Russia Travel Guide Despite

Russia for Travelers - City Transit  You are here: About > Travel > Eastern Europe for Visitors > Ways to Travel > Metro Systems > Russia for Travelers - City Transit Travel Go Eastern Europe Essentials Best of Eastern Europe Map of Central/Eastern Europe Photo Gallery Country Profiles Discount Travel Websites Articles & Resources Planning Your Trip Ways to Travel What to Do in East Europe Maps for Eastern Europe Czech-SlovakTravel Hungary Travel Poland Travel Russia-Belarus-Ukraine Romania-Moldova Travel Baltic Travel Balkan Travel Culture and Holidays Photo Galleries East Europe Travel and Language Books Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Eastern Europe for Visitors newsletter! See Online Courses   Search Eastern Europe for Visitors Russian metro tokesn Stay up to date! Russian metro tokesn Email to a friend Print this page Elsewhere on the Web St Petersburg Metro Map Moscow Metro Map Moscow Tram Website Most Popular First Christmas Tree Europe map Best of Eastern Europe Croatia Naturism and Nudism Discount Travel Websites What's Hot Krakow Photo Gallery Profiles of Eastern Europe Moscow City Profile Czech Republic Photo Gallery - Charles Bridge and castle Sofia's Religous Buildings Related Topics Hotels / Resorts / Inns European History Architecture Air Travel Europe for Visitors City Transit - Russia From Apply Now , Your Guide to Eastern Europe for Visitors . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! Russia Travel Guide Despite the proliferation of private vehicles in Russia in the last decade, the majority of residents still rely on public transportation to get around, especially for city travel. Therefore, if you also travel on city transit sytems, you'll have plenty of company. While you will find reasonable public transportation routes in larger cities, be prepared for limited options as you get off the beaten track. In all of Russia, only six cities have underground metro systems: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, and Samara. Buses and trams supplement these systems and also are the main city transit vehicles in other areas. In general, public transportation in Russia needs infrastructure modernization but lack of funding keeps improvements minimal. The cost of public transportation in Russia is heavily subsidized, with costs ranging from four to 10 rubles (15-35 US cents). Moscow Moscow has four types of mass transit: the metro, trams, buses, and trolleybuses. Metro. Moscow's best public transportation is the metro. With over 200 stops, you can get to just about everywhere you want to in the city. Metro entrances are marked with "M" signs. It's worth a visit to the metro just to see some of the stations with their elaborate and beautiful architecture. Trains run very frequently, at least every two to three minutes. They can be very crowded during peak hours. Buses, Trolleybuses, Trams. Moscow has one kind of ticket for all three types of vehicles. You can buy them at kiosks or at metro stations, or from the conductor in the vehicle. When you get on board, look for a little metal box to punch your ticket. Don't lose your ticket until you get off. Taxis. There are a number of taxi companies in Moscow. Like elsewhere in Russia, avoid gypsy cabs by phoning ahead for a taxi or asking your hotel to arrange one for you. If you arrive at the Moscow airport, you will see a number of drivers clamoring for your business. It's better to go outside and line up at the taxi queue, where regulated taxis can be found. St. Petersburg The city offers a metro, buses, trams, trolleybuses, taxis and boats. Metro. The metro has four lines and 55 stations. You can pay with either tokens or passes purchased at stations. The metro runs from about 5:45 AM until around midnight. See the box at the upper right to see a map of the metro system. Trams. If you'd rather travel above ground, jump on a tram. Tram stops have a "T" on the signs near the tracks. Trams have conductors whom you can pay directly or show your monthly pass. Buses. Bus stops have an "A" on their signs (stands for avtobus). Regular buses also have conductors whom you can pay or show your pass. T-buses (taxi buses) and E-buses (express buses) take cash only and get you to your destination a bit faster. Marshrutki