I took a taxi again. We are heading to Pinsk. And we made it just in time. The elektrichka cost 7 Rubles, and it takes 4 hours. I forgot to buy water and it's really hot. There is a stop with a 9-min interval called Дрогичин, and the train arrives there, according to the schedule, at 15:03. I am going to try to buy water there.

Ok, there are actually 2 stations called Дрогичин. The train stopped at the first station at 15:02. I realized that it was a stop because other stops are usually 1-2 minutes. I ran off with my suitcase, trying to get water. I sweat a lot on the train. Some people were standing in front of a store. There are 3 boys sitting there. They called out to me and I ran over. One boy asked, "Откуда вы?" I said, "Китай." "Куда?" "Пинск, это остановка поезда, и мне нужно воды". The three boys ran into the grocery store and told me to wait outside. One boy said, "Воды." And the woman inside asked me, "Газированные или нет." I said, "обычной". I wanted to get in and pay. Then the woman gave me the water. The boys said they are for free. I said, "огромное спасибо!" And I said, "до свидания." They said удачи. I ran back to the train. 15:09, there are still 3 minutes for the stop. There is no water, no toilets on the train. I drank a liter very quickly, and there is still 1.5 hours to Pinsk. My phone battery is 32%.

As the train goes closer to Pinsk, the train becomes more crowded, and there is a constant bad smell.

Привет Пинск.

I started calling hotels. Yandex said there are no hostels here. Booking a hotel in Belarus is a nightmare, and you usually have to call them directly. It's a bad idea to plan spontaneously. I had 259 Rubles. After eating at KFC, I realized I haven't eaten lunch. I woke up at 11:30 and I was too busy catching the train.

I was at the station and two policemen questioned me again. They asked, "куда?" I said I am going to a hotel, and I showed them my passport, and everything passed very quickly. I'm heading to a hotel that cost 150 Ruble a day. My main phone is at 6% battery, so I am using the backup phone.

I tried contacting hotels, but most of them are full. Finally there is a hotel "Пинский дворик". I messaged them on WhatsApp. I told the woman I would be there in 20-30 minutes. I arrived, and there is a sign on the door that reads they are full. I asked the receptionist, and she was like, "Вы тот, кто приезжает через 20-30 минут?" I said yes. So I am staying here tonight. And after that there isn't a single room left. I had around 90 Rubles in cash and 14 Rubles in my card left.

So I went out and chatted with a group of young men for an hour and a half. Игорь, Владимир, Николай, Стас. Nikolai is 18 years old and he is over 2m tall. Vladimir is 22 years old. We talked for a while, then there is a person called Васильев. He is playing his guitar. He played Кукушка. Anyway I wanted to get something to eat. They asked, "куда вы идете?" I don't know, maybe the supermarket or a cafe. I walked with Stas and Igor to the supermarket "Маяк", and bought 2 yogurts, water, and some pastries.

Stas asked me, сколько стоит билет на самолет здесь? I said 3000 Yuan. Igor talked to me nonstop about life here. They recognized my Google Pixel phone, and Igor was using a Redmi Note 9. We took a photo together. In the picture Nikolai is the tall one, Igor is the one on my right, and Vladimir to my left. Igor asked, "Ты здесь учишься?" I said no. He said there's a university here with some Chinese and Uzbek people. I asked why didn't I see Chinese people? He said it is summer break. He said he was studying физкультура and working for a school. He said you can also work as a tractor driver, or as a mechanic, or in the stores. I said, "как насчет Яндекс?" He said, "Яндекс такси?" I said, "программист". He didn't understand and they don't use laptops much. He said people make money by singing on the streets. I asked, "Сколько? 1000 рублей?" He said they might make 1000 Rubles, and sometimes people toss them a 10-Ruble. He said they learned German in school for 10 years, but he doesn't speak much. People here barely speak any English.

Vasilyev said he went to music school, then spent several years teaching. I asked if he has a YouTube channel, he said no. So I posted it on my YouTube. Stas subscribed to my YouTube channel. I asked if they know Igor Krid or Vanya Dmitrienko. They said they do. What about Oxxxymiron and Basta? They knew them too. "Instasamka?" Then we laughed. Vasilyev had a jaw harp and he played it.

There are 2 girls named Yulia and Diana. I asked if they like Tiktok and they said yes. I asked about poems they learned in school. They sent me a link "Стихи русских поэтов для 11 класса" on Telegram. They said it's all about любовь, война, and родина. Diana said she does boxing. Then around 22:30 they went home.

I am at the bar again! I ate some salad and bread for 14.5 Rubles. There is hardly anyone else in the bar.

At 0 the streets are very quiet.

