9/30 – Vladivostock – the last stop on the Siberian Express

We docked right on time – at the crack of dawn – and sat around waiting for our passports. We had to have them to go ashore and the were supposed to be delivered by our cabin steward. It took forever, but we were finally released at about 8:00am. We were the third and fourth people off the ship! Yippee! Of course, where are we going? To find an internet café of course! Where else would be we going at 8 am in the morning in Vlad? This Internet thing on the ship is killing us!

At any rate, we hit the ground in Siberia (yes! Siberia – how cool is that?) and never looked back. The weather was nice – about 60 or 65 and starting to get sunny. But it was humid – and we were sweating away within a couple of minutes. Had a couple of maps – none of which were any good. Names in Russian, not to scale, just pathetic, but we figured we’d find our way around somehow. And we did. We managed to locate the business center where they had a lot of computers, but no wi-fi, fairly easily. We had directions –and just FYI for anyone going to Vlad and looking for the “Big Business Center” – it’s not “behind Lenin’s back” as one of the websites we visited claims – it’s really to the left of the Lenin statue inside the post office building. But no matter – we found it.

The only problem was that they only took rubles. Well, ok, but the banks don’t open until 10 and we’d already tried our ATM card and that wasn’t working – so we were kind of SOL at that point. We decided to wander up into town a little bit. Took the main road from the Siberian Express Train station (which was right where we had docked) and started looking for banks. The road was really busy and there were tons of people walking. But no one spoke English and it was really difficult to get directions or information. We stumbled into some weird little building that said it was a bank. The lobby was this run down ramshackle affair with a guard at a desk. We said “bank” – he nodded his head and picked up the phone. Whoever he called wasn’t there – so he shook his head. We asked where to change money – he said Oh – and then pointed out the door and made the motion to follow him. He took us to the main street and pointed out two different banks that were open. How sweet! I mean it was about a block away from his guard stand – and he walked us all the way there!

So – we headed to a bank that looked open and went through the whole thing again. Pointing, asking “change money”. The guard there took us back into a room wehre there were desks and about 5 doors to little rooms. A girl came out and helped us – took us back to an electronic kiosk up front, pushed a couple buttons and got us a number (sort of like the numbers you get at the deli) and then took us back in the other room. (I’m thinking we’re in a mafia run bank and all these people are numbers runners – but hey – seems like we might get some rubles, so I’m not arguing!) She has some conversation with a girl inside one of the doors – and then shows us in. We’re in a little cubicle – just big enough for Ed and I to stand in – and in front of us is a teller station – similar to banks at home, only completely private. Not too bad a set up actually! So –we hand over our US dollars and get rubles. We’re happy campers!

Back to the Internet place and we get 2 terminals, one of which barely worked. But after an hour we finally got most of our work accomplished – and good thing too – it was a zoo in there. Tons of ship passengers had found it and it was really becoming obnoxious. So – we were really glad to get out of there and finally explore Vlad.

Back out on the street we made our way up to Svetlanskaya – the main drag in Vlad. The first thing that really surprised us was how cosmopolitan the city appeared. Of course we were expecting the gray/drab Russia in depression atmosphere and scenery – and while some of that certainly exists – for the most part the city was bustling and vibrant. There is a ton of development going on and huge high rises being built. You can tell these will go for a pretty penny once they are completed too – all glass, balconies, up on the Eagle’s Nest (the highest point in the city) with a purported excellent view of the city and the bay. There were department stores with all the high end name brands, just like a typical European city. Although, maybe not typical. The infrastructure was definitely lacking. The sidewalks were a mess – open holes – man hole covers missing – and big stake with orange tape sticking out of the holes. Sidewalks not completed, paving bricks missing and good for a broken ankle if you missed the side of the walk. Total disrepair in a lot of places, yet brand new upscale building and shops in others. Quite a juxtaposition every where we looked.