are passenger vans that cost only about three rubles (10 US cents) and take you to your destination. Trolleybuses. These vehicles are buses that are connected to overhead electric lines to give them power. Their signs are also marked by a "T." Taxis. Taxis are more expensive than mass transit. They should have a meter that shows fares according to distance. If you need a taxi, you can flag one down in the street or ask your hotel to call one for you. Often you can find taxis in front of hotels. Russia Travel Guide Index Profile of Russia City Profile: Moscow City Profile: St. Petersburg Before You Go Need to Know Money Matters Intercity Travel City Transit Driving Health and Safety Lodging Dining and Drinking Communications Shopping        Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2005 About, Inc., A part of the New York Times Company . All rights reserved. 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London Vacations London Vacations

London and Priceline's Vacation Packages -- | Airfare | Hotels | Car Rentals | Vacations | Cruises Airfare Hotels Car Rentals Air+Hotel Vacations Cruises Search For Vacations Departure City: Destination: -- Over 165 Destinations -- Acapulco Albuquerque Amsterdam Anchorage Annapolis, MD Aruba Aspen, CO Atlanta Atlantic City - Cape May Austin Baltimore Banff, Canada Barbados Barcelona Berlin Bermuda Biloxi, MS Birmingham Boise Boston Breckenridge, CO Brussels Buffalo - Niagara Falls, NY Burlington, VT Cabo San Lucas Calgary Cancun Charleston Charlotte, NC Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Colorado Springs, CO Columbia, SC Columbus Copenhagen, Denmark Corpus Christi, TX Costa Rica Cozumel Curacao Dallas Daytona Beach Denver Des Moines Detroit Disneyland, CA Dublin Edinburgh, Scotland Flagstaff Florence Fort Lauderdale Fort Myers Frankfurt Freeport Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge, TN Grand Cayman Guadalajara Hamburg Harrisburg, PA Hartford, CT Hawaii - Big Island Hawaii - Kauai Hawaii - Maui Hawaii - Molokai Hawaii - Oahu/Honolulu Hilton Head Island Houston Indianapolis Ixtapa Jackson Hole, WY Jacksonville Jamaica (MBJ) Jamaica - Kingston Kansas City, MO Key Largo Key West Killington - Okemo, VT Lake Tahoe Las Vegas Lexington, KY London Long Beach, CA Los Angeles Louisville, KY Madison, WI Madrid Mazatlan Memphis Mexico City Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis - St. Paul Mont-Tremblant, Quebec Monterey, CA Monterrey, Mexico Montreal Munich Myrtle Beach Mystic - New London, CT Napa Naples/Marco Island, FL Nashville Nassau New Orleans New York City Newark, NJ Oakland, CA Oklahoma City Omaha Orange County Coastal, CA Orlando Palm Springs Paris Park City, UT Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland, OR Prague Providence - Newport, RI Puerto Plata, D.R. Puerto Rico Puerto Vallarta Punta Cana, D.R. Quebec Raleigh/Durham, NC Reno Richmond, VA Riviera Maya Rome Sacramento Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego San Francisco San Jose, CA Santa Fe, NM Santo Domingo, D.R. Savannah Scottsdale Seattle Sonoma County, CA South Padre Island, TX St. Croix St. John - USVI St. Kitts St. Louis St. Lucia St. Maarten St. Petersburg, FL St. Thomas Steamboat Springs, CO Stowe - Sugarbush, VT Tampa Telluride, CO Toronto Tucson Tulsa Vail, CO Vancouver Venice Victoria Vienna Virginia Beach Washington D.C. West Palm Beach Whistler (via Vancouver) Williamsburg - Yorktown, VA Zurich Depart: Return: Number of Passengers: Adults 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Children 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Infants 0 1 2 3 4 Rooms: 1 2 3 4 London Vacations London Vacations from priceline Priceline offers great vacation package deals to top London hotels and resorts. London's hotels and resorts have teamed-up with priceline's vacation package service to provide great rates for priceline customers. With priceline, staying comfortable at your favorite London hotel or resort is a simple mouse-click away. London Vacation Hotel Properties • Club quarters gracechurch • Club quarters st. pauls • Copthorne tara kensington • Crowne plaza london st james hotel & suites • Crowne plaza london the city • Dolphin square hotel • Express by holiday inn hammersmith • Hilton london docklands • Hilton london