Iran, Isfahan, 7 – 10 October 2016

Posted on Monday, 10-October-2016 by Chris Desmond

I travelled by bus from the South Terminal in Tehran to Isfahan, cost 330,000 rial or 10 euro. There are many buses going to Isfahan, ask around and find one that leaves asap, though this could mean anytime hahaha, I was told 1000 and the bus left at 1100 and arrived in Isfahan at 1700, a 6 hour journey with one rest stop. You get a snack box and a drink on the bus as part of the ticket and comfortable seats with more than enough leg room. 6 lane toll road to Qom and a 4 lane highway after that, barren and sometimes beautiful landscapes all the way, with Police check points where the driver had to show his credentials.

Isfahan – population 3.8 million, second largest city in Iran and it was also once upon a time the  capital of the country. Highlights of the city are the Naghsh-e Jahan Square which is 560m long surrounded by palaces, mosques and a bazaar and the bridges across the Zayandeh River.

Naghsh-e Jahan Square and Ali Qapu Palace and Mosques

Walk through the park along the South bank of the river from Si o Seh Pol Bridge to Khajoo Bridge

The Armenian Quarter or New Julfa, protected by the government, an interesting area to wander around.

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Iran, Tehran, 01 – 07 October 2016

Posted on Friday, 7-October-2016 by Chris Desmond

Tehran – capital of Iran (Persia) population 16 million in the greater metropolitan area.

I flew from Astana to Tehran via Almaty where I had to change planes. The flight arrived in Tehran at 1235, followed the signs to the visa counter where a guy pointed to another counter and said Insurance (Medical) first. Walked over to it and said I already had Medical  Insurance and the guy at first said not valid in Iran, then he asked me to show him the Insurance Certificate and I did and he stamped it and said ok no need to buy Insurance. Back to the first counter and the guy asked if I had an invitation I said no only a hotel booking and he wrote E145 on a piece of paper and told me to take it to the bank counter next door, took it there and gave the teller 150 euro and he gave me 5 euro change. You need Euro not US dollars or you will get a poor exchange rate. Back to the visa counter handed in my passport and waited, after about 15 minutes my passport came back with the visa stuck in it, valid for a 30 day stay. There were half a dozen other people of different nationalities waiting to get their visa’s as well, including 2 young guys from the USA and no one had any trouble. Next immigration where the guy stamped my passport, no questions asked by anyone so far, then baggage claim which was deserted, my suitcase was waiting for me picked it up and straight through customs, which was deserted as well, hotel driver was waiting, into the taxi at 1335, toll freeway into the city, then chaotic traffic, arrived at the hotel at 1435, easy.

Visa on arrival was only recently introduced to Iran and I was a little apprehensive about the bureaucracy when I arrived but as you can see it turned out to be a non event. The visa guy did not even ask to see my hotel booking which I had printed in Astana. The only document you must have a print out of is your Travel/Medical Insurance Certificate or you will have to buy Insurance at the Airport.

Booking a hotel in Iran from outside the country cannot be done using Booking.com or any of the other online booking services though this might change as sanctions are lifted. I found a few hotels on TripAdvisor, emailed 3 of them and only received a reply from one “Hotel Markazi“, cost USD$50 per night including breakfast and USD$25 for the Airport transfer. You book directly with the hotel by email and get a confirmation, the manager is Fatima, she speaks English and is very helpful. Ask for a room with a western style toilet or you might get the squatting kind, this applies to all hotels in Iran.

You cannot withdraw money from an ATM or use your credit cards in Iran, you have to bring cash US dollars or Euro, US dollars preferred, ironic. It appears that the government only recognises the Euro (for payments like your visa). The bank rate is much lower than the rate you get from a money changer. There is a whole street of money changers, Ferdowsi Street and it’s quite legal. If you are visiting other cities in Iran, change your money here as this is where you get the best rate and shop around, the rates are advertised on boards outside. If you have left over local currency it can be changed back at the airport when you leave.

SIM cards are freely available and I got one for USD$8.40 valid for 30 days with 1.5GB of data, took about 30 min to become active and I had no problems with it during my stay in Iran. You will have to show your passport and fill out a form, since the hotel keeps your passport I had to email them a copy of the passport photo page that I have on my phone. I met a couple at the hotel who were befriended by a local who changed money for them at an inferior rate and also took money from them to get 2 SIM cards and was never seen again.

