Barysaw: Travel guide, prices and free housing · 2026

RravikJun 15, 2009Read

Setting off from my hometown to South Africa, almost to the other side of the world, I wasn't thinking about writing anything new at all. I had at least three reasons for this: firstly, for almost a year before that, I had been in a creative slump, even having thoughts like: 'Maybe I won't write anymore?!' Secondly, the experience of past travels told me it was useless to expect creativity from myself abroad. I remember the hope with which I went to England in the summer of 2003, thinking I would write there. But if I wrote anything, it was insignificant and little. In the summer of 2004, I went to the United States, but even there, in three months, I wrote no more than five pages. In the fall of 2006, during a bus tour of Europe, I proved myself, if anything, as a 'creative corpse.' Although I could have written anywhere. Why did it suddenly work out in South Africa? I don't know... Everything happened by itself. I just started. And it took off. I couldn't stop. I reveled in the process, giving myself to it. And it felt like I was writing not just with my head or heart, but with my whole... SELF! The whole ME was participating in the process. By the way, for the first couple of weeks, I didn't think of this work as a 'potential future book.' I wrote because I liked it. And that was the most wonderful thing about my hobby. And if I wasn't writing a book, then what was it, you might ask?! To begin with, I was jotting down ordinary text notes in the 'My Blog' section on '(...).ru'. I wanted to describe the places I found myself in, the sensations arising from visiting them. I wrote about meetings with interesting people and events. About my experiences. I liked it very much, impossibly so, when I managed to write easily and amusingly. When the text turned out not just readable, but one you don't stumble over, swallowing it 'in one breath.' For the sake of such a result, I enthusiastically spent my free time, giving as much strength as I had to this process. It is surprising that despite the fatigue, the next morning I woke up fresh and satisfied: time had not been wasted. And is it possible, while doing what you love, to waste time?! I think not. And you? It was pleasant for me to look through the comments of people reading my posts, to receive praise for the lightness of the style and the fascination of the presentation. However, I didn't tell anyone that I had been laboring over the text, checking and correcting it several times. And although I always remained, and still remain, somewhat critical of it, on the whole, I am satisfied. That was my small and big joy — to entice and interest people with my 'Travel Notes.' My first published book was called 'Travel Notes of Evgeny Borisov.' So, when I sent the electronic version of the text of the first pages of the book you are holding in your hands to my cousin, a philologist and also a writer, he responded unexpectedly emotionally. He said he liked it very much, that I must continue writing! And that upon returning home, we would finalize all this and release the second part of the 'Travel Notes.' He also said he would tear my head off if I didn't do it. I, of course, knew and know that Pavel praises first and then scolds (when 'working on mistakes'), BUT... And it's not like such a thought hadn't visited me myself by that moment! I doubted for another week, gathered my thoughts, and wrote. I will quote part of that letter from my brother regarding the publication of the book: 'This is your chance, don't miss it! After all, we write something, we do something not at all for those who are nearby, and those who believe in us, but more for those who WILL BELIEVE and one day will say: Here, Sandalkin's book suggested to me how it would be better, helped me figure it out easily and simply where I got confused. In my opinion, this is the HIGHEST reward for a writer! This will be a light and slightly nonchalant guide for those who will go on your or a similar program to South Africa. An