gatwick airport • Hilton london kensington • Hilton london metropole • Hilton london olympia • Hilton london paddington • Hilton plaza hotel • Holiday inn bloomsbury • Holiday inn garden court oxford circus • Holiday inn kensington • Holiday inn kensington forum • Holiday inn mayfair • Intercontinental london • Le meridien piccadilly • London euston plaza hilton • London marriott hotel county hall • London marriott hotel grosvenor square • London marriott hotel maidavale • London marriott hotel marble arch • London marriott hotel regents park • London-regents park holiday inn • Melia white house • Millennium baileys kensington • Millennium gloucester london • Radisson edwardian berkshire hotel • Radisson edwardian grafton hotel • Radisson edwardian marlborough hotel • Radisson edwardian vanderbilt hotel • Ramada jarvis hyde park • Ramada plaza regents park • Renaissance chancery court • Rubens at the palace • St giles hotel • Swissotel london the howard • The caesar hotel • The park lane • The rembrandt hotel • The royal horseguards • The trafalgar london • The waldorf hilton, london • The washington mayfair hotel • Thistle bloomsbury • Thistle kensington palace • Thistle victoria • Victoria park plaza Not looking for London Vacations? Search more vacations at priceline • Las Vegas Vacations • Orlando Vacations • San Francisco Vacations • Fort Lauderdale Vacations • Los Angeles Vacations • US Virgin Islands Vacations • Chicago Vacations • New York Vacations • San Diego Vacations • Cancun Vacations • New Orleans Vacations • Dallas Vacations • Phoenix Vacations • Atlanta Vacations • Denver Vacations • Washington Vacations • Seattle Vacations • Miami Vacations • Tampa Vacations • Minneapolis Vacations • Palm Springs Vacations • Nassau Vacations • Boston Vacations • San Antonio Vacations • Reno Vacations • Houston Vacations • Virginia Beach Vacations • More Vacation Packages Find out More About Vacations • Vacation Themes , Vacation Brands , Vacation Properties , Vacation Destinations , Vacation Packages Find out More About Priceline Travel Services • Airfare , Hotels , Car Rentals , Vacation Packages , Cruises Book Your Travel Now on Priceline • Discount Airfare , Discount Hotels , Discount Car Rentals , Discount Vacation Packages , Discount Cruises More Money Saving Travel Sites • Lowestfare.com , Travelweb.com , Rentalcars.com , BreezeNet.com , Flycheap.com , MyTravelGuide.com All material herein © 1998-2002 Priceline.com Incorporated, all rights reserved. PRICELINE.COM, and PRICELINE are registered service marks, and NAME YOUR OWN PRICE, and NAME YOUR PRICE are service marks of priceline Incorporated. ws-16 priceline.com home | priceline.com site map

Hotel Travel

NSBA Annual Conference - Hotel/Travel Info General Session Speakers TLN Executive Briefing Fellowship Gathering Danzberger Memorial Lecture Topical Program Tracks Focus on Education Lectures Spotlight Sessions Deeper Look Sessions Board Member Boot Camp Sessions for Board Support Professionals Special Sessions Early Bird Workshops Technology Site Visit CUBE Programming School Law Seminar Rural and Small District Forum Large District Workshop Conference Orientation Executive Job Fair Walk of Excellence Spouse Programming Golf Tournament 5K Run/Walk Administrators' Breakfast Networking Luncheons Human Relations Dinner National Affiliate Center 2006 List of Exhibitors (PDF) Floor Plan 2006 Online Booth Space Contract 2006 Rules & Regulations (PDF) 2006 Floor Plan 2006 Product Category Listing (PDF) 2006 List of Exhibitors (PDF) 2006 Exhibitor Prospectus (PDF) 2006 List of Exhibitors (PDF) Exhibitor Benefits Attendee Demographics Exhibitor Services Contact Exhibits Department Sponsorship Opportunities Hotel Info and Reservations Housing for Attendees Housing for Exhibitors Hotel Listing and Map Travel Arrangements Sightseeing Tours Topical Program Tracks Schedule At-a-Glance Register for the Conference Attendee Housing Exhibitor Housing Hotel rates and map Housing FAQs Hotel and travel information: the best choice of accommodations, savings on your trip to Chicago, and how to enjoy this captivating city. Housing: NSBA wants to ensure that the best rooms (see map and rates ) are available for Conference attendees. You must register to attend the Conference before your housing