,m Sean´s Shenanigans: May 2006

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Warsaw

Due to the alcohol ban, I took the train to Warsaw last night (3 hours) with two English guys and an Australian. We stayed out till the early hours and took a train back this morning again. It actually took three trains to get home as we were not in the best mental condition and hopped on the train to Prague instead of Krakow (after a quick snooze at the train station).

posted by Sean at 5:29 pm 0 comments

Friday, May 26, 2006

Prohibition

Here in Krakow, arrived here on a bus from L'viv yesterday. Its took 4 hours to get across the border, so got very little sleep. The Pope arrives here this weekend and the Polish have brough in prohibition, starting at 6pm tonight - crazy!
With that in mind I went out last night and gave it a good lash. Had an appointment with the police at 10am this morning to report the theft of my small backpack. Decided while I was in the area this morning that i'd call in to the station (8am). They told me to go home and sober up. They even rescheduled the meeting for 2pm to allow me to sleep it off :)

posted by Sean at 3:45 pm 0 comments

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Poland

Capital: Warsaw
Currency: Zlotych (zl)
Exchange Rate: €1 = 3.93 zl
Time Zone: GMT + 1
Population: 38.6 Million

posted by Sean at 2:30 am 0 comments

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

L'viv

Its my second day here in L'viv. Arrived here at 5:40am on the train from Odessa and had to wander around until after nine - the time the hostel reception opened. The town is full of cobbled streets and churches. The weather yesterday was great but it has being raining constantantly today. Have booked a night bus to Krakow tonite, cost me 100 hrn and the trip supposedly takes 10 hours.

posted by Sean at 3:48 pm 0 comments

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

posted by Sean at 5:47 pm 0 comments

Munster

Here in an internet cafe listening to the Munster match. The two Irish bars here are owned by locals and only have local satellite, so have to listen to it here. Should have stayed in Kiev. This place is a big tourist spot in summer and the night clubs at the beach had their opening night last night. Went to Ibiza with a Brazilian guy and Scottish guy, was good fun but expensive, spent over $50 last night. Have left my Babushka and am staying on the couch of the Brazilian guy.

posted by Sean at 5:33 pm 0 comments

Friday, May 19, 2006

Babushka

Here in Odessa, a southern town on the Black Sea at the moment. Arrived here this morning with no map or information (the hostel which was meant to open in April won't be open 'till July) after a 12 hour night train from Kiev. I got talking to a Babushka named Maria at the train station and bargained here down to 70 Hrn a night for the spare room in her house. When she showed me the room she thought I might like to pay the origional price of 100 Hrn as it was so nice - she was talking to the wrong man there.
She asked me what time i'll be back tonite and I told her some where between 9pm and 9am - she looked a bit worried! Want to call into the Irish Pub here and find out if they are showing the Munster game tomorrow, if so I may have an early one tonite. Also I know no one here.

posted by Sean at 4:28 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Kiev

Been here in Kiev since Friday. The train trip was a bit boring - 42 hours without anything to read. Kiev is quite expensive, a hostel bed here is 19 euro. Went out Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - spending alot. There was a good group in the hostel & much fun was had. The amount of good looking women here is quite high. There are of lots of people around the city centre until after 10 at night and a bottle of beer (0.5L) on the street costs only about 50c.
Spent the days of Monday and Tuesday visiting some of the sights, there is surprisingly alot to see here. Want to see the Champions League Soccer tonight and will probably try and head down to the Black Sea town of Sevestapol tomorrow night.

posted by Sean at 6:09 pm 0 comments

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Ukraine

Capital: Kiev
Currency: Hryvnia (hrn)
Exchange Rate: €1 = 6.4 hrn
Time Zone: GMT + 2
Population: 48 Million

posted by Sean at 10:05 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Lonely Kazakhstan

