I am writing my
last post from Russia... What an experience this was for me and my bike! 6 weeks spent crossing the largest country on
the planet, 11.000 km done, 7700 by motorbike and just over 3000 by the
TransSiberian train (see below my train experience). Russia enchanted me with her friendly people,
her amazing food and her heritage of culture and history, but it also
challenged me more than any other country I have ever been to (with the
exception of Congo, perhaps). I am still
licking my wounds, both mentally and physically and I think it will take some
time to recover from this ordeal. To
cross a mammoth like this, with roads that rattled my brains out and drivers
that nearly killed me several times, and considering the accident I had, would
be enough to write a small book about overlanding through Russia. I deeply and respectfully salute all those
that have done it, by any transportation means and I even salute those that
attempted it and failed. There is no
shame in that; only those that have been on 2 wheels (or any other number of
wheels) through this country will understand what price you have to pay to
reach the other side.
The ride from
Krasnoyarsk was one of the most challenging, as the roads were very bad with
large broken parts and very remote places.
It took me about 16 hours to reach Irkutsk and by the time I got there,
I was shaking so badly I could hardly park the bike. I stopped in front of a Subway (the American
Sandwich store) and ran inside to buy a sprite to get some electrolytes in me
before I passed out; I rode the whole day with only a 500 ml bottle of water
and no food and I was ready to faint.
The boy behind the counter got very scared when he saw me: I was muddy
from top to bottom, eyes were popping out, I had a mud mask around my goggles
and I pretty much looked like a racoon in Yamaha clothes. He quickly prepared a foot long sub and 1
litre bottle of Sprite. People were
watching me as I shakily unwrapped that sandwich and started eating. I left Krasnoyarsk at 6:30 in the morning and
it was now 11:00 at night!
I rested in
Irkutsk for 4 days, arranging for the train in the same time for both myself
and my bike; I wanted to take the train from 2 reasons: to experience a part of
the Trans-Siberian and to give my body a chance to heal from my rough trip so
far. I rode on adrenalin until now and I
didn’t realize how much I abused my body and neglected my injuries. Now, my hip was dangerously swollen, my neck
was twisted and stiff from wearing the helmet for so long and from the Moscow
accident.
I booked a train
ticket for me, through my new friends in Irkutsk: Natasha, Nikolai and Sasha,
all bikers that have taken care of me again.
Sasha arranged with the cargo company to pack my bike and send it to
Khabarovsk. They said it would take 6
days; no problem... It took 11 days.
“This is Russia” everyone tells me, even though I don’t know exactly
what that means.
I left Irkutsk on
Monday, July 7, at 9:30, being driven to the station by Colea (Nikolai) and
Natasha. It was starting to rain and
Colea said: “There is a saying in Russia that when good people leave, it starts
raining”. I replied: “There is a saying
in Canada, that when you leave good people behind, it starts raining.”
The train arrived
on time (a miracle in Russia) and I went to my “apartment”. I took this train after reading so many
reviews on the amazing quality and experience you might have and I was quite
excited. When I got to my cabin, I
noticed 4 “beds” (4 planks of wood, with dodgy mattresses), and 3 guys that
were already there. I said “Hello”, and
introduced myself. They were
professional athletes, and the sport was shooting. I thought: ‘wow, it must be one of those
disciplines at triathlon or something like that”, but they said that they were
actually shooting with AK-47’s.
What? Yes, AK-47’s! One of the guys had a gun on his hip, while
lying in bed drinking tea. I thought:
“OK, this should be an interesting ride!”
It turned out they were from Novosibirsk and heading to Chita for a
National competition. They were very
pleasant and respectful and we had a good time together. I slept for few hours that night, as the
train was throwing us all over the place and it was hot. Outside, a major rainstorm was unleashing and
I realized what would have happened if I went by bike on my own. The Trans Siberian highway was right next to
the rails and the condition of the road was terrible: muddy, broken, and
narrow. I was happy I chose the train.
I woke up in the
morning extremely stiff, my neck was twisted badly and I looked like Quazimoto!
I actually envied the Hunchback for having his own place in the attic of the
cathedral.
I wobbled my way to the toilet and when I
opened the door my jaw dropped: the stench was indescribable and on the floor
there was a sea of urine and water, trying to find its way to the hole in the
middle. I swear this thing had a tide of
its own, moving back and forth with the bumps of the train. I had to find a system to use this toilet
without sinking my feet into this piss.
I started brushing my teeth outside (trying hard to contain my gagging
from the smell and sights of the interior) and when I knew I was ready, I stepped
inside. I quickly rinsed and when I
wanted to use the toilet, I understood why there was so much on the floor: it
was hard to hit the toilet while the train is throwing you all over the
place... I was wearing flipflops... This
was going to be a long ride!
As I returned to
my cabin, my roommates were packing as we were approaching Chita. As soon as they left, I thought I would have
the cabin all to myself until Khabarovsk; 5 minutes later, 3 massive Russians
walked in, with bellies the size of an American Thanksgiving turkey. They started to take their clothes off to
prepare for the ride and they were sweating profusely already. “Great”, I thought, “I feel now like Ben Stiller
in “Along came Polly” when he played basketball with the sweaty, hairy guy!” Another 40 hours with these guys! I went out to give them some “privacy” (I am
using this word extremely loosely). I
asked the conductor where the Restaurant car is and he told me to wait. Few minutes later a lady came with a cart
filled with Fanta and Chips. She even
had a menu: chips, Fanta, different kind of chips, other Fanta types, water J I almost started to cry!
Evening came
again, inside the train there was total darkness and outside a Biblical deluge
was filling up the vast Siberian swamps.
