Day 31: I Know Nothing About Novosibirsk, Siberia

Monday, October 17, 2016

I'm not much into big cities, particularly industrial cities, so while this photo may look appealing to you, it doesn't to me.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Novosibirsk, Siberia: It's the third most populous city in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is the most populous city in Asian Russia, with a population of 1, 473,754 people according to the 2010 census. It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District. The city is located in the southwestern part of Siberia....blah blah blah.

I apologize to Novosibirsk. It probably has some really wonderful attractions. And I might have seen something attractive if I were there more than 24 hours and it wasn't cold and snowing and if I were willing to tackle public transportation instead of just walking.

But I chose to stop off in Novosibirsk, not for its attractions, but for its somewhat midway distance between Irkutsk and my next real destination, Kazan in Tatarstan, Russia. Otherwise, I would have been about 62 hours on the train, without a shower, without wifi, and without any exercise. So I chose Novosibirsk and it worked perfectly for my purposes. I got a hot shower, washed clothes, posted some updates on this blog (still working on China at that point), bought a Russian SIM card (hallelujah!!!), bought a pink cap to match my free pink coat, bought more than enough food for my next 32-hour ride on the train, and the 20-minute walk between the Novosibirsk train station and Zokol Hostel was just perfect to get my blood moving again.

A little tricky to find, but was I happy at 1:00 a.m. when I reached my destination and Kseniya buzzed me in.

Zokol Hostel is amazing. it's in a basement and like a maze. I heard it has 3 kitchens, but this is the one outside my room. What looked like nice people were hanging out here, drinking tea, but we couldn't talk to each other.

Not only is the use of the Bosch washing machine for free, Zokol Hostel provides the laundry soap.

One of my Russian-speaking companions on the train wanted to see my photos of Russia. She laughed at every picture of a bathroom, which made me realize I do photograph a lot of bathrooms. But look at this! This is in a $6 a night hostel and notice the marble tiles. Also notice the air freshener. Every bathroom in Russia has a can.

All I saw in Novosibirsk was the route between the train station and my hostel. I think this was some kind of theater, but I'm not sure.

This little girl with her colorful leggings was ready to have fun in what little snow was lying on the ground. This is not an ice sculpture, but it's pretending to be. She's checking it out to be sure.

Looks like there's plenty happening in Novosibirsk...if you speak Russian.

Even in Jamaica I noticed the supermarket cashiers sitting down. How civilized compared to U.S. supermarkets where they have to stand all day.

I assume these are local government officials. Not a very happy looking bunch. I believe it is okay to smile for a photo in Russia, but these people haven't gotten the memo yet.

I bought my pink cap with the two pompoms next door to this shop. I was going to be cheap and get a plain gray one for $4.50 instead, practical and matches everything, but the salesman said no because that's a man's cap. I understood, or at least I think I understood, that I would be more beautiful in the pink one, so I paid him $6 and put it on. No more camouflage men's cap with the ear flaps that I took for free from the Ulan Ude hostel. It served me for the coldest moments, but even I was too embarrassed to wear it most of the time. I'm bringing it home for my friend Daniel.

My first, middle and final destination in Novosibirsk, the train station. Even though Zokol Hostel is probably just a 10-minute walk to Lenin Square, I never made it. I was too busy doing chores and running errands. When I walked back to the station in the early afternoon to buy a ticket to Kazan, I was told 6:00 p.m. That meant I had to rush back to the hostel, grab my bags, and hustle back. Boy was I relieved when I realized that's MOSCOW TIME. My train didn't leave until a comfortable 10:00 p.m. Novosibirsk time. Perfect!