Russia, Day 6

Allen, Kade, Sasha, Timour's dad, Marina (Timour's gal)

in Moscow, Russia apartment

Timour's apartment building.

 

Day Six 

I guess the vodka played with my normal sleep pattern, because I was awake at 6 AM.  After walking out onto the apartment’s balcony and peering out at surrounding buildings and the playground below, I decided I couldn’t leave Timour’s flat without a proper bath – a warm one.  He had the nicest bathtub – extremely long and perfect for my body.  Ah, and the warm water.  What a nice change from the hostel!  After my bath, I went back to sleep.  Later, after waking up close to noon, it was time for a morning-after brunch, fit with my more toasting.  The morning vodka wasn’t too bad.  In fact, Timour’s dad said the type we were drinking is just right for the system after a night of partying.  Turns out it wasn’t too bad.  I was also very hungry, and found last night’s leftovers to be just as scrumptious.  After eating, we were off to do something else.  Timour had one more outing up his sleeve.  This time we jumped into a taxi and headed towards the river.  We walked past a go-kart course and down to a paved path running alongside the river.  It was getting very hot.  As we walked towards some big riverboats, on occasion I would look down at the grassy area between the walkway and the river.  And, every once in a while, there was a sunbather.  Eventually we made it to the dock, bought some tickets and just waited.  Finally the boat arrived.  We secured good seating on the upstairs deck, which was fortunately covered.  The boat took us up and down the river.  On the riverbanks, we could see apartment blocks.  I noticed a huge difference in how nice Timour’s apartment building was in comparison to some others.  One section of buildings looked, not only hideous, but uninhabitable.  I hope no one lived in them!  On board, I observed a young Russian couple – the guy roughly my age and his attractive wife and their cute baby.  At one point, they got into an argument of some kind and the lady started crying.  Later, she picked up a cigarette and smoked.  I also noticed Marina smoking.  Seems like a lot of people smoke here!  We ordered some pistachio ice cream and made the most of the afternoon cruise.  It was enjoyable.  After we exited the vessel, we walked through a mostly run-down mini-fair with kids’ rides and a pony or two.  We reached the metro station and said our goodbyes to Timour and Marina.  Next stop would be the Moscow State Circus!  I was worried we wouldn’t be rested enough. 

We got to the circus well ahead of time.  We lined up with the crowd, eagerly anticipating a fun-filled evening.  The careful observers we are, Kade and I took note of the “supermodel mom” who was caring for her cute baby.  I joked that this baby must be extremely happy to have some knockout mom with such big tits.  We also joked that if she entered the Headland National Bank, not only could she procure a line of credit without any questions, but the whole bank might come to a complete stop.  We made it to our seats.  Looking around, we noticed Asians  - some that definitely looked Thai.  We also noticed some older Americans who were taking in the show.  What a night it would be!  In front of us sat a mom with her two kids.  All night the kids played with us and had a blast at the circus.  

The one-ring circus was all that it was billed to be.  There were some animals – a young grizzly, some elephants, poodles and more.  The acts they did were incredible.  Not to be outdone, the human animals put on amazing shows themselves.  Never had I seen some extraordinary acrobatics and high-flying acts.  It took your breath away.  Oh, the best part was undoubtedly the clown, who brought pleasure to the faces of everyone when he was warming up the crowd and performing between acts.  The jingle that played as he walked around and did his goofy things was also catchy and fun.  I will never forget it!  What’s very funny is that a second clown, after the intermission, walked down our aisle looking for something.  Lo and behold, he reached our row and started looking under seats, all the while getting closer and closer to me!  My heart was beating nervously.  He then reaches under my seat and pulls out a hedgehog!  Then, as the light shone down on both of us, the clown holds up the hedgehog in one hand and rubs my head with his other!  The crowd loved it!  I thought it was cute.  I even petted the hedgehog and tugged at the clown’s fake beard before he left.  At least now I know my head, when it’s shaved, resembles a hedgehog’s quills!!!!   The show ended with a spectacular elephant act.  As we left the circus, we talked with some Thais who were on a tour.  Their huge bus was pulling up just as we crossed the street towards the metro. 

At this point, it was kind of late, but we had some energy in reserves.  We decided to go to Old Arbat Street, an area that is the Bohemian part of Moscow.  We got about one metro station short of it and walked the rest of the way.  The weather was nice and our confidence level was high.  We walked through an underground walkway.  We heard some street performers and saw a pack of people standing around listening.  We must have been near Arbat!  We were!  We walked down the Pedestrian Street, mostly observing people and looking out for a place to eat.  Many businesses and kiosks had closed due to the time, so the Arbat was not at its peak.  Nonetheless, we walked on.  We saw police questioning a man who had obviously been beaten up.  His blood was on the street.  We found a fairly crowded bar with outdoor seating.  We went inside and ordered from the menu.  We ate grilled trout and some French fries.  The food was lousy, especially after our days of gorging with Timour.  In addition, the service was mediocre at best.  On top of that, a man was making an “ass” of himself in the restaurant.  If that wasn’t enough, the restrooms were extremely filthy.  It was time to go. 

On the road, we found a McDonalds.  On a far wall – built into the wall – were three Internet stations.  It was free!  I indulged myself while Kade went to the restroom. Afterwards, we walked down to a 24 hour supermarket, which was very impressive.  A lady that worked there spoke good enough English to point us in the direction of the metro.  More walking!  We were feeling exhausted, again.  We found the metro entrance, took the metro escalator deep underground and got on.  The people on the metro were a bit rougher-looking and the metro cars – compared to the daytime ones – were not as clean and nice.  We made it safely home after a long, long day.