Russian Rockabilly

I'm back in Moscow now for a day. I'm headed out on the trans - Siberian  tonight. I had a great time in  St. Petersburg. I ended up meeting a really cool guy named Vasily at a pub. I was going a little crazy having not really talked to anyone in a day or so. I bought the whole place a round of beers. There were only 4 people there so, no big deal. I did get their attention. I'll have to remember that one. So, this guy Vasily's a DJ and he took me to this really cool club later that night. It was in an old bomb shelter. There were all these narrow passageways that eventually led to pretty big room It was very dark, loud, hot and very crowded. My glasses fogged over. It was pretty intense and felt a little like I walked in on some den of vampires. I'm no kind of dancer but, the place was really interesting. It's always so great to meet a local because you're able to access things you'd never ever find. Just walking the streets with him was great because I got to see more weird areas of town. On Thursday after sleeping in a bit I found this sand sculpture contest on the beach of this old fortress. I got pictures of that stuff. I went back to Telegraph the pub where I met Vasily. I met a couple of funny guys there. One named Calvin. An Aussie. The other this older guy named Stan. Both these guys are basically here for the women. I've met guys like this before and while I too find the Russian ladies quite attractive. These guys are on a mission. Stan and ex record label exec. now lives here permanently. He's gotta be 60 and he's taking out these 25 year old girls. Calvin "just can't get enough of these russian birds" Insert aussie accent here...Last night I went for a walk by the Fontaka river before I had to catch a train. They're these embankment barges with makeshift bars on them. They usually have a grill set up and sell beer and hot dogs. Russians love to grill. This barge was a little run down but, I had a walk down. The people seemed to be having a good time. I liked the music they were playing. I start talking to the barmaid, tell her I'm from Texas and she gets real excited. She and all her friends are Really in to rockabilly music. They all are dressed kind of like greasers with slick back hair and blue jean jackets. Great guys and gals. I ran back to my room got my camera and portraits of a couple of them. They are in two different bands and ARE the rockabilly scene here. My favorite people I've met yet. We talked all about music. They love Carl Perkins, Link Wray, and Bill Haley. Some of you'll understand why that's so cool. They don't like Elvis at all. He was no Rebel Sergay says. By the looks of these guys you wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley of St. Petersburg. This guy Ilya had a mean looking scar across his face. Well, We were having such a great time I almost missed my train. I piled into the back of this old beat up Chevy Suburban and raced to the station. Me and 6-7 guys and girls. They took me all the way on board and made sure I found the right compartment. It was quite a scene me and these Greaser guys after many beers and a few vodka's stumbling around the train station. Some of my best times yet. I only wished I'd met them sooner. That's what's going on. I'm gonna go see superman in russian now.       dylan

