Russia and Belarus
On Monday the 20th November 2017, a small group of 13 set off for an adventure to Russia and to perform at the 7th International Martial Arts Games in Minsk, Belarus.
Sights of Moscow, Russia
Our first stop was Moscow! We arrived in Moscow in the early afternoon and were met by our guide Julia, who stayed with us for the next 5 days. Upon arriving at our hotel, we quickly dressed for the most amazing dinner at the Turandot Palace Restaurant. The dining room where we sat was extremely ornate with the finest plates and cutlery. The food was amazing.
We had 5 days in Moscow which started off with a visit to Red Square and the Kremlin. After seeing so many photos of the multi coloured domes of St Basil’s Cathedral, which is one of the most famous pieces of architecture in the world, there we were standing in front of it! It was snowing ever so slightly which was quite beautiful.
As small snowflakes fell around us, we walked through to the grounds of the Kremlin. It was quite a contrast with the glimmering gold domes set against the dark winter sky and the black leafless trees that were dotted around the border of the buildings. Another highlight was touring the Moscow metro stations. The various stations are uniquely decorated, each very different. We walked through the Kuskaya Station lobby with its magnificent sculptures in the WII Hall of Fame. On either side of the curved archways were bronze statues twice the size of a man. The statues were all in different poses made up of men and women of the time. There was a statue of a man and his dog. His dog’s nose rubbed to a glossy finish due to years of people touching it for good luck. I didn’t think I would ever see a grand chandeliers and beautiful painting in a train station! It was like walking in a museum of fine art and certainly not what you would expect walking in a busy metro train station.
We had a day trip to Sergiev Posad - a small town about 75 kms outside of Moscow. It was the coldest day we were to experience at a refreshing -7 deg (felt like -11 deg).
It was here we visited the Trinity Monastery of St Serguis, the Assumption Cathedral which was commissioned by Ivan The Terrible, and the Bell Tower which was built in the 18th Century and houses the biggest and largest working bell in Russia. This monastery complex of buildings is the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Christianity.
In my view our visit to Moscow wouldn’t have been complete without a trip to the Opera at the Bolshoi Theatre. This was an optional extra as I guess it isn’t everyone cup of tea. The Opera went for 4 hours, I managed to sneak in a cheeky Russian Champagne in one of the 3 intervals! This was an amazing experience. There were women all dressed up in their finest, dressed from head to toe in fur coats. We sat in the stalls which gave us such a great view of the performance. The inside of the building was decorated in red velvet with gold walls and chandeliers everywhere. It was so grand and so beautiful, the 4 hours seemed to go so quickly, and it was the best place for people watching! While in Moscow we also visited the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, Novodevichy Cemetery and the Sparrow Hills lookout.
On Day 6 of our trip we headed to the Leningrad sky railway station to take the fast train to St Petersburg. On arriving in St Petersburg we were met by our guide for the next 5 days, Anna. In St Petersburg the first place we visited was Catherine Place which was the summer residence of the Russian Tsars. It was such a beautiful building. On the outside, it was blue and white with gold trimming. The inside was gold, gold and more gold! Catherine Place was created by Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great and houses the famous Amber Room. This room was overwhelmingly opulent and was once regarded as a modern ‘Wonders of the World’. It has Amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors. The palace has been painstaking reconstructed so you feel as though you step back in time to the era of the Tsars. We attended a folk show at the Nikolaevsky Place. After the performance, we were ushered away to a large ball room which was set up for us, for a private dinner. We even had a woman playing the Piano as we eat our way through a 7 course dinner. We visited many famous sites around St Petersburg, including Peter and Paul Fortress and St Issac’s cathedral. These sites are all very impressive with their paintings and gold trimmings. I was one of three who decided to walk up the 270 odd steps to the top of St Isaac’s Cathedral for a spectacular view of the St Petersburg sky line. What a sight, the others didn’t realise what they had missed out on. On one of our free nights half the group went to the ballet and the Mariinsky Theatre while the others went to the Russian Circus. I headed to Mariinsky Theatre to see the Ballet. The theatre wasn’t as ornate as the Bolshoi Theatre, however it was a great experience and a ‘must-do’ while in St Petersburg. While in St Petersburg we also visited the Hermitage Museum.
International Martial Arts Games in Minsk, Belarus
On the 10th day we flew to Minsk. When we landed it was snowing and a chilli -2 deg. We were picked up by the representatives of IMGC and driven to our accommodation, the Monastyrski Hotel, in the centre of Minsk. The Monastyrski Hotel which was a former monastery, from the 1800’s. It was a quaint building steeped in history with its long dark corridors of bluestone floors and black wrought iron hanging lights. Dignitaries and some of the teams competing at the games also stayed at the Hotel. While in Minsk we had a chance to relax and go at a much lower pace. We explored the nearby streets and discovered the most wonderful chocolate shop. The shop assistants didn’t speak English, however this wasn’t an issue as we pointed and gestured to which ones we wanted. They sold the smaller chocolates by the kilo. We also visited the Great Patriotic War Museum which is a memorial to the people of Belarus during the years of the Nazi occupation. Every third resident in Belarus, more than 3 million people, lost their lives during this period.
On the second day in Minsk, the International Martial Arts Games Congress was held and Senior Master Chin Min Lian and Master Tong Lo attended, representing Australia. Grand Master Eng Chor Khor attended as the Executive Board member of the IMGC. At the Congress it was endorsed that the 8th International Martial Arts Games will be held in Greece in 2019.
We performed on the last night of the tournament. The local TV channel were coming down to film us so we would have our 15 seconds of fame on a Russian news report! We were all very excited as we drove to the arena. I was filled with excitement and pure anxiety as we waited on the arena floor to be introduced to the audience. We were to perform on a kickboxing platform which was a challenge as the floor was very soft and spongy. As I stepped into the arena my heart sank as I knew this would be a challenge to be able to balance and to perform the perfect golden cock standing on one leg! We had a wall of spectators in front of us all with their mobile phones pointed at us recording our every move. I took a deep breath and thought there is no going back so let’s show them what the Aussies can do! We performed Tai chi 24 as a group and then Master Chin Min, Zenaida Calderon and myself performed the Phoenix Fan. I was very proud of the team, everyone did a great performance. Our tai chi practice almost every morning throughout the trip paid off. What a great way to finish our 15 day trip to Russia and Belarus.
