The Yellow Brick Road

St. Petersburg By Night: Day 7

They had one of those food cabins but nothing like the glamorous ones we imagine from the old movies. This just had a bar and stools for you to sit on, food was crappy and the fries were soggy. Good thing we had shawarma for lunch. Shawarma is the exotic version of McDonald's - you'll find it even in the unlikeliest of places, tailored to local tastes.

I can't imagine living in this country. It's an asthmatic's nightmare, not that I am. Everyone smokes here. It is entirely possible to eat in a restaurant withOUT a no smoking section. While smoking is not allowed in the passenger cars, you can smoke at the junction between each. At any given moment, you'll find at least 3 people huffing and puffing putrid smoke that burns the lungs and bring tears to any passer-by.

Anyhow, I whiled away my time alternately dozing off and playing peek-a-boo with the cutest girl who kept coming by to my seat. She was adorable with the bluest eyes I've ever seen in my entire life (not that that's a lot) and her laughter was so infectious, it brought even a smile to the other Russian passengers (and that's a feat, believe me).



We arrived in St. Pete's quite late, about 8pm, and were all set for the night tour until we were told it wouldn't start til midnight. St. Pete's is one of the highest cities in the world and as a result, we had gotten in at the tail end of a 2-week period called "White Nights" where the sun hardly ever sets and the sky gets only as dark as a twilight-y hue. This is hugely anticipated by the locals for the parties that last literally till the sun goes down and apparently, they thought we could party just as hard.

St. Pete's at night is really lovely and it's hard not to like the young city, which was only founded by Peter the Great in the 18th century. While Moscow had an eclectic mix of Russia's Asian/Turkish influences largely inherited from the Medieval era, St. Pete's is almost entirely European in its origins from the Italian style architecture to the canals and bridgeways modeled after Amsterdam. The 2 cities reflect the position Russia has always been in - the behemoth caught between Europe and Asia, neither completely Westernized nor Oriental.

The ambience is enough to put anyone in an amorous mood - it has all the romance of Venice minus the stench, and of Amsterdam but on a much much grander scale. I came without any expectations and I'm completely blown away. One of the best-kept secrets in Europe, a secret at least to most Asians.

Being the capital for 150 years, there is so much history here and in my opinion, much more to see than in Moscow. You can sense in the air a whiff of scandal and intrigue, in the river where Rasputin was murdered to the many palaces built for illicit affairs and forbidden loves. I'm such a sucker for all that.

Ok, have to log off now and beat Raffy to sleep, which will be impossible once the snoring starts!

posted by moan @ 2:13 AM