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WHITE NIGHTS

a few observations, Russians don't smile a hell of a lot, they love ice cream, they aren't allowed to drink on the street anymore but do anyway. The architecture is either powerful, minimal and, scary - or it's like an explosion of color with brightly colored onion domes. The city design is very structured and sterile but, there are flowers everywhere. Lot's of huge flowerbeds. It doesn't seem to ever really get dark here. DId you see that movie White Nights with Baryshnikov and gregory hines? You get the idea. This has made it very hard for me to re-adjust my already screwed up sleeping pattern. It kind of gets dark around 10-11 p.m. I have been falling asleep around 4-5 a.m. and by 4-5 the suns back up. I'm in St. Petersburg now. Forgive my ramble I was on a train all night and am trying to stay up all day and get it together. Moscow was impressive to say the least. Walking around the Kremlin area, whoa, fear through city planning. My highlight for sure was my first nights dinner at Cafe Pushkin and my visit to the state museum Tetrykov gallery. It's filled with really interesting, yes interesting 17th. century Russian painting. Many of these guys had a really handle on the decisive moment idea of photography. The genre scenes are far from posed and static but feel lifted from photographs directly. I can't figure on how they painted these complex scenes from memory. I'm liking St Pete's more already. my hotel Sovetskaya is a lot more my speed. I spent a fortune at the Metropol. This place is very sparse complete with oddly positioned mauve couches, really bad fountains and, a general surplus of wasted space. The place is huge. I need a bigwheel. My room is kind of like a prison cell. The bed belongs in a LES tenement circa 1888. I love it. I do have a great big window that looks out over a canal. I walked a few miles today to the Hermitage. My St. Pete's guidebook has this to say. " there are museums, there are great museums and, there is the Hermitage. It's pretty amazing. Imagine if you delivered the Louvre a fatal dose of LSD, steroids, birthday cake and, Bernini. It's madness and, It never ends AND, it's filled with really old tourists following pom poms or the popular fresh red daisy. The whole place is a really rough around the edges. An army of  scruffy stray cats are poised to take over. It's surrounded by dozens of cats. They lazily guard the place occasionally a fight breaks out with a band of stray pigeons. I arrived early enough to race to the top floors and find myself virtually alone for a hour or so. It was very spooky up there. Many of the exhibits are incomplete, empty cases, unlit rooms. The place is very understaffed. I  actually saw a woman stroke a Van Gogh???? Crazy. Strange mix as well. They have a current show up of DeKooning late work. I'm still sorting this place out. The first few days of these trips is trying. One of the hardest things is definitely the language barrier. I really should have gotten a handle on the Cyrillic alphabet and stuck with those language tapes. It gets lonely in Russia with no one to talk to. I'm really looking forward to my time in Siberia and Lake Baikal. Oh, the trains are very nice. I had a great ride last night, even without sleep. And, for those of you wondering...the women are VERY attractive but, not very friendly so far. I will say this, I must have mastered my swagger. I've not been asked for my papers once and have been spoken to in Russian many times. Do I look Russian to you?             dylan

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Red Square

Greetings from Red Square. I made it in a little late yesterday due to some airline delays. I met a cool guy on the plane who writes for the times. I'm gonna meet up with him later this week for a beer. I had dinner with my friends Elena and Masha last night at Cafe Pushkin. The food was great, very traditional Russian. I had beef stroganoff some bready rolls stuffed with cabbage and a fantastic bottle of poully fume. They took me to a happening nightclub after dinner. Good Times. My hotel is very nice and across the street from the Bolshoi Ballet and Red Square. The dining room is this massive Shining like ballroom complete with jazz quartet playing for no one. spooky. It is a bit on the pricey side but for my first 2 nights here...I'll be roughing it most of the trip. I slept in today and am off now to go explore. More later. -

-dylan

The weather is amazing. I had to wear a jacket last night.

Final Note

Well, I made it home. I became a bit lazy on the emails there at the end. I made some friends and, the beach is a busy place. No time for Internet cafe etc. After leaving Udaipur. I made the long journey down to Goa, Known for it's party scene, just in search of a quiet stretch of beach.



I didn't so much find that but, was impressed with Goa. There were amazing churches and architecture. Once colonized by they Portuguese, the Christian influence is huge. I met lots of Indians with names like Thomas and Francis. They are big on Saint Francis there.



It was a beautiful place and given the churches, Christian icons everywhere and, the introduction of the portuguesesque language of Goan. I did feel at home somehow. I stayed only 4 days but, met some nice girls from England and an Australian guy. Billy, Amy, & Chloe. They were going on a backwater boat cruise on this converted houseboat rice-barge thing.





It launched in the state of Kerala and sails the largest lake in India along with what are called the Keralen backwaters. A little like the Florida Everglades minus the alligators plus endless palm trees. It took us 24 hours of hellish bus and train travel to get there but, man it was worth it. One of the more expensive things I did on the trip but, worth every penny.







3 days two nights sailing this fantastic boat with a three member crew including a chef to prepare all of our meals. The boat was two bedroom, two bath. Amazing. Just floating, swimming and, eating the most incredible fresh seafood.



