As salam and hello fellow readers and bloggers...!
This time no big fussy intro as we got a long "road" to reach the end of the post.
Ehem uhuk uhuk *clearing throat*
Sit back, enjoy your tea and read along..
I was so known to my friend, well at least to my batch mates as the one who does not travel a lot(I guess), well to go with the definition of "a lot" , I actually traveled once, the first one was my trip to Sochi/Сочи, that was a short trip like 3 days. Before I end my study here, I actually managed to add a second place to my list and that was my recent trip to Dombay/Домбай. (No, its not in India, Pakistan or South Africa). Its in Russia, took us like around 10-12 hours to get there by a van.
Dombay - It is situated in the Teberda Nature Reserve. It is a quite popular tourist attraction for skiing and hiking, and one of natural beauty of Caucasus mountains. The mountain ranges from 1800m to peak of 4046 of Dombay-Ulgen.
We took off from Volgograd around 6.30 pm. It was a long and tiring journey. We had 2-3 stops for eating, and toilets.
The next very morning, I was woke up to a very beautiful big mountains upon my eyes. I was so sleepy before but the view literally makes me stay staring at the God`s great creation.
We finally arrived in our destined hotel, and I really dont want to expect anything much, as the fee that I pay was fairly low and for the cheap price, at least I can get a bed, a room, and a toilet.
When I entered my room, (I did not care much about my room, even if they were better then I expected) I was totally stunned by the magnificent view from my balcony.
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| Subhanallah |
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| :) |
We got time for bath, breakfast and pack ourselves to the peak of 3200m above sea level ahead!
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| The peak was totally covered by the cloud |
There`s total of 3 levels from the Dombai to its peak. From the Dombai to the 1st level we need to ride a cable car. The rests through cable sit (Is this the real name for it?)
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| First step - the cable car. |
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| Yak - What a surprise on the first level. |
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| The cable sit |
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| This big fella and his comrade were waiting through the cable railway |
The weather on the slope of Mussa Achitara during my trip ranges from sunny to a blizzard. I guess its more like a blizzard during winter season, as told by my friends. So, we were like Tshirt only outfit and then to a 3-layered thick clothes :D
So, what can u do at the 2nd floor? It offers a fairly good spot for skiing or snowboarding for beginners or even experts, banana slides, bicycle slides, enjoy the hot "Ukha/Уха" soup or other Caucasian cuisines which taste good at most Cafes there, and others.
We were blessed by meeting with lots of muslims there, they look at us and straight away gave Salam, correctly guessed that we are from Malaysia, although there`s an auntie asked if Im from Indonesia, I said "Nope, Im from Vietnam/Нet, Я из Виетнама" Just to joke around :D.
My leg was not in the good condition when I was at Dombai, so skiing and snowboarding were a big NO for me, plus I already enjoyed them during my trip at Sochi. So, my friends and I decided to play banana slide (I dont know it`s real name though, looks like banana to me, and russians there called them Банан(banan) which means banana. I was physiologically dsypnoeic after few slides. The low atmospheric pressure made me climb the slope slowly than my friends did. It was so heavy in my chest, catching my breath. So, I didnt play much like others.
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| The banana slide |
After some time, we decided to step into the highest slope of Mount Mussa Architara, the 3rd level. Legend said it has a breathtaking view. It really is. The view around me was so perfect that makes my heart feels at ease, such therapeutic view made my effort coming here totally paid off.
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| The view behind me u might probably see in Mission Impossible |
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| The guy in the middle looks decent. |
After we took some picture, we sang our national anthem Negaraku like we hardly climb the peak of the mountain. It was enjoyable moment! Haha.
We had some rest after that in our hotel. It was tiring journey for me, yet enjoyable.
We had a barbecue for the dinner, with marinated chickens we brought along from Volgograd. They were tasty! Thanks Luqman and the others!
=================== End of 1st Day ====================================
The second day start with a very bright and sunny morning, the sunlight pierced into my room and lightens it totally like an afternoon.
The plan for the 2nd day was ATV-riding, horse riding and climbing to the waterfall Shumka/Шумка
30 minutes journey from our hotel to the horse riding in a classic soviet van model УАЗ-452 packed with 14 of us. It was hilarious.
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| Me and the УАЗ-452 soviet van |
The stable, where they provide horse riding services is small, but the area around it is huge. For price of 500 rubles, I enjoy the excitement of riding a horse for 1 hour. My horse was quite lazy, most of the time he walks, not even gallops. To be honest, I was so scared for few minutes. Seeing my friends enjoying their ride, I enjoyed mine too. I got a free lecture on how to ride a horse by the guy accompanied us there. He likes to curse at the horses when they walk too slow. Poor horses, the riders were bad :D
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| Me and the horse. |
Later after that, we went to the ATV spot. It was handled by muslim guys. They were so kind. I must admit that whenever we met muslim there, they will ask "Do u pray ?". It was so great to feel so much closer with brother from the same religion.
Well, the ATV, yeah was fun too. Although we didnt get to ride through the usual track, the shorter one was still enjoyable. My ATV broke down twice and the problem was like something stuck between the oil tank and the fuel injector. I dont know the real problem though, not my thing, yup Im one of the worst in my family when it come to this field. So, the mechanic there solved the problem like his bread and butter.
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| Me and the old ATV |
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| My ATV mate - a good rider! :D |
The last in our list was hiking 800m to the waterfall Shumka. The climbing was tiring, but the waterfall really makes it totally worth it.
We spent rest of the evening before our journey home at restaurant, stuff ourselves with loads of good Caucasian cuisine, from lagman, shurpa to salad, khichin shashlik and tea. I managed to grab some souvenirs too. They were quite pricey but nice.
I spent total of nearly 12000 rubles from beginning till the end. It was expensive for a trip to Dombay, well not for someone who rarely goes to travel like me. I can assure u that u usually spent less rubles than me.
I dont know why I choose to go Dombay. I am afraid of height to be honest. It was terrifying moments for me, yet they were all exhilarating. Maybe the only way to treat our fear is by overcoming the fear itself.
I enjoyed my brotherhood moments with my friends and juniors, which we did not have time to know each other before. The bonding is real when we go to a journey together.
The experience I get there will be missed for long time. I am sure of that. Thanks Ubadah for handling the trip for us. Do visit Uba`s Travel and Tours. If u are planning to visit Dombay, do ask him for the advice.
To my Dombay Brothers, thank you guys for the moment. It will surely be missed!!
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| Dombay Brothers - Spring, 2016 |
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