Lena took us on a guided tour of Khabarovsk which was excellent. We got to see the boulevards, markets and some things that we would otherwise have missed. The churches and Lenin square were spectacular, as were some of the statues. We tried some Kvass, a Russian drink made with bread. I really like it but I think Ken wasn’t too keen!

It was very hot but everyone seemed to be out and about, doing their business as usual. One thing that’s different here is the effort everyone puts into their appearance. Every shirt is freshly laundered and ironed, every dress clean and fresh. I don’t think I’ve seen a scruffy person yet, even down the shops. It’s not like Walsall at all!!

The church here is the third largest in Khabarovsk. The second largest you could see to the west up an a hill, and we saw the largest when we arrived. So much has happened since I’m struggling to keep up! It’s been a great experience meeting lots of friendly people, absolutely brilliant.

As we rolled into Khabarovsk I stopped to take a photo. Like a lot of the Russian infrastructure I’ve seen, the gardener needs the sack! It seems they’re prepared to spend a fortune on new infrastructure, but nothing on maintaining the gardens. It’s a smashing sign but with the bush in the way you can’t read it!

We rolled into the city and found Lena after the usual navigation and traffic issues. I lost Chip and Ken in the city and they found the place first. Lena was just about to drop her husband at the airport, so she threw Ken the keys and said make yourselves at home. Considering I am a friend of a friend and she didn’t know Ken at all, that was an astonishing act of trust and generosity.

We all freshened up and when Lena returned we went out for a Chinese. Her friend Phil came along too. He showed us the huge bridge on the way to Moscow and a park he was responsible for architecting. It was all very impressive. Back at Lena’s place we had too much home made spirits and this morning (or should I say this afternoon) we’re definitely struggling!

In the morning I had to make a couple of stops at the swamp toilet. Not somewhere I’d recommend to anyone, but I’d eaten something that didn’t agree with me and had no choice. At one of those stops a loaded KTM coming the other way pulled up to a stop.

The guy came over to introduce himself. Joseph I think was German, the bike had German plates anyway. He was going to Vladivostok to catch the trans Siberian railway with his bike, onto lake Baikal and then Mongolia. We may well run into him again.

We exchanged notes on the state of the roads ahead, then went on our respective ways. One thing I’ve noticed here is that other bikers are very friendly. I’ve seen a few loaded tourers coming the other way, obviously foreigners who you expect to wave. But even the small bikes with the locals on produce big arm length waves and smiles. Nice!

We were looking to wild camp again, only this time I wanted to use the hammock. It was about time to find somewhere when I spotted a communications tower up on a hill. If I could find the access road it could be good.

We found a good track right up to the top, where a secure compound housed the generators and comms equipment for the tower. I’ve seen that before! About 50 yards down the track was a good looking spot so we setup camp.

It was awesome. We had some altitude so it was cooler, away from the swamps with a lot fewer mosquitoes. (Skeeter’s in American). We had Sergei’s home made whiskey with our dinner and I went to bed leaving Ken and Chip to their HIC-HOP.

I was soundly asleep until the boys came to wake me. A security patrol had arrived and wanted us to leave. They were at the top and would be back in 5 minutes, by which time we were supposed to be gone. I got dressed and waited for them to come down. 3 armed guys in a van.

When they did I introduced us and explained that it was both illegal and dangerous for us to ride our bikes. We we had been drinking and the legal limit was zero alcohol. The lead guy though about that for some time. I said we’d be there for one night only and would be gone at first light.

That seemed to swing it. He warned us in good English not to go to the top, and said they would see if we did on the cameras. His English was excellent, so I think a little Russian definitely goes a long way!

I hadn’t taken many pictures today when we went past this power station. I couldn’t work or whether it was nuclear or conventional, as it had no cooling towers but no tell tale signs of nuclear either.

There was a sign proudly displaying the fact it had been in production for 40 years. I wondered if it was one of the nuclear stations producing weapons grade plutonium as a bi-product, a left over from the cold war. Either way it doesn’t matter. It was a fairly impressive place and I’m glad we passed it.

I have to say I’m a little disappointed we didn’t find an abandoned nuclear submarine in Vladivostok. We haven’t seen any abandoned tanks either, and no-one has offered me a Kalashnikov assault rifle yet. As far as stereotypes go, Russia is breaking them all so far.

