Destination: Moscow
Looking for the USSR in Moscow
by Michael Yessis | 10.13.09 | 3:02 PM ET
World Hum contributor Jim Heintz says that one of the hardest things to find when visiting the Russian capital “is a sense of how bleak life was under the hammer and sickle.” He writes:
Unlike Rome or Athens, where the tourist is called upon to imagine the glory that once was, in Moscow you have to visualize what wasn’t there. Walk into a food store and imagine the shelves empty; picture the store without a clever name or attractive logo—its sign would have read only “meat” or “milk” or “products.”
These days it’s unlikely that one’s tour guide briefs the secret police at the end of the day. Your hotel may not be cute or comfy, but it’s probably not overtly scary like the Rossiya, a signature Soviet monstrosity that’s now a vacant lot. In a way, this may be kind of a disappointment: Going to the Evil Empire had more cachet than a trip to the Overpriced Capital.
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Yahoo! BuzzHigh-Speed Rail Watch: From Russia to America?
by Eva Holland | 09.28.09 | 2:43 PM ET
A new breed of locomotive-less high-speed train will launch in Russia in December, running between St. Petersburg and Moscow—and Siemens, the German company behind the new model, is hoping to bring it to America next. The New York Times has the details.
Video: An Idiot’s Driving Tour of Moscow
by Michael Yessis | 09.01.09 | 2:38 PM ET
Here’s the idiot, who recklessly tried to re-create a car chase scene from The Bourne Supremacy:
If you want an accelerated travel experience, you’re better off doing this. (Via Gulliver)
Michael Jackson and Me: Strangers in Moscow
by Jeffrey Tayler | 06.26.09 | 2:35 PM ET
REUTERS Jeffrey Tayler recalls a cold night in 1993 when he took a break from writing his first book to see a performance by the "King of Pop"
Moscow, Russia
by World Hum | 06.12.09 | 9:58 AM ET
Municipal workers carry a reproduction of the painting "Zaporozhtsi" by Ilya Repin under heavy rain.
A Traveler’s 10 Best Musical Discoveries
by Tom Swick | 03.02.09 | 10:35 AM ET
Contemplating and celebrating the world of travel
Video: Jeffrey Tayler on His New Book, ‘Murderers in Mausoleums’
by World Hum | 02.26.09 | 5:27 PM ET
Jeffrey Tayler discusses traveling from Moscow to Beijing, "drink by drink."
Where Can You Find the Most Expensive Cup of Coffee in the World?
by Eva Holland | 08.04.08 | 10:51 AM ET
And the winner is ... Moscow, where the average cup apparently costs $10.19. Forbes brings us the full list, but I have to wonder about the methodology behind the survey. Are we talking cups of joe, or are we talking venti caramel mocha frappuccinos? It was the New York City listing that got me doubting: it landed in the middle of the pack, with the average cup costing $3.75—but when was the last time you paid nearly $4 for a regular coffee from a New York City deli?
Meet the New Moscow*
by Jim Benning | 06.16.08 | 5:22 PM ET
It’s changing fast, to be sure, but in some ways, it’s the same as the old Moscow. World Hum contributor Peter Delevett recently paid the city a visit and stopped by the Kremlin. As he writes in the San Jose Mercury News: “Customer service, to put it mildly, is an embryonic concept.”
* Update, June 17, 5 p.m. ET: Peter just finished an online chat with readers about his trip. Transcript here.
Related on World Hum:
* The Rise of the Russian Traveler
Photo by Argenberg via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: The Naked and the Red
by Michael Yessis | 05.11.07 | 3:45 PM ET
From Sin City to St. Petersburg, Russia, we’re not worried about traveling with too many clothes this week. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
36 Hours in St. Petersburg, Russia
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Sin City Uncovered: Vegas Strips Down to Embrace its Naughty Side
* It’s an $8 billion embrace.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
The Perfect Break: Jersey
* The island, not the home of Bon Jovi.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Brisbane Times (current)
Gang Violence Marring NZ’s Image
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
A Mass-Transit Trek Through Portland’s Singular Sites
Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
* It’s been so many weeks now we’ve stopped counting.
Moscow vs. Lonely Planet
by Michael Yessis | 08.10.06 | 4:08 PM ET
Politics, business and travel often intertwine. Take, for example, Lonely Planet. Recently, the guidebook giant has lobbied the United States Congress to support a National Passport Month. In 2002, Hong Kong took issue with Lonely Planet’s guidebook coverage. In 2004, Burma Campaign UK called for a boycott of the guidebook giant simply for publishing a book about the country. Now it’s Moscow’s turn to take some shots at LP. From a story by Tom Parfitt in the Guardian: “Moscow officials have launched an attack on Lonely Planet, saying the backpackers’ guide portrays the Russian capital as a gangster-infested Gotham and presents an image of the city that is at least 15 years out of date.”
Russia Plans to Implement Lie Detector Tests For Airline Passengers
by Michael Yessis | 04.07.06 | 1:52 PM ET
A lie detector system could be in use at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport by July, according to Adrian Blomfield’s story in the Telegraph. Travelers’ voices will be analyzed for stresses as they respond to four questions. Blomfield writes: “The first is for full identity; the second, unnerving in its Soviet-style abruptness, demands: ‘Have you ever lied to the authorities?’ It then asks whether either weapons or narcotics are being carried.”
Chinese Cyclist Aims to Ride Solo Around the World
by Michael Yessis | 02.14.06 | 11:52 AM ET
The Olympic spirit has really gotten into Yang Guangwen. The 46-year-old plans to ride his bike around the world beginning in March, visiting the cities that have hosted the Games since their modern inception. Beijing will host the 2008 Games, and Yang wants to do his part to promote the Olympics through travel.
Jeffrey Tayler: Facing Africa’s “Angry Wind”
by Jim Benning | 12.31.05 | 9:22 PM ET
Photo of Jeffrey Tayler by Tatyana Shchukina. Jim Benning asks The Atlantic's Moscow correspondent about travel writing, his latest book and the allure of the world's most remote regions
Russia: ‘Cold, Dark, Drowning in Vodka, and Ruled by the KGB’
by Michael Yessis | 12.12.05 | 6:37 AM ET
The land of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky has an image problem. In brief, it is this: When people in the West think about Russia, rarely do Tolstoy or Tchaikovsky come to mind. According to a terrific article by Julian Evans in Foreign Policy, a poll commissioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government revealed just how deep the problem goes.
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