arrangements can be made. Here's how it works: Conference Registration: All registrants receive a confirmation ID# for use in reserving their rooms. The quickest way to receive a confirmation ID# is to register online and provide us with your e-mail address. Hotel reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and must be made through the NSBA Housing Bureau . You must have a confirmation ID# to reserve housing. Reservations made directly through the hotel will not be guaranteed. You may register and reserve housing online, by phone, fax, or mail. But online is definitely the fastest way — and the best way to improve your choice of hotel rooms. Travel to Chicago: Once again, NSBA has named Association Travel Concepts (ATC) as the official travel agency for our 2006 Annual Conference. ATC has negotiated discounts with United, American Airlines, Avis, and Enterprise to bring you fares and rates lower than those available to the public. Chicago is our kind of town — and yours! The host for NSBA's 2006 Annual Conference is one of the most popular convention cities in America. Chicago is also a world-class tourist destination — a great reason to bring your family along with you. Dining and nightlife. Enjoy a deep-dish pizza, invented in Chicago, or a prime steak, perfected in Chicago. Explore the Loop (maybe via the elevated "L" train) and visit famous jazz clubs. You know the movie Chicago? See and hear what inspired it! Museums and more. Discover the Field Museum and Sue, the biggest T. rex ever found. Plus the Museum of Science and Industry. Not just one but two zoos. Museums of classical and modern art. The world's largest indoor aquarium. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright's studio and the Robie House he designed. And the splendid Botanic Gardens. This city really grows on you! Shopping and skyscrapers. Max out your credit cards on the Magnificent Mile, then visit the Navy Pier with its 150-foot Ferris wheel. Speaking of heights, try dining on the 95th floor of the Hancock Building or visiting the Skydeck of the Sears Tower — 110 stories up. The sky's the limit on fun in Chicago! Want more details? Visit the website of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau . We'll also send you information about tours after you register for the Conference. In addition, special NSBA-sponsored tours will be offered. Click here for details. Suggestion: Mark your calendar now and plan to spend a few extra days in Chicago. You deserve it! Home | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Site Map

Orlando Vacations Orlando Vacations

Orlando and Priceline's Vacation Packages -- | Airfare | Hotels | Car Rentals | Vacations | Cruises Airfare Hotels Car Rentals Air+Hotel Vacations Cruises Search For Vacations Departure City: Destination: -- Over 165 Destinations -- Acapulco Albuquerque Amsterdam Anchorage Annapolis, MD Aruba Aspen, CO Atlanta Atlantic City - Cape May Austin Baltimore Banff, Canada Barbados Barcelona Berlin Bermuda Biloxi, MS Birmingham Boise Boston Breckenridge, CO Brussels Buffalo - Niagara Falls, NY Burlington, VT Cabo San Lucas Calgary Cancun Charleston Charlotte, NC Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Colorado Springs, CO Columbia, SC Columbus Copenhagen, Denmark Corpus Christi, TX Costa Rica Cozumel Curacao Dallas Daytona Beach Denver Des Moines Detroit Disneyland, CA Dublin Edinburgh, Scotland Flagstaff Florence Fort Lauderdale Fort Myers Frankfurt Freeport Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge, TN Grand Cayman Guadalajara Hamburg Harrisburg, PA Hartford, CT Hawaii - Big Island Hawaii - Kauai Hawaii - Maui Hawaii - Molokai Hawaii - Oahu/Honolulu Hilton Head Island Houston Indianapolis Ixtapa Jackson Hole, WY Jacksonville Jamaica (MBJ) Jamaica - Kingston Kansas City, MO Key Largo Key West Killington - Okemo, VT Lake Tahoe Las Vegas Lexington, KY London Long Beach, CA Los Angeles Louisville, KY Madison, WI Madrid Mazatlan Memphis Mexico City Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis - St. Paul Mont-Tremblant, Quebec Monterey, CA Monterrey, Mexico Montreal Munich Myrtle Beach Mystic - New London, CT Napa Naples/Marco Island, FL Nashville Nassau New Orleans New York City Newark, NJ Oakland, CA Oklahoma City Omaha Orange County Coastal, CA