Completely knackered when we boarded aeroflots hard leather seats. Possibly even more knackered when we got to the other end an hour early due to daylight saving. No pickup but managed to rustle up intourist agent and get the first of many scary cabs for the day. Makes driving in india seem safe. hotel is very grand in a used way. Breakfast room has 3 gaudy chandeliers and a large assortment of food ranging from cucumber to saveloys for breakfast. M has a meringue cake as well, most unlike him. We go back to our single beds (not our choice but we're too tired to care).
Did the intourist tour with sergei and now know the history of every “yellowish building to the left” as every building seems to have a historic past...though they could be making it up and we'd never know.Got the giude to tell us a good place for dinner and thawed out over mulled wine. M had 'tabbacco chicken' which looked like road kill flattened out on his plate, but tasted like peking duck. He could hardly cut into it but had backup dumplings to fill him up. Did the usual trick of getting posh hotel to get taxi back to ours as everyone has been warning us not to use the private cabs and we really do look like tourists. Maybe we should buy and light some ciggies to walk around with, to blend in.
Now hanging in the lobby bar having a 'gasser' local beer...any lighter and it could be called 'bud' (sorry americans) watching a couple of hookers waiting for the lift (it is a safe hotel really) as my mum would say, they'll catch they're death of cold dressed like that. The other interesting sight today is watching a well dressed woman at the airport put out her cigarette by spitting onto a piece of paper, stubbing it out in the spittle before folding it all up and carefully putting the whole lot in her pocket!
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