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Travels in Siberia 1-3

by Ian Frazier

Enjoying this very much.  It's like being at a dinner party and hearing a adventurous traveler spin tales.  No hurry, enjoy the details.

Great moments in 1 to 3.

Description by his friend Katya of women's bathroom in Moscow with a woman washing her dishes, pots, pans in the sink.  "Where could she have come from?  I have no idea. She is scrubbing away.  There are chicken bones by the edge of the sink."

Book to read:  John Reed, 10 Days that Shook the World.

 Plane in remote airport sitting out on the runway for lengthy period of time, passengers quietly waiting until someone shows up to get them off.

Giant head of Lenin in Ulan-Ude:  "The first time I saw the head I thought it creepy, like a sci-fi symbol that ranks of drone soldiers would goose step before."

Food of Ulan-Ude is primarily horsemeat.  "You can buy canned pony year round in Ulan-Ude."

Resort:  "I was made a bit nervous by the resort's manager, a large blunt-faced man, . . . and especially by his habit of carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle everywhere he went."

Discussing metaphysical matters with a friend by a river.  "In the middle of the conversation, a drunk came out of the darkness carrying a fish he wanted to trade for vodka."

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