Cabbage

This will be quick - the Internet prices in this hotel are stratospheric - apt for a hotel called Cosmos. Trip to Russia was interesting, shared my two man cabin with a giant of a Russian. His arms were so big we could only fit one in at a time. I couldn't understand him, he couldn't understand me, a bit like marriage really. Name? Tricky, I couldn't get the pronounciation as he only said it once, but it sounded like Janet. That was the first word he said, the next was goodbye when he got out somehwhere in the Russian hinterland two days later, presumably to go and wrestle bears...

Russia: I've never eaten so much cabbage and potatoes in my life, or served by such disinterested people. I went down for lunch my first day at the hotel, walked in. Blousey waitress

Me: Table for 1 please. I raised one finger to help her with the translation
She: Sit
Me: Can I have a menu? (I sat quickly, she looked like she was shaping up for a swipe at me)
She: Buiness lunch, FISH

Was she calling me fish?

Me: Pardon?
She: FISH, business lunch

I assume she thought inverting the sentence would make it easier for me to understand. I said OK before she got really angry.

This is the best service I've had. I haven't seen one happy Russian over 20 (under 20s don't really count, cos they are always happy).

I'll probably get Janet again on the Trans-Mancurian leg, on which I will be embarking in a couple of hours. At least we won't get into any arguements.

I'm happy to be leaving Moscow, although its going to take 6 days before I hit Chinese territory, and another 1 before I make Beijing. The Chinese can't be as miserable can they?