I had initially considered two new destinations for my annual office break; however, due to logistical issues, I had to abandon the idea and consider other new destinations instead. It was as if fate or luck intervened and made me consider going to Belarus, especially after I read that there is now visa-free entry into the country (with conditions but of course which includes entering and departing into and from Minsk National Airport). I then decided my options after Belarus and was happy to find I could fly Belavia to Chișinău where my mate, Angela, is working, and from Chișinău, I could fly WizzAir to Milan Bergamo, from which, my options are almost limitless. So, my planning began. Air tickets were bought, accommodation was booked and those on Airbnb paid for, some basic Russian words shared by CT, bus ticket bought, train schedules checked, prayer times compiled and nurse sourced for dad. And finally, the day arrived.
Soundtrack: Autumn Leaves
Friday, 13 September 2019
I left office at 16:24 and arrived KL Sentral at 16:44. I took the 17:00 KLIA Ekspres to KLIA. I had checked in online and joined the bag-drop queue for 20 minutes before abandoning the queue for the check-in queue when the former looked like it was hardly moving. We boarded at 19:10 and the plane took off at 20:00. I was a bit tired and managed some kip. We landed at Abu Dhabi Airport 22:30 local time. After going through transfer process, I went to find a prayer room nearest to gate 30 and settled in.
Saturday, 14 September 2019
Brrr, it was cold in the prayer room but I think the prayer room I spent the night in last year at the same airport was colder. After performing prayers, I freshened up and had some light snack before walking to the gate which was a mere 10 metres away from prayer room. I spent time looking at my notes and asking a Belarusian lady some stuff before boarding the bus to the plane. We took off at 08:00 and landed at Minsk Airport at 13:20.
I endured a long passport control process, well, longer than other passengers! A few officers came to ask me some questions before I was let through. What irked me was how the immigration officer kept looking at my passport and me as if trying to see if we were the same person. I wanted to say the passport photo was taken four years ago but surely she could see that. She even took a magnifier and scrutinised my passport as if to ensure I was not in possession of a fake passport. Jeez.
I went to collect my bag before emerging out. I looked for money changers before I decided to go up to the departure level. True enough, the exchange offices were there and so was the Information Desk. I changed €20, reckoning I could change more in the city. I went down again to arrival level and just about managed to get the 13:20 bus no. 300 to the Central Bus Station. Fare was BYN4 (about €2). The journey took about 40 minutes and as we neared the city, I saw that some parts looked wet and some parts dry. In fact, it was raining in some areas. I walked from the Central Bus Station to the apartment office at Leningrad Street to collect keys. I paid the rent of USD50.1 with USD100 and received balance in BYN (that’s Belarusian Rubles). I had some trouble finding the apartment at first but finally managed to locate it. In the meantime, it continued raining and shining alternately. The apartment was at level 3 and there were three rooms in all and a shared kitchen, bathroom and WC. I performed prayers, re-connected with the world then went out to venture at 16:30. Oh my, the wind could be strong alright. I had only taken a few steps when suddenly it started raining and I tried in vain to seek shelter. The rain didn’t last long and I was able to continue on after 15 minutes. I walked to Independence Square (Plošča Niezaliežnasci) and on until I reached Palace of the Republic at October Square. My, I must say walking in Minsk reminded me of walking in Moscow. Each block is huge and I needed time to even walk one block. I went into Minsk Hotel first and asked for a city map then walked up to the Palace of the Republic (a huge rectangular-shaped concert hall) but the square was cordoned off so I walked to the back of the concert hall (International Street) where I found a lot of beautiful buildings and a lot of people. There were police around the area and they inspected our bags before we were let into the area. There were some stalls selling Belarusian souvenirs and the usual painted people posing as statues. I finally turned back and retraced my steps back to the apartment. Oh and by the way, you’re not supposed to jaywalk and you can only cross at street crossings when the green man indicates it’s OK for you to do so. In some places, you would have to take the underpass. Typical of ex-Soviet and other Communist countries (I’m sure I wouldn’t survive if I was born and grew up in those countries!). I went down to the underground shopping mall at Independence Square (a bit dated but there’s free WiFi in there) and crossed over to Leningrad Street. I was back at 19:00, tired and sleepy.
