Day 1 2/9/11 - Russia

London -> Moscow

Highlight

• No problems getting to the airport. Lounge was nice and we got priority tagged.
• Plane was pretty empty so we got to spread out. Allie slept a bit and I watched Midnight in Paris (very bad movie with good actors)
• We arrived a bit late. Things weren’t as hard as I thought. There was a long time at Customs, but we got through with no problems.
• Waited in line again to get the tickets for the train, but no problems on the ride
• Another long time to get Metro tickets as all the machines broke down just as we got to the front.
• Metro was very crowded due to rush hour, but the stations were very pretty. Most of the trains were old and very noisy, with hardly any poles for you to hold on (and you def need to hold on).
• Finally got to Hilton, more than 2 hours after getting off the plane. It’s one of the 7 “sister” buildings from Stalin’s era apparently.
• It was already past 7pm when we were ready to venture out for dinner. Decided to go to Uzbek cuisine restaurant. Communication was difficult but the food was delicious.
• I was surprised that there were lots of Asian looking people around so we didn’t stand out too much.

Food

• BMI Lounge:
  • waffle, Danish, chocolate croissant
  • bacon roll
  • yoghurt with fruit
• BMI Flight:
  • fruit salad
  • cranberry flapjack
  • potato hash, baked beans, sausage, omelette
• Restaurant Hodja Nasreddin in Khiva:
  • Lagman “Uygar Style” with lamb ribs soup (490)
  • Pairie quail “in Uighur”, marinated in herbs (640)
  • Horse in a pot, languishing in puree of tomatoes and greens (460)
  • bread (200)