I am going to miss Novosibirsk. I don’t regret staying in Novosibirsk longer than intended, not even for a second. I may have to make some schedule changes, but I don’t mind. I can do whatever I want. As I throw this trip together and live in the moment, I’ve realized how freeing this sort of travel can be. The best part is that the Russian train prices aren’t all that high, to begin with, and purchasing tickets on the same day won’t break the bank.

My arrival in Novosibirsk was relatively slow. I arrived at around 9 PM (August 1). I debated getting a taxi from the train station or taking the metro. After seeing that the metro is located right in front of the train station, I opted for the metro. After getting to my stop on the metro and attempting to exit as close as possible to my hostel, I was stopped by the police for the first time while in Russia. Now, I wasn’t doing anything wrong, and the police here have the right to stop someone and ask to check their ID (I believe). So here I was, probably looking lost, carrying a stuffed weekender bag, a backpack, and a grocery bag of food in the middle of Novosibirsk, getting stopped. Now, you might conclude that the moment I pulled my passport out of its wallet, things would get interesting – they didn’t. The guy was surprised I wasn’t Russian but was even more surprised that I was here in the middle of Novosibirsk. So, the officer asked me to come to his police hut located on the edge of a park 2 meters away; he wanted to check my registration. As a foreigner, you have to have a registration. The registration process is usually performed by your host, hostel, or hotel and is just a legal document stating that a foreigner is staying in x location. Since I had only visited Yekaterinburg for one day, registration there was not necessary. After checking that, he and his partner asked me about my purpose for travel. However, the questions felt like they were coming from a pure, curious standpoint and not a police officer completing an investigation.

After parting ways with the officers, I made my way to my hostel. Check-in was a breeze, and my shared room was not even half-full. After setting my things in their rightful places, I realized that I was hungry. I set off for the city’s center to find a bar or pub to grab a beer and a meal. I messaged my friend Eduard, whom I met in Moscow, for some recommendations as he’s originally from Novosibirsk. After some time, I eventually found a place and ordered some udon noodles with seafood which were quite delicious. At the same time, Eduard was messaging his friends to see if I could meet up with them. Eventually, I was given an address of a bar and his friend’s phone number, Artëm (Artyom). I grabbed the bill at the pub I had stopped at and made my way over. I met up with Artem, and he brought me to where the rest of the group had moved to. After getting acquainted with everyone and grabbing a beer, my night began. While I didn’t plan to stay out until nearly 4 AM, I did, and I have no regrets. It was a Saturday night, anyway. After returning to the hostel and quietly crawling into bed, I passed out. 

The next day (August 2), I eventually woke up and got ready for the day. With some research, mainly on TripAdvisor, I went to explore Novosibirsk. I stopped by the Cathedral of Nevsky and continued wandering about the city. For lunch, I stopped at a Beerman&Bar; it’s a local restaurant with a few locations with different foods. The Beerman&Bar location is attached to the Hilton Double Tree Inn and connected to its Beerman&Pelmeni site. As the names suggest, one is more of a bar, and the other is more of a pelmeni restaurant. Pelmeni, if you didn’t know, are simply Russian dumplings. They are very flavorful and come in a bunch of different varieties. I was thinking of trying their Far East Dumplings, but they were a tad pricey, so I opted for chicken pelmeni, which I have never tried before. They were delicious and served with a side of Russian mustard and smetana (Russian sour cream, which has a higher fat percentage than American sour cream). After lunch, I continued my walk and eventually returned to my hostel to rest and recharge my phone.

After chilling for a couple of hours, I made plans with Artem and the others to go to some bars and smoke some hookah. After the hookah place, we bar hopped a bit and eventually settled in this one alleyway with many bars. There, I was able to order “dinner.” They had this Korean-inspired grilled sandwich, which included an omelet, kimchi, etc. It was pretty good. As the night dragged on, eventually, the group fizzled, and I was left with Artem. We eventually moved to another spot where bars were still open; it was Sunday, so not much was open too late. Artem and I sat talking for hours until the sun had risen. At around 5 am, we both headed home.

The next day (August 3), I went to the Novosibirsk Zoo. It’s one of the largest in Russia and the world; it hosts over 100 endangered species and conducts research critical to the scientific community. While the zoo was fantastic, I didn’t enjoy that all the animals were mostly in cages, whereas in the US, many are housed with glass for human viewing. After walking through the whole park, I eventually made my way out and made a new friend, Rodion. We ended up walking about aimlessly for several hours. Finally, we both headed home at around 2 am. 

I had planned to leave today (August 3), but the train options were terrible so tomorrow will be my last day. I woke up reasonably late and relaxed most of today. Eventually, I grabbed a quick lunch and made my way into the city. I met up with Rodion again. We walked around for a while until I got a text from Artem about hanging out tonight. Since it would be my last night, I wanted to hang with Artem and his friends since they had taken care of me when I arrived.

After meeting up with them at around 21:00, we drank all night long until nearly 6 am. It was great. I returned to my hostel and crawled into bed. I asked the front desk girl if I could have some extra time for checkout as I needed to sleep. Thankfully, she said that there was nothing to worry about and that I could take the time I needed.

So, I slept in again. Seeing as it was my last day (August 4), I made it a point to walk about as much of the city as possible since I had been sparsely making little trips around the city. After I had eaten lunch, I met up with Rodion again. We walked for a little bit. Then, he helped me buy dinner and other food for the train ride. He even accompanied me to my hostel and helped me get through the metro and onto the train. I owe him a big thank you. Until next time, in Baikal!