Moscow Photo Tour

Well, we made it back safe and sound. Overall, it was a great trip, although I have to admit I'm a little disappointed that we were never asked for our papers and no one attempted to brainwash us.

I can't say we did a lot or did everything that we had hoped to do, but for two people who live next to the equator just seeing snow was enough to make the trip worthwhile, and for it to be snowing while we were in Red Square was priceless.

Here is a brief photo tour. Enjoy.

Here are some pics on our way to Moscow.

Nuch hard at work making me G & Ts

Just off the plane.

On our first day in Moscow, we took it easy and explored around our hotel.

Our first night, we were a bit jet-lagged so came home early to rest and have dinner in our room. You'll never guess what I saw on TV.

On Friday morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and the harpist played Lara's Theme from Dr. Zhivago.



In almost every guidebook on Moscow, the subway system is listed as a must see attraction. Apparently, each of the 100++ stations was designed by a different artist/ architect each with its own theme.

Here I am waiting for the train with Krit, one of the steward's on Nuch's flight that joined us on our day tour.

The artwork was nice, but I was most impressed by the long escalators. This particular station is 800 meters below ground. Our tour guide said it was the deepest in the world.

Powered by heat from the earth's magma.

Usually teaming with people, this particular station was silent.

Looking through some guidebooks, I was amazed at how many museums were in Moscow. Some were extremely exotic like the museum of antique furniture and the museum of extinct tropical fish. We didn't visit a single one, but we did do a lot of shopping.

Here we are on the walking street. I didn't buy anything. It was snowing and that was enough for me.

The first Starbucks in Moscow had just opened a few months ago firmly establishing Russia as a world power.

90% of all the souvenirs you can buy are either fur hats, Matushka dolls (those wooden doll inside a doll things), or Vodka. These red plates (along with communist paraphernalia) make up the other 10%

Red Square in the snow was truly the highlight of our trip. My only regret is not making a snow angel.





Here is the Historical Museum on one end...

and St. Basil's on the other. I'm still not sure whether or not it's pronounced like the Thai herb, basil.

Here's Lenin's tomb, also in Red Square.

This is mile 0, the center of Moscow. Apparently, if you throw some change over your head, you're bound to return one day. Not sure if that's true or not. In fact, I think it's a myth created by the old lady with the beige coat in in the background, who was running around picking up every body's change.

This is the eternal flame which is outside of Red Square just next to the wall of the Kremlin. Our tour guide said this was built in remembrance of the 18 million Russian soldiers and civilians that died during WWII.

Here are some extra pics.

This is a victory arch that was given by the French after WWII

This is the Cathedral of Christ our Savior. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures inside, but it has an interesting history. Although it is a sacred landmark for all Muscovites, Stalin had it torn down to construct a Palace of Soviets with a statue of Lenin, but because it was so close to the river the foundation kept flooding and the plans were finally scrapped. With the end of Soviet rule in the early 1990's, the church was rebuilt.

We took this picture in front of a little wooden church that was apparently built to replace the Cathedral after it was torn down.

This is a statue of Tsar Alexander I who had the Cathedral built in the first place to honor Russia for beating Napoleon's army in 1812.

More shopping. At this particular place they mostly had hats

and some fine artwork, as well. Most of the pictures were of the sun in springtime, which makes sense, I guess.

These guys were from one of the 'Stans and they brought the secret to amazing Bar B Q with them - make sure the pork is well-done and drink lots of beer!

Time to go home.

Once again, just some quick filler to start the week.

Cold War - 2008

Everything is all set, visas, tickets, and earmuffs - Nuch and I are finally ready to go to Moscow.

You may be wondering why we chose Russia, especially in the winter? Well, Nuch had to go anyway, and for me, it's a chance to face the Cold War fears of my youth - actually, it's a free trip, and not to mention it's pretty cool to be going to a place that 30 years ago I would never have thought possible.

Initially, I would have preferred Denmark or South Africa, but I got to thinking about it and Russia possesses a unique attraction compared to these other countries. Although I actually know very little about Russia, I do have many memories and impressions of Russia, the USSR, the Soviet Union, and the Iron Curtain that may be based in fact, but were, more likely, constructed from a continuous stream of propaganda. Think about it - my introduction to Russia wasn't Dr. Zhivago, The Brother's Karamazov, or a history book - it was Red Dawn.

Red Dawn made it pretty clear that Russia's plan for global domination began with my high school.

As far as a closer look into the Soviet psyche, I can thank Rocky IV for showing me that a bit of good ol' American hard work and a lust for revenge can beat a soulless commie on steroids any day.

Then, there was Spies Like Us.

To be honest, I don't know if these movies taught me less about Russia or less about America.

Sure they're just movies, but on the other hand, they could be right. I read a while back that the CIA had for years overestimated the strength of the USSR and were completely caught off guard by the fall of the Iron Curtain. How could they have gotten it wrong, when Iron Eagle and Red Heat, whose plot lines were "US/Soviet cooperation" to defeat a greater evil, both got it right. Art imitating Life or Life imitating Art? Something to think about.

So, it's 2008, and although the memories (and the movies) linger on, the Cold War is a thing of the past. This next week, I'm looking forward to putting some of those misconceptions in the past, as well, and doing it in sub-zero temperatures (Celsius) only seems appropriate.

Anatomy of a Wrong Turn

First, I should explain that, technically, it was not a wrong turn. I was going from Sirirat Hospital to the Marriott Resort & Spa - both situated along the Chao Phraya river and both on the same side. I was simply following the road that followed the river, and never even had a chance to make a wrong turn.

