exhausted (JH) satiated (JP) exhausted (TH) nonplussed (EH) despair (OW) cantankerous (LH) full (EL) clown (JSP) defeated (BJ) cheerless, dejected (CW) dead (JEH) physically susceptible (AH)


confused (JH) beguiled (JP) wonder (TH) wonderment (EH) unsettled (OW) reverent (LH) lost (EL) you can't get there from here (JSP) exotic (BJ) coming unraveled (CW) distinct (JEH) limited (AH)


bored (JH) reflective (JP) crazy (TH) gleeful (EH) dizzy (OW) marvelous (LH) un-flattered (EL) inside-out (JSP) distorted (BJ) oh my poor head (CW) dilapidated (JEH) amused (AH)


artistic (JH) singular (JP) intrigued (TH) befuddled (EH) sweetness (OW) smothered (LH) strange (EL) avocado flourish (JSP) inspired (BJ) puzzlement (CW) disproportionate (JEH) indifferent (AH)


touristy (JH) connected (JP) connected (TH) ironic (EH) bothered (OW) absorbed (LH) nosy, chismo (EL) pops (JSP) voyaging (BJ) he is smiling, I'm not (CW) delusions of duffer-hood (JEH) introspective (AH)


dictatorial (JH) legendary (JP) frightened (TH) atrabilious (EH) grandeur (OW) self-respecting (LH) impervious (EL) all about me (JSP) larger than life (BJ) quietude (CW) delighted? (JEH) brooding (AH)


impatient (JH) lethargic (JP) expectant (TH) deja vu (EH) expectance (OW) fatigued (LH) tired, resigned, world-weary (EL) waiting game (JSP) longing (BJ) how long yet to wait (CW) dumpy (JEH) resigned (AH)

museums - budapest, hungary

Budapest has this trap called the "Budapest Kartya". It costs about $40 for 48 hours, and gives the carrier free transportation on buses, trams, and the metro, as well as free entrance to a myriad of museums. No question, if you spend your time wisely, you can use the card for more than it cost, but then again, if you didn't get the card, you would spend much less (and see less as well). This was the dilemma we were faced with upon arrival in Hungary's magnificent capital. You can guess from the following whether we got it or not.

Museum 1: The Jewish Museum



The Jewish Museum was held in an ornate synagogue only a few stops from our hostel. Although small (about 4 rooms) it had a nice collection and interesting room dedicated to Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. We saw Torah scrolls and crowns, yadim, various things for Purim, Seder plates, and a host of other Jewish ritualistic instruments.

Museum 2: The Electrotechnics Museum



Probably my favorite of the lot, we got a tour from a German physics teacher who spoke only German. It was fun to try and understand all the different experiments involving magnets, electricity, various forces, positive and negative vectors (I think?), etc. in another language. Regardless, it was a boys dream museum - we made a ball roll back and forth between to pillars, made arcs travel up between two wires, made a 350,000 volt spark that scared us silly (stay tuned for the video - since I jumped terrifically I'm not sure you can see it, but you can definitely hear it . . .), and more. Besides the interesting experiments, the museum also held an impressive collection of lights ranging from Edison to Halogen.

Museum 3: The Stamp Museum



I think the stamp museum in Budapest is unique in its claim to have stamps from every country in the world. At more than 500,000 stamps, there's a lot to see. Fortunately, the friendly lady who runs the place gave us a handy info sheet that made it easy for us to see some highlights by giving the section, frame, and page number of the interesting stamp. We saw a Penny Black, the first adhesive stamp, Greek stamps from the first modern Olympic Games, 3D stamps from Bhutan, Hungarian stamps with ultra-violet fibers (housed in a special area so you can see them), the biggest stamp (USA), and the smallest stamp (Costa Rica). Very cool.

Museum 4: Franz Liszt's Apartment



This small museum housed in Liszt's three-room apartment had his library, several of his instruments, some original scores, and the like. Photography cost extra. I didn't pay (shh don't tell - it was only one picture).

