tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443Tue, 28 Aug 2018 19:49:43 +0000RTWTravelAsiaSouth AmericaArgentinaIndiaDaily JournalHikesNepalMiddle EastFeeding FrenzyEuropeRussiaThailandTrans-Mongolian RREgyptTravel DaysBeachesCambodiaMongoliaLaosSouth AfricaWrap-UpChileChinaMarketsPre-TripGearRoad TripSporting EventsJordanWineGuest PostAustriaVolunteerEaster IslandGermanyTravel TipsUAEUKgobiQM2SkiingUBUruguayCunardDubaiFranceNetherlandsSPGScubaStarwoodThe Adventure Continueshttp://www.jdmesh.com/noreply@blogger.com (Dave)Blogger267125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-6499847250184167013Tue, 30 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-10-30T07:00:14.735-04:00EuropeRTWRussiaTravel Dave Meshkov was perfect for the role of the White Swan in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.  But as he began to explore the role of the Black Swan, he also began his inexorable descent into madness. Unfortunately for Dave (but fortunately for the rest of us), the Swan Lake performance at the Hermitage was not Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, but a more traditional performance that we were lucky http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/10/or-swan-lake.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)3Hermitage Museum, Palace Square, дом 2, г. Санкт-Петербург, Russia, 19000059.940555 30.31361159.932601500000004 30.293870000000002 59.9485085 30.333352tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-5861872539768186726Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-10-23T07:00:13.096-04:00EuropeGuest PostRTWRussiaTravel This post brought to you by Lynda Meshkov, gracious co-sponsor of our time in St. Petersburg. <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073711037 9 0 511 0;} @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/10/guest-post-guest-post-st-petersburg.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)1St Petersburg, Russia60.0762383 30.121382959.5693143 28.8579554 60.5831623 31.3848104tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-2325576239715544396Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-10-16T07:00:12.696-04:00EuropeRTWRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravel Western Russia was not at all what we had expected.  What had we expected?  Grey, mostly.  Uninspired architecture.  Drabness.  But instead we got spectacular churches, imposing monuments, crazy fashion and more.  Here are some of our favorite photos from Moscow. St. Basil's Cathedral St. Basils, another angle Babushka! The Kremlin Kremlin by night St Basil's by http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/10/moscow-in-color.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)0Moscow, Russia55.7427928 37.615400955.4567773 36.983686899999995 56.028808299999994 38.2471149tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-5049765461298448098Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-10-10T07:00:03.483-04:00EuropeRTWRussiaTravel In honor of the upcoming one-year anniversary of the end of our trip (eek), we have decided to celebrate by fiiiiinally finishing the blog.  Get psyched! __________________________________________________________________ (We like to call the NYC subway system "the bubs."  (It arose from an iphone autocomplete of "getting off the subs" to "getting off the bubs.")) The New York subway system http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/10/the-beautiful-bubs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)1Vnukovo, Aeroport, г. Москва, Russia55.7427928 37.615400954.6084598 35.0885454 56.877125799999995 40.142256399999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-7835715816263366772Thu, 24 May 2012 23:02:00 +00002012-05-24T19:02:12.175-04:00EuropeRTWRussiaTravel Viewing Lenin's body lying in state in one of those truly bizarre travel experiences made even more surreal by the fact that you're not allowed to take any photographs.  All you have left are your memories - memories of viewing a very dead body in a very dark room while surrounded by men with very big guns. Photo credit: NYT. I guess SOME photography is allowed after all. Lenin has been on http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/05/lying-in-state.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)1Moscow, Russia55.7427928 37.615400955.4567773 36.983686899999995 56.028808299999994 38.2471149tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-5190576135854950110Thu, 17 May 2012 10:00:00 +00002012-05-17T06:00:01.744-04:00EuropeRTWRussiaTravel How lucky are we!  Our visit to Russia seemed to coincide with the Russian wedding season!  And after witnessing a months' worth of weddings from Siberia to St. Petersburg I have only one question:  How does this not yet exist as a reality show? Things that would make To Russia, With Love and Fur (my title, don't steal it) a clear Bravo hit: 1.  All Russian brides wear fur 2.  1/2 of Russianhttp://www.jdmesh.com/2012/05/locks-of-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)1Moscow, Russia55.7427928 37.615400955.4567773 36.983686899999995 56.028808299999994 38.2471149tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-2035076698605536556Mon, 14 May 2012 10:00:00 +00002012-05-14T06:00:02.356-04:00EuropeFeeding FrenzyRussiaTrans-Mongolian RR Travel can be a study in contrasts.  