We've made it!! 25,000km since London and we're finally here. Both just a little tired of sitting in the car, so we will enjoy a few days break in Vladivostok while we get the car sorted and shipped to Australia. It will be quite a change travelling by bus and train through China!
It's been a long, long drive from Moscow. Like Australia there's hundreds of kilometres of the same!... But we're glad we've accomplished it. We have been pleasantly surprised by the very few issues that we've had. Apart from a few exhaust welds that we've needed along the way, the car has held up very well. No flat tyre at all for the whole trip! And personally, apart from a few minor complaints, we're doing well too!
Russia is definitely not the dangerous place it's made out to be. Follow the rules, be polite and no one will bother you!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Chita to Khabarovsk
Distance: 2165km
This was the part of the trip that I had been dreading. From what we'd read, there was an 810km stretch that was unfinished, with large rocks and mud. Turns out the Russians have been busy as this stretch was the best we've had in Russia. Brand new, tarred road. They were still painting the white lines. There was only about 20km of gravel. A few hundred kms out of Chita there was a big party marquee tent and a map showing how much of the road was completed. We got out, took a photo of the sign, had a brief chat with one of the guys there, but then the boss came over and shooed us away. We have since learned that Putin was not far behind us, which explains why there was a marquee, and they were still working at 9pm... and why we had trouble finding accommodation in Khabarovsk and Chita. In Khabarovs, the Check-in process for the third-rate hotel we ended up finding was quite lengthy, she had to make a phone call because she was concerned we hadn't registered our visas for almost a week, and needed to see all our hotel registrations. Wehadn't had that anywhere else. Once you're checked in we got a hotel card, then had to go up 2 flights of stairs to get the key to the room... odd...
So, the fact that we've had a better run than we thought we would, is good for the car and good for our backs, but, may now have had the few extra days in Mongolia, ah well.
Not much to report otherwise on this stretch... lots and lots of forest, lots of random people popping out of the forest or just standing next to the road in what seems to be the middle of nowhere.
The approach to Khabarovsk is really pretty, lots of wetland, stalls on the side of the road selling fruit and veg... and we had a nice sunset... long bridge across the Amur River into town
This was the part of the trip that I had been dreading. From what we'd read, there was an 810km stretch that was unfinished, with large rocks and mud. Turns out the Russians have been busy as this stretch was the best we've had in Russia. Brand new, tarred road. They were still painting the white lines. There was only about 20km of gravel. A few hundred kms out of Chita there was a big party marquee tent and a map showing how much of the road was completed. We got out, took a photo of the sign, had a brief chat with one of the guys there, but then the boss came over and shooed us away. We have since learned that Putin was not far behind us, which explains why there was a marquee, and they were still working at 9pm... and why we had trouble finding accommodation in Khabarovsk and Chita. In Khabarovs, the Check-in process for the third-rate hotel we ended up finding was quite lengthy, she had to make a phone call because she was concerned we hadn't registered our visas for almost a week, and needed to see all our hotel registrations. Wehadn't had that anywhere else. Once you're checked in we got a hotel card, then had to go up 2 flights of stairs to get the key to the room... odd...
So, the fact that we've had a better run than we thought we would, is good for the car and good for our backs, but, may now have had the few extra days in Mongolia, ah well.
Not much to report otherwise on this stretch... lots and lots of forest, lots of random people popping out of the forest or just standing next to the road in what seems to be the middle of nowhere.
The approach to Khabarovsk is really pretty, lots of wetland, stalls on the side of the road selling fruit and veg... and we had a nice sunset... long bridge across the Amur River into town
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Irkutsk to Chita
Distance: 1206km
Had a cruisy start to the morning in Irkutsk, loaded some photos to facebook, enjoyed the breakfast buffet, complete with Vodka Orange! On the way out of town accidently ended up heading down a bus only street and inevitably got pulled up. Got away with it because the policeman eventually got fed up with us not being able to speak much Russian and being non-plussed when he went to put Matt's drivers licence in his coat pocket.
From Irkutsk the scenery really starts to improve, much less industry spoiling the landscape. We drove around the bottom of Lake Baikal, which, to use a phrase from Gavin and Stacey which we have just finished watching from start to finish, hilarious, is 'immense'! More like a sea than a lake. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast and very windy and cold so didn't go in for a dip, and didn't get much of a sunset.