The first thing you do is download an App called Snapp it’s the Uber equivalent and works really well, the rates are declared up front, you pay cash and they are cheaper than anything you could ever negotiate with a taxi driver. The metro is clean, cheap, frequent and will get you to most places but it is very crowded, women travel in separate carriages. I noticed that the station platforms are quite short, only enough for a train seven cars long which means that they cannot have longer trains to ease the crowding.

The city is clean but the air pollution is so bad you cannot see the mountains that border the city to the north. Traffic is chaotic and the metro or walking is the fastest way to get around. Crossing the street requires nerves of steel, the easiest way is to walk beside a local.

Women have more freedom here than any other Muslim Middle East country except Lebanon which is half Christian, they have to wear a head scarf but that’s about it, they walk alone even at night and I saw young couples holding hands in the parks while regular Police drove past, apparently it is the Religious and Moral police that are feared. Music is banned and the only place I heard any was under one of the bridges in Isfahan where a guy was singing with a small audience, if caught he would have been fined. Men are usually clean shaven, beards are not common.

The internet is censored, a taxi driver showed me an App that gets around the censorship Hotspot Shield but I still could not upload pictures. This app causes problems with some websites and you have to turn it off and on as required. And though alcohol is also banned a taxi driver offered to get me some hahaha, no thank you. Finding a restaurant is a challenge, people do not eat out. You won’t see many tourists either and when you do they are usually on a tour bus. No annoying touts or beggars, people are polite and helpful and a few speak English. More often than not a younger person would offer their seat to me on the metro. The tap water is drinkable and that’s all I drank with no ill effects.

National Museum – regular tour bus stop and the Muslim Museum next door which was deserted, a guy followed me around the Muslim Museum trying to look like another tourist, which is a bit hard when there was no one else around hahaha.

Golestan Palace – This is built in a square around a large garden and there are separate tickets for each section. I bought a complete set and was charged 840,000 rial (23 euro), when I added them up later the total came to 780,000 and when you enter each section the ticket collector will try to take the whole ticket off you not just the stub so it can be resold later, government employees supplementing their income.

USA Embassy – Huge compound, once under siege and now you come to see the murals.

Azadi and Milad Towers

Mount Tochal Cable car – the second highest cable car I have been on after the one in Quito. The whole structure looks badly in need of maintenance but definitely worth a visit hahaha.

Tabiat Bridge – more than a bridge and Taleghani Park

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Kazakhstan, Astana, 24 – 30 September 2016

Posted on Friday, 30-September-2016 by Chris Desmond

There are no direct flights between Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Astana, Kazakhstan apparently because the Mongolian authorities will not give permission for the flights. Therefore I had to fly back to Seoul which is in the opposite direction for 3 hours, wait there for 6 hours and then fly from Seoul to Astana for 7 hours and if you look carefully you will see the flight path does not go over Mongolia. The girl at Immigration did not even look at my immigration card or passport, just stamped them and waved me through. You have to keep the immigration card until you leave when it gets an exit stamp as does your passport. Transfer from the Astana Airport to my Hotel was arranged by the hotel and cost KZT2000 or 6 euro.

Astana is the Capital of Kazakhstan, a planned city with a population of 835,000. It has the most fantastic buildings I have seen anywhere on the planet, almost as if the buildings had to be weird and wonderful to get planning approval hahaha.

It is a modern city with good roads, shopping centers and everything else you would expect in one. There is a comprehensive bus system and it has a very good GPS based app that makes it easy to plan your journey, cost 35 cents a ride. Healthcare and Education are free. SIM cards are easily available and cost next to nothing. The internet is censored and I could not update my Blog from here.

People don’t trust the local currency which halved in value in 2015 and therefore prices for many expensive items are quoted in US dollars though for everyday use Tenge is the local currency. US dollars can be withdrawn from banks and ATM’s but I could not find an ATM that actually had any, I needed the USD for my next stop which will be Iran.

The area between the Presidential Palace and the Khan Shatyr is the centre of the city and this is where you will find most of the futuristic buildings.

Hazrat Sultan Mosque, Shabyt Palace of Creativity, Palace of Independence, National Museum and Palace of Peace and Reconciliation

All of the above are grouped in one area and you can walk from one to another, you can enter the Mosque (free) and the Museum (ticket) and you get a personal guided tour of the Palace of Peace (free).