Sunday, 15 September 2019
I was woken up at 03:00 by flatmates who were either just returning back or had just checked in. I got up to use WC and woke up again at 05:00 for morning prayers. After a light breakfast and studying the map, I left at 08:00 and walked up to Niamiha Street. I took pictures of the KFC restaurant and then crossed Svislach River. There were police all around and some roads were closed. There were also a mighty lot of people around for a Sunday morning and I found out shortly after that there was some run in the city. There were volunteers and runners, there was music blaring from some speaker, there were police like I said earlier, and some people including me strolling about. I went all the way to the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre but detoured to the Island of Tears a bit before reaching the theatre. I then made my way to Victory Monument (lost my way a bit, asked for directions from a couple of volunteers but decided to trust my own instincts) and cut through Janki Kupaly Park and finally came within sight of the Victory Monument only to find it covered beneath scaffolding and the road was also closed for the run. I turned back and walked back along Niezaliežnasci Avenue while watching the runners. And because the avenue was closed, some of us dared to venture out and walked on the avenue itself.
I headed for the Central Bus Station and with some help from a friendly helpful local girl, I bought ticket for the airport bus for the following morning (ticket office opens at 07:00 and I was going to take the 04:50 bus). I also told the girl I had a suitcase as I didn’t want to be yelled at for bringing my bag and not paying for it (read some people got yelled at on some forum, well pardon us for not speaking Belarusian or Russian). I paid BYN5 for the bus ticket to the airport. I wanted to go to both Nyasvich and Mir and despite having downloaded the bus schedules early on with CT’s help, I was told that the next bus out to Nyasvizh was at 12:xx which was too late for me to also make the Mir bus and get back to Minsk on the same afternoon. I then bought ticket for the 11:50 bus to Mir for BYN6.06. As there was about an hour left, I returned to my room first.
I returned back to Central Bus Station at 11:40 and boarded marshrutka at Platform 8 for Mir. The bus was only supposed to take about 70 minutes but the marshrutka arrived at Mir bus station only at 13:50. I stopped at the ticket office first to find out the schedules for the buses back to Minsk and with the help of the local determined the times. We were told to come back closer to the time of departure though to buy the ticket. I then set off for the Mir Castle Complex which I had seen when the marshrutka first entered the town. Autumn had really arrived in Belarus and the wind made my eyes smart at times. I paid BYN14 for ticket and went up the towers to explore. After some time, I consulted my watch and determined I could make the 14:58 bus back to Minsk (next buses were at 17:03 and 19:30) if I left right about then. I had another quick look around then hurried back to the bus station at 14:46. I reached the bus station in record time - not a mean feat when I had to walk uphill and battled the wind. I saw a long bus pulling in as I was panting up the hill and was praying I would make the bus. I was dismayed though to find a long queue ahead of me. Someone said something to me but I ignored him as I didn’t understand him anyway. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and a man asked me ‘Minsk?’ I nodded yes and he beckoned me to follow him. And he turned out to be the bus driver. Alhamdulillah! I paid him BYN6.79 and found what was probably the last seat available in the bus.
We reached Minsk Central Bus Station at 16:20. I went to exchange office in the station and sold off my Rubles. I got back USD and some Rubles in cash (I suppose she didn’t have smaller USD denomination). Well, I learnt my lesson from trying to sell Georgian Lari (I didn’t manage to sell them even in London and every time I asked if the exchange offices bought Georgian Lari, everyone would reply ‘Jordanian?’ and I had to keep repeating myself exasperatedly ‘NO, not Jordanian. Georgian Lari’). I dropped by a supermarket across the street from my room and bought some groceries before returning to the apartment. There were three men from Turkmenistan in the apartment when I returned and they sure made a lot of noise. I stayed in my room for the rest of the evening, packed and rested.
