RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Saturday 5th July - Day 93
Here we are at last, Heathrow Airport waiting for the flight to Vladivostok. We fly to Moscow (4 hours) wait for 4 hours then fly to Vladivostok (9 hours) - bags arrive next week (maybe)!! The last couple of weeks have been spent obtaining visas. Five trips to London and we have visas for Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Two visits were necessary for the Kazakhstan visas because they were issued for the wrong dates on the first attempt. I couldn't argue at the time because Dorothy was waiting for the passports in a queue at the Russian Embassy. If you don't queue early you don't get seen. We've been informed that our van arrived early in Vladivostok and we'll now incur storage charges, but the good news is we have found an English speaking agent to help us with customs clearance of the van. Customs procedures can be complex or simple, depending on the customs officer's mood and our grasp of Russian.

It's come to our notice that there is trouble along our intended route. We've been anticipating some unrest in Azerbaijan and Georgia as these countries often have heightened tensions with Russia and occasionally lob bombs around, but we didn't expect trouble from Mongolia which is currently under a state of emergency. There has been some civil unrest following recent elections and the president has declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew, closed down most TV and radio stations and has restricted traffic in the capital Ulaanbaatar. We're due to arrive there in about three weeks, lets hope it settles down before we get there as the van isn't armor plated. Well not yet anyway.

Sunday 6th July - Day 94
We've arrived in Vladivostok. The connecting flight from Moscow to Vladivostok was an interesting experience. As we crossed Russia at 30,000 feet and quite well North we flew through the night without encountering darkness. It's a strange experience to fly overnight in the Northern hemisphere with sunshine coming through the windows on the North side of the aircraft. We flew with Aeroflot Russian Airline and found the service to be excellent. Only one complaint - when serving in-flight meals why do all airlines insist on encapsulating everything in un-crushable plastic. When you finally fight you way into the packaging it expands to twice it's original size. When you try and crush it to a smaller size it explodes across the tray in an uncontrollable manner. You then have to forage in the plastic to find the food, which isn't always easily recognizable. Steam rising from the hot food also condenses on the demented plastic which then makes everything wet and sticky. Anyway, despite that little issue I am still amazed that a decent hot meal can be served at 500 miles an hours and at 30,000 feet.

Arrival at Vladivostok was on time and miraculously the bag we checked in at Heathrow arrived on the same aircraft. Also, the transfer to our hotel was waiting for us displaying our name in print, which made us feel quite important! The transfer was in a luxury right hand drive Toyota car and all went well until we checked in. The hotel had no record of our online reservation. Our paperwork was for the same hotel, and the hotel arranged the airport transfer - they just couldn't find the reservation. All turned out well in the end as rooms were available at £8 a night less than the internet rate. The online booking agency will get some negative feedback as this could have been a disaster after 13 hours flying and very little sleep. I kept waking up on the aircraft thinking I was being suffocated by the demented plastic packaging. In reality it was probably Dorothy trying to stop me snoring.

As expected our Vodafone mobile doesn't work here although it worked perfectly in Moscow when I didn't need to speak to anyone. We've met our customs fixer Yuri and we're due to start on the paperwork for clearing the van at 8am tomorrow.

Monday 7th July- Day 95
Yuri arrived at 8am and the fun started. First call was the shipping company to obtain paperwork confirming my title to the van. Next was customs where letters had to be submitted requesting an inspection of the vehicle and a request to allow the vehicle into Russia as a temporary personal import. These were duly sanction by the relevant level of authority. Next port of call was to the customs inspection department to arrange a time for the inspection. The officer was busy at the time fixing a clock on the wall and told us to go away and he would ring when he was available. Ten minutes after returning to the hotel he called to say he was ready. Yuri took us to the port where he tried to obtain a pass for me. Apparently I have to be present at the inspection, but unfortunately foreigners aren't allowed in the dock area. The customs officer agreed to carry out the inspection in my absence on condition that we obtained a power of attorney for Yuri to act on my behalf when the inspection was over. After the inspection it was time for the officer's lunch break, after which more paperwork was prepared and around 4pm I went with Yuri to a Notary where the Power of Attorney was prepared in the presence of an authorized interpreter. This was submitted to the customs inspector who prepared even more paperwork and submitted the case papers to another government department that issues the temporary vehicle import. I then returned to the hotel to wait for clearance. At the close of play today another technical hitch has arisen. The customs inspector was unable to determine the year of manufacture from the vehicle markings and authorisation to temporarily import the vehicle is subject to approval from an even higher authority. We now hope to complete the procedure tomorrow. Yuri will have to drive the vehicle from the docks as I'm not allowed inside.