ALZHIR – Akmolinsk camp of Wives of Traitors to the Motherland – I hired a taxi for half a day (25 euro) to visit this prison camp memorial, about 40 km out of Astana.

Museum of the First President, Astana Park, Atameken, Library of the First President

 

 

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Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, 18 – 23 September 2016

Posted on Friday, 23-September-2016 by Chris Desmond

Mongolia with a population of 3 million is  the most sparsely populated country in the world. Nearly half of the population lives in Ulaanbaatar which is spread over a series of hills around the Tuul river valley at an altitude of 1,300 metres.

Taxi from the airport to the City was MNT20,000. Most of the vehicles here are used Japanese right hand drive cars similar to the Eastern part of Russia.

I got a SIM card from the Main post office near Chinggis Square for MNT5000 and another MNT6000 for 600 Mb of LTE Data (total about USD$5), good for 15 days on the Mobicom network which is the main one in Mongolia. It started working after 15 minutes and I did not have any problems for the week I was in Mongolia.

Chinggis Square and the Centre

My first meal in Mongolia turned out to be a surprise, first by the prices which were almost free compared to Tokyo and then by what was on my plate. My order was based on a picture from the menu which looked like grilled meat of some sort. It turned out to be grilled slices of liver and grilled slices of fat hahaha, neither of which are my favourite. The liver was washed down with beer and the fat was left on the plate much to the puzzlement of the waitress as she looked questioningly at me when clearing the table hahaha.

Beatles Square and the National Theatre

I went on a private tour, the only kind available which gave me a car and driver for the day at a cost USD$100. The tour starts with a visit to the Zaisan memorial on top of a hill, next drive to the 40 meter high stainless steel statue of Chinggis Khaan astride a horse, then cross country to a Nomad camp for lunch and an hour’s horse riding, I gave the horse riding a miss hahaha. Back to the paved road and to the Terelj National Park and a Meditation Center on a hill, a perfect day.

Gandantegchinlen Monastery, Dinosaur Museum, Choijin Lama Temple Museum

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Japan, Tokyo, 04 – 17 September 2016

Posted on Saturday, 17-September-2016 by Chris Desmond

I travelled from Kyoto to Tokyo on the Nozomi Shinkansen bullet train again but this time the maximum speed I saw was only 266 kph. Possibly because it was the older Series 300 which has a maximum speed of 270 kph or maybe the track is not rated for the higher speed. Distance 513.6 km, journey time 2:17 hrs, Cost 13,910 Yen or 123 Euro.

Tokyo – big crowded city, the Metro area has a population of 38 million people, believe it or not. Clean and organised with trains that will take you to most places. There are a number of different services and they all require their own ticket, though you can get to most places on the two main subway services. As a tourist you can buy a 1, 2 0r 3 day unlimited travel pass for the two main services. The 3 day pass costs 1,500 Yen which is very cheap considering a single ride averages over 200 Yen. The pass is only available at the airport and a few select locations and you have to show your passport to get one. I bought mine from the BIC camera store near the Tokyo station, directed to go there by the Tourist Office.

Finding your way around the stations from one line to another or even just the exit is a complete nightmare as they are built into a complex of shops and department stores. Also get used to climbing stairs, there are lifts and escalators at some of the stations but you first have to find them as they are very well hidden. All part of the cities plan to fit more passengers into each carriage during rush hour.

People are allowed to smoke in restaurants in Japan.

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Palace Gardens, Metropolitan Building, Korea Town and the National Musuem

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Sony Building, Ginza, Tsukiji Fish Market, Panasonic Centre

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Mount Fuji Day Tour

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Robot Restaurant, Harajuku, Meiji Jingu and Shibuya

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Sumo Tournament, Miraikan Science Museum, Odaiba Island and Gundam

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Honda Centre, Roppongi, Seiko Museum and Skytree

T-site in Daikanyama – a very large and interesting bookshop and other stuff, River Cruise, Palace Garden and Senso-ji Temple

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Japan, Kyoto, 31 August – 03 September 2016

Posted on Saturday, 3-September-2016 by Chris Desmond

I took the Nozomi Shinkansen bullet train from Hiroshima to Kyoto, cost Y11,610 or 100 euro, distance 380.6 km, travelling time 99 minutes. The Nozomi is the fastest of the bullet trains travelling at 300 kph. While on the train the ride is very smooth and there is no sensation of speed. I only realised how fast we were going when the train slowed for an approaching station and I checked the speed, we were still doing 160 kph, it felt like we were crawling along. Also when we went over a steel bridge the support structure became invisible because it was flashing past so quickly and I only knew we were on a bridge because I could see the parallel bridge a short distance away, quite amazing.