Museum 5: The Fine Art Museum



After cooking some delicious pasta and sauce, we headed to the Fine Art Museum with our hostel friend Efrin. Although we had to pay extra to get in (as on Thursday night there's a special "museum +" program) we enjoyed a fantastic temporary photography exhibit called "Soul and Body", some interesting Egyptian artifacts, the Jazz ensemble playing in the large gallery room, and highlights of the permanent exhibition including Gauguin, Monet, Da Vinci, Raphael, El Greco, and Valasquez. Afterwards we enjoyed views of the city at night.



I think this picture is hilarious. We all have THE EXACT same expression.

szorborpark

I'm not sure Budapest's statue park, created from discarded communist-era pieces, would have been worth the inconvenient hour of public transportation if it hadn't been for the stage it created for imitation pictures. There - all you need to know in one sentence.

















PS Did you notice my appropriate shirt?

PPS Interesting external link.

"just feelings" - bret mckenzie

I think life would be very boring if we were happy all the time. Have you met people that are always happy? They bother me. I hope they're not bored.

In the space of three months, most (all?) people experience a lot of different feelings. Since I'm one of those people, and in three days I will have been traveling for three months, I've experienced a lot of feelings.

I'm posting ten pictures today that remind me of feelings I've had on this trip. I thought about labeling them, then I thought it would be more fun to see what feelings these pictures remind you of. Here's what I'm hoping:

1. You send me an e-mail with a one word (or two or three if you must) feeling that goes with each picture.
2. After maybe five days, I'll re-post the pictures with the various responses.
3. I'll pick my favorite responses (as in one person, ten feelings) and send them the final postcard - one for August and September.

Please e-mail a response to alban.exe@gmail.com (don't put your response in a comment, it'll ruin the suspense).
Also, number your responses like the pictures so I don't get confused.

PS After rereading the post, I realized that the beginning makes it sound like I'm not happy. On the contrary, I'm quite happy (among other things) at the moment.

PPS Avid blog readers (you know who you are), maybe you can encourage those less likely to read/comment?

Number 1


Number 2


Number 3


Number 4


Number 5


Number 6


Number 7


Number 8


Number 9


Number 10

from istanbul

The long and short of it is, everything did work out. And again, you probably know everything you want to about our trip, thanks to Lance, who not only uses his internet time more efficiently, but also spent a couple of days in Riga by himself. We figured out how to register our visas in Kazakhstan, and then received an e-mail from Gina and David Hebley, who let us crash on their floor for the remaining two days in Almaty. Needless to say, it was nice to eat good food, sing hymns, help with "English Club", teach Sabbath school, and have a tour guide for the mountains. Then, upon arrival in Novosibirsk, we purchased tickets to Moscow that left just 2 hours later. It couldn't have worked more smoothly.



Arriving in Moscow was like running into a huge sign that said "WELCOME TO EUROPE!" The monumental buildings, frequent ATMS, subway system, and easy-to-find hostel were a welcome change from Almaty. I finally decided to buy a 1 GB card for Lance's camera, and was therefore able to take a couple hundred pictures in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Riga (although I stole this picture of St. Basil's from his MySpace page). Although Moscow was fun, it really didn't compare to St. Petersburg. Nice temperatures, the astounding state Hermitage museum, impressive cathedrals, venice-like waterways and delicious doner kebabs were only slightly dampened by the large number of mosquitos that plagued out hostel. Riga is very nice as well. Our hostel was one of the best of the trip, cheap pastries abound, and the old town is beautiful.



And now it's Istanbul. The city's culture reminds me of Kuala Lumpur, probably because it's Muslim. I like it. A lot. Stepping out of the tram near our hostel, I was completely unprepared to stumble across the Hagia Sofia and nearby Blue Mosque (which looks similar, but newer). I can easily say that they are the most awe-inspiring buildings of the trip so far. It was chilling to go inside the Hagia Sofia (called Ayasofya in Turkish) and see in real life what I had seen in textbooks before. Good food abounds: kebabs, baklava, turkish delight, etc. are found on almost every street.



Tonight Aaron and I head to Bucharest, Romania. Since we'll be traveling for 24 hours on seats, I'm glad the hostel we plan to stay in sounds amazing. Besides that, I'm sure Romania will be one of the most beautiful legs of the trip.