Travel Stories - Russia

My bag goes in the back and we leave in an extended minibus exactly at the departure time of 7:20. The chauffeur drives like crazy through "Volgograd" where the road is not as good everywhere as in the center. Many holes and cracks and the man swings through the traffic, every hole and crack avoiding in the road surface. Finally we drive out of the city and I see the first lock of the Volga-Don canal - a triumphal arch as one of a great victory in a battle. We drive a bit along the Volga and then the vast steppes begin. I see a number of houses but otherwise a slightly undulating terrain with discolored yellow grass. We stop at a village with a few concrete, stone and wooden houses, aluminum fences and people sitting under a tree on a bench away from the burning sun. There is already a lot of sand here and the wind blows through the empty and wide streets. The driver says nothing, goes out himself and I see him later with a cigarette and a cup of coffee. I stretch my legs and look at the people who look more and more "Asian" but also have Russian traits. Interesting. I hurt my head against the window - surely fallen asleep which is not so strange - it is stuffy in the bus and the sun now shines in and it seems to get hotter by the hour while we drive south. It is a lonely 2-lane road through no man's land and then suddenly two camels on the side of the road. I see the sign that we are entering the region "Kalmykia", the only Buddhist region in Europe!

At 12:15 we arrive in "Elista", the capital of the region, and I try to get information in the small bus station for a possible bus ride tomorrow towards "Mineraly Vody" or elsewhere in the Caucasus. I get a time but the question of whether I can buy better now (reservation) which stsays unanswered. First through a hedge of taxi drivers and then a whole stretch straight ahead along a wide road with apartment blocks on the side. The people here are originally Mongolian and you notice when you suddenly see a "European" Russian face among these Asians. On the corner with the main street "Lenina" I see the big new modern "Buddhist" temple and take a look through the fence. But then it is really time to look for my. "Elista" hotel is as good as the cheapest place to stay in the city and because I do not want to travel any further today it must stay there. The street is getting more crowded when I’m getting closer to my hotel. It is busy and chaotic at the reception and as so often there is disagreement regarding the price of the room that is many times higher than in my travel guide and also on the internet. After a while  we make a deal.

The "Kalmyks" 

In good spirits I’m getting up about six o’clock in the morning, make a quick breakfast and check out again. Yesterday I went for nothing to the busstation because there was no bus leaving and I hope today I can leave. At the station at the counter the same woman as yesterday and I slide my paper that I received yesterday from the woman at the hotelreception underneath the glass. Again she wants to write something but I make clear (just like yesterday) that I can’t understand Russian. I want her to call the buscompany and asks when the bus is coming. Finally she gets it but gives the horn to me. Again there is no bus this morning. Only this afternoon. Very bad news because then I arrive at nighttime in the Caucasus which is not very good news. Then from a boy in the line I understand that there’s also a minibus leaving tonight at 21:30 which arrives in the early morning at my destination. I can’t reserve any seat so I just have to pop up tonight and buy a ticket from the driver.  

After a very strange day in town where I had to check out and leave my big back at the reception I return in the evening back at the busstation. No bus at 21:30 but it will come assure many people here. About ten o'clock several large buses will enter the grounds and the chaos begins. It is now a quarter to eleven when the female that keeps an eye on me suddenly acts wild and reminds me that the bus is there. Do I have to buy a ticket now at the counter - no, she points to the bus and I almost worry that it will be full soon and I have to wait another day here. First I am standing in front of the closed bus - the driver collects my money outside does not issue a ticket. People are smoking a cigarette or buying something so I have no idea which place is occupied and which is not. I am guessing on a two-seater and I am lucky. A man comes back and indicates (in my opinion) that the other place is free to take. It is very hot in the bus. It’s 23:30 when we finally leave and I take off my shoes and try to create a bit of space to lie down and sleep. The TV is booming but I hope I will not be dumped somewhere in the middle of the night.