Day 1 Russia
I woke up around 9 to another pretty spectacular day. By the time I got outside we were starting to see the Russian coastline. More chitchat with various people and packing my bag and we soon saw Vladivostok appear in the distance.
What a beautiful port! We passed a bunch of small islands and rocky outcroppings then started to get into Vladivostok proper. There are a couple of really nice suspension bridges connecting a couple of islands next to Vladivostok and they are a really impressive welcome to the city.
There were a couple of navy boats in the dock as well conveniently placed to shoot anything coming into the harbour. I found out later that was a small naval base.
Many photos ensued and Farooq and I met Yong from Korea. Now Farooq has quit his job and is over landing through Russia, Mongolia, Pakistan and a number of other countries in the region on a 250cc dirt bike. Yong is doing a similar thing but in an SUV. So with the 3 of us following at least part of the same route we all started to compare notes and hit it off somewhat. We're going to stay in contact during out trip and see if we can meet up later when schedules allow.
Since Farooq and Yong had paid so much to get their vehicles on the ship they were allowed to disembark first. I was well back with the rest of the plebs and we had to wait a good hour or so before we were allowed to disembark. I had a brief chat with the Canadians I ran into on the first night while waiting.
The Russian security process was a bit offputting. I wouldn't say it was scary but it was definitely not designed to comfort people. It was a small room with maybe 6 booths checking passports and visas. There were soldiers in the room and a dog handler roaming around with his dog checking for whatever they check for. The number of Russians who got hauled from passport control into a back room was really amazing. I'd say 50% to 60% had to go back for more questioning.
Thankfully there were no problems with me and I got a smile out of the Russian lady who checked my passport. I'm pretty sure the smile was at my attempt at speaking Russian but let's assume it's because I'm a very pleasant person and people just want to smile back.
And just like that I'm in Russia! I had intended to meet up with Farooq and Yong after customs but it took so long for me to get through we all just went to check into our hotels. We are going to meet up again later for dinner.
I can see why people liken Vladivostok to San Francisco. The part of the city closest to the harbour really is quite attractive.
My hostel is pretty nice. Some big faux logs and wooden furniture in the common room designed to make it feel a bit log a Siberian log cabin. The rooms are spacious and the place is pretty clean. I dump my stuff, have a quick shower then head out to explore.
I sat down first to do some searching and planning of what to do in Vladivostok. The hostel lady gave me a map then a very attractive Russian girl who was staying here gave me a few pointers of places to go and do the tourist things in town.
I manage to get some money out, find a SIM card and get connected to the internet again for really cheap ($8 for 5gb of data) and locate a supermarket so I can stock up on some toiletries.
Yong ends up having a dinner date scheduled with a friend of his who lives in town so Farooq and I wandered around the harbour area for a while, caught the sunset then had a meal. Very romantic.
It was nice to have someone to wander around with for a while. As much as I like to be alone most of the time I decided to go the hostel route so that I would meet people and have a bit of a social life while on the trip.
We stopped for a beer at a little craft beer place we walked past and then separated and went to our hostels for sleep.
I did some writing when I got back and the common room was quite busy til quite late. A lot of Korean people staying here including a couple of families with kids. The Russian girl was here as well and she ended up talking to a series of people via some video chat app or another. It sounded like she was flirting with EVERYONE so I wonder if she was on the prowl for a husband or something (people kept saying "Russian bride" to me before I left). Oh well - good luck to her if she is.
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