Today we had a bit of entertainment. We did go to the National Festival. Of course, it was held many miles outside of town in order to inflict maximum inconvenience on everyone. We had a driver take us out, but he didn't bother to pick us up. That was fine, because it turned out that the bus system was running back and forth.
As to the festival. We got there a bit before noon and did find a small area that was set up with craftsmen. However, there was little of interest and the pickings were slim. There just isn't a
tourism industry here. I didn't see anything that I wanted. From there we went to the opening
ceremonies. This was an extended pagent involving hundreds of actors. It told the history of this
region (in highly glorified terms). It dealt with ancient Kings and Queens (or at least powerful
warriors). It involved demons and a large dragon. It involved the arrivals of Turks and ponies. It
involved the advent of Russians. There was much dancing and presentation of notables. The costumes
were colorful and interesting.The festival was held on a plain. It looked much like a pasture in South Dakota. Grass and plenty of dust. The rain from the other day did not curb the dust and it was hot once again. In some ways the place reminded me of a county fair without the amusement park. Booths were set up everywhere, serving up Shashlik (shish-ka-bob of various sorts - ranging from chicken to horse). Fires were going, which only added to the haze. There was even a booth with cotton candy (but no corn dogs, much to our chagrin).
People have come to this festival from many different places. In different spots there were spaces reserved for people to pitch their tents. And they did. So each area was filled with people who had
traveled from that region (or who were meeting up with friends who now live in Yakutsk). Tents,
teepees and lean-tos were set up everywhere. Horses and wagons were plentiful.Beer was not plentiful. It was banned, as was most forms of alcohol. Not banned was Kumiss - fermented Mare's milk, which was being sold by the plastic bottle. It was in huge milk cans and ladled out into whatever thing you brought with you. If you had a 2 liter bottle, it would be filled. A .5 liter bottle would be filled (but you'd be sneered at for taking so little). I bypassed the Kumiss experience. Yikes, weak, fermented, horsey buttermilk! It was being swilled by the gallon. It also had a prominent place in the pagent.
It was nice to see all the costumes and the people gathered together. This kind of demonstration of national pride was banned during the Soviet period. This seems much like a contrived revival.
However, the older folks were enjoying it the most and plenty of younger people were involved. I
suspect the "wasted" generation was, yet again, hopelessly lost. The festival did not have much that was too diverting. Our group was bored after an hour or so. However, Megan and I took our time and wandered everywhere. I had forgotten to charge my camera
battery so I took fewer pictures than I wished. However, we just looked at some of them and they are
pretty cute. I love the zoom on the camera. The images appear so sharp that it is amazing. Once we headed back, Megan had to go back to the hotel. Her contacts had filled up with dust. Sam and I claimed some seats at one of the few beer tents in town and had some beers in the late
afternoon. It was very pleasant outside. It was nice to be outside the hotel and simply watching
the traffic flow by. This relaxing pace is very welcome. It has given me a chance to read and catch
up on some journal articles. I have even managed to write a bit and need to get back to more writing.
This trip has been a grind - of that there is no doubt.Time to head off to track down some dinner. I just had a nice nap and it is about 8 pm. Still sunny and clear. Poor Megan was up at 4 am and at the point it was bright and sunny. It didn't bother me in the least, but I can understand how it might confuse some folks. It is a different world.
We finished off the evening (following a short nap on my part) with the late show at the movie theater across the street from us. We went to see Blade II. A very strange Vampire movie that was improved by being dubbed in Russian. Since there was no plot, it was not a big problem following along. The language was hardly a barrier.
