Wandering Fractal

Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land. Yes that's the official name. It was built were the last emperor of Russia, Nicholas II was executed. Yekaterinburg, the fourth largest city of Russia. I spent a day visiting the city and it's many churches. It's a lovely place, but I didn't spend too much time there. It was more to take a break in the long train ride from Asia to Europe. Pigeon It took 35 hours to go from Krasnoyarsk to Yekaterinburg with the train. It is the longest time I have ever been in a train. While most of the Russians doesn't like their train, I found them very comfortable. You can drink tea in the traditional glass while admiring the view and trying to chat with  your Russian neighbor.

The endless Mongolian steppes. In the morning I boarded the train K23 at the Beijing train station, direction Ulaanbaatar. The trans-Mongolian railway cross Mongolia from the south to the north, from China to Russia. This time I didn't had to get out of the train in the middle of the night to pass the border. The officials of China and Mongolia will board the train and come check your passport. Another thing that happen at the border is the switching of wheels. Mongolia use the Russian standard for their rails track gauge, but the Chinese use the smaller international track gauge. Instead of having passengers change train at the border, they change the wheels of the train. The wagons are brought to a hangar, elevated and the wheel block is switched. You can stay in the wagon during the process and watch the workers. It's interesting to see it from your cabin. Be careful during the passport control and wheels change the toilets are closed. It will last during five hours...

Amphawa floating market. Products and food are sold from boats. It's been seven years since I've been in Bangkok and the city has not changed much. And I still like it. Just the right amount of chaos and order. I spent a day to go visit a floating market and the famous railway market in the town close to the capital. I decided to go by myself with public transports and did both of them in a single day since the two places are close together. The railway market was a lot of fun. It was crowded and cramped. I was impressed of how swiftly the vendors retracted the stalls and moved the tourist on the side of the tracks. The floating market was beautiful, but since I arrived in the afternoon, I missed the heat of the action. Maybe going to the floating market in the morning and then at the railway market would have been better. To go to the town of Maeklong where the railway market is I first went to the southern bus station of Bangkok, Sai Tai Mai. It's fare from th...

Tanjung Bungah floating mosque. The city of George Town on Penang Island is full of historical buildings, great restaurants and of course shopping malls. My favorite eateries were : The Spicy Lemak (278 Lebuh Pantai). The place doesn't look fancy, but the Nasi Lemak was great. Yeap Noodles (227 Chulia St.). Homemade noodles with different flavors. Nasi Lemak at the Spicy Lemak restaurant. I took a day to go to the Feringghi beach on the north of the island. I rented a city bike to ride the 16km from my hostel to the beach. The first part was an easy stroll in the old town, but once I got out I was in the middle of traffic on huge roads with cars and trucks on my side. There was also some slopes and the bike had no gears. It wasn't a pleasant experience. The beach had nice sand. The water was a bit muddy but overall clean. You can swim but no more than a few meters from the shore because there is a lot of jet-ski and boats for paragliding. In conclusio...

View of the city from the botanical garden. Capital of New Zealand, Wellington is a small city full of charm. It's also the gateway to the south island. Ferry is used to go on the south island.