While my trip is finished and I am just waiting here, in St Petersburg, for my return flight to Washington, I have some observations which may have some common interest.

Theatrical life in St. Petersburg is flourishing. Forget about London's Theatrical District, come here to St Petersburg. The number of theaters increased three fold from the Soviet time. In spite of generally tough times, theaters are full. There are a wide range of theaters from absurd to realistic and all are very professional. Prices are a fraction of London's and negligible compared to American ones. In my typical evening I go to the theater on bike and leave my bike in the bag at the coat check room. After the theater, I ride bike through the white nights till about 3 am, then go to the Internet cafe and come home about 5-6 AM.

More about theaters: in addition to the perfect play, observing the public is also fun. Unlike the Kennedy Center in Washington, where the average age of visitors is about 70, here, it is mostly young people.
Goods, including clothes are pretty expensive here, so young ladies prefer to save on clothes (i.e., skimpy clothes), which takes Westerners by surprise. They do not know where to look, to the play or to the public.
This is not a paid commercial for the St Petersburg theatrical society.

PS. My Indian friend and the reader of my Travel Notes responded to my observation of hot weather in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and told me that the Indians wrote to their friends back home that the wheatear in America is so cold that the urine freezes before it reaches the ground.

Alex Mumzhiu mumzhiu@yahoo.com
St Petersburg, Russia
July 2 2002, midnight