From the high-rises of Hong Kong to the rural farmlands of Laos.  From the sweltering beaches of Thailand to the snowy mountains of Nepal.  From the spicy curries of India to the tasteless stews of Mongolia.  From our dump of a hostel in Yekaterinburg, to the first-class Hotel National in Moscow. Truly, there are few things more satisfying than being picked http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/05/from-rags-to-riches.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)0Moscow, Russia55.7427928 37.615400955.4567773 36.983686899999995 56.028808299999994 38.2471149tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-3953047968344202828Thu, 10 May 2012 10:00:00 +00002012-05-10T06:00:02.997-04:00AsiaChinaEuropeMongoliaRTWRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravelTravel DaysTravel TipsWrap-Up <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Courier New"; panose-1:2 7 3 9 2 2 5 2 4 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073711037 9 0 511 0;} @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signaturehttp://www.jdmesh.com/2012/05/how-to-plan-trip-on-trans-mongolian.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)2Moscow, Russia55.7427928 37.615400955.4567773 36.983686899999995 56.028808299999994 38.2471149tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-3515733324056102614Tue, 08 May 2012 10:00:00 +00002012-05-08T06:00:11.375-04:00AsiaChinaFeeding FrenzyMongoliaRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravelTravel Days ... round and round, round and round, all through China, Mongolia & Russia. Spending nearly an entire week on the trans-Mongolian train, and I do mean a full week of butt-on-the-seat hours (with stops our journey took over a month), meant that we would have to be fairly resourceful or adventurous with our food options.  As you'd expect, we were a little of both.  Below I lay out some of the http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/05/food-on-train-goes-round-and-round.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0Irkutsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia52.2833333 104.352.2056228 104.1420715 52.361043800000004 104.4579285tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-5075649110848166553Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:52:00 +00002012-03-31T12:52:01.309-04:00EuropeRTWRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravelTravel Days There are between 14 and 19 daily non-stop flights from Yekaterinburg to Moscow.  For about $150 and 2 hours of your time you can travel on such esteemed carriers as Kuban Airlines, Transareo Airlines, Ural Airlines, and of course, Aeroflot.  But why fly, when, for about $120 more you could take a 24 hour train ride?  Our thoughts exactly. The final leg.  Yekaterinburg to Moscow (24 hours) http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/03/platskart-final-leg-in-third-class.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)2Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Russia56.85 60.656.711076500000004 60.284143 56.9889235 60.915857tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-784241835862655227Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:25:00 +00002012-03-15T15:25:16.359-04:00EuropeRTWRussiaTravel Hello friends.  I am Vladminir Lenin. My people killed the Romanovs. Welcome to Yekaterinburg. Yekaterinburg.  You probably know it best as Russia's fourth-largest city, the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District.  And although we love ourselves a fabulous industrial city (especially one that is known for its metallurgy (ferrous and non-ferrous), machinery and metalhttp://www.jdmesh.com/2012/03/yekaterinburg.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)2Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Russia56.85 60.656.711076500000004 60.284143 56.9889235 60.915857tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-5094215093776454661Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +00002012-03-05T06:30:01.814-05:00AsiaEuropeRTWRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravelTravel Days We had gotten our feet wet with the 28 hour Beijing to Ulanbataar train and the 36 hour Ulanbataar to Irkutsk train.  Now it was time to put everything we had learned to good use on a marathon train ride from Irkutsk, in Siberia, to Yekaterinbug, in the Ural Mountains. Damn that's far! How long was this train ride? -- Long enough for for me to read War and Peace, watch the second season of http://www.jdmesh.com/2012/03/long-haul-irkutsk-to-yekaterinburg.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)0Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Russia56.85 60.656.711076500000004 60.284143 56.9889235 60.915857tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-5287016019207961545Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:29:00 +00002012-02-27T08:29:32.569-05:00AsiaRTWRussiaTravel Who knew it was more than a territory in the game of Risk? Well, it turns out that Irkutsk is the “Paris of Siberia” and the de-facto capital of Siberia.