A Friendly Soviet Union

Seven years ago I traveled to Moscow, Leningrad, Central Asia and Mongolia with a tour company. The people never smiled and the food and air travel were deplorable.

Last summer my travel companion and I (middle-aged ladies) were among the first Western tourists to cruise the Lena River in Siberia with a different cruise company. After the cruise we traveled by ourselves (with the assistance of Intourist) in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Georgia and Turkistan. This time no one cared what reading material we carried, no one double-checked our money declarations and our 120 rolls of film were cheerfully hand-checked.

Food and air travel were definitely improved. In the subways, on the streets and in the markets we received a thumbs-up response, plus gifts of fruit and drinks.

The ultimate glasnost experience was in Tbilisi. We stood in line, like everyone else, to get a taxi to an outdoor museum. The driver and his passenger (a housewife unknown to him) were so overwhelmed at meeting Americans that they decided to stop at a market and buy us a melon. On arriving at the museum, a fairly lengthy trip, the driver indicated he would return for us at our convenience. He appeared at the exact time agreed upon. And later at our hotel he refused any money. Luckily, we carried little gifts in our 22-pocket photographer’s vests.

LESLIE M. CLEVENGER

Travel Lecturer

Bellflower