Zdravstvuyte (Hello) Russia!

After waiting for 9 weeks the bikes finally arrived in Vladivostok! Shipping from Uruguay had cost us many nerves and more time than we anticipated. The bikes were shipped to Busan in South Korea (because the commercial container harbour in Vladivostok/Russia is totally corrupt) and the plan was to ride around Korea for a few weeks and then get the ferry from Donghae to Russia. While the bikes were on their way to Korea we received an email from our Korean shipping agent Wendy, that the law has changed so Swiss plated bikes are no longer allowed to be imported to Korea! Also the bikes arrived late in Busan so we missed the first ferry to Vladivostok. This lead to the bikes being trucked by bonded transport to the ferry terminal and we took a flight to Vladivostok, as the next ferry was booked out for passengers.

Vladivostok

Even though we have visited so many countries in the past year, arriving in Vladivostok was like entering a totally new world once again. Early the next morning we were picked up by our Russian customs broker Yuri and driven to the ferry terminal together with other bikers. Despite being a national holiday (Russia day) the customs office was open (only for us and the other riders). So 6 hours later, after signing many forms and handing over some cash, it was time to jump back on the bikes again! After a quick stop at an impressive submarine of the Soviet Navy, we drove back to the hostel and went out to eat Pelmeni (Russian dumplings) with Saw, a Japanese guy from our hostel.

Heading up the Siberian Highway

After a day of bike maintenance in Vladivostok we finally headed out of town! Back on the bikes it was an amazing feeling to have our own transport again and not relying on buses and taxis anymore. The first day we planned to do 400 km to the town of Dalnerechensk. We weren’t used to riding any more and arrived really knackered with aching muscles. Flo went to ask for a hotel room and was sent around, ending up startling a couple of grandmothers in a kitchen after not understanding directions. But we finally managed to get a room in town with secure parking 🙂 The Russians in the far East are definitely not used to foreigners and are confused that we don’t speak Russian, which makes for a lot of good entertainment on both sides.

Couchsurfing in Khabarovsk

Arriving in Khabarovsk, the first larger city 760 km away from Vladivostok, we decided try out Couchsurfing for the first time. Anton was wearing offroad riding gear in his profile picture, so we though he would be a cool person to stay with. We got spoiled with moose he had hunted himself, moose jerky and other Russian specialties. In the morning he took us for a tour around town to see the mighty Amur river and to the wildlife & war museum. He even escorted us out of town with his car. It was great to hang out with a local and to learn all about the Russian lifestyle. Thanks again Anton!

Heading on up North

Russian riders in the remote areas of Eastern Russia are all connected together, despite the huge distances between places and they take really good care of travellers. Anton contacted his friend Sergey, living 800 km north in Svobodny and he was already waiting for us at a fuel station as we arrived. He told us to follow him and we stopped outside a guesthouse. Not sure what was going on, it turned out that his house was being renovated so he checked us into this guesthouse for a very reasonable price and secure motorcycle parking. Over some Chai and Blinis (Russian pancakes) we had a chat (with google translate) and learnt that Sergey had met many (maybe all) travellers coming through the area. We were really impressed by the culture of the local riders here!

The next part heading north was renowned to be an unsecure section as there is no police and crime is therefore high – there had been a few riders lost in the past. We were advised to only stop at gas stations and not to hang around in the middle of nowhere. The ride was uneventful and didn’t feel unsafe –  in fact the landscape was beautiful and reminded us a lot of Alaska. We wouldn’t have know if we hadn’t been told. The night was spent in a motel and we ate dinner in a canteen with the truck drivers.

Arriving in Tynda

The last stretch up to Tynda was finally a more interesting road winding through the forest with slippery offroad sections due to rain. Rolling into into Tynda to collect our new tires, only to find out that they had not yet arrived! If lucky the tires will arrive in 3 days we got told. So we have some time to chill out and catch up on route planning and blogging until we tackle the next adventure on our trip – the legendary BAM road!