There's still very little tourist development around this area of the lake, and there's a large area of nature reserve so was difficult to find somewhere to camp. We ended up staying in a basic soviet-era hotel near Babushkin, a couple of kilometres off the main road. It was 1740 for the room plus 100 for parking, so wasn't expecting much. Pleasantly surprised that we had an ensuite bathroom, with a cast iron bath, though the cold water wouldn't stop running so had to turn it off at the tap. 2 single beds that we could fee the springs of the mattress through, and a full-sized fridge. So, basic, but did the job. It was a nice little area with quite a few jetties, stalls selling birch bark boxes, a few kiosks, but getting into the hotel carpark was more like getting into Fort Knox! Least we knew the car was secure.
Had to get some yet more welding on the exhaust done, rear muffler mount, then had to get some brake pads replaced in Ulan Ude... Fingers crossed that's the end of the car complaints, though that split in the tyre wall from Morocco has gotten a touch bigger....
On the way to Ulan Ude, we took a bit of a detour off the main road to stay along the lake shore for a while longer. Glad we did, the villages along this route were really pretty and well-kept, and there was a great long sandy spit where people were fishing and kite surfing, just a pity it was so windy!
Just South of Ulan Ude the scenery was absolutely beautiful, lush, green rolling hills, meandering rivers, really really pretty.
Saw lots of overloaded vans on the way to Chita. The roads have a pretty good surface but are pretty bouncy, even the new bits! There was no room at the inn in Chita, so we had a nice meal in a Kafe with old wooden benches which was quite nice, but then started the trek out of town towards Khabarovsk, and the unknown quality of roads!
Went to the Supermarket to stock up on a few supplies, but found it quite difficult to find much veg and meat, and the food markets had all closed for the day... So for the next couple of days we're eating some kind of frozen rissole things and tuna pasta. Can't wait for a change of food in China!
Had a cruisy start to the morning in Irkutsk, loaded some photos to facebook, enjoyed the breakfast buffet, complete with Vodka Orange! On the way out of town accidently ended up heading down a bus only street and inevitably got pulled up. Got away with it because the policeman eventually got fed up with us not being able to speak much Russian and being non-plussed when he went to put Matt's drivers licence in his coat pocket.
From Irkutsk the scenery really starts to improve, much less industry spoiling the landscape. We drove around the bottom of Lake Baikal, which, to use a phrase from Gavin and Stacey which we have just finished watching from start to finish, hilarious, is 'immense'! More like a sea than a lake. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast and very windy and cold so didn't go in for a dip, and didn't get much of a sunset.
There's still very little tourist development around this area of the lake, and there's a large area of nature reserve so was difficult to find somewhere to camp. We ended up staying in a basic soviet-era hotel near Babushkin, a couple of kilometres off the main road. It was 1740 for the room plus 100 for parking, so wasn't expecting much. Pleasantly surprised that we had an ensuite bathroom, with a cast iron bath, though the cold water wouldn't stop running so had to turn it off at the tap. 2 single beds that we could fee the springs of the mattress through, and a full-sized fridge. So, basic, but did the job. It was a nice little area with quite a few jetties, stalls selling birch bark boxes, a few kiosks, but getting into the hotel carpark was more like getting into Fort Knox! Least we knew the car was secure.
Had to get some yet more welding on the exhaust done, rear muffler mount, then had to get some brake pads replaced in Ulan Ude... Fingers crossed that's the end of the car complaints, though that split in the tyre wall from Morocco has gotten a touch bigger....
On the way to Ulan Ude, we took a bit of a detour off the main road to stay along the lake shore for a while longer. Glad we did, the villages along this route were really pretty and well-kept, and there was a great long sandy spit where people were fishing and kite surfing, just a pity it was so windy!
Just South of Ulan Ude the scenery was absolutely beautiful, lush, green rolling hills, meandering rivers, really really pretty.
Saw lots of overloaded vans on the way to Chita. The roads have a pretty good surface but are pretty bouncy, even the new bits! There was no room at the inn in Chita, so we had a nice meal in a Kafe with old wooden benches which was quite nice, but then started the trek out of town towards Khabarovsk, and the unknown quality of roads!
Went to the Supermarket to stock up on a few supplies, but found it quite difficult to find much veg and meat, and the food markets had all closed for the day... So for the next couple of days we're eating some kind of frozen rissole things and tuna pasta. Can't wait for a change of food in China!
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