Thursday, 23 September 2010
Telescopes To Russia
I've developed this habbit of reading several books simultaneously. I've always been intrigued by Russia and plan on visiting someday. It's a fascinating country;Pushkin,Fyodor Dostoyevsky,the winter palace,the mystery shrouding the disappearance of Anastasia from the royal family... So much to pique your curiousity. I'm also reading Daniel Kalder's Strange Telescopes,an anti travel novel about his year long quest in search of the most bizarre people and places in Russia.Follow his search for the mythical lost city of tramps in the sewers of Moscow,and hunt for demons and exorcists in the Ukraine. Then there's the messiah, a one time traffic cop with thousands of followers awaiting the apocalypse in Siberia. Plus a secret lurking in the only wooden skyscraper on the plannet. It is darkly comic and heaving with weird and wonderful characters.
Ok, when you go to Russia, you NEED to post about how your adventure was. In the past few years, I've had reservations about going to Russia because of the many racist attacks on blacks there.
ReplyDeleteWill definitely post about it when I go.It has a rich history of literature and fascinates me. Yeah, I think the racist attacks are disgusting. When you're black and like to travel there's always that element in the back of your mind. I refuse to let that thwart me,I'll travel wherever my heart desires and ignorant people will just have to get over it. When I went to Greece on my own, I literally got stared at wherever I went. At the beach,I thought some people wanted to approach and ask to touch my hair. It was almost as if the concept of a black person on a beach was alien to them. Bizzarre and hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you and I see something else that we might have in common. I love travelling alone. I find that people are less intimidated to come up to you when you are by yourself. In Mexico, when I was travelling by myself, I met a wonderful family who invited me to dinner for food and conversation. I had a lovely time.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to hearing and seeing pix from your trip to Russia.
Mexico sounds great, what a lovely family inviting you to dinner like that! So nice and that's what's heartening about travelling. You'll encounter some idiots but will also meet some genuinely lovely people. Totally agree re travelling alone, I loved it. You just have to be sensible and safe. People do find you more approachable,I've met some cool people.
ReplyDelete