Saturday, September 26, 2015

Moscow needs more public toilets!

Moscow is more or less spotlessly clean and in this season, full of the wonderful aromas of autumn... The last thing I would ever do is to take a leak in the open, but public toilets are so few and far between. A few days ago, we managed to spot one near the Christ the Saviour Cathedral. It cost 50 roubles (around 80 cents)! This is expensive by Moscow standards, but it was absolutely clean.

I wonder what happens when people get drunk on Friday nights and just have to pee!  

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Cultured Moscow

The classical music, theatre and ballet season is under way in this city. There is just an abundance of programs on any given day, but this comes with a Catch 22. Tickets are next to impossible to get unless you buy them many days in advance. When it comes to the Bolshoi Theatre, try three months in advance!

It's disheartening to see plays of Chekhov, Stanislavsky and other giants of Russian culture, all sold out for the next few weeks. The same goes with classical music concerts.

At least, the weather is still fantabulous!  

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

My first ever personal encounter with 'Gastarbeiters'

For years, I have heard from friends about how there are too many people from the former Soviet states in Russia. Central Asians all get classified as Tajiks.  I see a lot more of them in smaller towns in Russia, although the ruble fall has led to an exodus out of Moscow and back home for many of them.

Yesterday morning I was horrified to see that the dirty water from my kitchen sink was heading straight to the bathtub! When I called my landlady for help, she said she would let the Moscow housing department know, since such work is covered under her utility bills.

Within 20 minutes, two Tajiks turned up at my apartment. Incredibly nosy, they started asking me if I was involved with my landlady.  Then one of them proposes to her! They both claim to have 2 wives a piece, but still fancy the Ukrainian woman who owns my flat.

They look at everything in the apartment and finally fix this awkward problem. Then they demand 1000 rubles! They get a fixed salary from the Moscow Government but insist that these are their charges. My landlady pays them and tells me that these people won't work otherwise. She says they earn close to 15,000 roubles a day in black money, which is shared with some people in power in Moscow and of course with police that stop them for document checks.  These guys are of course legal, since the Moscow administration hired them, but they are happy to pay the cops and go on with their illegal activities. 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Images from Moscow

After its 2-year beautification, I must say that Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Here are some pics.

Drunk Central Asian on the metro

Over the last fortnight, I have been using the Moscow metro every single day and have felt absolutely safe.  There was one small incident though, yesterday, which is actually funnier than it is scary.

It's a long held stereotype in Russia that Asians cannot hold their drink. As I was heading home on Sunday night,  I heard someone screaming in Russian. I could make out from the accent that the person was not a native Russian speaker. The man in question was a Central Asian in his 20s. He was piss drunk and was creating a racket. One passenger pressed a button to alert the driver that there was a problem, but no policeman showed up as the train passed three stations.

Then a big and strong Russian man entered the wagon and told the drunk to sit and shut up.  When he started shouting again, the man grabbed his arm and was ready to throw him out at the next station, but the drunk begged him not to.  Finally the drunk and the strong man both got off at the same station as I did.

Russians are much better at holding their drinks, although in the past I have seen worse.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Long escalators in the Moscow metro

The best way to people-watch in this city is to travel on its extensive metro network. Of course, eye contact is still a bit taboo here, although people tend to smile more and do look a lot more relaxed and happier.

The best way to see every single person in Moscow is while going up and down the incredibly long escalators at metro stations. Heading up or down in the opposite direction is the intellectual 50-year old with the beard, the excited college student from Penza, the sports coach, the bureaucrat with an iron face, the pensioner, the fashionista, the kissing couples (a rarer site these days), the Uzbek labourer, fashionable young man wearing an expensive suit and reading a paper on his iPad... 

Monday, September 14, 2015

Being trained by a champ

The icy winds of autumn were blowing as I ran this morning. An old and super-fit person passed me by and told me that I needed to lose quite a bit of weight. I laughed and told him that I was up at 5 am and running at sunrise for that very purpose.

He then told me that I was not running the right way and that my feet weren't landing the way they should. So, the conversation went on, and I found out that he is 68 years old, going on 30.  He said he was a national level athlete in the Soviet Union and now lived alone, since he wife passed away.

The wonderful gentleman offered to train me over the next few weeks! How much luckier can I get!  

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Me, the elder statesman?

It takes a lot of getting used to when it comes to accepting the fact that I am not really that young anymore. Ten years ago, I had a fiery temper and thanks to a New York upbringing, I'd never back away from a confrontation.  That along with my hot Malayali blood, made me a good candidate at making a bad situation worse.

So, here we were on a lovely autumn night in Moscow, by the Mayakovsky Square. The city authorities constructed many swings in the square and this has made the place very popular among young people and couples.

We waited patiently for our turns to use the swings and when the first one was vacant, we sat. But within a few seconds, a young man behind us started hurling obscenities at us. He said we didn't take his permission and that his fiancee and him were still using the swing.  When my friend responded, this thug started hurling more obscenities. I saw the fire in my younger friend's eyes and I am pretty sure he would have knocked out that idiot. This is when I intervened and told him in English that this moron wasn't worth it. I gently pulled away my friend. Ten years ago, I'd have backed up my friend and decked this worthless waste of a human life, but yes.. age has taught me..

Within another few minutes, the fool got into a fight with another group and they escorted him away.  I feel sorry for the young woman who will marry this man. But then again, many women love jerks! It's their way of rebelling against their fathers.. 

Unlucky Moscow women

I am just amazed with how many incredibly beautiful women there are in this city.  They're not just beautiful.. They are articulate, well-groomed and confident!  In other places, where such beauty is not as common, women have it easier.  But in Moscow, they have such intense competition between each other and a lesser number of men, because of Russian demographics..

Of course, I am not complaining..