We got to the airport about 9:00 am. It was a busy time with long queues. I first went through customs, and the woman at the desk wanted my original declaration. When I told her I didn’t have one she just waved me through. Then there was the airline check in and
passport control. I wandered around the duty-free area till the flight was called. Prices of booze were much higher than they were in the flea-market stalls in Moscow. There was a loud-voiced American telling everyone about his visit to Siberia, and the kinds of food they had, and how sick he was of Russian cooking, so they had flown in a French chef from Moscow for him – Moss-kau, he called it. He said it was the longest two weeks of his life, but people had made him very welcome – species Americanus Bullshittens-
us. There was a delay in boarding the plane, and we had to wait about 20 minutes at the gate, and finally took off about 11:30…