To be continued
Soundtrack: Autumn Leaves
Friday, 13 September 2019
I left office at 16:24 and arrived KL Sentral at 16:44. I took the 17:00 KLIA Ekspres to KLIA. I had checked in online and joined the bag-drop queue for 20 minutes before abandoning the queue for the check-in queue when the former looked like it was hardly moving. We boarded at 19:10 and the plane took off at 20:00. I was a bit tired and managed some kip. We landed at Abu Dhabi Airport 22:30 local time. After going through transfer process, I went to find a prayer room nearest to gate 30 and settled in.
Saturday, 14 September 2019
Brrr, it was cold in the prayer room but I think the prayer room I spent the night in last year at the same airport was colder. After performing prayers, I freshened up and had some light snack before walking to the gate which was a mere 10 metres away from prayer room. I spent time looking at my notes and asking a Belarusian lady some stuff before boarding the bus to the plane. We took off at 08:00 and landed at Minsk Airport at 13:20.
I endured a long passport control process, well, longer than other passengers! A few officers came to ask me some questions before I was let through. What irked me was how the immigration officer kept looking at my passport and me as if trying to see if we were the same person. I wanted to say the passport photo was taken four years ago but surely she could see that. She even took a magnifier and scrutinised my passport as if to ensure I was not in possession of a fake passport. Jeez.
I went to collect my bag before emerging out. I looked for money changers before I decided to go up to the departure level. True enough, the exchange offices were there and so was the Information Desk. I changed €20, reckoning I could change more in the city. I went down again to arrival level and just about managed to get the 13:20 bus no. 300 to the Central Bus Station. Fare was BYN4 (about €2). The journey took about 40 minutes and as we neared the city, I saw that some parts looked wet and some parts dry. In fact, it was raining in some areas. I walked from the Central Bus Station to the apartment office at Leningrad Street to collect keys. I paid the rent of USD50.1 with USD100 and received balance in BYN (that’s Belarusian Rubles). I had some trouble finding the apartment at first but finally managed to locate it. In the meantime, it continued raining and shining alternately. The apartment was at level 3 and there were three rooms in all and a shared kitchen, bathroom and WC. I performed prayers, re-connected with the world then went out to venture at 16:30. Oh my, the wind could be strong alright. I had only taken a few steps when suddenly it started raining and I tried in vain to seek shelter. The rain didn’t last long and I was able to continue on after 15 minutes. I walked to Independence Square (Plošča Niezaliežnasci) and on until I reached Palace of the Republic at October Square. My, I must say walking in Minsk reminded me of walking in Moscow. Each block is huge and I needed time to even walk one block. I went into Minsk Hotel first and asked for a city map then walked up to the Palace of the Republic (a huge rectangular-shaped concert hall) but the square was cordoned off so I walked to the back of the concert hall (International Street) where I found a lot of beautiful buildings and a lot of people. There were police around the area and they inspected our bags before we were let into the area. There were some stalls selling Belarusian souvenirs and the usual painted people posing as statues. I finally turned back and retraced my steps back to the apartment. Oh and by the way, you’re not supposed to jaywalk and you can only cross at street crossings when the green man indicates it’s OK for you to do so. In some places, you would have to take the underpass. Typical of ex-Soviet and other Communist countries (I’m sure I wouldn’t survive if I was born and grew up in those countries!). I went down to the underground shopping mall at Independence Square (a bit dated but there’s free WiFi in there) and crossed over to Leningrad Street. I was back at 19:00, tired and sleepy.
Minsk Airport upon arrival. Look at the dark clouds there!