*   Our introduction to Irkutsk, however, was not so welcoming. After a nauseating mini-bus ride from Listvyankia and then nauseating taxi ride we dragged our luggage up the dark, concrete soviet style stairwell to our 3rd floor hostel. Thehttp://www.jdmesh.com/2012/02/paris-of-siberia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0Irkutsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia52.2833333 104.266666752.2056228 104.1087382 52.361043800000004 104.4245952tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-4357728994163938148Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:28:00 +00002012-02-21T09:28:31.023-05:00AsiaRTWRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravel As I mentioned, our last morning in Listvyankia consisted of Nick and I making every effort to dive in the near-freezing waters of Lake Baikal.  Despite spending the better part of an hour walking from closed dive shop to closed dive shop, there was simply no diving to be done.  So, we did what we knew best, relaxing and internetting on the rooftop lounge at the Mayak Hotel (the fanciest hotelhttp://www.jdmesh.com/2012/02/listvyakia-to-irkutsk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0Listvyanka, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia51.847231901785491 104.8817110061645551.827613401785491 104.84222900616454 51.866850401785491 104.92119300616456tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-3501392648431718478Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-02-13T08:00:19.764-05:00AsiaRTWRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravel Wow, no posts for over two months.  We're back in New York, settled in, and missing the GT very much.  Sometimes it seems like we never left, the 13 months of travel compressed in memory to 13 days, a brief vacation in the otherwise seamless flow of life.  I wish we could do it again.  Instead, we will have to relive it through the blog, tens of thousands (literally) of photos, and memories thathttp://www.jdmesh.com/2012/02/shutter-island.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0Listvyanka, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia51.8531302 104.881522951.8138987 104.8025589 51.8923617 104.96048689999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-4044347632241652794Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:58:00 +00002011-12-04T17:58:52.018-05:00AsiaBeachesRTWRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravel On the shores of Lake Baikal, in Listvynka. After stuffing our faces, and then our bags, with a final dose of Nikita’s amazing pancakes we steeled ourselves for another 7-hour marshrutky (you know, a Russian, fixed-route, minibus supplementing government bus service that we wrote about here) back to Irkustk, where we planned to find another marshrutky to the closest lakeside village, http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/12/listvyanka-port-baikal-and-how-whole.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0Listvyanka, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia51.8531302 104.881522951.774666700000004 104.7235944 51.9315937 105.03945139999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-1748010176560782752Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:30:00 +00002011-12-01T06:30:00.251-05:00AsiaBeachesRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravel You know who else walks on water? Lake Baikal is over 70 kilometers (43 miles) long. It plunges to 1.6 kilometers deep. It holds 25% of the earth’s freshwater. And it holds it at a numbing 9° C (48° F). So when we arrived on Olkhon island the prospect of swimming was low. Decidedly uninviting. Beautiful?  Yes Icy?  Yes You want me to swim? There? But we'd heard a http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/12/nobody-f-with-jesus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)2Olkhon, Russia53.1256645 107.301129952.8207825 106.6694159 53.4305465 107.93284390000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-7691514200968407124Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:30:00 +00002011-11-29T06:30:02.869-05:00AsiaRTWRussiaTrans-Mongolian RRTravelTravel Days Can you feel the Shamanic energy? Our first stop in Russia was Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world, and we had resolved to spend our first few nights in the peaceful setting of Olkhon Island, a 72-km long island located in the middle of the lake. Damn, Russia is big. Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal But first we had to get there, and so unfortunately, after a 36 hour trainhttp://www.jdmesh.com/2011/11/belly-full-of-shamanic-energy-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)3Olkhon, Russia53.1256645 107.301129952.8207825 106.6694159 53.4305465 107.93284390000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-5637625259393555424Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:30:00 +00002011-11-28T06:30:02.494-05:00AsiaChinaDaily JournalLaosMongoliaRTWTravelTravel Days Week 45 Friday, August 5 Vientiane, Laos After packing up our apartment and running some last minute errands we went into VFI.  They had a nice little going-away party for the three of us (me, Dave, Steph), with some snacks and nice speeches.  We took a bunch of photos and said our goodbyes.  It was sad – we really enjoyed our time there and everyone was so nice.  They all especially liked http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/11/weeks-forty-five-forty-six-and-forty.