Whilst writing this epistle we've been treated to a firework display from a ship moored directly in front of our hotel in Amur Bay. The fireworks were spectacular, but equally spectacular were the vehicle alarms and flashing lights all around the bay. The louder the bang the more alarms started up and we had a grandstand view from our balcony.

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Tuesday 8th July - Day 96
The expected release of the vehicle didn't materialize - as expected! The customs "Big Cheese" didn't appear before lunch, and after lunch our fixer Yuri was busy with other matters. The day was spent around town in another heat wave.

Vladivostok is a thriving tourist town, mainly frequented by Chinese and Korean tourists. It's also a major fishing port and home to the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet. The main surprise for me on arrival was that most cars are second hand right hand drive imports from Japan. Apparently, the Japanese change their cars every couple of years and export the used ones to Russia. Even with a colossal import duty of 100% it's obviously still a viable way of buying a car.

During our stay we've met up with a group of 13 Australians who have been waiting here for three weeks for the arrival and customs clearance of their four wheel drive vehicles from Australia. With any luck they will collect the vehicles from the docks tomorrow, and then will be travelling the same route as us to Mongolia. Let's hope our van clears customs tomorrow and we can follow them up.
  

We've also met up with an Englishman from Bolton who along with his Russian wife is running a very nice English style cafe in town. The "5 o'clock cafe" bakes a nice line of sticky buns and sells Chelsea Tea, which goes down well with the locals because of the Russian connection with Chelsea Football Club.

Wednesday 9th July - Day 97
It's 10 o'clock and we've just heard from Yuri that our van has cleared customs, it's insured and we should be able to collect it at 3 o'clock this afternoon. If this happens, this may be the last update for a few days until we settle down and head off towards Mongolia. The route is an unknown quantity across Siberia and I doubt if there are internet facilities on the way. We will do our best to provide updates, but using the satellite phone is prohibitively expensive.

UPDATE: It's now 10pm local time, we're still here and disaster has struck. The van was recovered from the docks with a flat battery. A quick diagnosis has identified a dead short in the alternator, and I think the docks staff have cooked it by trying to jump start the van with the offending alternator still connected. We thought things were going too well, and we may now have to wait for a replacement to come from the UK. Just to add insult to injury, all the hand tools have been stolen from locked containers within the van, most probably during shipping. At least they've left our spares, only problem being there wasn't an alternator amongst them! Time to sit back and reflect whilst we await the decision of an alternator repair man tomorrow morning.  Meanwhile a replacement is already on order in the UK.

Thursday 10th July - Day 98
As anticipated, the alternator isn't repairable and we must now wait for the replacement to arrive from the UK. We guess this will take about 5 days with a fair wind, who knows how long without. Vladivostok isn't a bad place but wouldn't be high on my list of places to stay. In the circumstances there are two sayings that come to mind: "Shit Happens" and "Why Me"! 

Friday 11th July - Day 99
Good news today, the alternator is on it's way. We're 10 hours ahead of the UK and it's been a long wait to hear that the package has been collected. Our Aussie friends left Vladivostok on Wednesday afternoon and we have little chance of meeting up with them again. It would have given us great comfort to travel with or near some English speaking people with all the four wheel drive equipment you can think of. It looks now as if they will be at least a week ahead of us. Our Russian fixer Yuri offered to take us shopping to buy some tools to replace those stolen during the Pacific crossing and we now have a better tool kit than when we left the UK.

Saturday 12th July - Day 100
Another hot day today but we managed some sightseeing. We've identified the house where actor Yul Brynner was born to his Swiss parents in 1920 and we've visited a Russian S-56 submarine that was responsible for sinking 10 enemy ships in World War II. After sightseeing, we arrived back at the hotel to find two British registered Triumph motorcycles parked outside. It wasn't long before we tracked down the riders who are on a round the world tour in the opposite direction to us. Travellers tales were swapped until nearly 11pm and we were able to exchange useful information. We now have a reasonable idea of what to expect on the road ahead and they have a very good contact in Yuri to help with their Pacific crossing to America. Alan & Jeff have visited 22 countries so far but by far their greatest achievement is crossing the Amur Highway which links the Russian Far East with the rest of Europe and Asia. Jeff is a seasoned traveller and experienced motorcyclist, but Alan has never travelled or ridden off road before. For him to achieve what he has makes Alan a hero in my books and we wish both him and Jeff the very best for the rest of their journey across America.

