st pete drunk

i'm typing this entry out as 3 of us tired old men sit on a bench in the shade of (oak?) trees in the courtyard of the winter palace/hermitage.

we have just sped past the musuem in 2 hrs, and that has left me feeling that age is really catching up with me. so as I sit and type, let me recount the past 30 hrs.

we left on sat morn at 940 and spent a frantic (on my part) 20 mins searching for intl hostel, where we would take a 5 hr walking tour round st pete for 430 roubles.

we saw the local and the touristy side of st petersburg, the central market, the baffingly magnificent cathedral of spilled blood, the underground art museum that was once used for underground activities during the communist times and also now houses the greatest russian fan of the beatles who wants to build a temple of love that is shaped like a volcano, with windows to let sun in and fill you with love. and this temple will be built on the gulf of finland. hmm. we also had lunch at a cowboy ranch near the flea market - prices were cheap, fortunately I wasn't having any american food. there's a statue of a small cat 1 story above street level along a certain street. legend has it that this cat had another cat as its lover, which lived across the street. they remained separated and could not get together during their natural lives. so to help them achieve success in their relationship, you have to throw coins to them. if your coin doesn't fall to the ground, your wish will be granted. mine didn't fall to the ground. hehe.

we then met elena, a russian graduate who brought us around. she's really energetic. which made me feel even more shack. we managed to find that lovely cafe at the underground museum, where the sun, baltika ( a russian beer) and the rooftop cafe combined to form an intangible syrup that made me extremely happy and relaxed. soon after, we went roofing.

roofing is an amazing experience. it really really is. amazing. what happens is elena gets into residential buildings and leads us to the top, where we navigate wires, slippery zinc roofs and sooty chimneys to get an unparalled view of st petersburg. the wind in your hair, the cityscape of roofs that stretch to the horizon and the gold gold warmth of the 6pm sun are hardly sufficient to accurately describe that experience.

it was 7 plus by then, and after some frantic walking, it was decided to have dinner instead of going to a jazz bar elena suggested, since it would be full by then. it was at a WW2 restaurant that we had our first russian experience.

I had some roast meat dish that turned out to be a soup dish ( solyvanka). the guy from the other table started talking to elena and was trying to convince me that I could eat the soup. soon after some talking, we started drinking vodka. it seems that after the vodka (giant) shot, you're supposed to take a chaser of apple juice or beer. after 2 shots, we had to decline and kinyan was like rudolph's nose. soon, our party of 4 became 7 and we started hunting for beer. thankfully, we managed to get away ( I was getting worried and wary of the possibility of getting robbed). returning to our hostel to rest for some time, elena managed to convince the receptionist to let us return past the curfew and kinyan got a massage from elena (wah lau...).

I soon found myself walking to the metro, taking the metro, and then found myself at the river. it was 12 30 am and the sun was just starting to set. fireworks erupted twice from our left and soon, the drawbridges started to rise as passenger boats started migrating to the right. as it was getting late (seriously, being on your feet for 14 hrs and having drank is not very fun), we headed back.

it's been such a long time since i've been so amazed and 3 things have happened today that made me feel so. 1st, the roofing, 2ndly, the enchantingly magnificent sunset and 3rdly, the baffingly warmth of russian hospitality. it's so strange for me as an asian to experience such generousity ( about 300 r was spent for each round of drink). then again, as k &a said, we're foreigners and they won their soccer bet. I would feel compelled to buy the next round of drinks or feel that they would want something of me.

tonight was really an eye-opening experience and I can't wait to see what else would happen next.

-l