A highlight of the trip and, finally a truly relaxing experience. I have the guys card and would send you all tomorrow if I could. We then headed down to a beach called Varkala, also in Kerala. I spent the remainder of my trip there reading, relaxing and , eating some of the best seafood curries I imagine I'll ever have. The state of Kerala is wonderful.



The best Indian food in the country. Far lighter than the food in the north and, somehow the people much more friendly, smarter and, less aggressive. I guess just more laid-back. It's hard to say which city I visited was my favorite. Each place had it's ups and downs but, on a whole Kerala is a great spot.



If anyone ever makes plans to make it to this crazy country. Please let me know. I feel like I had the ultimate sampler platter. From the Beach, jungle, desert and, back again. I saw a lot. I figure I logged over 120 hours of train, plane and, bus travel in the last 5 weeks. I'm still processing it all and struggling with some mean jet lag but, in the end...It was the trip of a lifetime. India is full of contradiction and mystery. Indian people are some fo the warmest people I've met in my travels. They're funny and at times misunderstood. They are master thieves & messengers of misinformation. As I've mentioned before. Ask 6 people the same question you may receive 6 different answers. They don't mean any harm they just can't say "I don't know" Too proud I guess. It adds to the adventure. Movement in India is challenging but if you're patient the rewards are great. Ups & downs, good days and bad, nowhere else have I felt the scales tip so far either direction. Such extremes.



Dodging the scammers and thieves you always find someone real and true who'd give you the shirt off their back and all the struggle melts away. Duality, the most extreme wealth and the most extreme and ugly poverty. It's difficult to describe and is best experienced. Sometimes things just don't make sense. I made peace with this fact. I believe all of you should experience this beautiful country and would challenge everyone to get out and see the world.



We Americans don't travel enough. The percentage of Americans that live their entire lives without experiencing these foreign lands is staggering, more that 60 percent. And believe me. We need to get out there and defend ourselves these days. So, I want to know where to pick up my certificate of completion. I made it. Not until you've had explosive diarrhea in a filthy Indian bathroom, on a train speeding though the desert, with no toilet paper at 5 a.m. have you been truly compromised.



Thank you India

Best, Dylan

pictures forthcoming

octopussy

I've spent the last few days in udaipur. the most beautiful place i've ever been, period. to think i almost skipped it. the city surrounds lake pichola and, around the city mountains, temples... in the middle of the lake is a palace. once used my the king of this area, now a very expensive hotel. many scenes from the film octopussy starring the infintely inadequate roger moore were filmed on the lake and around the palace.





several of the lakeside hotels screen the film nightly though my viewing attempt was interupted by a broken VCR. the place is the most beautiful i've seen in India. there are these little birds that fly around in packs over the lake, like airbourne schools of fish flying together. the sunsets, insane.





the crazy thing about the lake is that until 2 weeks ago it had been completely dried up on account of drought. it's really difficult to imagine this palace sitting in the middle of a dried up lakebed. the whole city is ecstatic because this huge deluge came in and refilled it in two days. so strange. all the kids are going crazy swimming and all the women are catching up on their laundry.



i've been laying pretty low here reading and swimming. i didn't really meet anyone here, though i did run into an art director from paris named philip. I knew he was in india but bumping into him on a small street near my hotel. well, a very small world indeed. I did make friends with the guy who owns my local internet cafe named bhupendra. he's helped me book onward travel to goa. he also invited me to his family's home for dinner last night. it was such a cool experience. his father is a cop here in udaipur. he works 7 days a week 8 hours a day. he looked really tired. his mother a housewife, as most women are here. the house was modest but, quite nice with a large open air section.



