Detours After over one month of living like a Muscovite, I hit the road again to the south. In Moscow, I had focused on some of the longer-term projects while moving around predominantly with Moscow Metro. From now on, I’ll be constantly driving each day as I explore the Caucasus region, probably until I …
It was my pleasure to meet my friend, Ekaterina, again in her home country, Russia. Just like the last time I met her in Mexico years ago, she’s still a curious and energetic person. I appreciate that I got to listen to myself and see how I’ve changed after two years, if any, about some …
A map of feelings St. Petersburg is often called the ‘cultural’ capital of Russia. The nickname was originally given by Boris Yeltsin, and some Russian people I met found the idea puzzling or controversial. In any case, I know that the world-famous Hermitage Museum is on the ‘must-visit’ list for tourists visiting the city. But during …
A brief time travel and the start of the final chapter On September 5th, I took a flight from Moscow to Korea to visit family. It turned out that the day was my 2nd travel anniversary, which was a pure coincidence. I had thought about taking the time at the airport to record how I …
In general, I try to keep distance from using the word ‘hospitable’ when describing people of a country or a region. It’s not because hospitality is an undesirable value by any means. I just feel that accepting to use the word encourages me to subconsciously believe that I am in the position to evaluate different …
Lesson on a sad day Sometimes people ask if or when I get lonely on the road. Since I have been traveling for almost two years, it seems to be fair curiosity. But when I think about it, I realize that it hardly happens. Yes, there were demanding situations where things could have been solved …
Border crossing into Russia Originally I was planning to cross from Estonia to Russia through the Narva border point. But I ended up entering Russia (almost) from Latvia. It was because I realized that I wanted to ‘do justice’ to my experience in Latvia and Estonia, instead of having to rush in those countries. So …