Brands Are Shrinking The World
Jul. 6th, 2011 07:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeIt's fair to say that there isn't a lot happening in Simferopol. It functions as a perfectly prim capital city of an autonomous republic. The Russians and the Hungarians have a consulate here and there are a couple of nice looking Orthodox churches. Aside from that, it's a city of cracked pavements, fading facades and fountains which don't seem to work any more. It took me two hours to walk around its environs, tripping up as I went as there are huge fissures in the pavements. In fact, they undulate. Upkeep clearly hasn't been a top priority post 1991.
It's clear that the Soviet era has left its mark as the city has more than its fair share of ugly concrete buildings. Delving into the back streets does deliver some colourful surprises, including a massive tank memorial which pops up outside the Crimean parliament building. Relics of the Great Patriotic War are widespread here and there is still a strong military theme throughout. I don't think I have seen as many tanks as I have during the past six days. There's been loads of them.
Crimea used to be a Tatar stronghold and consequently it's quite popular with the Turks. It also appears to be a favoured holiday destination for them, with direct flights from Istanbul to Simferopol. This is evident by the high number of sheesh bubble smoking pipes which are around, as well as the broadcasting of Turkish television with obligatory bald man with a moustache.
Speaking of television, Ukrainian TV is a nice mix. I have mainly been watching the music channels, which has Russian and Anglophone music interspersed. I have gotten into some Russian dance tracks since coming here. M1 is my favourite as they post the lyrics at the bottom of the screen so you can sing along. The English ones from the likes of Britney Spunk and Rihanna make no sense whatsoever. As for the Russian ones, I wouldn't know.
Furthermore, the other night we watched a show which translated into Porni Camera. It was like Just For Laughs but the resulting prank invariably ended up with women getting their breasts or buttocks out. It was quite funny really, not least watching the differing reactions of the men and women who were pranked. Red Bull Racing has also been shown here whilst Top Gear is on Mega as often as it is on Dave back home. Interestingly, Jeremy Clarkson is actually bearable when dubbed - I wonder if they translate all of his xenophobic bullshit when Top Gear gets exported to foreign lands?
The lack of a car has been our major downfall this holiday but Ukrainian roads don't seem to have any traffic laws at all. Or if they do, they are rarely adhered. Honking is the default position and if you think our roads are full of potholes then they are nothing compared to some of the roads in Crimea. As is often the case, the capital city of a country is orderly and clean but Crimea is definitely neither of those things. Furthermore, the distance signs between Yalta and Sevastopol are definitely out of whack - there was one occasion which said 37km and then 400m later another sign said 29km.
When walking around Simferopol, I happened upon a market. It was just closing up but there was still a throng of people congregating around two old women selling fruit on the street. There are quite a few veiled elderly ladies sitting on subways here, begging for money or selling fruits such as cherries, raspberries or blackberries. It adds to the cultural life of a country I guess and was certainly interesting to observe.
Finding food is quite difficult, or at least finding traditional Ukrainian food is. Pizza is ubiquitous as I mentioned earlier - Ukraine even has its own pizza chain which produces some delicious and fresh pizzas. Pancakes with sour cream seems to be a default breakfast, which is what I had this morning, whilst there is a dominace of sushi bars here, which is really surprising. I have seen more sushi bars than any other food emporium combined. I am surprised the Japanese have made it out here really.
Another thing which is interesting is the amount of Brit Chic there is. I have seen about 15 people wearing clothes with the Union Flag adorned on them. I don't know if this is a designer thing but it is certainly common. In fact, I have seen no other country mentioned on any attire whatsoever since arriving here. London is popularly mentioned although one guy was wearing a shirt advertising Southampton on it. Is that a hip and swinging place? I don't know, I have only been once. It looked a bit grey. And of course there have been a fair few football shirts, which is what you would expect really.
So yes, an interesting cultural expose this is certainly becoming. Wolfie is back home now, although I wish he was here. He was chatting to a World War Two fighter pilot on his way home apparently, which sounds interesting too. Another one of life's merry adventures.
It's clear that the Soviet era has left its mark as the city has more than its fair share of ugly concrete buildings. Delving into the back streets does deliver some colourful surprises, including a massive tank memorial which pops up outside the Crimean parliament building. Relics of the Great Patriotic War are widespread here and there is still a strong military theme throughout. I don't think I have seen as many tanks as I have during the past six days. There's been loads of them.
Crimea used to be a Tatar stronghold and consequently it's quite popular with the Turks. It also appears to be a favoured holiday destination for them, with direct flights from Istanbul to Simferopol. This is evident by the high number of sheesh bubble smoking pipes which are around, as well as the broadcasting of Turkish television with obligatory bald man with a moustache.
Speaking of television, Ukrainian TV is a nice mix. I have mainly been watching the music channels, which has Russian and Anglophone music interspersed. I have gotten into some Russian dance tracks since coming here. M1 is my favourite as they post the lyrics at the bottom of the screen so you can sing along. The English ones from the likes of Britney Spunk and Rihanna make no sense whatsoever. As for the Russian ones, I wouldn't know.
Furthermore, the other night we watched a show which translated into Porni Camera. It was like Just For Laughs but the resulting prank invariably ended up with women getting their breasts or buttocks out. It was quite funny really, not least watching the differing reactions of the men and women who were pranked. Red Bull Racing has also been shown here whilst Top Gear is on Mega as often as it is on Dave back home. Interestingly, Jeremy Clarkson is actually bearable when dubbed - I wonder if they translate all of his xenophobic bullshit when Top Gear gets exported to foreign lands?
The lack of a car has been our major downfall this holiday but Ukrainian roads don't seem to have any traffic laws at all. Or if they do, they are rarely adhered. Honking is the default position and if you think our roads are full of potholes then they are nothing compared to some of the roads in Crimea. As is often the case, the capital city of a country is orderly and clean but Crimea is definitely neither of those things. Furthermore, the distance signs between Yalta and Sevastopol are definitely out of whack - there was one occasion which said 37km and then 400m later another sign said 29km.
When walking around Simferopol, I happened upon a market. It was just closing up but there was still a throng of people congregating around two old women selling fruit on the street. There are quite a few veiled elderly ladies sitting on subways here, begging for money or selling fruits such as cherries, raspberries or blackberries. It adds to the cultural life of a country I guess and was certainly interesting to observe.
Finding food is quite difficult, or at least finding traditional Ukrainian food is. Pizza is ubiquitous as I mentioned earlier - Ukraine even has its own pizza chain which produces some delicious and fresh pizzas. Pancakes with sour cream seems to be a default breakfast, which is what I had this morning, whilst there is a dominace of sushi bars here, which is really surprising. I have seen more sushi bars than any other food emporium combined. I am surprised the Japanese have made it out here really.
Another thing which is interesting is the amount of Brit Chic there is. I have seen about 15 people wearing clothes with the Union Flag adorned on them. I don't know if this is a designer thing but it is certainly common. In fact, I have seen no other country mentioned on any attire whatsoever since arriving here. London is popularly mentioned although one guy was wearing a shirt advertising Southampton on it. Is that a hip and swinging place? I don't know, I have only been once. It looked a bit grey. And of course there have been a fair few football shirts, which is what you would expect really.
So yes, an interesting cultural expose this is certainly becoming. Wolfie is back home now, although I wish he was here. He was chatting to a World War Two fighter pilot on his way home apparently, which sounds interesting too. Another one of life's merry adventures.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-07-15 10:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-16 06:27 pm (UTC)