a lot of people here sleep on these cots outside. it's much cooler. i've been trying to work that out. it seems it would be great. bhupsa's mom has a pet parrot that speaks hindi. it's crazy. also this year i met a myna bird in china that spoke chinese. smart birds. so, the meal was great. dal, a kind of bean soup, rice, bread, this really spicy okra thing, and an amazing rice pudding. conversation was difficult. i was under the impression many indians spoke english as a second language, not so. even my friend bhupsa's english is patchy. they had many questions for me. one of the biggest points of discussion is always why i'm not married and they're always surprised i'm travelling alone. bhupsa's father asked me if i would like indian woman. why not i say, he'll get back to me. americans seem quite rare here as well.



indian people like america and americans for the most part but, of course always mention their disapproval of bush and, like the rest of the planet, can't understand why he was re-elected. they dislike him primarily for his support of pakistan. i guess we've been selling them weapons or something whick pisses these guys off. anyway the dinner was great and, being such a curiosity is mostly entertaining. it does get tiring at times saying hello to some 40-50 people a day. mostly kids. i also hear constantly, what country sir? depending on my mood i say canada, england or, the galapagos islands, rarely u.s.a. It's funny how quickly you can become aclimated to such a foreign place. i feel quite comfortable here now. noting like my first email right? i had a great haircut experience yesterday. i think the best haircut i've ever had. i have did a little video of it. he only charged me a dollar fifty. hell, i gave the guy 4 bucks. today i'm leaving udaipur for goa. it's going to take 2 days to get there but, i've heard some rave reviews from other travelers. i"ll be on a bus to mumbai for 12 hours, then a train to goa for another 12. i'll start my fourth book now about this welsh drug smuggler named howard marks, i recently learned from the dylan thomas biography, dylan is an ancient welsh word that means sea.

dylan

Mountain of Monkeys

So, I dropped out for a couple of days. Jaisalmer was fantastic. All did was read and relax on the terrace of my very inexpensive, yet historically relevant hotel.



The hotel operator, as my Italian friends can confirm was a bit on the annoying side, trying to sell me a damn camel ride everyday and, he and his family yelling and fighting all day/ By the way, Michele, Andrea, Elisa...Suresh blames you for the trouble with the jeep. It was very nice overall, though the interior of the fort wall was a bit of a shopping mall.





The most tourists I've seen yet. I kept telling all the shopkeepers, who really hassle you at times, "not shopping, just walking" After awhile they all recognize me and start saying "just walking sir"? Jaisalmer was nice and dry, no rain at all, and very cool at night. I actually had to use a sheet sometimes. What else happened? Nothing, I sort of got bored at the end. So this morning I got up at 4:30 and got on a bus for Mount Abu.





Some of you have found humor in my prior journals well, there is nothing funny about a 15 hour bus ride through the desert. I also keep ending up on these local kind of routes. Everyone on the bus is looking at me like, buddy you're on the wrong bus. This thing is so ragged. The seats are all shredded, dusty, banana peels everywhere.



I'm cool being the only whitey on this trip and all but, I'm conviced I'm the one of maybe 3 other americans in India right now. It actually was a fine trip. The guy riding shotgun. The buses always have this guy who whistles signals and collects money. Anyway this guy is sitting in front of me meditating between stops. He's chanting and stuff, OM...I'm digging that. Every now and then he checkson me, looking back smiling, like I'm some kind of special cargo. I asked him to take my picture with my new digital camera and the whole bus went wild. These guys love camera's and ham it up. I'm on my way to this Mount Abu.







It turns out it's a major tourist destination for Indian travellers. It's an old hill station, whatever that means. It's this kind of oasis on top of a mountain. Lot's of rich kings, majarajahs, sp? built palaces up here and, now they're all hotels. Funny. On my way up the mountain and, on a different bus now. I'm with all seemingly middle class, by our standards, Indian families. I'm thinking. Hmmm. is this cool? I'm seeing alot of monkeys hanging around in the trees along the road. The landscape is really beautiful but, hard to describe. There is a quick transition from desert to mountains. It's lush, but still open. It's kind of Texas hill country, Marfa, Bear Mountain, Oaxaca jungle with lot's of palm trees, camels, and monkeys. I'l try and refine that description with photography tomorow. I made it to my hotel of choice. The Shri Gonesh guest house. It's very nice. Electric blue tile bathroom, T.V. , and 2, yes 2 blankets on the bed. The altitude makes it some 15 degrees cooler up here. I'm pretty tired from my journey. I'm going to go find some dinner and dive into another book. Tomorow I'll explore this strange mountain. Watch out for panthers & sloths. Two other inhabitants of this place. Cheers,

