There was so much to see and do
in Moscow and little time. But the two days were used to the hilt. That also
meant that documentation suffered a great deal. I was behind on blog posts. So
I started that immediately after I woke up and was in the middle of one when Mr
Cherian Eapen dropped in to see me in the room. He had come with the intention
of sharing a breakfast table. He was surprised when I told him that I had
completed my unvarying routine in the restaurant over the past three mornings –
3 cups of coffee starting at 7.30 am with omelette, sausage, cold cuts, crepes
and cake.
As decided the previous day we
got off to a 10 am start from the hotel. Rajhu had deputed his driver,
Rattan,
to pilot us to the beginning of the M10 highway to St. Petersburg. Rattan, a
Nepali resident in Delhi, has been with
Rajhu in Moscow for the past 5 years. He is ‘go to man’ for Rajhu. Rattan
helped me exchange the left over RMB, SOM and some USD to Roubles to last us
out for the rest of our stay in Russia. After getting the log sheet attested by
Mr Eapen we said our farewells to Rajhu, Dattan and Sujith. These Guardian
Angels looked after us in many ways and made our stay absolutely comfortable.
This has been a feature of the journey. We have met excellent souls who have
extended all support and assistance, much more than we asked and many times
more than we expected.
I was told that the 700 plus kms
to St Petersburg could be covered in under 7 hours. The 10 am start, I figured,
would get us into the city by 5 pm, so that we would be able to do a bit of
sightseeing in the evening. That plan went wrong. The huge traffic hold up, repair
to roads and stoppages en route for fuelling, lunch and tea took us to the
outskirts of the city by 8.30 pm. The road condition on M10 was quite good.
Even though it was essentially a two lane road, the third middle lane was very
efficiently used for overtaking and turning. The discipline on the road is seen
to be believed. The fact is that undisciplined driving would mean a sure
accident. The speed is varyingly limited to 110 and 90 kmph but even multiple
axle trucks ply faster than the permitted speed. Police use radar detection at
regular intervals; we did see a few drivers being pulled to the side for
necessary action.
100 kms short of St Petersburg I
got in touch with Sunil Warriar, the contact provided by Dattan. Sunil was to
have made arrangements for our stay and sightseeing in the city. He gave me
elaborate direction to reach the World War memorial, where he would join us. I
reached the rendezvous point without any hassle. It was 8.30 pm and the sun was
nowhere near the point where it was about to set. The heat was intense and rays
too bright for comfort. Sunil and Binoy, a medical student, met us as appointed
and piloted us through the large city to what turned out to be the parking lot.
Driving into the city did not give me an indication of grandeur as I felt in
Moscow. Of course, the city looked better organised with wide straight roads
and busy traffic. Both the cities are well served by public transportation such
as trolley busses, trams and Metro. The parking lot was some distance away from
the serviced apartment Sunil had sourced for us. Binoy carted our luggage in
his car to the apartment, which was almost next door to the Indian Consulate and
a stone’s throw away from Jai Hind, an Indian restaurant.
Over dinner at the Indian
restaurant we got to know Sunil and Binoy better. Sunil, from Trichur in
Kerala, has been resident in Russia since 1992 doing a variety of jobs,
including working in the Indian Consulate. He is presently on his own. His wife
teaches in the International School, where his son is a student. Both were away
on vacation to Kerala. Binoy has a year to complete his graduate medical
course. He, like many of his course mates, works part time, particularly during
vacations, to supplement his financial support. He intends to return to Kerala
to practise. The conversation also veered around to what we could do the next
day. Sunil and Binoy chalked out a route plan to optimise the available time.
Dinner at Jai Hind consisted of
Dosas and Biriyani. Russian beer was at hand to accompany the meal. The food
was very tasty and so was the gulab jamun. The young girl who waited on us in
the restaurant is a student too; she hailed from Rajahmundry. Most students
work part time, though not legally, and mostly in restaurants. We left the
hotel after a photo session – one of the lady guests in the hotel, a Malayalee
who was visiting the city with her husband on official duty from the Mazagaon
Docks, also joined the session.
When we left the hotel close to
11 pm it was still not dark; there was yet no need for street lights. I was
experiencing a white night. Sleep came easily after I washed clothes and hung
them out to dry.
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