I believe that is the best part of the regional roles. Having a chance to meet, talk and make friends from different countries. Shatalov (Alexey) is the best of all, I think.

He is always cool and confidence. He is the one always doing something different and always creating differentiation from all others. He invited me to attend their annual activity: Fishing in Siberia. I took off (it was very tough time for me from personal perspective, might write these days and my experience in the future and share it with you in here), 1 week, then arrange flight to Kiev where Shatalov is living and from. Meet with them, suggest me to brought sailing clothes and warm underwear’s etc. Then we move to Moscow, then Tumen (Turkish city, meaning of the city name is thousand in old Turkish language, in the middle of Russian Steps) then move north(Igrim) by propeller plane/2 lanes/ no seat number / no need to switched of phones/ and see pilots and what they are doing 🙂

While we were in Kiev Bristol airport, they gave me a plastic bag to carry. When i hold it, i realised that is creamy, slippery something strange but did not check what was inside. Once we arrived to Time after 10 hours from the first flight from Kiev, we had 6 hours to next flight to Igrim.

Guys found some primitive cafe and table to stay, order 2 bottle of vodkas, delivered small-metal glasses which were carried in a leather bag in the pocket of Shatalov. Then guys asked me to put the plastic bag on the table, they they opened it then i realised what i was carrying all the time: Fat from the shoulder of farm pig 🙁 It was disgusting but it is ok, as long as i am aware of this, i can keep myself away from it, and i cannot judge my friends, because they love it and eat it with their Vodkas. Drinking vodka is another ceremony for my friends. It is like a turn table, every each of them and having a speech about peace, life, families etc then encouraging each others to drink one more! We finished them all in 2 hours and then slept. Anyhow, last plane was very very interesting. It was like a bus-terminal, one guy is collecting bags, no security screening, people are going on board and choose their seats.

Then they was a truck came along to plane, and two guys put some jumper cable to the plane engine, and gave a start. Truck was a battery!!

After the first engine start rolling, this triggered the second engine start working. Amazing! After 2 hours flight, not high from the ground, endless forests and complete flat, plane start rounding around some plato-sand field, then landed. it was really sand-bank of the river, end of summer and full of dust. Collected luggages and get on the small minibus, they are calling it with a special Russian name, when i asked what was it, they say, minibus looks like a traditional Russian bread (line our UNO) then people started calling it with a same name.

Anyhow, 10 minutes drive in Igrim and stopped in front of the GazProm building which was in use like dorm. Guys immediately start searching some shops to buy food for the night, and i strongly push them to find for me separately. I knew that they will buy many things but all will be pork 🙂 Sometime later, guys came in with 4-5 bottle of Vodka and many stuff to eat, for me they brought Prepared-Packaged Ramen (I am still eating it just to remember these days) and smoked cheese (I found it in Turkey as well, it must be something from Couscous, Georgia or Osetya).

Long nights, drinking vodka, not only us, there were many people from the region were joining and leaving. What was interesting, every one joined the table brought something to eat (smoked fishes: I didn’t know next 7 days, i will eat smoked fish for each mean 🙂 or drink, for sure Vodka. Outside is almost zero Celsius (even it is not 15th of September), far far away from the civilisation ( at that time, i was thinking it is a village far from rest of the world, did not know if i would experience worse than this, and Igrim became a Paris of Siberia 🙂 ) and snow might be on the way.

It reminds me the book i wrote from Gogol:

Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evenings_on_a_Farm_Near_Dikanka

Long night, full of drunk Russians and Ukrainians, their snoring! Early morning with a headache, guys woke us up and 10minutes drive to rives side. It looks like a abandoned ships all around after the nuclear war. There there two powers boats are waiting and guys were asking us to jump in. I supposed that we will have 1-2 hours ride on boats and arrived but this is not the case, what I was going to experience definitely more than this.

End of Part-1

Alper-December 2016 USA