At the time of writing, our alternator has passed through the DHL facility at Heathrow and is on it's way somewhere.
    

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Sunday 13th July - Day 101
It's light rain today giving us a welcome break from the heat. We've spent the day wandering around town to find a few more bits and pieces to replace stolen items. Vladivostok is firmly hooked on consumerism, but most things are imported with high duties to pay and generally are more expensive than in the UK. Food is also at a premium, a small cooked chicken at the supermarket set us back over £6  Branded drinks such as Coke are cheaper, presumably because they're manufactured here. The day finished off nicely with a meal at a steak restaurant with Alan and Jeff, the British bikers who are in town, and during the meal I checked the online tracking of our alternator to discover that it's arrived in Korea. At least it's getting closer!.

Monday 14th July - Day 102
The heat's back so activities are limited again. Alan and Jeff are busy planning their crossing to America. After a visit from Yuri there were several options open to them but all were quite expensive. With a limited budget running out fast there was some serious thinking to do, so we left them with a glass of bear each to ponder their future. As Alan said, and as we've found out, everything is roughly twice the price mentioned on the internet during the planning stage. Russia is moving at a pace. In Vladivostok housing has doubled in price in the last few years, shop prices bear no resemblance to reality and people are hooked on consumer goods. Does this sound familiar?

At the time of writing the alternator has been in Korea for over 24 hours and there are daily flights from there to Vladivostok. Don't always believe what DHL tell you!!

Tuesday 15th July - Day 103
Here we go again, another day of waiting. At least we have more English speaking friends in town. Late last evening a Toyota 4 wheel drive pulled into the hotel. Jacques and Mandy arrived on the ferry from Korea and are on their way to Mongolia. Also a couple of motorcyclists from Australia are two doors along the corridor from us, but are behind locked fire doors in another hotel. It appears quite common practice to have hotels within hotels with either a complete floor or part of a floor sectioned off with it's own reception area and facilities. We are on floor four of Amur Bay Hotel in business class accommodation with prices to match but shop on floor 6 which is a different hotel for Chinese tourists and very reasonable prices.

The alternator saga continues. DHL online tracking is still saying that it's in Korea, and has been for two days! DHL in Vladivostok and the UK are on the case and we're awaiting answers. We may now have to re-think our route because of fixed dates on visas etc. Let's hope tomorrow brings some better news, but it's looking very possible that there is a major problem.
  

Alan & Jeff at Hotel Vladivostok	Jaques & Mandy with us at Vladivostok Fort Museum

Wednesday 16th July - Day 104
Just before bed last night the online tracking said our alternator had left the DHL facility in Korea at 9.05pm. Korea is only a couple of hours flying time away from us and we expected the alternator to arrive in Vladivostok overnight. Our friend Yuri was on the case again late morning and he managed to confirm that the freight from Korea had been consolidated and was due in Vladivostok later in the day. It looks very much like the two and a half day delay in Korea was caused by DHL waiting for a bigger load to send, allowing them to make a few extra dollars. Meantime we (the customer) are running up hotel bills and loosing valuable visa time. We based our strategy for the alternator problem on the information given by DHL. As it turns out it would have been quicker getting an alternator locally and paying an engineer to manufacture mounting brackets to suit our vehicle. Taking everything into consideration it would have been less expensive to buy a return air ticket from London and go to collect it! As I'm writing this the alternator has cleared procedures at DHL but there is now a delay in clearing customs, presumably because they've gone home for the night. DHL have performed badly throughout, and it's just another example of the power of the brand exceeding the power of the product.

Over the last couple of days ships have been assembling in the bay in front of our hotel. This morning we realised why. We awoke to very strong winds and heavy rain. Around town trees are down and there is general chaos being reported on television. We can't fully understand the TV weather forecast, but if we keep an eye on when the ships up anchor in the bay we should know when the worst has passed. Jacques and Mandy with the Toyota have left town today and are heading North. They intend to travel a little further North than us, but depending on their route we may meet up with them again somewhere before Mongolia. We are now more than a week behind the Australians and have little chance of catching up with them even if we get on the road tomorrow,

We've mentioned before about the emotional strain of travelling. The past week has been very difficult for us as we're stranded on the opposite side of the world from our home and family. We've seen travellers come and go and we've run out of things to do. It doesn't help to know that our problems could have been minimized if I had been allowed on the docks to rescue the van. But we can't change anything so we must make the best of a bad situation. Without the low points of travelling there wouldn't be so many high points! Today we went out for a walk in the stormy weather and tried unsuccessfully find a road atlas of Eastern Russia. We were soaked when we returned to the hotel, but at least it took our minds off the alternator.

