celestial back spine

Mongolia is the most sparcely populated country per square kilometre in the world.  That description is not enough to understand how far apart Mongolians are in their country or how they keep their way of life, as many of tham still live as their ancestors lived 1000 years ago, as nomads or semi nomads, raising animals and enduring the brutal winters that lash against these lands.  At the beginning Mongolia did not look very promising as UB is like a cloud that overshadows the earth of constant blue skies, but once you leave this chaotic metropolis of Soviet buildings and gers spread about beyond its borders, you find the read attraction of Mongolia: the rich and varied landscapes and wildlife.
I loved Mongolia: immense and beautiful, different from anywhere else I have seen in my life, and Mongolians are different as well: influenced by the Russians and Chinese, for sure, but they still keep their kind and humorous character.

THE BEST

To see the milky way so clearly, and that circular phenomenon.  It was fascinating to be able to appreciate so clearly the stars in the silence of the Gobi

 

THE GOOD The surprises that Mongolia reveals after each hilltop.  It is difficult to get bored of appreciating the huge landscapes.  The sand dunes of the Gobi.  Despite the fact that they don't extend very far, it's one of my favourite landscapes.  My travel group, as we got on quite well and it was a shame when we had to take different paths.

 

THE BAD Mongolians genetically can't take alcohol and when they are drunk they can become unpleasant.  Ulan Batar, which is a city that is very difficult to love and it has high levels of crime.  I think I eventually made my peace with UB.

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Rusifikaciya

In order to facilitate the expansion and homogeneity of the Russion empire and of the USSR, the Russians created a process called Rusificaciya, that is, Russification.  One of the great achievements of this process was that the language expanded across all areas with very little variation.  Another characteristic of Rusificaciya was the fact that Russian families were sent all over the territory so that tehre would be an ethnic mix and so that the local families would 'Russify' themselves culturally and politically.

Russia is the largest country in the world and its population has gone through very dramatic changes.  In less than two centuries it has gone from being a feudal land to an empire, then becoming the centre of communism until communism broke down and then Russia became a capitalist country.  The remains of the Soviet Union were picked by the wisest and the remaining crumbs were divided up among its decent folk.  Now the country is growing and has a large number of natural resources, extended territory, armaments and miliatary knowledge, as well as thirst for power.  With an absurd bureaucracy, mafia everywhere and a detestabe reputation, it's difficult to imagine what you will find when you come into the country.

I had a lot of expectations of Russia, many of which were negative, but through its people my opinion took a completely different path.  Gustavo with his Colombian point of view, Aleksa and Karina, the provadnidtsas from the train, Rina and her mother, Jorge the Spanish guy with a Russian soul, Elena the Russian girl with the heart of a dancer, the beauty and complexity of the language and in spite of the fact that many people think differently, the delight of its cuisine... all this and much more has made Russia occupy a special place in my memories.

There is a term in informatics called WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) and I want to describe Russia in this way.  At the beginning it looks horrible, indomitable, inhospitable, ugly buildings and people who can treat you like an enemy, but close to these ugly masses of concrete, you see unique and beautiful buildings and people who are extremely hospitable and kind.  There are those who treat you badly from the beginning and those who treat you well until the end.  I think my heart has started a process of Rusificaciya.

THE BEST

• Meeting Aleksa and Karina on the train.  I hadn't expected such hospitality.

THE GOOD

• Lake Baikal.  What a magical place with amazing water
• St Petersburg and Moscow, two very special cities
  
• The Transsiberian.  It's great spending 46 hours on a train.

THE BAD

• Extreme bureaucracy which afflicts the whole country, in theory and in practice- you have to get a visa with an invitation, you have to register the visa in every city where you spend more than three days and each time you see a police officer you have to look in a different direction and walk away from them so they wouldn't 'fine' me due to problems with my visa.

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