En route

From: Riga, Latvia

The trip has begun! I left the US two days ago and have been making my way towards Almaty.

I landed in London on Friday and caught up with some very good friends. As usual, had an absolute blast. Each time I come to London, I become more convinced that it's the greatest city in the world. Here's why:


1. Delicious Indian food: pretty sure this is the best stuff in the world. OK, I admit that my experience with actual Indian Indian food is pretty limited (only meal I've ever actually eaten in India involved soggy cheese pastries in Delhi airport). Still, I'd be surprised if anywhere (India included) could make food as well as they do here. Tim and I went out Friday night to Brick Lane, London's mecca of South Asian cuisine, and we had the best Chicken Madras ever. Mind-blowingly good (and pretty spicy).

2. International flair: seems to me that non-Brits greatly outnumber the natives. Walk into any pub or club and you'll be lucky to find someone with an English, Scottish or Irish accent behind the counter. EU migration law has made it pretty easy for people from Eastern Europe to come to the UK for work, which is pretty cool.

Add to this migrant labor pool a large number of asylum seekers and a huge mass of tourists from France, Russia, and elsewhere, and you have a pretty good national soup. While I was traveling on the Tube, it's amazing how few of the conversations taking place are in English (40% or less, it seems). It's also hugely frustrating to a committed eavesdropper like me.

3. Gorgeous architecture: this city has more famous, jaw-dropping sights than any other place in the world. On Friday, I decided to indulge myself in some artsy shots of famous Thames-side landmarks. Shown: St. Paul's, the Millenium Bridge, the Globe.

Yesterday I landed in Riga, Latvia. Why here, you ask? AirBaltic, for some reason, was offering flights from London to Almaty for $300 less than other airlines. Having given this deal some further thought, I've decided not to check the carrier's air-safety record.

Riga is an interesting city with a nice, quaint old town. I liked it the last time I came (barring a disturbing anti-gay protest that I saw).

I'm struck by the city's resemblence to Paris. No, the people aren't brusque, snippy, or especially stylish. It's more of an architectural resemblance -- many of the buildings were built in a Rococo or Art Nouveau style which gives them a French look.

I got to town very late, went to a beergarden in the main sqaure and had some French fries. Not sure if this is related to the architecture, but they were some of the best fries I've ever had. I stayed for a while, watching people walk by. For some reason, all (I mean, almost without exception) of the women walking around were in pairs.

I surmised this could be one of two things:

- A strategy to reduce the cost of cab fares

- A relic of some Soviet buddy system for women

As it turns out, it was neither. As the night went on, I realized that the pairing scheme was likely a defensive mechanism to ward off the numerous groups of Stag (Bachelor) parties orbiting the town square. Low-cost carriers, delicious beer, and a 'gentleman'-oriented tourist industry have made Riga the Prague of Latvia when it comes to English Stag parties. I saw some entertaining interchanges between large groups of drunken Brits and defensive-looking Latvian women-pairs. "This city is crazy!" screamed one of the groom's companions after an unsuccessful chat with two blondes. Rock on, brother.

Perhaps to offer some daytime entertainment for the gentleman visitor, many of the hostels around here offer combat-oriented fun. For instance, my hostel offers, for a nominal fee: 'painbolling' (paintballing, I'm guessing), 'zorbing' (where you get locked in a big ball and pushed down a hill), 'big gun games' ("don't you ever see movie James Bond and say yes I shoot big bazooka too!!?"), and much more. The fact that rocket launchers and bazookas are available at low-cost to the tourist industry is a little troubling, but they ply a good trade.

Zorbing and Big Gun Games being too expensive for my taste, I walked around Riga and soaked in some of the scenery. There is a beautiful, carefully-groomed park just outside the old city. The combination of the sunlight, the canal and the trees gave it a storybook feel. There were a lot of couples hanging (making) out, some old ladies knitting, and people strolling. There was also a group of dudes playing this really loud drum. I'm not really sure why.

That's all from me. I leave for Almaty this evening... will write soon!