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Thursday 17th July - Day 105

The weather forecast for today is good, the ships have started leaving the shelter of Amur Bay so it must be OK. The weather is cloudy and very humid, but not bad enough to prevent a stomp to the Hyundai Hotel where the offices of DHL are located. The "Clearance Delay" status has remained in place overnight so it's time to try and speed up the delay. The DHL offices are at the top of a very steep hill and I must have looked quite stern as I protested about the delay whilst panting and sweating profusely. The staff took me seriously and looked into the situation. Because of all the finger pointing at the computer screen and the amount of conversation (in Russian) it appeared to me that there was some confusion over the parcel. However, I was assured that it was just waiting for customs clearance and that I would receive a phone call as soon as it had been cleared. By mid afternoon the sun had appeared but the parcel hadn't. Time for another visit to DHL where I was shown a translation of the current status of the alternator, which was "Uncontrollable Clearance Delay". Not good enough I suggested before insisting on more information. After a couple of phone calls I was assured that it would clear customs overnight and would be available for collection at the office from 9am tomorrow. That's quite a bit of control for something that's out of their control, but at least it was enough to keep me under control.

To celebrate this possible good news we took a taxi out to the "Iron Tigers" bike shop on the outskirts of town where Alan and Jeff are staying. The Iron Tigers are a legendary bikers club in Vladivostok who help bikers travelling through Eastern Russia, and have accommodated up to 20 bikers at a time on the floor of their shop's attic. They had some second hand Honda Africa Twin bikes for sale that were almost identical to the bike we took to India some 15 years ago. I'm now thinking that maybe for my next trip . . . . . ! But first lets see what happens in the morning.

Friday 18th July - Day 106
What a turn around. DHL were on the phone before they opened asking if the delivery address for the alternator is still good. Not wanting to risk any further variables I told them I would collect it personally from their offices after 9 am. I did, it fitted and it worked. All electrical systems were carefully connected one by one and all appears to be back to normal. We're now loaded and ready to roll, but first there are a few goodbyes to say to our circle of new found friends. One dark evening when the batteries are charged (on the devices that is) I will try to to list fellow travellers websites. There are some fantastic adventures underway that are well worth reading about, but for now we must press on and try to make up some lost time to keep our visa options open. I guess it will be a couple of weeks before we get close to the internet again, but who knows, Apparently mobile phones work most places along the Amur "Highway". If anyone wants to call us we have a Russian number of +7 914 9781591 but please remember the time difference, we're currently 10 hours ahead of UK time.
  
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After leaving the hotel we met up with Alan and Jeff at the Iron Tigers workshop on the outskirts of Vladivostok. We had a Shashlyk meal with them before saying our farewells. Alan is projecting that he will run out of money in America because of the unexpected costs of fuel and shipping. Let's hope he makes it home safely. If you can possibly afford it please find your way to Alan's blog from www.justgiving.com/alankelly1 and make a donation to his hospice charity fund. You can also make a donation to ours at the bottom of this page but Alan has achieved far more than us. 

We camped overnight in a car park outside a roadside eatery somewhere North of Vladivostok.

Saturday 19th July - Day 107
The aim today was to head North to a town called Khabarovsk where we hear that Jacques and Mandy are still in town. The ride was interesting with some quite rough off road sections where the tarmac had completely broken up. Despite this we made reasonable progress and after five Police checks and one speeding fine we arrived in town. The speeding fine was around £6 but we negotiated an eco-friendly deal where there was no paperwork. We both agreed that this was a good idea to save the trees..

Khabarovsk is a town of over 90,000 people and we were hoping to find Jacques and Mandy in a cafe without any town maps. Needless to say we failed but we did find eight Dutch motorcyclists staying at the Intourist Hotel. They were on their way to Vladivostok before returning to Holland, some by road and some by the Trans Siberian Railroad. Jacques and Mandy came to find us at the hotel where with the help of an English speaking Russian we negotiated secure parking in the hotel car park for 200 Rubbles (£4) per motor. What we didn't tell them was that we were sleeping in the motors as well. It was very handy because Jacques is South African and South Africa were playing rugby against Australia that evening and the match was being shown live in the bar opposite the hotel. Unfortunately South Africa lost, but the beer was good and just as we were returning to our vans there was a firework display outside the hotel. Quite an entertaining evening for the price of parking a car!

