Bussing it.

Click on map for larger image.

Not too sure how to describe Riga. It is the kind of city that from the moment you arrive you know that it has charm like a woman with a smile that holds your attention yet keeps you intrigued by its obscurity. Unlike Poland the bus terminal in Riga is in the centre of town and the city greets you the minute you step off the bus. My accommodation was just four minutes walk from the bus terminal in the heart of Riga’s old town.

The bus trip from Warsaw was fairly eventless and nowhere near as gruelling as the London Warsaw trip. I did however feel I was heading further into the back blocks of Europe on this leg. The freeways/motorways/autobahns in Germany just out of France are mind boggling with a maze of flyovers as the traffic of Europe is sent in its different directions. Germany is a bit of a focal point for traffic to the far corners of Europe and you get a sense of the pure volumes of traffic with flyovers and overpasses extending for kilometres with nothing but pillions and exit signs to punctuation the journey. Finally the navigation through this maze is complete and the driver settles back for mind numbing hours down a freeway where you keep perfect time as the kilometres go click click click with nothing to distract, engage or compel the driver to do anything other than keep the bus between the lines and on course. Sitting on a bus travelling effortlessly down the best roads on this planet with the quiet murmur of the engine it is fairly easy to feel relaxed and catch some sleep.

Travelling from Warsaw to Riga was somewhat different. It certainly wasn’t like the bus journeys I have loathed when travelling in Asia , Africa and Latin America where you can smell the brakes cooking as the driver hammers the bus down a ravine or dodges in and out of heavy traffic leaving a tobacco papers width between the vehicle you are in an oncoming traffic and perhaps peril. I have seen a few too many buses on their sides or half way down the side of a hill to anticipate travelling by bus other than as total last resort in these countries. The drive east out of Warsaw wasn’t anywhere as nerve racking as in the so called third world countries where there seems to be only two speeds, stopped and flat out, yet it did have me reach for the seat belt for the first time.

The highways of Germany don’t stop at the Polish border and it is quiet evident that huge money had been poured into the brand new freeway the takes you all the way to Warsaw. With a second grade two lane highway heading east to Latvia I saw the new freeways heading west as a clear symbol of where Poland sees its future and priority. Back on the road heading east out of Warsaw after passing the soviet style apartments and other no descript buildings the city soon gives way to greenfield areas of new estate developments, shopping centres and fast food outlets. Hey, welcome to anywhere! Thankfully we were soon heading out through farming country, more wheat I think, and I took my position watching the world go by through the window.

With the nights here only about five hours long at this time of year, a couple of border crossing to punctuate the night and with a few drinking partners at the back of the bus it seemed that we had only finished last drinks before it was dawn. With one small hiccup of the bus breaking down and an hour and a half sitting on the roadside. I could here the clunks of the drivers trying to do some mechanical repair at the rear of the bus and thought the last thing I want to do is get off the bus and offer my two Zlotys worth or was that Litas worth. Yes, in fact I was in Lithuania not Poland now or Latvia yet. So there you are, I have been to Lithuania after all because the drivers finally gave up trying to fix the bus and a new bus was bought in the transfer passengers. So, if anyone asks have I been to Lithuania I’ll be able to say, oh yes briefly, spent about five minutes by a cow paddock not far from the Latvian border back in 2006. Loved the country, great cows! Must go back one day.

So now ensconced in old town Riga. Big news is that my next destination is Sydney Australia. Yes, just a little out of Riga. Yes, it is a bit of a shock for me but I have to put my responsibilities as a parent above having a good time just at the moment. I do intend to head back out to China just as soon as possible and pick up my journey in Beijing. I did however buy a return ticket to London coming back June 1 next year so the Trans Siberian leg will have to wait ten months. This isn’t so bad as I will then be able to accomplish another goal of attending the ‘White Nights’ festival in St. Petersburg and do the Trans Siberian in one trip. I still have some time here in Riga an a few blogs before I leave. The major news here at the moment is the turmoil at London Heathrow and other airports with many flight cancellations. I am not alone in having some concerns with both getting to London then onto a connecting flight in London with the constant news of flight cancellations. I do have travel insurance but I’ll need to read the fine print because a lot of insurers have covered their backside by exempting themselves out of troubles arising out of terrorism. Whether flight cancellations could be deemed a result of an act or planned act of terrorism or rather due to a simple inability and lack of logistical planning to deal with foreseeable congestion when a security level is increased to critical is probably being considered by many right at this moment. Further, I am not sure just who holds legal liability if items such as laptops and cameras now have to be put in the hold of the aircraft which get to below zero temperature become damaged? I am starting to understand the attraction of Noosa, Cairns and other domestic locations as a great place to have a holiday!