Shifting Gears (Part 3): from China to Eastern Europe

I had been living and working in China for 4 years, but my interest in the Soviet Bloc had sparked long before when I began studying Russian as an adolescent. It was fanned into flame through Russian friends in high school, after which I majored in Soviet area studies, Russian language and literature, and South Slavic languages at university.

The year was then 1990. I decided to spend some time in bustling Hong Kong to reflect on the recent changes that had been occurring in China and Eastern Europe.

The modernity of Hong Kong was overwhelming but refreshing. There, in that megalopolitan shopping center, I gained the clarity of mind that it was finally time to shift gears:

“One ticket for September 14,” I requested at the travel agency.

“No way, José, that’s too soon,” he jided, checking the schedule. “You’ll have to shoot for a week or two later. The train’s all booked.”

“Check again,” I pleaded. “I’m sure there’s room for one more on the fourteenth.”

Flipping through some files, “Hmm! There’re a ticket left,” he confirmed. “Strange, though, we’re usually all sold-out by now.”

“That must be mine!” I exulted.

Booking was the easy part. What the future held would demand an extra pinch of stamina. The train ride from Hong Kong to Beijing would take two days. I allowed myself two extra days in Beijing for the run-around in obtaining transit visas from Russian and Romanian embassies and a three-month tourist visa for Bulgaria.

I was scheduled to board the Trans-Siberian Railway in Beijing on September 14, which would have me arrive in Moscow six days later. To complete the long haul after a two-day layover in Moscow, I would ride the last forty-eight hours south, passing through the Ukraine, Moldavia, and Romania, on down to Sofia, Bulgaria.

At least the price was right—$164 for the total ticket!

Follow the series:

Part 1: My Romance with the Color Red
Part 2: Cracks in the Berlin Wall
Part 4: Calm, Cool, and...Calamity?

Part 5: Munching in Moscow: Part 5

Photo Berlin Wall by Noir GNU Free Documentation License at Wikipedia.

Photo by Pwojdacz, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0License at Wikipedia.