Lenin stands guard over the expensive Intourist Hotel	The travellers camp in the car park

Sunday 20th July - Day 108
After a late start and breakfast in the car park we did some shopping for supplies and headed out of town with Jaques and Mandy. The Amur Highway follows the Northern Chinese border quite closely, and we drove until mid afternoon before setting up camp down a track. Unfortunately we're close to the Trans Siberian Railroad and will be for the next week or so. We will have to get used to the noise because it runs all night. We must also get used to the flies and mosquitoes as Siberia is infested with them.
   

We're going to Chita - guess which one that is	It's a long and dusty road, not good for the moral

Japanese imports swarm past from time to time	Some are towed on makeshift tow bars

Monday 21st July - Day 109
We're not sure what time we started today as sometime yesterday or sometime today we crossed or will cross a time zone. But it doesn't matter, we're fed and ready for the road. It's not long before we encounter the rough surfaces that the Amur Highway is famous for. So far there is no problem with traction as the surface is compacted but it's rough and hard on both vehicle and occupants. Jacques and Mandy in their Toyota Land Cruiser can continue at their normal speed but we have to slow down to try and keep things together. During the afternoon we notice a rattling noise from the front nearside. A quick inspection revealed nothing but when we found some tarmac it was obvious that the noise was wheel related. We pulled off the road and removed the wheel to find that a bolt had come out of the brake caliper allowing it to move and make contact with the wheel. The thread is an odd size (also known as a bastard size) and with no spare available a "temporary" repair was made with a smaller bolt being wire up so as not to fall out. This kept us going for the rest of the day until we made camp in a quarry just off the highway.

Tuesday 22nd July - Day 110
We were keen to make a permanent repair to our brakes and Jacques had to find an internet connection to do some business back home so we headed off the Amur Highway for about 60 miles to the city of Blagovescensk which is a border town with China. After some searching we found a small body repair shop who very quickly found a bolt and fitted for us but refused to take any payment from us - it's meeting people like this that make the trip worthwhile. Most Russians are very friendly, helpful and love what we're doing. We ventured deeper into town and found an internet cafe for Jacques to compete his business, and it was then off to a bar for a drink and use of the toilet facilities. All four of us had secretly been waiting for a chance like this and it was well worth the price of the drinks. Next came another visit to a supermarket to stock up as this would be the last major town for the next week to ten days. We've been unable to find a supply of town water since being in Russia so we decided to fill our tank with five liter bottles of drinking water and then head out of town for an overnight camp. Jacques pulled of the road and headed towards a small wooded area and we followed. Suddenly Jacques Toyota spun round on the track and we started to loose control of our van. The surface was unbelievably slippery due to heavy rain earlier in the day. With a bit of maneuvering we managed to back out of the predicament but Jacques had to engage for wheel drive before he could retrieve himself. We eventually stopped for the night on tarmac behind a filling station somewhere near the highway.

Wednesday 23rd July - Day 111
The journey continued with the road getting rougher and the dust getting thicker. The highway is a remarkable achievement with unbelievable amounts of rock being crushed and moved to make the foundations. Unfortunately the surface is not yet bonded with bitumen and is continually wearing out and breaking up. At best we could manage 45 mph on recently graded sections but quite often we were down to a harsh 10 mph for hours at a time. With summer heat the surface produces vast amounts of dust and at times speeds are reduced down just because of the visibility. The highway is quite busy with Japanese import cars being transferred to Moscow and Western Russia. These cars are protected from stone chips with tape and cardboard, and are transported in many ways. Some are carried on transporters or tipper trucks, some are driven and some are towed. The more unscrupulous drivers remove the rear bumper of one car and the front of another. They then hack into the bodywork to find fixing points and join the two with a DIY draw bar. A wooden framework is fitted to the draw bar and a plywood shield is mounted between the vehicles to protect the back one from flying stones. Shortly before arrival at their destination the draw bar is removed, bumpers are replaced and the driver gets paid for delivering two cars. Good for the driver, but not so good for the unsuspecting new owners.

Overnight was in the corner of a mosquito infested parking area on a rare sealed part of the road.
  

