matt just broke a glass shelf with his head

the datsun is a buddhist temple about 3 kilometres out of town. the girls in the tourist office looked very confused and slightly concerned this morning when we went to ask if we could somehow go and see it. they told us later, at 1pm.

when the time came we waited in the hotel lobby joking that they would have trouble accommodating such a small group of 2 on a tour, and we'd end up traveling in one of their cars or something.

at one o'clock one of the tourist information girls came and took us outside to her toyota camry parked in the forecourt.

it was an inordinate change seeing russia through a car window. somehow pleasant and refreshing. it was even nicer having a knowledgeable english speaking person to tell us about the place we're in and answer our questions. i hadn't realised how little we were learning about this country by just being in it. we suddenly began to find out reasons for place names and traditions; some theory to go with our practical.

the datsun is the centre of russian buddhism, an intricately carved temple and similar other buildings. around them the humble wooden houses that the buddhist lamas live in. walking the traditional clockwise around the grounds, the guide told us the history and philosophy of buddhism, and the meanings of the artifacts we came across. in the background a recording of low bassy chanting brought a stillness and a hush over the whole place. it was incredibly still, actually. and peaceful. we span prayer cylinders. even though they were constructing a new pathway and a temple using power tools, nothing seemed to disturb the peace.

in one of the temples two lamas were praying, deep booming voices reading from an endless pile of prayers written in sanscrit. it should've been an enchanting experience but one kept yawning; very funny. the other would occasionally check his watch. neither missed a beat with their chants.

there was a german guy there who had ridden his triumph motorbike the whole way on a massive tour. man, i was jealous.

on the way back the guide told us we were the first tourists she'd seen this year. it explains a lot. result.

just as i started writing this entry an enormous crash erupted from the en-suite. turns out matt just nutted a glass shelf while washing his face, and broke it and the mirror above it. the hotel manager thought it was hilarious, he charged us only 600 roubles (about £12). comedy gold and an inexpensive jape.