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jesse)0Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia47.921378 106.9055447.751124999999995 106.58968300000001 48.091631 107.221397tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-3205119000610297116Sat, 26 Nov 2011 05:04:00 +00002011-11-26T00:04:14.512-05:00AsiaMongoliaRTWTrans-Mongolian RRTravelTravel Days Sunset from our train window over the Angara River. Young, shirtless and loud. That is how I would describe most of the passengers on the second leg of our trans-Mongolian railroad experience. The others? Smugglers, illegally bringing goods from Mongolia to Russia. Not illicit goods, nothing exciting like drugs, weapons, or even pirated DVDs, just ugly sweatshirts, socks, towels, and bras http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/11/young-shirtless-and-loud-train-from-ub.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0Tushig, Mongolia50.17689812200107 104.5898437544.884696622001073 94.48242175 55.469099622001067 114.69726575tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-4157104071608932798Sun, 20 Nov 2011 01:24:00 +00002011-11-20T11:03:41.398-05:00AsiaMongoliaRTWTrans-Mongolian RRTravelTravel Days Our last morning in the Gobi. We woke up to a treat: for breakfast, rice pudding. And it was really good! Go Tumenbayar. We hiked around the local area, read and just relaxed before we drove back to UB. Yum.  Clean, white, and sweet My little nook (or Kindle) spot. But, before we left, we made on more pit stop...  Mongolian style. Oh boy.  This could be interesting. (we took http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/11/to-ger-or-not-to-ger-day-5-more-desert.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1Mandalgovi, Mongolia45.761219 106.26529745.406734 105.633583 46.115703999999994 106.897011tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-7033299854359574071Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:30:00 +00002011-11-20T11:07:08.472-05:00gobiHikesMongoliaRTWTravel Trekking through Ih Gazriin Chuluu Like each day before, it was a rough morning. That mutton, rice and POTATO soup we had for dinner last night was now this morning’s breakfast. But, of course, all the potatoes were gone, and the rice had turned especially soupy. Oh boy. Another morning with boortsog and tea for breakfast. Yeah.  Now that's a good way to start your day. And based on http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/11/to-ger-or-not-to-ger-day-four-nomadic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0Аймгийн төв зам, Mandalgovi, Mongolia45.742610220905341 106.408081054687545.565486720905341 106.09222405468751 45.919733720905342 106.72393805468749tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-6989922474217409782Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:32:00 +00002011-11-13T10:32:41.288-05:00AsiaMongoliaRTWTrans-Mongolian RRTravel We started the day off with more Boorskt – the least offensive (and at times decent) of the Mongolian food.  Its an easy breakfast, dipped in the tea the stale biscuits soften up nicely, and the bits of dough left in the tea allowed me to deem all the other bits floating in the tea: dirt, dust, and assorted other unknown debris as boorskt bits.  It worked for everyone. Boorskt.  But watch http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/11/to-ger-or-not-to-ger-day-3-intellectual.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1Mandalgovi, Mongolia45.761219 106.26529745.406734 105.633583 46.115703999999994 106.897011tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-3513682367346466016Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:24:00 +00002011-11-10T00:27:15.368-05:00gobiMongoliaRTWTrans-Mongolian RRTravel Desert Trekking We woke up to another misadventure.  And it had nothing to do with our tent.  It had to do with breakfast.  What we thought was a strange looking omelet turned out to be Urum – the thick layer of skin that is formed when boiling milk is stirred with a wooden dipper as it cools.  Supposedly, this is a real treat. Treat? It had a milky flavor (no surprise there) and was http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/11/desert-trekking-we-woke-up-to-another.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1Saintsagaan, Mongolia45.790509467524721 106.7211914062545.081952467524722 105.45776390625 46.49906646752472 107.98461890625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6443472645076333443.post-1896876506466863867Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:21:00 +00002011-11-07T22:21:54.602-05:00AsiaMongoliaRTWTrans-Mongolian RRTravelTravel Days You know you’re in for a fun day when the itinerary calls for a departure by rural bus. Travelling in Mongolia is not easy. Its road system is, how shall we say, rudimentary. In fact, once you leave Ulaanbaatar (“UB”) there are no roads. Just a series of dirt paths that run for hundreds of miles joining and separating and re-joining again as the bus, mini-bus, and jeep drivers choose http://www.jdmesh.com/2011/11/to-ger-or-not-to-ger-day-1-travel-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0Mandalgovi, Mongolia45.761219 106.26529745.406734 105.633583 46.115703999999994 106.897011