M-whY

In any case, judging from the train between the two, there's plenty of wealth in Moscow and St Petersburg. The cabin and carriage was the most plush I've ever seen. We arrived in St Petersburg just as the sky was getting light. A representative from the travel agency was on the platform to welcome me.

"Hello, Mark? I'll be taking you to your homestay. My name is," and he uttered something completely incomprehensible to me. I gave him a look that said, You'd better have a nickname. "I know it's hard to pronounce, some people call me John instead."

John it is then. He helped me buy a metro pass and we down a long set of escalators to what must be the world's deepest metro system. Nowhere near as extensive as Moscow's, it'd only take us three-quarters of the way there; At the exit, we had to catch one of the ubiquitous minivans acting as buses. There weren't many people out and about, "It's a holiday today," said John, which explained why seats had been so empty. "No work, everyone's still at home sleeping."

"What holiday is it?"

"Not exactly sure what it's called. Something commemorating the Russian Revolution. It's a new holiday."

Svetlana was already up though. Unlike my host in Moscow, she spoke very little english, but she had done the homestay thing many times before and knew the whole routine. She'd constantly had family around, and to be honest, I'm not sure who exactly lived with her. She got me settled in a room, John gave me a rundown of things to see, how to get around, etc. I had him explain how those minivans worked - it looked awfully complicated for someone who doesn't speak Russian - and he wrote down a note I could show the driver whenever I got on.

"Any other questions?"

"Do I need to have my visa registered?"

He wasn't sure, and made a call to a superior to get an answer. The verdict that I didn't surprised me; I had heard otherwise in Moscow, but then again, rules for these things are complicated and maybe different people interpreted them in different ways? I didn't have any more after that. John left a number in case I needed anything, and with nothing else he could do for me, returned home. (It's a holiday, remember?)

A couple days ago, I bruised my foot, and from overcompensating, my knee was beginning to feel a bit gimpy. It's nothing serious, something that'll get better on its own, but as a precaution I resolved to tackle St Petersburg in bite sized chunks. After a brief rest, I followed John's minivan instructions and reached the Metro. Two stops away was Nevsky Prospekt, main thoroughfare through St Petersburg where all the people with money come to spend it. Blocks of buildings were interrupted by cathedrals, the most impressive being Kazann Cathedral. Bookstores sold Harry Potter and the Russian imitation, Nina. At the end of the Nevsky Prospekt, a street branched right, through the General Staff Building arch, into Palace Square. Positioned across the way was the green and white Winter Palace, former residence of Empress Elizabeth, but now the home of the Hermitage museum.

I'd see the exhibits some other time. Today, I continued along one of the city's many canals, eventually reaching the Church on Spilled Blood. An awkward name for such a awesome building, it resembled St Basil's in Moscow, though with a finer interior, arguably more impressive. At this point, I decided to call it a day. There were many more attractions but I was sticking to my diet of a few sights a day

I made the mistake of trying to eat dinner at dinnertime. McDonald's was packed; Replace the images of Russians queueing for bread with Russians queueing for Big Macs. I had decided on the golden arches because that's all I had money for. I keep forgetting I'm no longer in asia when I'm withdrawing cash from an ATM, and that even with accomodation already paid for, I can't live on US$25 a day anymore. (Well, I probably could, but that would mean staying home and not seeing anything.) The girl at the counter didn't speak any english - I should've asked John how to say 'value meal' in Russian. Putting on a big smile and relying on sign language, I managed to convey I wanted fries and medium coke with my burger.

That left me with exactly 12 roubles (US$1 = 27 roubles), three short of minivan fare. So from the metro station, I had no alternative but to walk 25 minutes back to my homestay. My knee protested with each step. At the end of it, I was wishing I had taken the day off too. Celebrating that holiday that John didn't know the name of.

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