Hey everyone....we're still in business with this blogging thing. I'm just praying that T-Mobile didn't lie to me and I don't come home to a $2000 phone bill horror story.
So yesterday was pretty surreal. We boarded our coach at 0745 hrs in Riga and got into line at the Latvia/Russia border at 1320. At that point we could see the front of the line.
How to piss off Latvian people:
#1. Cut in line when they don't fill the gaps fast enough (driving the coach around the cars in line)
#2. Cut in line again (hey buddy - you snooze you lose)
#3. See two other tours buses totally bypass and go to the front of the line and figure hey, let's try that - we'd only been waiting four hours by that point.
#4. Have the Latvian border officer send us back to our place in line and tell all the people we had already cut off that "the Officer told us it was okay to take our place back!"
Needless to say, there were quite a few Latvians banding together to overtake our bus.
How to entertain yourself while sitting on a coach for seven hours:
#1. Watch a truck driver prepare a meal in the cab of his truck...including ambiance, some sort of meat, garlic, spice rack, a tea kettle and hot plate. He must have known how long the line takes.
#2. Dare each other to even open the door to the roadside 'portaloo' (outhouse).
#3. Observe a guy actually clean the portaloos. Possibly the worst job ever - definite candidate for Dirty Jobs.
4. Try not to drink any fluids so you don't have to use those restrooms - or the bushes as some opted for. That Astronaut lady with her Depends had a pretty good idea.
By the time we made it in to the border crossing process things went fairly smoothly. It only took about 3 and a half hours to get through the customs offices, get our passports stamped and luggage scanned. We arrived at our hotel at 0300 (one hour forward for the time zone) and had dinner. Not exactly sure what we ate, but it didn't taste that bad. As warned, our hotel came complete with brown water from the tap. Not sure if we're gonna brave the shower at this stop.
On to Moscow!
P.S. There's a guy on our tour named Craig that kinda looks like Craig. He likes to hear himself talk and is always willing to help out by finishing other people's food. Haven't heard him say 'cornucopia' or 'circa' yet, but we appreciate the resemblance :)
Also, sorry for not knowing, but who is Jester? We'd like to know who our followers are.
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Craig Rocks! Both of us...
ReplyDeleteWow... that sounds like an interesting experience. Now the only thing you have to do is get a photo of "other" Craig holding a cornucopia, (circa 2009 of course), and your Russian adventure will be well on its way. Tell "OtherCraig" I said hi...
Holy Cow! 2 Craigs! I would like to see a picture too.
ReplyDeleteGive us a mailing address so we can send some Depends. You may need them again.
I am curious what the ambiance was then the truck driver was eating his meal, candle light, flowers, vodka?
why is the water so bad? Did you shower?
ReplyDeleteRecognize ladies....Jester=JFed...I thought it showed my name.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a guy, I'd bring a lot of empty water/beer bottles and pee in those. The joys of manhood.
ReplyDelete