M-whY

The last two hours were the most difficult. I hadn't shaved or bathed the whole while, I was tired of junk food, and the nerd inside me was itching to get online. The closer we got, the slower the train seemed to move. When we finally pulled into Moscow station, I was among the first out, tumbling through the exit with the eagerness of a sailor who's been at sea too long, stopping just short of kissing the ground. At the end of the platform, the man waiting to pick me up couldn't have had a more uninviting face. He had the look of a villain in all those anti Russian Cold War movies; If it really takes 17 muscles to smile and 41 to frown, guess which 17 he was missing. Fortunately, he was just the driver. The real Marlis Travel agent waiting for me at the hotel was much friendlier.

She got me checked in, oriented, and explained that my visa needed to be registered, a service the hotel provided for free. It would take about an hour. In the meantime, I retired to my room, a 3-star single I was glad I splurged on when booking this trip. Clean and no longer scruffy, I could've easily curled up in the soft bed with a good book, except having been cooped up for so long, I was now eager for a walk.

My hotel was located in a quiet section of town several kilometers away from city center. The Moscow Metro is supposed to be convenient and efficient. Footnote that with if you can read the Cyrillic alphabet. Not knowing which way to go, I stood on the platform as trains sped by in both directions, trying to match what's on my Metro map with the signs. Okay, the letter 'A', followed by something that looks like an upside down 'V', then an 'E'... I guessed right, and was congratulating myself on my cleverness, when I realized I wasn't out of the woods just yet. The terminal stop was the junction of four metro lines, and what does the sign for 'Exit' look like? I took a wrong turn and ended up on some other platform, but eventually, I did make it to street level.

I didn't intend on doing any sightseeing; I actually just wanted to get a feel for the city layout and find an internet cafe. My aimless wandering took me through the fabulous GUM shopping mall, to the Red Square where a procession was being rehearsed. The night wouldn't have been noteworthy, except for this one incident I had. In retrospect, it had to have been a scam. Let me explain why I think so...

I was pretty much just minding my own business right outside the Kremlin, near the Okhotny Ryad shopping mall. It was after dark, but there were plenty of people around - no reason to be especially alert. A man about ten paces in front of me 'accidently' had a clip of papers and cash drop out of his pocket. A second man - I'm not sure if he was in on it all - a few feet to my left picked it up. He started to shout at the man ahead; I continued moving because the whole situation really didn't concern me. All of the sudden, he got another idea, and sidled up to me, asking and motioning whether I wanted to split the money with him. I shook my head, pointing at the first guy, who at this precise moment, realized something was missing. He turned around, saw me pointing, concluded that we had picked up his money. He came over, the clip was handed back to him, and I thought everything was good.

Then a police officer appeared. He came up to the three of us, flashed his badge, then asked to see some ID. This isn't unheard of - any guidebook will tell you Russian police may stop and ask to see your passport. Meanwhile, Guy #1 is still babbling something in Russian, mixing in the words "US dollar", as if he was missing more money than was on the clip. The officer had Guy #2 turn out his pockets. At this point, I'm beginning to get suspicious. When he asked me to do the same, I hesitated. "It's okay, it's okay," he kept repeating. In the end, I went along with it. I never carry US dollars in my wallet anyways (it's tucked away in a secret pocket in my money belt) and I knew my 500 roubles were safe. They were obviously looking for US dollars.

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced it was a setup. Why would a Russian be carrying anything other than Russian roubles? And the timing of everything - when the guy noticed something was missing, when the police officer appeared - was just a little too perfect to be coincidence. Guy #2 I'm not sure what to make of. He too could've been at the wrong place at the wrong time like me, though I can also see what his role could've been: To try and get the clip in my hands so as to incriminate me. It's a good thing I didn't bite, and my cash was carefully tucked away where it was inaccessible. Had they actually found US dollars on me, who knows what might've happened.

But at the time, I didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until the next morning when I replayed the situation in my head that grasped what had happened. I found my internet cafe, wandered around a bit more, then returned to my hotel to rest. Before sleeping, I gave Anna Karenina another try. All happy families resemble each other, but ... zzz.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!