In fact, it was the road that made the wrong turn - into a bridge that put me on the wrong side of the river and right in the middle of Bangkok's densest tourist district, which includes the Grand Palace, the Emerald Buddha, and Sanam Luang where tens of thousands of Thais were coming to pay their respect to Princess Galyani Vadhana. What started out as a simple journey along "the scenic route" turned into a 2-hour Bangkok traffic nightmare.

I'm pretty proud of my ability to get around Bangkok. Most people are familiar with a certain area - where they live or where they work. I've had the chance to live and work in several parts of Bangkok and am confident that if something ever happens to my current company, I could always find work as a taxi driver (maybe I am becoming an immigrant). But on this day, I broke the rule - I ventured out of my familiar territory and paid the price with my very own "Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament" moment.

It all started on a quiet Sunday morning around 10:30. Nuch and I had reservations for Trader Vic's Brunch at the Marriott in the afternoon, but we left early, so we could drop off her father at Sirirat Hospital for a Doctor's appointment. The hospital is located on the river - the same side as the Marriott, so I figured let's take a new route, follow the river road and perhaps, find some new riverside restaurants along the way.

At this point, I guess it's only fair to say that Nuch saw the road I was taking and told me (more than once) that it was the wrong way. Yes, I know it's the wrong way, I'm just trying something different - something "scenic". Trust me, we have plenty of time. Silence.

If you look at this map, you can see Nuch's house and the hospital just down the road. From the hospital, I planned to follow the river South to the Marriott, simple enough, right? But at the Wrong Turn marker, the road veered left, became a bridge, and crossed the river, which left me at the beginning of the orange route instead of the pink route that was supposed to take me to the Marriott. I should add that as soon as we hit the bridge, traffic came to a standstill. Nuch and I sat there for 30 minutes. Beautiful view of the river, but I never saw it.

Nuch took this opportunity to remind me that she had told me it's the wrong way, and I was reminded of my favorite line from The Last King of Scotland, when Idi Amin complains that his Scottish advisor did not tell him what to do.

Nicholas (Scottish Advisor): I did. I DID (TELL YOU WHAT TO DO)!

Idi Amin: But you did not persuade me, Nicholas. You did not persuade me!

From the Wrong Turn, I was forced by a series of one-way streets to stay on the orange path, which was leading me away from the Marriott, and even worse, it was taking me towards Sanam Luang, where as I mentioned earlier, thousands of tourists and Thais in mourning along with their tour buses were crammed into the tiny back streets surrounding the Grand Palace.

At this point, our goal was to just get back across the river - easier said than done. In order to get on the bridge, we had to go under it and continue Northeast along the river about a kilometer (still lots of traffic, mind you), come around the block and return back towards the bridge. Once again, we were at the bridge, but we could not simply turn right and cross the river. We were forced to turn left, drive another kilometer, then U-turn, come back, and finally cross the bridge.

After nearly 2 hours of traffic, one-way streets, and U-turns we are right back where we started - in front of Nuch's house.

In conclusion, we finally made it to Trader Vic's for brunch, and because we had left so early we were only 10 minutes late, which is actually considered on time by Thai standards. That being said, there's a lesson to be learned, even if it's just a reminder of the most important unwritten law of Bangkok Driving - if you go off the beaten path, prepare to be beaten. Slightly less well-known is - 2 wrongs don't make a right, 3 rights make a left.

Spidey II

After showing you the Spidey Bus, I thought I'd stick with the Spiderman theme, and show you his home away from home in Thailand.

A while back, my factory began producing fully-upholstered sofas, in addition to leather covers. At the time, we didn't have any woodworking tools or machines, so we sourced the sofa frames from a local supplier that was recommended to our Purchasing Manager by a "friend". In addition, part of the product development process was an audit of the frame factory to be done by our customer, Marks & Spencer. So, a week before M&S came to Thailand, I decided to inspect the factory myself and make sure it was presentable. Lucky I did.

The place was, basically, four posts in the ground with a tin corrugated roof all held together by years and years and layers and layers of spiderwebs. In 15 years of operation, it had never been properly cleaned. The dust, collecting in the cobwebs, was so thick it looked like hundreds of tiny tapestries, hanging from the ceiling. When I reported back to my boss, I told him it looked like Spiderman had used the inside of the factory for target practice, and we would definitely have a problem with our upcoming audit.



The working conditions weren't much better. Patterns, scrap wood, staples, saw blades, and saw dust covered the floor. Lighting came from 2 or 3 bulbs and a few splinters of sunlight that peaked through the cracks in the walls. I suppose the lighting in the front of the factory was okay because their was no wall.




Needless to say, it was completely unacceptable, and with M&S arriving in just a few days, I was faced with a potentially deal-breaking problem. To get through the audit, I went out and found a furniture factory that met the M&S standards for cleanliness and safety. On the day of the audit, I sent some of our frames and a team of workers from the "Spidey" factory to be reviewed at this "more presentable" furniture factory. In the end, it all worked out - just don't tell anybody.

One day I asked the owner if he ever planned to clean the cobwebs. Absolutely no intention, he told me, and explained that anybody who visits his factory can see for themselves that he runs a successful operation. He has 15 years of spiderwebs and dust to prove it - meaning he's been around a while. Sounds silly, but when it comes to getting a factory job done right, do you look for the guy with the sharpest suit, or the guy with calloused hands, gray hair, and wrinkles? So, with or without M&S's seal of approval, he still has our business, as well as a happy home for Spiderman.