Moscow or Vegas?

St Basils
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This is now my second day in Moscow - and I have done the touristy things that I want to do.

First stop was Red Square and St Basil's... all pretty speccy - but St Petersburg is really a much nicer place. Moscow is much more modern, and all around the city there are signs of transformation into a modern European city. In fact some parts of it look like Vegas with lots of neon. It's a very large city with over 10 million people live here.

I can just imagine my kitty becoming a flaming fur-ball flying through the air.

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The traffic here is ridiculous, and by far the best way around is via the underground. Fortunately it's great - trains run ever 2 minutes - it really leaves the London underground for dead as it seems amazingly reliable. And the underground stations are still decorated with elaborate Soviet style propoganda. They're gradually replacing it, but I still managed to get a few shots of Lenin mosaics.

Yesterday I visited a market place near the hotel I'm staying at (not far from where that explosion was last week). They sell an amazing number of things - all black market. You could even buy authentic World War II medals from fallen soldiers. I think the sperm whale teeth took the cake as to the most unusual thing there. The most disappointing was seeing some caged bears in aweful conditions. It really made me sad... there are no animal protection laws here. In fact when I was in St Petersburg there were even some people walking two bear cubs on dog leashes on the street.

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Last night we decided to go out and visit the night life that Moscow is rather famous for. So we headed out to the renouned 'Propoganda Bar', only to find that it was gay night. We didn't go in, and instead found an American bar with rediculously high prices and had 'Swing Dancing' night. Luckily one of the guys on our tour does some swing dancing, so he was lighting up the dancefloor.

Today I visited the Kremlin and was treated to a choir in one of the orthadox cathedrals there... it sounded nothing short of amazing. I have also visited the Revolution museum and another war museum.

St Basils
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Graeme is still shaken up from the other night. He also seems to be coming down sick. The rest of the tour has noticed he's gone much more quiet. He's also not keen to go out like the rest of the group - and I can understand why. As for me, I'm not a huge drinker and when I do make sure no one has access to my drink, so I'm not too worried.

This evening was the Moscow circus. I wasn't really happy with the animal acts in general (the Russian's have no laws against animal cruelty), but the human acts were great... in fact some were awesome. The circus finished off with these tigers jumping through these flaming hoops. I wish I could teach my kitty to do that. Actually that wouldn't be such a good idea; she's got long fur, and I can just imagine my kitty becoming a flaming fur-ball flying through the air.

Lenin in the subway
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Tomorrow on to see Lenin's tomb.