I shyly opened the door and sneaked into my bed and closed my eyes,
wondering how I was going to sleep that night.
The Russian grizzlies were already in bed, each one snoring and farting
their brains out. Their undigested
kielbasas were coming out with the vengeance.
I didn’t close an eye that night, I had my headphones on to drown the
snoring but I found no relief from the farting.
I am sure that the genius that will invent a camera that captures smell,
will win the Nobel Prize.
We arrived in
Khabarovsk 2 hours late; by now I was stuck looking down on my left foot, with
a twisted neck that would not let me straighten up. People in the train were wondering what kind
of weirdo I am; not that the rest of the characters there were of great stature:
a guy was lying on the floor of the corridor, so drunk, vomit was coming out of
his mouth and he had no clue; another one was sitting in between the cars so he
can sneak a smoke; he was in his not-so-white underwear, hanging with one hand
on one of the metal bars while smoking with the other. “I fit right in”, I thought.
I took my bags
and got the hell out of this train. It
was still raining, but the fresh smell of rain and grass in the train station
made me extremely happy. I limped my way
to a taxi and went to the hotel. I took
an hour long shower (after 62 hours on a Russian train, I needed that),
disinfected my flip flops, and I went to bed.
I am not sure what Trans Siberian train tourists take, but I was the
only tourist (and this was first class, a propos). There must be another,
fancier train that caters to the tourists, for sure! But I think I got the true cultural
experience with this train.
It saved me time and headaches and probably my
life, as I would have never made it through 10 days of mud, rain and in the
physical state I was in, but what an experience that was! I rode with Russians, on a Russian train,
across Siberia! I am sure this will be a
funny story for my grandchildren, but at that moment it didn’t seem funny at
all.
In Khabarovsk I
met Alexey (Ivan from Novosibirsk gave me his phone number) and Kate (Katia),
his daughter-in-law. This turned out to
be, again, a life saver for me, as this family of Flight Attendants took me in
their home like one of their own and fed me, gave me a room in their home and
drove me everywhere in town. When the
bike turned up a week late, I was cared for by them without one hint that they
would want to be reimbursed for their efforts.
This is what will make me miss Russia: the wonderful people I met and
their altruistic nature. Alexey, Galina
and Katia, and Katia’s parents: Natalie and Nikolai became very close friends;
the list of my Russian friends is growing.
I headed from
Khabarovsk for my last leg on mainland Russia on a cloudy and sticky morning;
it rained the whole day before and the humidity was high. I was worried about the 550 km of the Eastern
BAM (Baikal-Amur Mainline) because I knew the condition of the road and after
rains it would be worse. I was lucky
enough to avoid rain and when I saw that large tracts of the road were missing
I realized how difficult it would have been in the rain. As I turned East towards Vanino at Lidaga,
the road narrowed and soon I was heading towards the mountains. Even though it was extremely remote, the
landscapes were spectacular and due to my slow speed, I managed to enjoy the
scenery. It took me 8 hours to reach
Vanino from Khabarovsk and when I saw the Pacific Ocean my heart trembled with
joy. I reached the end of Russia’s
mainland, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, I was still alive and my bike was
purring like a cat, as if she knew she is approaching her own country. The humidity disappeared and the fresh ocean
breeze was already cooling me down. I
was a happy man!
In Vanino I met
Natalie (friend of the friends from Khabarovsk) and with impeccable English she
lead me to her parents’ home, where I was offered a room (the “great” Vanino
Hotel wanted to charge me 120 Euros for a shitty room). As soon as I unpacked the bike, Alexander,
Natatie’s father, took me to the ocean where a lot of fishermen were by the
shore fishing for Salmon. I couldn’t
believe my eyes when I saw how much salmon there is in these waters! Few minutes later we ended up with amazing
salmon and few more minutes later the barbecue was on, the salmon sizzling on
it. Next was the caviar, the salmon roe,
the garden potatoes and the veggies, all from their own garden. I was speechless... An hour before I was in a
completely strange place and now I am in someone’s home, having a dinner fit
for the Czars. All this hospitality
offered without one word that I have to pay anything or at least buy them a
gift. For them, it was a pleasure to
have me as a guest and a simple thank you was enough. This is the Russia I will always remember:
the biker community that is so welcoming and the total generosity of the local
people for complete strangers like me.
It makes me feel sad that what the world hears about Russia are mostly
bad things, but I will always hold dear all the memories that these people gave
me. The ferry to Sakhalin took 20 hours,
even though it is only 210 km from Vanino to Kholmsk. The ferry is a giant piece of rust that goes
only 5 knots per hour. It is understandable
when you realize that they put more than 20 rail cars inside, about 40 trucks
and as many cars. I was the only bike
and I was lucky because Natalie arranged (without my knowledge) to have a
private cabin so I had a good night’s rest and good food. I arrived in Yuzhno the next day around 4 pm
where I met up with Dennis, a biker that found out about me from Alex from
Moscow (again). He led me to the hotel
where I now wait for my departure for Japan.
I have a deep
sense of satisfaction when I look back where I was 6 weeks ago and what this
ride across Russia taught me. I am
humbled by the size of this country, but even more humbled by the bigger size
of people’s hearts. I was privileged to
stay in their homes, eat their food and learn of their daily joys and
struggles, their view of their country and the world and I was a small part of
their lives for the little time we spent together. I will never forget them or what they have
offered me.
Enjoy the photos
below... Meanwhile, I can sense the magic of the country of the Rising Sun,
which lies only few hours away from here. Sayonara Russia, Konichiwa Japan!
The beautiful city of Irkutsk
Beautiful Khabarovsk
