A Report from Russia -- Part 2 of 4
Hello All,
I am sending this from Irkutsk, Russia on July 20. Report 18 was about my experiences in loading Bubba aboard ship in Niigata, Japan. The Great Adventure traveling across Russia begins at Vladivostok.
We arrived in Vladivostok about 9:00 the morning of 2 July. The port is mainly a Naval facility and has been open only for the last few years to foreign visitors. Our arrival coincided with the 135th anniversary of the opening of the harbor in Vladivostok. After I got off the ship I was surprised to see some U.S. sailors walking around the streets near the ship terminal. I spoke with several of them and they said they were in Vladivostok for the celebration. I found out later the U.S. Marine Corps Band played for several hours at one of the squares nearby. I am sorry I missed them.
All day was occupied up with trying to get the proper documentation for importing the truck into Russia. My initiation in paperwork was only beginning. After spending several hours in the customs office, I had a document in my hand that would allow me to remove Bubba from the dock area. About 4:00 p.m. they finally hooked a sling to the truck and Bubba arrived with a bang on Russian soil. The fee for unloading was $34.00 US. There were only 2 men involved in the unloading process. Bubba ended up with dents in both doors, neither of them would open without a lot of prying with a screw driver and resetting both of the doors. I had expected some damage along the way as part of the adventure. So, not to worry!!
All the hotels in Vladivostok were full due to the anniversary celebration. I ended up in the small apartment of a Russian man I had met on the ship. I am most grateful to him for the accommodation.
All day 3 July was spent trying to determine what else was needed to drive the truck in Russia. By the end of the day I still had no answer and spent the night in the customs impound yard. The Australian man I had met on the ship showed up early in the day completely confused. He wanted to know if he could stay with me and then follow me to Khabarosk when I left. He stayed with me the night of 3 July and we left about 10:30 a.m. on 4 July for Khabarosk. Once we were out of the city the driving conditions improved a great deal. The city streets in Vladivostok are sorely in need of repair.
I was hoping to contact someone in Vladivostok but unfortunately I was unable to find anyway to do this, so I decided to go on to Khabarosk hoping I could finding someone there who could help me with electronic communications.
I have been on the road now for almost 19 months and I did not even think about the 4th until it had passed by. I would have made my own little rocket out of match heads and had a small celebration if I had remembered, but the concern about police check points and several other things diverted my attention most of the day.
My destination for the 4th was Gaivoron, a small village near Spaask Dal'niy. There we visited with Yuri Ydin and his family for a day and night. Yuri is a Zoologist who has two Amur Tigers in an enclosure. He hopes to keep the species from extinction. His female will give birth sometime this month. He took me out to the enclosure to see his tigers and all I can say is, they are the most beautiful animals I have ever seen. With all the logging going on in this region, the tigers are loosing their habitat and people do not hesitate to shoot them on sight.
The drive to Spaask Dal'niy was through beautiful county side, gentle rolling hills, dense forest, open farm land and small villages. I have always wanted to see this part of the world and it is living up to my expectations. I am enthralled with the beauty of the country. There is one thing that really surprised me. After leaving Vladivostok, I started seeing stacks of hay piled in the fields and also in small openings in the forest. I saw one man cutting hay with a hand scythe and another turning the cut hay with a large rake. Since then, throughout the whole journey from Vladivostok to Irkutsk, I have seen very little evidence of mechanized farming. In all the small towns everyone has gardens. In the country side there are areas planted mostly with potatoes. The lack of large cultivated areas has been totally unexpected. I have seen some farm equipment such as combines and other type of harvesting machines but they all appear not to have been used for a long time.
I reached Khabarosk midday 6 July after parking for the night at a police checkpoint 200 kms. south of Khabarosk. I checked in to the Iris Hotel and the following day started the paper chase once more at the main police station.
Everyone take care of yourselves and do the right thing.
As Always,
Bubba and Roger
REPORT 20: Part 3 - The Train Ride