Not sure when the LP updated its Central Asian guide, but its way off on hotels. Of the top three budget options in Almaty, one had tripled its prices, one had closed, and the other was after converting to a four-star. The $10 room at the hotel Donetsk in Shymkent had become $35 after a refurbishment. "The hole in the wall" hotel in Turkestan was literally that - when the woman opened the door, there was nothing left but rubble behind. I'd be more upset if I had bought the guide rather that photocopied it. I haven't met another tourist in my ten days here, hopefully Ukraine will be better. I also need a book badly, i've not been able to change a book in six weeks.

posted by Sean at 3:51 pm 0 comments

All Systems Go

Have managed to get my train ticket to Kiev (8300 TE) and Russian transit visa (7800 TE). It involved a bit of to-ing and fro-ing between the train station and embassy but now all is good. I hope its the last visa that I have to get on this trip! The train leaves at 11pm tonight and takes about 42 hours. From the seat/bed number, I think I have the bottom bunk (each compartment has two bunk-beds), which is good as I fell out of my bed on the way to Shymkent last week. I'm missing the biggest game of the Urranian soccer season between Kiev and Donetsk - hope its a draw.
Shared my room with an old Russian guy last night, not a word of English. I tried to tell him I didn't understand Russian by pointing to my ears - he took this to mean I was slightly deaf. He was shouting at me for about thirty minutes. Not sure about what, but boxing and Klitchko came in some where. He showed me his ID and medal from WII (being the day that it was), he was 14 when it ended!

posted by Sean at 3:27 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Darkest Before Dawn

Have had a pretty ok few days. Here in the town of Uralsk. Took the overnight train from Aktobe last night. With the boundaries of the European continent vague, some say Europe begins after crossing the Ural river (some say the mountains ...). I'm closer to Vienna that Almaty now (which I left 6 days ago) . Its a national holiday here, Victory Day, and the streets are full of people.
Met a guy on the train to Aktobe and stayed with him and his family for the night and day in Aktobe. Wanted to tell his mother that the dinner she cooked was very beautiful, but with my Russian, mixed up and told her that "lunch was small, very small"! Only realised after someone corrected me on the train.
No problems with the Russians getting here (train crossed into Russia and back), have to try and get a transit visa for Russian tomorrow and then hopefully a train ticket for Kiev, Ukraine. I'm staying at the train station, a bed in a dorm is costing me 720 tenge, which is fine by me.

posted by Sean at 11:16 am 0 comments

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Kyzylorda

Here in Kyzylorda at the moment. Arrived here today after two buses from Turkestan. Donated my coat to an old blind musician before I left, hopefully he swaps it for a proper guitar. Wanted to get a train to Aralsk (the train boycott is over) to see what is left of the former fishing town after the retreat of the Aral Sea. Couldn't get any train there, so booked the train to Aktobe which leaves at 6am and arrives in Aktobe at 11:30pm.
Hotels are getting more expensive as I head west towards oil country. Got a room here for 2500 Tenge in a half built hotel. I have no hot water and a crap bed. I think i'm the only one there, with workmen all around. Wanted to buy a fridge magnet in Almaty, the shop girl quoted me $7 for one of those flexible ones! Kazakhstan is not a backpacker country.

posted by Sean at 5:04 pm 0 comments

Friday, May 05, 2006

Burning Bridges

Took a minibus to Turkestan this morning. The cheapest hotel I could find was 2000 Tenge a night, and I can only stay there one night as they are booked out tomorrow. With that in mind I went down to the train station to book a train to Aralsk. The woman at the information counter was very unhelpful, snaring at me that she didn't understand. Well I snapped!! I've taken alot of crap at train and bus stations in central asia and I let fly at her with both barrels. The whole hall was looking (admittedly not alot of people), and even if you spoke english, there weren't many words used from the dictionary. In the end I told her to "go $%&* herself, cause i'll take the bus". In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best course of action as I found out that the next bus to Aralsk is in three days. There is a town about a third of the way there that I can make there tomorrow, there is only one minibus there a day and it leaves at 9am. I feel like Michael Palin trying to get around the world in eighty days.
I finally bought a second pair of trousers but taking up the legs on them and my old pair, I some how managed to lose my credit card - not a good day!

