Moscow - Part 2

Tuesday, 19 April 2016, 2 pm

Revolving doors at the hotel! How quaint. But of course, this is me. My bag got stuck in the door and while I managed to pull it through, the door was stuck so I just stood in the partition of the revolving door wondering what next. I saw the doorman trying very hard to stifle a disgusted look as he pushed the door to make it move again. I thanked him and got a stare in reply. Things are getting out of hand now.

The receptionists speak English, praise the Lord. Checked in and unpacked a bit, then sent all the 'I have arrived safely' messages to friends and family. It was 3 in the afternoon. Too short to go gallivanting, too long to stay indoors. So I decided to walk around the hotel area. 

Saw Mr. Doorman and avoided him like the plague. Walked for about 5 minutes and saw a church with a golden dome. Many people who passed crossed themselves as they passed it. I wondered if I should do the same. The shock effect. No, not a good idea. A metro station beside the church. Dare I use the metro? We'll see. Not today though.

Walked some more. All the shops are covered. Nothing is out in the open. Most of the glass walls are tinted so I couldn't tell what these shops were until I looked directly into the shop. A cafe. Office. Hotel. Restaurant. In Malaysia you will see the sign for a supermarket a mile away. Here I can miss it if I'm not looking carefully.

Finally a small sundry shop. I wanted water. Beer seemed like a good idea. Russian beer! I tried asking in English. He gave me Hoegarden. Carlsberg. Heineken. I said no, no, no, Belgium, Denmark, Holland. Russia? He brought vodka. Various types of vodka. This would take a while. This is what happens if you don't do research before hand and go in not knowing exactly what you want in a foreign country where no one speaks English.

However, it was a happy ending. I got my Russian beer: Baltikan No. 7. Went back to my room and drank it. It was good. This is the official beer for Euro 2016. They have No. 1 to No. 13, different alcohol content and different tastes from dry to smooth to spicy. Feeling tired, I lay down for a while and the next thing I knew it was 9 pm local time.

Had a shower and accosted the receptionist downstairs (whilst carefully avoiding Mr. Doorman) with a map of Moscow, and I got her to mark out for me all the tourist places that I wanted to go to, and the best way to go there. Looks like I can't avoid the metro. What fun.

Finished the beer which was only half finished as I fell asleep earlier. No need to put in the fridge, the weather is enough to cool it although there is no air-cond in the room. Thought I wouldn't be able to sleep but as soon as I finished the beer and lay in bed with a book I fell asleep again until 4 am the next morning feeling refreshed with no traces of head ache or jet lag.