Б.Невер, Russia

When looking for accommodation in countries where you don’t read/speak the language, always investigate recommendations. In Khabarovsk, the Hotel Amur was strongly recommended with the staff speaking English and there being an ATM in the lobby. We looked at it on Booking.com and decided that at 4000 Roubles per night, it was a bit expensive, so we looking elsewhere and found the Hotel Zarina, at 2400 Roubles per night. That looked good! So that’s where we went. The staff didn’t speak any English, but we managed to get a room for 2 nights and access to the Internet. A bid of trouble organising a meal – there was a wedding in the hotel that night and they wanted us to eat in our room, but we didn’t want to. Anyway, they ended up arranging for us to eat in the café, and we had to slip down the back stairs – all very on the quiet, but we got a feed and it was pretty good.

Breakfasts in Russia leave a lot to be desired! I always thought that we were pretty good because we enjoy German/Dutch breakfasts, but they do NOT prepare you for Russian breakfasts! You get a “menu” which lists what you can have – Breakfast #1, Breakfast #2, Breakfast #3, etc and then you select which breakfast you want and hope that you get the items listed. One morning, we expected Eggs and Ham and got a boiled sausage (of some sort) with reheated canned peas (Yuk!), followed by boiled rice in milk & sugar and blinis with sour cream on Day 2! Thankfully, we could fill up on plenty of bread with butter and jam!

We were given an introduction to a Russian couple by someone we met “on the road” in Vladivostok, Michael Ginter, who is travelling very quickly with his wife and 2 small children. Whilst Michael is ahead of us, he is kind enough to send us road reports, which has been rather helpful. Anyway, we met Evgeny and his wife and 16-year daughter, Paulina in Khabarovsk. They are in the process of applying for a Business Visa to come to Australia. All I can say, after talking to them is, if people want to come to Australia, then they must be incredibly patient and VERY financial because it isn’t fast or cheap! But, we look forward to seeing these lovely people in Oz.

Weather in Khabarovsk was cold and snowing. We had a bit of a meander around but quickly discovered the down-side of the Hotel Zarina – it was a long way from any of the sights in Khabarovsk and there was also no ATM in the lobby. But Nick persisted and managed to find an ATM and withdrew some working cash as we know that we would need cash once we started on the road. Another thing we have learnt about Russia is that Credit Cards are not used very often – certainly not in a Gastinitsya or even at the fuel stops along the way.

We’ve also discovered the difference between a Hotel and a Gastinitsya. At a Hotel, breakfast in generally provided in the room price and therefore that means that will be at least a Café associated with the Hotel. A Gastinitsya is a room, sometimes with a bathroom or access to shared facilities, definitely not food available. We’ve stayed at a couple of different ones of varying quality and prices – some have been honest but very basic and others have been absolute rip-offs! But we are currently staying in a Gastinitsya at a truck-stop near Never, which is the turn-off to Yakutsk and takes you in the direction of Magadan.

After leaving the little township of Arkhara, we passed a big monument which commemorates the completion of the road between Moscow and Vladivostok. At least, we think that what it is about. Anyway, it looks very spectacular in the middle of nowhere! We have explored the delights of some Russian townships – Arkhara and Svobidnyy, which represent extremes of Russian friendliness. At Arkhara, the accommodation was very basic but when we asked about a café or somewhere to eat, one lady took Nick to the Café and went inside to warn them about the pending arrival of two non-Russian speakers who would require a feed. And then in Svobodnyy – there was no hot water (still haven’t worked out why), what water there was, was brown and I wouldn’t have offered it to my dog to drink, and when we asked where the café was, we were pointed in a general direction. Sadly, Svobodnyy doesn’t win any points for friendliness or helpfulness.

It will be good to have a couple of days of R&R in B.Never. When we set out on this trip, we didn’t intend to do more than 300kms driving in a day, but sadly, in this part of Russia, that is a tad optimistic, so when we find a decent place to stay, we will stay for a couple of nights, but we are sooo looking forward to the weather warming up so we can start camping. Whilst in Never, we did a side-trip to Svorodino, to find a bank – again, no-one speaks English and we don’t speak much Russian, but we use Google Translate on the phone and then I attempt to catch every 5th word in their response, “not far”, “on right” – you get the picture. Anyway, the highlight of this side-trip was seeing some lovely traditional Russian houses, that were in pretty good condition and obviously well-looked after.

But we still have 2 days of driving to reach Chita and then Ulan Ude, which is where we will attempt to get our Mongolian Visas. Things still to find in Russia – a Laundromat! I’m over having to handwash most things! We are also still waiting for a warm day! From inside, today looks gorgeous – clear blue sky, a slight breeze and lots of sunshine, but when you walk outside, it’s like walking into a huge outdoor refrigerator set at a very low temperature.

The road conditions after Svobodnny have generally been better – maybe because this section of road is the newest. But even if it’s only 2 winters old, there is the amazing sensation of driving over a mini-dipper. Apparently, the ripples (only word to describe) is caused by the permafrost and freezing/thawing of the ground underneath the road. On a couple of stages, there has been quite a heavy cover of ice and snow on the roads which tend to make the driver very tense. Sometimes, you will be lucky and find that a snowplough has been along that section of road, but don’t get stuck behind one because trying to pass it requires blind hope! Blind because you are in a total whiteout caused by the snow blown around by the snowplough! We’ve seen some trucks that are getting picked up by a crane from where they have gone over the side of the road and lost their load. But, on the whole, the driving has been a lot of fun and the car is putrid!