Temporary repair to the front brakes	Overnight camp on a rare piece of tarmac

  
Thursday 24th July - Day 112
Back on the highway, more dust, more corrugations and very little smooth surface. Early afternoon we reached the point where Jacques & Mandy were to turn off North for Yakutsk. We decided to have a meal with them in a roadside cafe. The goulash was excellent, but the same can't be said of the toilets. Russian toilets aren't for the feint hearted, but here is not the place to go into detail. Suffice to ay that there were three open fronted stalls and the Russian gentleman in the squat position two doors away was having more trouble than me. After saying our farewells we headed off in our separate directions hoping that we'll meet again in the UK sometime later in the year. Our road became rougher, the weather became hotter and the dust became thicker. When it was time to stop for the night we hid up in the forest but couldn't sit outside the van to cool off because of the flies and mosquitoes. It was a case of lets get to bed, it must get better in the morning. Today was probably the lowest point of the trip so far. Siberia was always going to be difficult and was only ever a means of getting from the Pacific coast to Mongolia. We knew about the mosquitoes and the road surface but the reality is always worse than imagined - at the time! One thing that wasn't anticipated was the failure of my window regulator. With the constant opening and closing of the window the mechanism has broken which means the window must remain closed during the heat or open allowing the dust in. Poor Dorothy is constantly cleaning up her kitchen area.

Friday 25th July - Day 113
There was some overnight rain and it was cooler in the morning. We set off again hoping the road would get better but it didn't. I was a long hard day with the constant worry of something going wrong over the rough surface . Every little noise had to be investigated just in case, but things appeared to be holding together. At least the overnight rain kept the dust down until afternoon. There was some steep hill climbing where the road base hadn't been laid and we were detoured around the "work in progress". Eventually we came across 50 miles of beautiful tarmac, and naively we thought we were through the worst. We knew the rough road finished before Chita, and our GPS said Chita was only 200 miles away, but we were wrong. The rough road returned. As we crossed a bridge Dorothy noticed that we could get access to the river down a track so we went back and set up camp to do some washing. We had been there about half an hour when a British registered Toyota Land Cruiser pulled in alongside us and Tim Bennett introduced himself. Tim is wandering around the world on his own in his Toyota doing some promotional work for a Canadian charity called Street Kids International. Tim was amazed to see a British motor home in Siberia, and we were amazed to meet Tim going the other way. Inevitably the local kids came round for a chat, and we talked until the mosquitoes drove us inside for the night.
   

Overnight camp with Tim Bennett	Tim's kitchen arrangement under his roof tent

Saturday 26th July - Day 114
Armed with information from Tim, we set off to Chita and after a couple of hours we left the dusty, bumpy road behind us. The Amur Highway is a project of immense proportions and will be a wonderful highway when it's complete. But for the next few years it's not for the feint hearted. The scenery is now opening up and we're climbing to around 3000 feet. The area is now more densely populated and for the first time we're seeing more Russian and European cars on the road. The section of Siberia between the East and West of Russia has been an immense trade barrier with only the railroad as a connection. I guess this will change when the highway is complete. Relieved to be able to have the windows open whilst on the move we arrived in Chita, took on supplies and headed out for an early night hidden from the road, down a track, with the doors and windows shut again to keep the mosquitoes and flies out.
 
Sunday 27th July - Day 115
Despite heavy rain all day, good progress was made heading towards Ulan-Ude. Speeds are limited because the roads have very uneven surfaces making anything over 45 mph uncomfortable. Also, the integrity of the surface can never be guaranteed, and with the rain you can never be sure what is below the puddle. Axle removing pot holes are quite common as are massive ridges in the road where the bitumen has been "squished" out by trucks. We by-passed Ulan-Ude and headed South towards the Mongolian border. We also decided to miss out on a visit to Lake Baikal as to see anything worthwhile would mean an 800 mile round trip on sometimes quite bad roads. Baikal is the largest fresh water mass on earth, but it's still only a lake to look at. As the day moved on Dorothy became mysteriously quiet and light grey in color. She had developed a bad upset stomach and we decided to make an early stop about 100 miles from the border when we found a beautiful camping area well off the main road by a lake.

Monday 28th July - Day 116
Dorothy is a little better today and so is the weather so we've decided to enjoy our campsite to allow some recovery time and catch up with a few things. Insect life is everywhere but nothing is biting and the day provided a welcome break after the torment of the Amur Highway. By early evening Dorothy was well enough to travel again so we moved on to the Russia/Mongolia border town of Kjahta. We had made contact with a fiend who lives in Ulaanbaatar to warn him of our impending arrival only to find out that he's going on holiday tomorrow to Lake Baikal, just North of where we came from yesterday! If we could cross into Mongolia late evening we would just be able to make it to Ulaanbaatar before he leaves, just to say hi and bye, but as we half expected the border was shut until 9.00 am the next day. We drove out into the countryside and had a shower before returning to the border to join the queue of Mongolians and Russians who were sleeping in their cars overnight.
   