While the trains in Japan are brilliant, their ticketing system is a confusing mess. There are numerous private lines and private companies along with Japan Rail operating in Japan both in the Metro and the country areas. You have to buy separate tickets for each company and they are not interchangeable. For example the Japan Rail pass which is a good thing to get if you aren’t staying in any one place for very long, can’t be used on the Nozomi trains or on any of the non Japan Rail lines, though it can be used on the slower bullet trains. Also this pass cannot be bought in Japan even if you are a legitimate tourist, it has to be bought in your home country before you enter Japan etc, etc.

Buying a standard ticket is fairly simple, you use a ticket machine at the station, push the English button first then follow the instructions, first (called Green) or second class, reserved or unreserved, reserved costs about 7 euro more and I paid with my credit card. The trains are frequent and there are plenty of empty seats so you are never going to be stuck. I reserved my ticket a couple of days in advance. A conductor walks up and down the aisles but no one ever asked to see my ticket. A food and drinks cart came past once or twice. There is plenty of legroom and the seats recline but the width is the same as an airline seat, barely adequate. If you want more room get a Green class ticket where there are 4 seats in a row 2 on either side of the aisle rather than a 3 plus 2 arrangement.

NOTE: the train only stops for 1-2 minutes so make sure you are queued up at the right carriage before it arrives and the same goes for getting off the train, make sure you are waiting at the door when it stops or you will be going on to the next station hahaha. I arrived an hour early and did some train and people watching to become familiar with the system. There are smoking rooms on the platform and on the train, smoking is widely tolerated in Japan, even in restaurants.

Kyoto – used to be the capital of Japan until 1868, population 1.5 million, a city of Temples and Shrines. Lots of tourists, many hire traditional Japanese clothes to walk around. Also famous for Matcha or green tea and green tea based products. Public transport consists of 2 metro lines and a comprehensive bus network which is what everyone uses, buy a day pass for Y500 from the bus driver on your first ride and then you don’t have to worry otherwise a single ride costs Y230. Metro tickets are separate and cost Y210 a ride, I never used the Metro.

Kyoto National Museum

Kyoto Station and Tower

Kinkaku-ji Temple

Ginkaku-ji Temple

Gion and Downtown

Arashiyama Park

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Japan, Hiroshima, 27 – 30 August 2016

Posted on Tuesday, 30-August-2016 by Chris Desmond

I flew from Seoul to Hiroshima and for the first time ever had my luggage checked by Japanese Customs at the Airport. Well they removed all the contents from my suitcase and X-rayed it, never checked the contents or my backpack, very strange. At the Airport, stop at the Information counter and buy a Tourist pass for 3 days for 1000 Yen, this gives you free public transport and discounts at various attractions. First discount is for the bus to the city 1,210 Yen, takes about an hour, the airport is miles away.

Next stop an ATM where the maximum withdrawal was Y50,000, then a phone shop, after a couple of false starts I found one that sold pre-paid SIM’s. Japan has some very restrictive rules when it comes to SIM cards, it is illegal for a non-resident to be sold a Voice SIM card, only Data is allowed and pre-paid cards are not sold by every phone shop. They are comparatively expensive but this place had a special deal Y980 for 1 or 2 weeks with unlimited data and the first 100Mb per day at 4G speeds. I bought a 2 week pack and a 1 week pack, both were the same price, total inc tax came to Y2,116 for 3 weeks. The guy was very helpful, first testing my phone to make sure it was compatible and then activating the SIM for me, you do it online and it is instantaneous, no waiting. Once the 2 weeks expires I will have to swap out the SIM and activate the second one myself, complicated….. but it is very fast and works everywhere.

Note: South Korea and Japan only have 3G and 4G networks, 2G has been completely phased out so standard SMS which uses 2G GSM does not work in these countries. If you try to send an SMS using your foreign SIM card to a local, it will say sent and you will get charged for it but they will not receive the message.

Next food and I went into the first restaurant I saw and the guy at the counter showed me a machine and waved his hands around. On closer inspection I saw a menu, you select the items you want and pay the machine, it ejects a ticket for each item, you take them and sit down at a table, the waiter comes and collects the tickets off you and brings back the food within 2 minutes, quite amazing.