I have to change my clothes twice a day, and sometimes I need to wash by hand. Then I slept.

The clocks in the hotel show 3 locations: Минск/Москва, Киев, Варшава.

I went to Belarusbank. 500 RMB, 206 рублей. 26 degrees, it's sunny and it's getting hot! I went into a coffee shop "Молоко", and I asked, "Здесь есть молоко?". They said, "Извините, нет, у нас только кофе с молоком".So I just had tea. There's hardly anyone else in the shop.

It's already 16. I spent the last two hours sitting and walking around. It was hot. I was hungry so I went to a restaurant. The waiter's name is Bogdan. I said, "Здравствуйте, Богдан". I ordered something for 15 Rubles, and they gave me free lemonade. The shelves are filled with books by "Михаил Булгаков", "Корней Чуковский". Bogdan came over to serve my dishes. I said, "Спасибо, Богдан! Спасибо тебе!" He came back, smiled, and asked, "Все вкусно?" I said, "Конечно". Bogdan kept running back and forth as I am the only person in the restaurant. He took away my empty plates when I was eating and then took away my used napkins. I kept saying "спасибо". Then I finished eating, and I said "до свидания" and "спасибо" several times. There is Bogdan and a waitress there. Каролин кафе.

I walked along the road and I met a man fixing a car. He greeted me and tried to speak English. There is also another man there dressed in blue and he is Sergey. He also tried speaking English, but his English is quite broken. Then we switched in Russian. "Из Китая? Из какой страны? Нравится этот город? Учишься здесь?" Then he took me to his studio, which was unexpected. Sergey said he liked drawing, and he has many drawings with Chinese themes. There are drawings with tea, bicycles, and the Jiangnan landscapes. It was truly impressive. I asked if he wanted to visit China, and he said yes. I showed him Shanghai on Yandex Maps, and he confused it with Taiwan.

Then Sergey played the guitar for me, and it was 2-3 minutes when he played solo, and I listened. Песня "любовь во время войны". I asked, "Что ты обычно занимаешься?" He said he plays music. I said, "вы невероятно люди." And we exchanged Telegram.

Sergey took me to an apartment at the top building where 4 people are working. A certificate hangs at the door, "мастерская музыки" that Sergey earned in 2011. He said, "Вот гость из Китая". I asked if the work is hard? They were driving nails, doing woodwork or something, with only 4 people, and it was quite loud. They said, "сначала сложно, потом легко". So the 4 people are София, Полина, Домир, Александр. "Нравится Беларуси?" "Конечно, как красивая, чистая, все страны хорошо. Люди добрые. Очень нравится." They said I speak Russian very well. "А как насчет Шанхая?" I said it's modern but boring. Sergey gave me a jaw harp, the same instrument Vasilyev played. He showed me how to play it. They asked if much you get paid in China. I said I am just a student. He said the apartment was from Soviet times. That's it. Then I said "до свидания" and "спасибо" many times.

I bought pastries in the supermarket. The employee looked at a reference book to identify the pastry I chose. "Лена, помоги мне" She called to another employee. But Lena didn't know either. So she went to the bakery section herself and spent 2 minutes figuring it out. Babushka behind me in the line asked, "В этой очереди еще люди работают?"

I ran into Polina and Sofia as I was leaving the supermarket. They were catching a bus.

There is a beach here along the river

People are dancing and singing in front of the Дом культуры. They were singing "Группа крови". Потом Хали-гали, паратрупер. A young woman approached me, and her name is Miroslava. She was with three other girls, Nastya, another Nastya, and Ksyusha. I had a backpack and they told me to leave it on the ground. They took a photo with me and exchanged Telegram. They told me to dance a little to the music. They asked me why I am here alone, and I said I was traveling alone. Turned out they are only 14. And I said I am 20. Then they ran off into the Дом культуры abruptly.

I went into the Дом культуры later, and a woman told me, "низ, низ." And there is a restroom downstairs. Then there are the songs "белые розы". Then "Седая ночь".

I didn't do anything today. I walked around the city for 9 hours. My phone is at 5% battery and it's 21:00. We are going to Minsk.

А вот Ленин

The train cost 25 Rubles. I bought some water and twisters from KFC. I'm waiting for the train to arrive around 11:58, and it would be at Minsk at 5:58. I'm using my laptop to charge my phone.

There is no running water on the train, so I can't change my clothes or brush my teeth. What the shit! 63% battery.

In any case, we got some sleep for 4.5 hours. Then a train attendant tapped me and handed me my ticket, and we are near Minsk. "Доброе утро," I said. Inside it's 25 degrees, and outside it's around 11 degrees. We booked a hostel for 60 Rubles a day, and we have until 14:00 to check in.