
What is up with Rusel’s beard?
The beard has grown in slowly -- or maybe it’s because I spend every waking moment with Rusel and so I didn’t notice it come in. I didn’t give it much thought until everyone started e-mailing me about it.
Many theories abound: in Perth, where Krista is from, the men grow beards in November to support "Mouvember"………….where basically every man and his dog (and old Italian ladies if they have the urge) try to grow a moustache for the 30 days of November. It is all very tongue in cheek and it’s all for a good cause as people raise money for Prostate Cancer (this from Krista, thanks!).
Cheryl in Nebraska thinks it looks “very handsome,” (Editor’s note: extremely biased source who wouldn’t be surprised if Rusel woke up tomorrow morning and walked on water.)
The beard suited Rusel well in Russia, where it was freezing and kept his face warm. It has also earned him a new nickname: “Redbeard.” For some reason, it is growing in red! I guess I could also call him “Rusty,” although he doesn’t seem to like that at all.
Rusel’s answers:
1. It’s a “traveling beard.” (I have no idea what this means, talk amongst yourselves.)
2. I don’t like to shave.
3. I’m not working.
4. It is weather-appropriate. We traveled through Russia in winter. Enough said.
Rusel tells me that he will probably shave it off in warmer climates to come. Stay tuned.
How are you and Rusel getting along?
To be honest, before Rusel and I met up I was slightly anxious. We had been apart for three months, one of which I was traveling on my own and doing my own thing completely. How would it be, after not seeing each other for three months, to spend every day together?
Yesterday as we were waiting for the subway in Beijing to go to the Lama temple, we did the math and figured out that by the end of this trip, we will have spent the same amount of time together that we usually spend together in one year. So in three months time we’ll have spent a normal year’s worth of time together.
And it’s going great. Like any normal couple, we have moments (which sometimes even span out into “uncomfortably long moments,” and – rarely -- “ten minute breaks”) but for the most part it’s going really well. Rusel is an extremely patient man.
Strangely, we rarely do separate things even though we do have separate interests in our everyday lives. It’s just easier and more fun to do things together. Today, I was tired in the afternoon so I went back to the hostel to take a nap and Rusel hit up a museum on his own, but this is the first time this has happened since St. Petersburg. So on the whole, all is well.
I would say, on average, that Rusel makes me laugh out loud (the kind that makes my belly hurt and sometimes even ends with a snorting noise) at least once a day.
Are you going to run away and get married by a Tibetan monk?
I don’t think that Tibetan monks perform wedding ceremonies. ☺ And anyway, we’d have to sneak into Tibet to do it…..although now that I think about it, that does sound romantic……..although probably not legal and binding in the end. Everyone can learn a lesson from Mick Jagger.
How’s the money situation?
Well, Russia kind of drained us. Moscow was expensive, but we were prepared for that. However, everything else in Russia was expensive as well. And admittedly, we’re a little bit too old to be the stereotypical backpackers. Many people really rough it and sleep in the “bunks” in the hostels but Rusel and I don’t do that.
We were staying at “cheap” hotels in Russia but found that they were slightly isolating and not as friendly. As much as we want the most authentic experience possible, it’s also nice to be tapped into a community of travelers so we can swap information and just talk to some friendly people. So, since Irkutsk in Russia, we have been staying at hostels and enjoying it much more.
The hostels that we have been staying at have private doubles, which are just fine and comparatively not that much more than the open rooms. For instance, at the hostel we’re staying at right now in Shanghai, a bunk bed is 50 yuan each (so it would be 100 yuan/$13 US total for the two of us), and our room is 200 yuan ($26 USD). So we could be doing it cheaper, but this is pretty cheap as it is. It really just depends on how you look at it.
Many people we met along the way also traveled platskartny on the trains. This is the train car where all of the bunk beds are open, like one big dorm. Although that did seem to have its advantages – cheaper, and easier to meet other travelers – Rusel and I felt like kupe was roughing it enough. We also have laptops and Rusel has a nice camera and so we kind of are always keeping an eye on these things, which would’ve been more difficult in that car.
So Russia was a budget-buster, but Mongolia was cheaper and China cheaper even still. Japan is going to be expensive, but we’re only there for ten days. Thailand is cheap cheap cheap and in Australia we’ll be with Krista’s family so that shouldn’t be too bad either. We’re definitely watching our cash flow (only flowing one way at this point, sadly), but our kidneys aren’t on ebay….yet.
Are you sick of the red coat and hat yet?
A resounding YES! should now be heard throughout the land. I am still struggling with what will happen to my winter wear once we hit Thailand.
As anyone who has traveled with me or has visited my apartment knows, I grow attached to inanimate objects for sentimental reasons. When I was six, I saved our old, broken hair blow-drier from the trashcan because I felt sorry for it. So although you may not see any more pictures of them soon, they will probably live on. Maybe we will mail our winter stuff home? But then, that feeds into the above question….so who knows.