I like power stations, I’ve no idea why. I just do!

Well not really, just the three of us camping in the middle of nowhere. I found a great road heading off the main drag, which we trundled down past a load of derelict old houses. The road turned into a track between some swamp like crops. It looked like no one had been by on a while, so we camped on a spot near s bend.

5 minutes later a large 4×4 logging truck came by with a 4×4 escort, with rather surprised looking occupants. They just waved as they went past. The rest of the night was silent – apart from our sound system! Chip and Ken have a great speaker, with which they introduced me to a new mind of music I didn’t know existed.

A cross between hillbilly bluegrass and rap music. They call it HIC-HOP. It’s actually pretty good.

We’ve got similar cooking gear so breakfasts and coffee set us up for the day. Right on the money budget wise!!

We stopped for lunch at one of the roadside cafes today. I followed Oleg’s advice and picked a spot with lots of lorries outside. Inside there was a basic menu, but the owner Sergei told us what to have. He was really friendly and explained everything in broken English.

The food was good, especially the smoked fish. He came out for a chat and brought some home made whisky for us, which smelled great. We took a bottle away for later, which will try when the beer runs out. I’ll let you know if it’s any good if I can see my keyboard tomorrow!

As the only bought meal of the day it was superb. We had a fairly long stop, chat and recharge. I managed to contact a friend of a friend in Khabarovsk. We’re going to meet up tomorrow, which is handy as I get the impression Khabarovsk is a big city.

We stopped for petrol yesterday and I went for a pee. I wasn’t sure of someone has stolen the toilet or if they were all going to be like this. A trip to the loo today confirmed that toilet theft is obviously a major crime here! Still, if you’re wild camping and nature calls it’s pretty much the same thing. When in Rome, as they say…

We eventually left Vladivostok on the main M60, a good and fast but featureless road heading north. Not much to see, but enough to keep you on your toes. Like having a zebra crossing across a 3 lane motorway without warning and lots of pedestrians. Or smooth tarmac for many miles, interspersed with the odd half mile of gravel and huge potholes.

At the turnoffs for small towns we tended to detour into them. Not because there was a lot to see, but just to break the monotony of the motorway. At one town we passed this very pretty orthodox church. The guy in the car park welcomed us in and we took some photos. There was a service about to start and a lady ringing the bell. Stunning building.

We made it to Spask Dalnij, but there wasn’t much there. We stocked up on supplies and wild camped down a track. As I type I can hear a chorus of mosquitoes outside the tent. Insects here are petty fierce. You’d better be indoors by dusk or else !!

Leaving Vladivostok this morning we ended up on the crazy busy, gridlocked M60. They’re was no way I was sitting in that again, so I started to filter through. Ken and Chip were with me so I had to keep an eye behind as well as in front – I didn’t want to loose them. I’d stopped for a narrow gap after changing lanes, when I heard a crunch followed by “shit!”.

I looked behind and both bikes were upright, but Chip had caught someone’s bumper with a pannier and took the end cap off. Or the other way round. (He hit the front of the car with the back of his bike, how does that work?). Anyway, a big fat angry Russian appears shouting and waving. Chip had moved his bike, which you’re not supposed to do in an accident in Russia – and that’s what he seemed most upset about.

Chip and Ken pointed to me as their translator, so the guy comes over to shout at me. I calmed him down we did had a quick chat. You have to call the cops in a smash, but eventually I persuaded him not to if we paid for the damage – just as a passing cop car pulled up! Then there was trouble!

Actually there wasn’t at all. At no point did I ever feel threatened, the police guy’s expression when he saw what was going on said it all. Basically, ‘why don’t you all just F off, it’s not worth the paperwork’. He asked if Chip spoke Russian, I said no and that was it – he was ready to walk off.

Dima (the angry fat Russian) had called his garage and said it would be 200 dollars. That’s over 7000 Rubles. I said “That’s 6000 Rubles, OK?”. Chip paid and that was that. I should have said it was 4000. Hindsight eh?

I didn’t take any pictures at the time, which I really regret now – but you never know how that’ll tip things, and at the time it didn’t seem appropriate. It was a great start to the day (well maybe not for Chip), but it left me feeling much more positive about my (or rather our) ability to get out of any situation.

If Dima wants that money laundered, this fly poster at our apartment seems to be advertising how to do that.