On my last post we were at the end of day 4 of the 5 day 2200km trip on the Amur Highway. So let’s continue from there -
On the night of day 4 of the Amur Highway we stay at a hotel in the town of Chernyshevsk. The hotel is right in town which is a change for us as most of our overnight stops are at roadside hotels as the highway bypasses most towns. So we see the inside of what I think is a typical 5000 person Russian town.
The hotel was nice. And secure. Very secure! Very very secure. Extremely secure. Extremely extremely secure! I think it might have been a bank building in a previous life - the front door was solid steel with four huge bank vault type bolts in it. No one was going to touch the Hubbard’s in this hotel! Even the Redhead was locked behind two sets of double steel doors!
The evening meal was interesting No choice. You get what you are given ! In this case it was two meat patties , mashed potato , cordial to wash it down and a pancake. Not even a coffee ! Certainly there was no security risk of anyone pinching the food !
Then the next morning it is off to Chita
But on the way Lenus our South African rider we have met catches up with us. Then we come across a Young Dutch chap who is cycling from Magadan ( a city north of Vladivostok ) home to Holland. He is camping along the way. He looked quite gaunt and hungry. We give him a Bounty Bar. He gives a look just like he has received a 100 gram bar of gold ! I imagine him savouring each piece of coconut individually
Now to Chita
. I think the Lonely Planet reviewer must of has a bad liver problem of a massive hangover when he reviewed Chita. He was negative about absolutely everythingin the city. It seemed a pleasant city. One could not help but see the huge hot water pipes to presumably heat the apartments
There seemed to be lots of new apartment blocks not nearly as drab as some of the old Soviet era ones
Across from the hotel three is - I look again- I check my glasses - there is an Irish Pub ! We go over for a pre dinner drink. Guinness and Nottingham Brown are on tap Freddy Mercury belts out the songs from a video screen on the wall. It is all very surreal. I imagine the barman is called Seamus Chernovskyviick! Or perhaps Grigor O’Reilly sounds better?
Anyway with a pint of Guinness sloshing in my belly we happily retire to the restaurant where it is Japanese Sushi followed by an Italian steak dish. All very cosmopolitan and nice. So I think you are off the planet Mr Lonely Planet reviewer !
Having digested Chita it is now off to Ulan Ude , some 670km down the road. We do it in two bites. At the end of day one after about 330 km we find a hotel. It looks OK on the outside -
That’s where the OK stops. The room is two single beds , nothing else in the room. The power is off upstairs. The bathroom down the corridor is totally black. To use the toilet you have to “ aim and hope “ ( and wear your riding boots!) Then we find tha there is no power downstairs. Therfore presumably no food tonight. Then my cellphone beeps. It is a text from the ubiquitous “Davies of Arrowtown” telling us the hotel is unsatisfactory from what he sees on google ! Living in Arrowtown that really says something!
So Diana gets the money back from Mama which was no mean feat I might say. We go another 60 km down the road and we find a nice hotel and all is rosy in the world again
And now it is the ride into Ulan Ude. There are a lot more towns and there is a lot more farming. There are some delightfully painted houses -
And thus we ride into Ulan Ude
What is this?
Our hotel is just opposite the trans Siberian railway station. I think the trains from Mongolia and Beijing come thru here also.
8Something discordant happens in our nice hotel. We are outside the hotel restaurant ready for dinner. There is the sound of an American voice. It is strange to hear it. Then there is an American tour party They are off the train for a culture show break. .They all look a bit zombied which would not be surprising after a few days on the train. Yes, they are even following a guide holding up a green flag. I somewhat uncharitably feel like going “ Ba aa “ to them as they walk past ! I suddenly realise that for nearly two weeks we have have not heard anyone with English as their first languages seen a European person. The only English we have heard has been from hotel receptionists with varying degrees of fluency And Lenus our South Africa riding friend. It seems like an intrusion of our space to me to see - well - tourists!
And when we go to Lake Baikel tomorrow we ourselves will be - tourists! For the moment however we are travellers !
And now we are off to see the statue of Lenin’s head !
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