Orlando Palm Springs Paris Park City, UT Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland, OR Prague Providence - Newport, RI Puerto Plata, D.R. Puerto Rico Puerto Vallarta Punta Cana, D.R. Quebec Raleigh/Durham, NC Reno Richmond, VA Riviera Maya Rome Sacramento Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego San Francisco San Jose, CA Santa Fe, NM Santo Domingo, D.R. Savannah Scottsdale Seattle Sonoma County, CA South Padre Island, TX St. Croix St. John - USVI St. Kitts St. Louis St. Lucia St. Maarten St. Petersburg, FL St. Thomas Steamboat Springs, CO Stowe - Sugarbush, VT Tampa Telluride, CO Toronto Tucson Tulsa Vail, CO Vancouver Venice Victoria Vienna Virginia Beach Washington D.C. West Palm Beach Whistler (via Vancouver) Williamsburg - Yorktown, VA Zurich Depart: Return: Number of Passengers: Adults 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Children 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Infants 0 1 2 3 4 Rooms: 1 2 3 4 Orlando Vacations Orlando Vacations from priceline Priceline offers great vacation package deals to top Orlando hotels and resorts. Orlando's hotels and resorts have teamed-up with priceline's vacation package service to provide great rates for priceline customers. With priceline, staying comfortable at your favorite Orlando hotel or resort is a simple mouse-click away. 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Search more vacations at priceline • Las Vegas Vacations • Orlando Vacations • San Francisco Vacations • Fort Lauderdale Vacations • Los Angeles Vacations • US Virgin Islands Vacations • Chicago Vacations • New York Vacations • San Diego Vacations • Cancun Vacations • New Orleans Vacations • Dallas Vacations • Phoenix Vacations • Atlanta Vacations • Denver Vacations • Washington Vacations • Seattle Vacations • Miami Vacations • Tampa Vacations • Minneapolis Vacations • Palm Springs Vacations • Nassau Vacations • Boston Vacations • San Antonio Vacations • Reno Vacations • Houston Vacations • Virginia Beach Vacations • More Vacation Packages Find out More About Vacations • Vacation Themes , Vacation Brands , Vacation Properties , Vacation Destinations , Vacation Packages Find out More About Priceline Travel Services • Airfare , Hotels , Car Rentals , Vacation Packages , Cruises Book Your Travel Now on Priceline • Discount Airfare , Discount Hotels , Discount Car Rentals , Discount Vacation Packages , Discount Cruises More Money Saving Travel Sites • Lowestfare.com , Travelweb.com , Rentalcars.com , BreezeNet.com , Flycheap.com , MyTravelGuide.com All material herein © 1998-2002 Priceline.com Incorporated, all rights reserved. PRICELINE.COM, and PRICELINE are registered service marks, and NAME YOUR OWN PRICE, and NAME YOUR PRICE are service marks of priceline Incorporated. ws-16 priceline.com home | priceline.com site map

Taiwan Travel

Andrew and Mei's Taiwan Travel Blog Andrew and Mei's Taiwan Travel Blog Andrew and Mei are in Taiwan teaching English and exploring the island! What fun adventures will they have? Find out here! Monday, October 31, 2005 Asia pictures Hello everyone! I finally finished uploading the 293 photos that are in this album. Again, you'll have to log into Snapfish in order to see the photos. Enjoy! http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=547311130794745666/l=65291688/cobrandOid=1000321/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB posted by Mei @ 17:06 0 comments Thursday, October 27, 2005 First Trickle of Photos... You have to have a snapfish account in order to view the photos. Sorry about the catch (No pun intended)! But it's free and I will be uploading all of my pics onto Snapfish. I'm not sure how Andrew will upload his pics. http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=192271130458320686/l=64809203/cobrandOid=1000321/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB posted by Mei @ 17:18 0 comments Friday, October 21, 2005 What? Who? Where? Luckily, my jet lag has been minimal, so I can discern easily whether that ("What? Who? Where?") is coming from the Nicholas Cage impersonation on SNL or from yours truly. I think that has something to do with the fact that on our last day in Thailand, we had to get up at around 4:30 AM and were only able to sleep minimaly for the next 36 hours. That