posted by Sean at 5:21 pm 0 comments

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Towards Ukraine it is

Got sick of Almaty, three days of rain! I was soaked walking around. Bought myself a train ticket to the city of Shymkent and arrived here this morning at nine (15 hrs). The weather here is sunny and over 20 degrees. It took me two hours to find a hotel, they are really expensive in Kazakhstan. I managed to get a room for 15oo Tenge in the end. The market is the main attraction in town, and its a pretty impressive. The place is huge, full of winding passage ways and dead-ends. Got my best bowl of laghman yet (for 80T)
Decided to get no visa in the end. Going to try and get to Uralsk by Wednesday next. I'll take my chances with the Russians (the train crosses into Russia for a while on the way to Uralsk). The Russian embassy reopens on Wednesday after some holiday and hopefully the train (to Kiev) goes later in the evening, so I can try and get a transit visa.
As well as getting a visa for here, you have to register your visa within 5 days of your arrival. I went down to the office expecting to pay 800 Tenge, but the guy there just stamped it and gave it back to me. Hope its the correct stamp and that I have no problems further down the line. You are also supposed to register it if you stay in any city more that 72 hrs.

posted by Sean at 3:53 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Decisions, Decisions

Not sure where to go next.
Thought about heading south by flight to Kabul, Afghanistan but there are no flights from here and I would have to fly west to Herat as the road is too dangerous. Then i'd have to worry about Iran.
Uzbekistan is a possibility, but don't know how I would get out - visas for Turkmenistan are hard to get and to come back here i'd need another Kazakh visa.
Could go west to the Caspian Sea and catch a ferry to Baku, Azerbaijan, but i'd need to go to Astana to get a tourist visa ($40), and then head over there. The ferry is quite irregular, leaving port when full, which is usually weekly.
Could go to the north western city of Uralsk (Oral) where there is a Russian Consulate. I can get a Russian transit visa for $60, this would allow me to get a train to Kiev, Ukraine. It would cost $85 for the train and the journey would take 44 hours. But to get to Uralsk, i'd have to briefly cross in to russia and back while on the train - i'm not sure if I need a transit visa for this. Rail lines are all over the place here, they cross over borders and back all the time - a legacy from Soviet times.
I could also get a Russian tourist visa, this would also cost $60, but i'd also have to get a letter of invitation from a travel agent which would cost another $30. I could then take my time going through Russia.

posted by Sean at 4:12 pm 0 comments

Alamty

Arrived here from Kyrgyzstan yesterday. It took 9 hours to get from Karakol to Bishkek (I only got an hour or two of sleep thanks to the great leg room on the bus). I then took the 7am minibus to Almaty, thankfully the border crossing was quick and hassle free. The weather here has not been very good, temperatures in the mid teens and raining most of the time. I staying at a hotel over the train station, my room mate is a middle aged guy from Dagestan, Russia (he speaks English like I speak Russian).
The city is pretty modern, Kazakhstan is the richest country here in central Asia due to its oil reserves. Went to Mad Murphys for a pint yesterday, I thought with a name like that there would be a Сork man behind the bar - far from it. Its Kazakh owned and as fake as the rest of them. The prices there are greater than at home, lots of western workers working in the oil industry around topay them. A very nice girl came up and started talking to me. Not sure why she was so interested :) Made her work thought - in the end, she was asking me endless questions about the Irish weather! Poor thing also had her purse stolen earlier during the day. I made her work a little more and then bid her a good day.
Every car in the city is a potential taxi, you just put your hand out and they stop, you tell them your destination, negotiate, and hop in if all goes well. Around the bus station and on some of the main roads you see people holding signs up offering a room for the night, there are also some young ladies without a sign - I don't think they have any spare room :)

posted by Sean at 6:04 am 0 comments

Monday, May 01, 2006

Kazakhstan

Capital: Astana
Currency: Tenge
Exchange Rate: €1 = 152 Tenge
Time Zone: GMT + 4, 5, 6
Population: 16.9 Million


posted by Sean at 4:02 am 0 comments