rostov-on-don: surviving siberian winds on a student's ramen budget
okay so i just landed here with 702658 rubles in my pocket and this number 1804688214 scribbled on a napkin-apparently some emergency contact? turns out it’s just the atm code for the dorm cash machine. priorities, right?
first thing i check: it’s…snotty-nose-freezing-air-out-there-right-now, hope you packed extra toe warmers. feels like -18.79°C but the locals call it “a brisk tuesday.” humidity’s at 94%, so every breath feels like inhaling a wet sponge. pressure’s 1021 hPa though-so at least your lungs won’t implode? *rybinskoye reservoir looks pretty on the map though, if you’re into frozen-over despair.
got a dorm room smaller than my backpack. shared kitchen smells like regret and boiled cabbage. met this guy named boris who sells bootleg thermoses for 500 rubles each. “real aluminum!” he says while handing me one that leaks. still beats the hostel tripadvisor link where they charge $50 for a bunk bed shaped like a coffin.
“the only thing colder than this wind is their borscht. bring your own pepper.” - some drunk guy named sergei
if you get bored, taganrog and novocherkassk are just a bus ride away. caught a minibus where the driver smoked two packs and argued with a GPS for 40 minutes. worth it for the cathedral ruins though. yelp link lies about these “cozy cafes”-most are just old ladies selling buckwheat from buckets.
someone told me that the university library hides underground passages. spent three hours freezing in park gorkogo trying to find them. found nothing but suspiciously clean snow and a stray cat judging my life choices. heard another rumor that the bolshaya sadovaya street has $2 pelmeni-still haven’t confirmed it because my hands won’t thaw out enough to peel a banana. local forum link says the best kebabs are near theater square*, but every vendor looks like they’ve been exiled from siberia.
survival tips: wear three pairs of socks. beg boris for his leaky thermos. and if you see 1804688214 anywhere? that’s just the city’s way of reminding you to check your bank balance before ordering more instant noodles. lonely planet calls this place “forgotten”-nah, it’s just hiding its weirdness under layers of frost and regret. honestly? wouldn’t trade it for anything. except maybe a heated blanket. and maybe some soup. definitely soup.
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