led to an immediate crash upon coming home. However, I have been waking up at 8 AM (what the hell) and taking long, extended naps during the afternoon. So what now? Ideally, I'll be sitting on my ass for as long as possible. I DO have my movie collection I hope to watch. But in reality, for me now I have to a) find a job, b) find a car, and c) find a place to live. Not neccessarily in that order, either. I need to organize my pictures into a digestible format, but until I get my monitor back (currently on loan) that is an impossible task to do. Oh well, maybe it's for the best. I still need to FIND jobs, APPLY, finish my school apps, get a car, clean my room, organize the boxes that will be coming home, and last but not least, trying to figure out how I'll be seeing my friends. So what do I immediately notice about here compared to where I was? Driving to Wells Fargo, I was just amazed by how big our neighborhoods are. In cities in Taiwan, there are no neighborhoods and there are no noticable zoning regulations. It seems to be everywhere you go there are 4-5 story buildings, with the bottom floor being relegated for businesses and the top floors for people to live. Houses are minimal except in the 'country', and convenient stores are LITERALLY on every corner instead of on every commercial corner. Comparatively, the density of people here to there is non-existent. And it's cold here! Man. This is me, the guy who hates the heat, who withers and dies. But I must have gotten used to it, at least more so that previously, because I'm not enjoying the SJ autumn, I'm wearing jackets and pants constantly, and my hands are nearly frozen off (I have bad circulation in my hands). Well, this may be one my last postings on this blog, since it's not mine. Thanks so much to 6Q for letting us post on here and use this space. Maybe I'll make one of my own for my random thoughts and to provide therapy, if you're remotely interested just let me know. So concludes our trip: now, it's 'back to the real world.' Thanks for taking the time to read this, everyone! I hope I get a chance to see you all soon!! posted by Andrew @ 09:01 0 comments Tuesday, October 18, 2005 Home. Safe and Sound! Hello everyone! We are home, happy and healthy! Our plane was a little delayed and we had some trouble getting our bag (but at least they made it!) The end of our trip was nice, but we got rained on during our trip to see one of the smaller islands, and our canopy trekking was very quick but fun. When I get all of my pics uploaded, I will post a link for you guys to see our pics, and maybe Andrew will get his plethora of great shots uploaded as well. It's been a great ride, thanks for going along with us! posted by Mei @ 22:13 0 comments Saturday, October 15, 2005 Counting Down... Only a couple of days left in our trip! We're enjoying the last few days, doing things like relaxing on the beach and stocking up on last minute supplies. Huh? Supplies? Well, DVDs and PS2 games are extremely cheap here. (Of course they are burned.) The thing is, I don't know if the PS2 games (sorry, they're called DVD games) will work, but I am pretty sure that they will. But as games have gone from $4 to $2.50 to $2 as we have progressed around Thailand, you can imagine that I've been going a little crazy. Like a moth to a flame is a better description. Not as cheap as $0 for unlimited games like Todd can get, but hey, all the (PS2) games I can want for, what, $50? Not too shabby. Now I just hope they work. It's also ridiculous the number of DVD's I have bought here. After leaving America with *2* tapes, I'll return with an infinite number of movies. In fact, I think when I do get home, I'll need a couple of months to get all the games and movies out of my system. THEN maybe I'll start looking for a job. Haha. posted by Andrew @ 16:31 0 comments Friday, October 14, 2005 Koh Samui is a beautiful Island! Super quickly: Made it to Samui safe and sound, our bungalow is about a 15 sec walk to a very quiet, almost private beach. We've rented a jeep to see the island and it is absolutely gorgeous! We have plans to go sea kayaking, snorkeling, and "canopy climbing" which is apparently going through the trees on ropes, like rapelling, but you go horizontally through the air, instead of vertically