Traditional Siberian wooden house	Recovery ward - travellers style

  
Tuesday 29th July - Day 117
The barbed wire and spikes were rolled back from the road and the border gates opened exactly on time - or within 15 minutes thereof. Processing started and we managed to leave Russia without too many formalities and no payments in about half an hour. Dasvedanya Russia (goodbye Russia for now)  .


 . .

ON TO MONGOLIA . . .

BACK INTO RUSSIA . . .
  

Our plan was to enter Russia and make straight for the Kazakhstan border via Barnaul. From Kazakhstan the plan was to obtain more visas in Almaty and travel through Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and into Turkey. We have been agonizing over the Stans all the way through Mongolia as to visit these countries requires a lot of paperwork, a lot of money, and would put us under time constraints that we didn't really want. To visit Turkmenistan alone for around five days would cost around £700 - £800. On top of this, we have heard some stories about human rights issues in Turkmenistan and it's not really the type of country that I would want to support. However, our minds were focused when the trouble erupted in Georgia. This was our route through to Turkey and we gained the distinct impression that it wasn't the place to go. We picked up some Russian TV in Barnaul which probably wasn't as sanitized as UK TV and it looked bad around the trouble spots. Although the Political situation may have settled, our information is that any criminals, minority group, ethnic group, local militia or anyone with a grudge or message to get across would be likely to "kick off" in the ensuing unstable period. It was therefore jointly decided (I'm told) that we wouldn't go anywhere near Georgia. This decision left us with a long, long boring drive across Russia to Europe - not what we planned but there's not much else we can do without being irresponsible.

Saturday 16th August - Day 135
Newly arrived from Mongolia, today was the day for vehicle maintenance. On the exit from Mongolia our sump guard had again been pushed against the engine and was vibrating. This was removed reshaped and refitted hopefully for the last time. The whole vehicle was cleaned in an effort to remove the dust of the past four weeks travelling, and many other odds and ends were sorted. The van is surprisingly intact considering where it's been and what it's done. Apart from a damaged wheel rim and some filler that's fallen out around the windscreen there's no visible damage. Both the sump guard and the water tank guard have been annihilated, but they've served their purpose. The exhaust system was re-hung several times between Vladivostok and Ulaanbaatar with whatever was available, and has remained intact since. With the van sorted and clothes washed in the river we were ready for the road around midday. The surface is now sealed and although a bit uneven in places it's like a magic carpet ride after Mongolia. It wasn't long before we stopped to pick up a couple of back packers who were hitching a lift. Stacia and Ivan were from St Petersburg and Moscow respectively and were travelling around the Altay region. They were heading for the highest peak in the region and stayed with us for the next couple of hundred miles. Luckily they could both speak English. We dropped them off at the turn off to their destination and continued on our way to Barnaul. We camped the night just off the road hidden behind some trees.

Sunday 17th August - Day 136
Today we moved on about 200 miles to the city of Barnaul. Dorothy has developed another stomach problem so we decided to drive into the city and find a hotel for some well earned luxury. We're at the Hotel Barnaul at £30 a night, plus £4 for secure parking, and I've managed to find a pharmacy (aptyeka - for those who don't speak Russian!) and purchase a large supply of Imodium at a fraction of the UK cost. The pharmacy is open until 11 pm - on a Sunday night.
  
Monday 18th August - Day 137
A lazy day around Barnaul, taking in some window shopping to get a feel for the Russian way of life. Things aren't that much different to Europe in the cities  except that there's a much lower level of poverty. Most European household brands are available here. Shops are open longer hours and food is less expensive than in a European city. After much hassle I finally managed to get an internet connection for the last update, but it took several hours before it all came together. The main problem was tha the hotel Wifi was down and wouldn't be back on for a couple of days!
  
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Tuesday 19th August - Day 138
Our first call today was to see Lev at Mitsubishi Barnaul. Lev helped us last year when we had problems with our Transit van and refused to take any money from us because he considered it his Christian duty to help us. The garage was about 7 miles from our hotel and when we arrived we found that nit was no longer a Mitsubishi garage but a Nissan dealership. From what I could understand, none of the staff from last year are now working there. What a pity because I had brought a book of last year's trip from England especially for Lev. We headed out of town and continued west for a long and boring day through flat, featureless countryside to an overnight stop in some trees about 170 miles south west of Novosibirsk near Earabinsk.

