Second Time Around

I’d been to Ulan Ude the year before, so I had pretty much seen everything, but that didn’t stop me from touring the city again by foot. Many rely upon public transportation when they’re in a new city, I on the other hand rely nearly solely on my feet, sheer strength and determination to get from point a to point b. Plus, it’s much more interesting that way, how else are you going to see all the sights of the city and feel the city’s vibe if you’re jammed into a public bus? 

Typical Soviet building, Hotel Buryatia

Unlike my hometown of Bellevue, Washington where things are changing literally by the second with old buildings being flattened in the name of “progress” so as to make way for mixed-use projects, towering office buildings and God only knows what else, Ulan-Ude had changed little in a year! Still standing were the old Soviet like buildings mixed in with a few old wood houses. And of course in the central square like in most other Russian cities stood the most important monument of all, Vladimir Illyich Lenin. 

This was no ordinary Lenin statue! In fact this Lenin checked in at a whopping 7.7 meters (25 feet) tall…….but was missing a key ingredient….a head! Many of you may be thinking, that during the whole downfall of Communism in Russia in the early 90s people likely cut off his body and the head is all that is left. Well, you’d be wrong on that one. Lenin’s head has stood proudly on the gigantic pedestal in Ulan-Ude’s Soviet Square since 1970 watching over the city as if to make sure everyone is behaving themselves like good comrades! Some call it ugly! I call it yet another lovely, wonderful quirk of a big Soviet city. I’ll take a giant Lenin head any day of the week over a mixed-use condo project, which have flooded my hometown.

After a long day of walking up and down Ulan-Ude’s streets and gazing at Lenin’s big fat head I headed in for the night. The best thing about staying at Ulan-Ude’s best and biggest hotel was that there was no need to go out to dinner. The best restaurant in town was located right there, on the 12^th floor! Best of all, it had the most spectacular view in all of Ulan-Ude.

Over the years I have struggled off and on with some inner ear problems, which can lead to vertigo and imbalance. When I stepped into Bar 12, it was odd, I felt like I was suddenly moving. I’d had this before in situations when my inner ear starts to act up. I thought for sure something had gone awry! Maybe I was still recovering from all the motion of the train I thought? Or maybe I’d had a meal that somehow affected my balance. But then as I sat down I noticed not only the bar counter, but the city starting to pass me by! I knew at this point it was the floor that was revolving and not my body! I was pretty relieved.

Within a minute or two a nice Buryatian waiter came up to my table speaking English. Often when waiters, waitresses, hotel staff or other service people see me they always think it’s necessary to speak English and are always surprised by the fact a foreigner can speak Russian. And, even when I speak Russian they sometimes reply in English trying their best to make me feel comfortable. Being the taskmaster I am when it comes to my second language I never ever let myself off the hook and speak English, I’ll always speak Russian, only reverting to English in case of extreme emergency. Even then I feel massively guilty like I somehow cheated.

Although I was having a good time in Ulan-Ude, I still couldn’t get over the fact I skipped the BAM (Baikal Amur Mainline) railway across northern Siberia. Hearing the song by super pop star Adele, “We Could’ve Had It All” over the past few days didn’t help that feeling. I kept thinking to myself, had I just gutted it through and found an ok hotel in that one city, had that one hotel not told me they wouldn’t accept me because I was foreign, I could’ve had it all! But it seems fate, God, Buddha, The Universe, The Creator, whatever you may believe in had a different plan for me!