Day 1, Thurs, 7/23
Incheon, Korea.
Okay, as exciting as this is, the fact that my spine feels like it’s about to snap before I’ve even gotten on the plane is probably not a good sign.
According to all the guide books and blogs about the transsiberian express, there is no food on board except for a crummy bread cart that occasionally crawls by in the hallway. Even worse, the old lady that pushes it along tends to rip off foreigners by selling a roll by the U.S. equivalent of $10 or so, hoping that we’re ignorant of the exchange rate. Who could imagine a 70-year-old grandma to be so mean? Anyway, seeing that my time on the transsiberian adds up to about 7 days with just one stop, I ended up stuffing a week’s worth of food in my backpack and guitar case. The lack of a refrigerator and a microwave was going to be an enormous challenge as well, for it shaved off about 99% of my favorite food. I might as well just starve for a week.
Luckily, there was going to be a boiler on the train. Score - I guess I wouldn’t have to starve for a week. I went on a spree and bought ten cup noodles, a bag of sausages, ham, seaweed, kimchi, and microwavable rice. The packaging on the sausages, ham and kimchi boldly read: KEEP REFRIGERATED, but oh hell I’m gonna be too hungry to care and what are the odds that I’d become deathly ill? Besides, kimchi doesn’t necessarily go bad, it just becomes a little sour. As for the sausages I could just dunk them in boiling water and they’d be ready to eat. Lastly, to ‘microwave’ the rice, I would just save an empty cup noodle bowl, wash it, dump the rice in, pour boiling water all over it, wait a few minutes, drain the water, and indulge. The result would be semi-wet and gooey rice. Yum.
Probably not one of my brightest moments.
The last problem I had to consider before I ventured off was where on my body I should hide my money. Every single person at the Russian embassy and travel agency said they’ve had something(s) stolen at some point(s). Hearing this, I could either: 1) blow off their warning with a condescending smirk and simply bank on the possibility that I’d be the first person NOT to have anything stolen, or 2) appreciate their concern and take some precautions. It was a hard choice but my parents convinced me to go with option 2. Apparently Russians are masters of pick- pocketing, almost as if it’s a major form of art - even better than the thieves that thrive in Europe or the U.S. I’d obviously have to hide my cash somewhere beneath my clothes… Hmm. I first thought about keeping my wallet around the groin area, but that would prove rather uncomfortable. I then decided to separate my money into three different envelopes - Ruble(?), Euro and Dollar - and Scotch tape two of them around my thighs and the third on my stomach. Then I realized my poor, sensitive skin would get irritated and rebel in the form of a rash. Finally, I thought of buying one of those traveler pouches that goes around your waist, but then I thought, nah, I had no intention of looking like a loser.
So the three envelopes are hidden in a folder in my back pack, which is pretty much what I’ve been doing during my past travels. If you have any better recommendations, feel free to share. As of now, I keep hearing my name and flight number being angrily repeated through the airport speakers, so I should probably board my plane.
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