Hiroshima – the first city to have an atomic bomb dropped on it, this happened at 08:15 am on 6 August 1945. Population 1.1 million has a small town feel to it, trams are the most convenient way to get around, home to the Hiroshima Okonomiyaki, people are helpful and patient with tourists, though very few speak English.

Day trip to Miyajima Island – It takes about an hour on the tram to get to the Miyajima ferry and then a 10 minute ride on the boat. Deer wandering the streets, the Itsukushima Shrine and a cable car ride up the mountain are some of the attractions.

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South Korea, Seoul, 17 – 26 August 2016

Posted on Friday, 26-August-2016 by Chris Desmond

I flew from Vladivostok to Seoul.

Seoul – a big city, the greater Seoul area has a population of 25 million, modern, clean and organised, with a comprehensive public transport system. All signs and announcements  have an English version making it very easy to navigate. Birthplace of K-pop and Korean Soap Operas popular around the world. The people are friendly and if you look lost someone will stop and offer to help. A SIM card for one month costs WON 30,000, I did not bother to get one as Wifi is available everywhere.

I got my Mongolian Visa here, visited friends and one or two craft breweries which are becoming popular. There is a huge variety of food available from street vendors to expensive restaurants and everything in-between.

There is a special Airport train (AREX) that travels between Incheon and Seoul, takes about an hour, one non-stop and one with stops. Get a T-Money card at one of the ticket vending machines at the station and recharge it, you have to use cash the machines do not accept credit cards. A single ride costs WON 1,250 with the card and it can be used on trains and buses and to pay for taxis.

Yeouido Hangang Park, Itaewon and Changgyeonggung Palace

Day trip to Korea Craft Brewery

Deoksugung Palace, Lee Jung Seob Special Exhibition, Cheonggyecheon Stream

Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul City Wall and Times Square

Myeong-dong Cathedral, Seokchon-dong Tombs, Lotte World Mall and Olympic Park

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Russia, Vladivostok, 14 – 16 August 2016

Posted on Wednesday, 17-August-2016 by Chris Desmond

Vladivostok – population 600,000, was a part of China until 1860. It is built on a series of hills so you are always walking either up or downhill. It was renovated in 2012 when it hosted the 24th APEC summit. The two most popular attractions according to Tripadvisor are the two bridges built as part of the renovation the Zolotoy Rog bridge and the Russky Island Bridge which is the longest cable stayed bridge in the world, though the C56 submarine was my favourite. Buses cost RUB 20 a ride so you can afford to get on the wrong bus several times as I did, its pot luck when you cant read or speak the language hahaha. Taxis are few and always full, you have to order them over the phone, cost to the airport is RUB 1,100.

My Russian SIM card got blocked after about 2 weeks, hotel staff tried to help by calling the phone company but no luck, the solution is to buy another one. When you withdraw cash from an ATM they take an extra 2% over and above the standard Mastercard/Visa Exchange rate but you need very little cash in Russia, only for emergencies. Russia belly is a real problem, bring appropriate drugs.

I organised shipping my bike back to Europe through Links, Ltd cost USD$1,300 which must be paid in cash (US Dollars, Euro or Rubles equivalent). There is a $50 discount if you pay cash upfront which is what I did and I paid with a combination of Rubles and Euro. The bike goes into storage and has to wait until they have a full container load and it will be shipped to either Rotterdam or Hamburg, shipping time approximately 6 weeks. Yuri and Svetlana go out of their way to help. Read about picking up my bike from Hamburg here.

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Russia, Chita to Skovorodino to Belogorsk to Khabarovsk to Vladivostok, 09 – 13 August 2016

