in khabarovsk

i'm now in another russia city abt 800km away from vladivostok. it's called khabarovsk and it's pretty near the north of china. the weather here is surprisingly HOT. it's almost as hot as home, n the stupid sun just wouldn't go down, so it's gonna stay bright and hot for a long long while.

i should b happy that it isn't freezing. there's finally some sun shine and short sleeves during this summer trip.

we did the city tour today and i thought our guide was quite good - informative and entertaining. n i entered a russian orthodox church for the 1st time today. their churches are GORGEOUS - much much prettier, ornate nd intricate than either the catholic or protestants ones. many beautiful paitings of icons are all over the place and the hall's much more opulant. and the churches don't have benches - worship is done sitted on the floor.

the city is cleaner and more organised than vladivostok. i think i prefer it here.

anyway, the train ride was fine yesterday, though i didn't sleep very well...

this cute russian guy was supposed to share our compartment with us, but the carriage attendant had shown him another compartment, so he wouldn't feel so uncomfortable with the 3 of us. *shrugs* just lost an opportunity to get to know the locals better...

oops. the internet centre lady's closing up and she's chasing me away. will blog more tomorrow!

~.~.~.~.~.~

in retrospect in photos...

khabarovsk train station. one of the best natural history museums in the russian far east, this non-descript red brick building exhibits not only the natural richness of the russian far east, including plant and animal specimens (n many exotic ones), but also documents the anthropological and cultural diversity of indigenous tribesmen and migrant russians, while not forgetting the influential historical development of the last couple of centuries, including the civil wars and world war 2.

our first time entering an orthodox church. our first of many 'lenin squares' in russia. many cities have lavish squares in their centres for their soviet military parades.

i found khabarovsk particularly pleasant because of its riverside promenades that give it a very relaxed feel. many families would bring their children out for an evening stroll, while youths would engage in a multitude of sports from soccer to (beach)volleyball to blading along the riverside.