Independence Square (Plošča Niezaliežnasci) as captured from the bus
Independence Square
Lenin Monument at Independence Square
Palace of the Republic at October Square
Minsk City Hall
KFC
National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre
Gates of Minsk
View from my room
Sunday, 15 September 2019
I was woken up at 03:00 by flatmates who were either just returning back or had just checked in. I got up to use WC and woke up again at 05:00 for morning prayers. After a light breakfast and studying the map, I left at 08:00 and walked up to Niamiha Street. I took pictures of the KFC restaurant and then crossed Svislach River. There were police all around and some roads were closed. There were also a mighty lot of people around for a Sunday morning and I found out shortly after that there was some run in the city. There were volunteers and runners, there was music blaring from some speaker, there were police like I said earlier, and some people including me strolling about. I went all the way to the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre but detoured to the Island of Tears a bit before reaching the theatre. I then made my way to Victory Monument (lost my way a bit, asked for directions from a couple of volunteers but decided to trust my own instincts) and cut through Janki Kupaly Park and finally came within sight of the Victory Monument only to find it covered beneath scaffolding and the road was also closed for the run. I turned back and walked back along Niezaliežnasci Avenue while watching the runners. And because the avenue was closed, some of us dared to venture out and walked on the avenue itself.
I headed for the Central Bus Station and with some help from a friendly helpful local girl, I bought ticket for the airport bus for the following morning (ticket office opens at 07:00 and I was going to take the 04:50 bus). I also told the girl I had a suitcase as I didn’t want to be yelled at for bringing my bag and not paying for it (read some people got yelled at on some forum, well pardon us for not speaking Belarusian or Russian). I paid BYN5 for the bus ticket to the airport. I wanted to go to both Nyasvich and Mir and despite having downloaded the bus schedules early on with CT’s help, I was told that the next bus out to Nyasvizh was at 12:xx which was too late for me to also make the Mir bus and get back to Minsk on the same afternoon. I then bought ticket for the 11:50 bus to Mir for BYN6.06. As there was about an hour left, I returned to my room first.
I returned back to Central Bus Station at 11:40 and boarded marshrutka at Platform 8 for Mir. The bus was only supposed to take about 70 minutes but the marshrutka arrived at Mir bus station only at 13:50. I stopped at the ticket office first to find out the schedules for the buses back to Minsk and with the help of the local determined the times. We were told to come back closer to the time of departure though to buy the ticket. I then set off for the Mir Castle Complex which I had seen when the marshrutka first entered the town. Autumn had really arrived in Belarus and the wind made my eyes smart at times. I paid BYN14 for ticket and went up the towers to explore. After some time, I consulted my watch and determined I could make the 14:58 bus back to Minsk (next buses were at 17:03 and 19:30) if I left right about then. I had another quick look around then hurried back to the bus station at 14:46. I reached the bus station in record time - not a mean feat when I had to walk uphill and battled the wind. I saw a long bus pulling in as I was panting up the hill and was praying I would make the bus. I was dismayed though to find a long queue ahead of me. Someone said something to me but I ignored him as I didn’t understand him anyway. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and a man asked me ‘Minsk?’ I nodded yes and he beckoned me to follow him. And he turned out to be the bus driver. Alhamdulillah! I paid him BYN6.79 and found what was probably the last seat available in the bus.
We reached Minsk Central Bus Station at 16:20. I went to exchange office in the station and sold off my Rubles. I got back USD and some Rubles in cash (I suppose she didn’t have smaller USD denomination). Well, I learnt my lesson from trying to sell Georgian Lari (I didn’t manage to sell them even in London and every time I asked if the exchange offices bought Georgian Lari, everyone would reply ‘Jordanian?’ and I had to keep repeating myself exasperatedly ‘NO, not Jordanian. Georgian Lari’). I dropped by a supermarket across the street from my room and bought some groceries before returning to the apartment. There were three men from Turkmenistan in the apartment when I returned and they sure made a lot of noise. I stayed in my room for the rest of the evening, packed and rested.
To be continued
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