Wednesday 20th August - Day 139
More flat and featureless countryside. We had to take a detour from the main route across Russia as the M51 would take us in and out of Kazakhstan. This is fine for Russians but as foreigners we would need a visa for Kazakhstan, another visa to re-enter Russia and the van would need to be exported, imported etc. The 100 mile detour was by far the easier option. The only notable occurrence today was when a priest flagged us down and asked if we could give some of his flock a lift to the nearest town. He had transported them into the countryside in a bus to do whatever they do, but for some reason there were too many to return in the bus. Perhaps he had performed a human version of breaking of the bread. But how could I refuse to take these poor souls who were standing holding religious icons, looking lost and in need of help. I told him I could take one! The offer was graciously declined and we were sent on our way with God's blessing. Feeling secure knowing we were travelling with the blessing of the man upstairs we continued to an overnight truck stop where we had secure parking for £1.20. Toilet facilities were included but not recommended.
  
Thursday 21st August - Day 140
Another long and tedious day but this time with the excitement of thunder storms and heavy rain. We pressed on to Celjabinsk where we ventured into the city to find a cash machine and after wrongly following some misleading signs we eventually found our way out. After a long day and 480 miles we stopped at another truck stop, this time for a more expensive £1.40 because the toilets had lights. This is not necessarily a benefit because it means you can see as well as smell how bad they are!
  
Friday 22nd August - Day 141
Today we joined the M5 which passed through the Ural Mountains and is the main road all the way to Moscow. The name M5 may sound impressive and in places it is, but the vast majority of the road is very poor and very busy. Passing through the Ural Mountains wasn't too bad, but after that the countryside became more undulating, which made driving very frustrating. We've named the road "The Kamaz Highway" because it's full of Russian built Kamaz trucks struggling up hills belching black smoke and causing endless tailbacks. The Kamaz are also very slow going downhill because they use a low gear and let the engine do the breaking. Presumably the brakes don't work sufficiently well to do the job. Passing is a nightmare as the locals appear to have a death wish, and the police are constantly hiding by the roadside with radar guns and binoculars waiting to catch you speeding or crossing a white line. We only managed 400 miles today before stopping at another truck stop.
  
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Saturday 23rd August - Day 142
On we go getting closer to Moscow. Nothing much happened today, just the usual constant fear for our lives and fight to keep the van under control on the deeply rutted roads. We stopped for the night about 200 miles from Moscow. We tucked ourselves away in the corner of a truck park away from the noisy trucks with "donkey engines" powering the freezers all night, only to have one park right next to us outside the compound.

Sunday 24th August - Day 143
Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world and is encircled by five ring roads. We decided to take the outer ring road, which marks the city limits, and head out west towards Latvia. Driving into Moscow is the usual city nightmare and all the signs are in Cyrillic. Seeing the city sights requires careful planning to find secure parking etc. and is probably best left to a short break trip where everything is arranged for you. We planned our route around Moscow on the A107 which was working out well until the last intersection before we reached the M9 to Latvia. What our map didn't tell us was that to follow the A107 west you need to follow the A101 South for 2.7 kilometers before turning west. The road signs also neglected to tell us this until we approached from the wrong direction after having got it wrong for the third time. All was revealed in a large clear sign that explained everything and we were underway again. We cleared the city and found a motel where we could catch up with some washing as we had been on the move since leaving Barnaul six days ago.

Monday 25th August - Day 144
With the washing nearly dried we were ready for an early start for the 300 mile run to the Latvian border. We stopped to fuel up and met a group of Swiss and German's in heavily sponsored Renault motor homes who were trying to get round the world in 80 days. They were already one day late on their target and were still in Russia. Their rout had taken them from America to China and across Mongolia south to north. They didn't attempt the more difficult crossing from east to west. They also had a translator/fixer with them in each country which was going to be quite useful as their Russian visas had expired by a few days! We pressed on to the border where we did the usual paper chase and finally said goodbye to Russia around 4pm.

Russia is a massive country with a very diverse population. We found the people to be quite friendly and helpful, especially in the east. As we moved west it was more difficult to break through the stern exteriors and raise a smile. The country is struggling to maintain it's infrastructure and still has a communist feel about it with police check points around cities and at major road junctions. The police are constantly monitoring traffic to the point of persecution. Regrettably, much of Russia's heritage has been destroyed by successive governments, and I can't see that the current population can enhance their culture. Individually Russians can be great people to know, but collectively they appear to have little respect for each other, and often their selves.

  
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