dylan

Thar Desert

So, I get to this really sketchy bus station in Johdpur to catch my ride to Jaisalmer. Before I'm even out of the rickshaw this toothless guy grabs my backpack. It's hard to explain why it's difficult to argue, many factors. I follow the guy around the back of the really sad looking vehicle to a squeaky old hatch in the back. He puts my bag in, demands 10 rupees for carrying it, and I make peace with the idea I may never see it again. The seats onboard are actually not bad. The enviroment is entertaining. Imagine a greyhound bus decorated like one of the indian joints on 6th. street. Lights, music...The ride is 5 hot hours. To my surprise I am the only tourist on the bus. Jaisalmer is a pretty big destination, maybe I'm on the local? The landscape begins changing rapidly. More sand, sometimes the sand seems to overtake the road. I'm also seeing a hell of alot of camels now. Strange animals. They don't seem like they'd be so comfortable to ride. The bus stopped a couple of times and what would be a Mcdonalds on our local greyhound. If you've ever wanted to know what it was like to feel like an alien from another planet, come to the Thar Desert. There is a general shortage of 6'2'' white guys wearing addidas sneakers and cutoffs around here.



I could set up a booth out here and charge admission given the attention I recieve. I'll admit at moments I'm thinking what the hell are you doing on a bus in the Thar Desert? All the while I'm reciveing a very healthy sunburn on the one arm. Windows don't really work. As we make our final approach into I formulate my plan. You see, the rickshaw drivers and camel safari guys are really aggresive as are most salesmen in India. I've slowly been sorting my strategy. I've read in my book the guys here are especially tenacious. I'm going to just blast through these guys and walk into to town. So, the bus stops. I stage dive from the bus into a throng of crazy camel dudes. They're all waving keys and pamphlets at me. You want camel safari, you need place to stay...etc. It was a blur. I raced back to the hatch in the back, found my backpack covered in some kind of red dust, and make my way towards the city. I actually have no idea where I'm going but, I just walk. Slowly the voices are quiet. I made it out of there. Now that I've refused a ride. I'm walking in the desert. I don't have a hotel booked or where the old fort I'm looking for is. A rickshaw passes. "You need place to stay, camel ride?" I jump in but, I did it my way. The ride to the 600 yr. old fort is actually only 5 minutes. They call Jaisalmer "The Golden City" All of the buildings are painted this tan honey color and as the lonely planet says, the city does seem to rise from the desert. It's amazing too, there are many small hotels within the old fort walls which sits in the middle of the city on a large hill. I opt to stay within the fort. It's so cool like staying inside a castle.



There are even canons still in place at various corners fo the complex. I walk through 4 large gates to arrive in the central fort area. Not knowing where to stay I just wander around looking for a guest house that strikes me. I walk into this one called Hotel Laxmi Niwas. There is a really large, hairy and, friendly indian man named Suresh sitting behind the desk. He let's out this unexplainable laugh and says welcome. I look at the rooms and decide on a rooftop suite, shared bathroom (metal stall on roof).



Very spartan but the view, incredible. Only 4 dollars a night! I relaxed for a bit, then out on the streets did some portraits. People are very easy here. I do have trouble shooting single portraits. Other folks always seem to creep into the pictures. I think this is kind of interesting though and don't discourage it. Makes for funny compositions. Later I found a nice rooftop cafe, had some fo the nicest indian so far. Back at the room watched the sunset, read awhile, sleep. Sorry for any typos, I'm on the clock and a lousy typist. Thanks for tuning in, your feedback is keeping me connected. I hope everyone's well.

dylan