down a cave or cliff. Yay! posted by Mei @ 17:15 0 comments Wednesday, October 12, 2005 "Bangkok is bitchin'" To quote Jerry, the guy who placed us at our jobs in Taipei, "Bangkok is bitchin'." Well, as it turns out, not really. If you recall, Jerry, the recruiter in Taiwan who placed us at our jobs, is a habitual liar. Some of his other comments include, "Your job isn't far from Neihu." (in fact, on the complete other SIDE of Taipei, a mere 1 1/2 hours away by bus and train), "Teachers have all the leverage.", "Schools have all the leverage.", etc. He has an insatiable thirst for lying. This isn't to say that we went to Bangkok because of what HE said, no, no no no. It's the capital of Thailand, of course we're going to stop by and say hello. However, bitchin' isn't the term I'd use to describe Bangkok. Big? Definitely. Boisterous? Sure. Belligerent? Yeah, you bet. But bitchin'? Eh... Bangkok isn't a bad place, but it is what most large Asian cities tend to be: big, unorganized (aka chaotic), polluted (nasty air and nasty stuff on the sidewalk), crowded, and, of course, there's bad traffic. What with 6 million people here, it's understandable that driving around is a lot like Office Space. But there is some of the stuff that we came here to see: the history, the temples, the art. Today, for instance, we headed down to the river and took a boat up to the Grand Palace and the Green Emerald Temple. The temple is remarkable: typical Thai style architecture ornately decorated. The temples are tall and have many spires seemingly reaching out toward heaven. Inside there is an actual Green Emerald Buddha, who interestingly enough changes clothes every season to reflect the current season (i.e. rainy, hot, cold). We then went to the adjacent Grand Palace, which is currently being rennovated (deja vu to Beijing). The King lived here, I believe, and performs some duties here still. Quite similar to the Buckingham Palace structurally (of course it does, all kings get big, luxurious buildings) but is more green and has elephants. Then we took a tuk-tuk to the National Museum. I think we described tuk-tuks, but if not, briefly they are three-wheeled motorcycle taxis (with a roof). Driver in front, two seats in the back. Perfect to inhale car/motorcycle exhaust, feel the full extent of potholes in the roads, and avoid getting ripped off in. Not my favorite. The National Museum is enormous and remarkably not crowded, considering how close it is to the main attraction in the area (Grand Palace and adjacent temple), which has throngs of people. The first building had the history of Thailand and its kings, and I was amazed by how often Thailand was at war for a Buddhist nation. However, it appears to be all or mostly all defensive in nature, so the museum says (nearly all by Myanmar (ex-Burma), those crazy war-hungry people!). But I am thankful that with the exception of some territorial concessions to France and Britin, Thailand was never colonized, and the evidence is in the language. While many people speak good English, the Thai language is predominant and never adopted roman letters. Instead, Thai characters are used. Anyway, from there, we explored other parts of the museum, including ceramics, ivory, old war weapons, gold figures, etc. It was massive. There was so much stuff. there were also massive chariots used for what seemed to be funeral processions. MASSIVE. I mean, we saw a video, and there were maybe 3000 people carrying the largest chariot ceremonially. To actually carry some of these massive contraptions, 56 people were needed. We are now at our guest house. An hour after we got in a massive afternoon storm came by; it was torrential, but it's eased off a bit now. Looking forward to getting to Ko Samui and relaxing, but I'm not too thrilled about the 4 AM wake up tomorrow! Ack! posted by Andrew @ 17:38 1 comments Contributors 6Q Mei Andrew End #profile -- Previous Posts Asia pictures First Trickle of Photos... What? Who? Where? Home. Safe and Sound! Counting Down... Koh Samui is a beautiful Island! "Bangkok is bitchin'" One night in Bangkok...Well, actually 3... I just ate delicious Thai food, cooked by ME! In Chiang Mai! This blog goes to the end of China, more later! Archives July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005