Posted on Saturday, 13-August-2016 by Chris Desmond

Russia 2016

Chita to Skovorodino – From Chita to Khabarovsk is the most isolated part of this trip, mainly small towns and villages, cannot book accommodation online and fuel stops are not frequent. For this leg my GPS and Google maps said the distance was over 900 kms and it would take over 12 hours to cover it, a marathon, it had me a little worried. I left Chita at 0605, cool and misty, no traffic at that hour, 15 min to get out of the city, then Police stopped me as I was turning onto the highway, one guy spoke some English, he had a look at my Passport with the usual amazement going through the pages and bike docs, looked more like they were doing it out of curiosity. Neither of the two times I have been stopped by the police have they asked to see my Drivers licence or my International Drivers Permit which I got especially for this trip. Good roads after that always winding through the mountains, sometime a roller coaster with frost heaves, scraped bash plate a few times on the more severe whoops, cars and trucks struggling, sat on 110-120 kph easy riding, no wind, did not feel tired, stopped every 200 km for petrol, on the last stop met two Chinese riders from Beijing, spoke to one guy very good English, sounded like he had lived in AU, riding 2 x BMW F700’s with tons of gear including a spare rear tyre, decked out in BMW fashion as well, heading for Magadan. Cold ride, altitude between 500-800 meters going up to 1100 meters at one point, arrived in Skovorodino at 1535, 925 kms, 9:45 hrs, a very fast ride, what was I worrying about hahaha, poor fuel consumption due to cold, altitude and speed. Rode around looking for a Hotel sign, saw none so stopped and asked a guy and he said follow me and drove me to a hotel, very kind, second time this has happened, fairly basic but a place to sleep.

Skovorodino to Belogorsk – Left at 0800, cool and overcast, some rough bits upto the first fuel stop including road works after that just the usual roller coaster, a bit more traffic after Ulegorsk, a few light drizzles hardly noticeable. Felt something flapping across my chest and tried to swat it away then looked down and saw my camera wedged between the tank and my left leg, the strap had come undone from the camera HOW?, stopped and put the camera in my pocket then tied a knot in the strap at the next fuel stop. It warmed up as I descended down to 150 m closer to Belogorsk, Garmin maps totally confused when I turned off the highway but found my way to the town over some rough country roads, filled up just before the hotel, had to ask 3 people for directions to find the place, it is tucked away in no-mans land, arrived at 1425, 554 km, 6:25 hrs.

Belogorsk to Khabarovsk – Left at 0745, got lost in Belogorsk, Garmin taking me down dead ends, changed orientation to North up and found my way out of the place and again further out Garmin telling me to turn left to the highway and there was no road so backtracked went down a new road that I saw trucks coming out of, turned out to be right and finally on the highway 35 min later. Warmer today 21c and cloudy, feeling groggy, stopped for fuel and swapped gloves to cool off, had a Snickers, second leg went through some hills good road so far, a few short roadworks and roller coasters, saw another of the squirrels crossing the road, not much traffic. Stopped in the mountains for fuel dodgy place just my luck, no 95 octane while filling up I was watching the meter tick over as usual and suddenly heard splashing and turned my head and saw fuel overflowing everywhere the pump had not cut off when it was full, must have lost about a litre, its one of those pumps that is either full on or off, waited 10 min to let the fuel evaporate. Opened up jacket to let more air in, hotter now and altitude down to 150m, back on the road and it started to get busier about 150km out of Khabarovsk, villages and towns and more traffic and the road deteriorated, more road works. Arrived in the city stopped and filled up, not much traffic, found the hotel no problem pouring with sweat 29c, arrived at 1515, 678 km, 7:30 hrs, local time 1615 lost another hour. This place is one hour ahead of Japan and Korea  and they are further East. The majority of the cars here are right hand drive, cheap used imports from Japan and many still have the Japanese stickers on them.

Khabarovsk to Vladivostok – Left  Khabarovsk at 0720, wet roads and light drizzle, no traffic, onto the highway and built up for a while, hilly countryside. Dry roads after 2 hours and stayed that way the whole distance, roads more rough than smooth but maintained 100-110 kph, more traffic than the last few days, long stretch of dirt road, constant overtaking a chore. Just after the first fuel stop at 1045 I was overtaking a truck over some white lines and there was a cop in a parking area and he started walking towards the road and waving his stick, pretended I didn’t see him and kept going increased speed to 120, saw another cop car watching traffic by the side of the road about 30 min later and he ignored me, so I guessed that an STK order had not been issued for me hahaha. Many stalls setup along the highway some in groups to form a market. Continuous winding roads, overcast, swapped gloves at first fuel stop, opened jacket up at second fuel stop, warm 30c and very humid, black clouds ahead but it did not rain, about 150km out of Vladivostok a new 4 lane freeway for 25 km then 2 lane good road and then back to 4 lanes but rough still made overtaking a non issue, traffic a lot more disciplined here than in the west most people actually sticking to the speed limit, arrived at the hotel no problems at 1545, 762kms, 8:25, good ride, very humid and actually foggy. The end of my Russia ride, now to organise shipping my bike back to Europe.

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