As we strolled down Svetlanskaya, we passed a movie theater complex where they were showing trailers on a huge LCD screen above the door. The soundtrack (for Mama Mia as it turned out) was blaring away. You could hear it for blocks. Then there was the guy with a little stand, right on the sidewalk on the main street, making keys. Great idea – no overhead! We passed the main square with the Statues of the Fighters for Soviet Power in the East. I dubbed the monument the Foo Fighters – and it stuck for the rest of the day. Turns out the Foo Fighters would be our landmark to find just about anything!

We decided we wanted some coffee and figured we’d better start being adventurous in these non English language countries! We spied a place across the street that had a coffee cup on the sign – Figured we couldn’t go wrong there! Ran across the street (and I mean ran! These drivers do not stop for pedestrians, ever, so you have to just make your way and run like hell! Most of the time when we crossed, we waited to find locals crossing then just followed them – really closely!). So anyhow, we survived the street crossing and entered this diner – cleanest place we have ever seen – anywhere! The counter looked like a diner right out of the American 50’s with a bright red enamel finish and silver accents. Then a cafeteria area on the right reminded us of a school lunch room. But they had great booths – really, really, really clean bathrooms – and the little guy at the counter spoke enough English to converse – so we ordered 2 cappuccinos. Once the coffee was done, we asked him for directions to one of the places we had looked up with wi-fi. It took him forever, thinking, thinking, so finally I said, it’s ok, never mind. And he said, no, no, it’s ok, and pantomimed and talked to tell me he knew exactly where this one place was, but was trying to figure out how to tell us to get there! Finally he says – “go to the main square, turn right and go up, up, up! You will hit a park with a church – turn left and you will see it.” Ok – works for us!

So – off we go – and up, up, up we went. He wasn’t kidding! We climbed all the way up the side of Vlad going close to the Eagle’s Nest and ending up across from the university. We found Wonderfoods café, the student hang out with free wi-fi. Walked in, grabbed a table and endured the stares from all the students there – it was pretty fun! Ordered a coke – just so we wouldn’t look like complete mooches then tried to get online. After a couple of unsuccessful tries, I got up and asked the girls at the counter (who again spoke NO English) – Internet? Nyet! Ok, well, then, no Internet for us!

Left the café and wandered up to the church in the park. Very pretty –and we’re sure it was historic, but we’ll never know. Not until we learn Russian. The beautiful sunny day was rapidly deteriorating – clouds were rolling in and it was getting downright chilly. I had to put my coat back on as we made our way out of the park and into the hills surrounding Vlad trying to get to the Eagle’s Nest. Walked up a couple of hills and thought we might be able to get to the look out point up this sandy, dirt road where they were building a new high rise. But ended up chucking that idea – didn’t look too enticing, that road, and once we got up to the top we were afraid there would be nothing to see but new construction.

Headed back down into town, thinking maybe we could find somewhere to grab a bite to eat and maybe, hopefully some wi-fi. Stumbled onto a little building that had photos and Internet. (A popular combination in Vlad – photo shops and Internet!). The girls were all darling – again – barely any English, but so helpful. We paid for an hour of wi-fi and sat down in the café area to boot up. Ordered a beer – Asahi of all things - we wanted local Russian beer – but no go there! Tried and tried and tried to connect to the internet but just couldn’t do it. Two girls came over to help and it just wouldn’t go. They very cheerfully refunded our money and apologized – through miming of course – who knows what they were really saying – probably dumb Americans!

As it turns out, our little diversion couldn’t have come at a better time. While it was terribly frustrating and a waste of time trying to get online, it just so happened that while we were inside, a monsoon broke loose outside. It must have poured cats and dogs, because when we left the photo shop/café, the streets were awash with water. It was still raining when we left, but just lightly. We were so lucky – there were rivers running down the roads! And later, that’s all anyone could talk about – how wet they got in the rainstorm and how heavily it rained.

We chose to head back to ship at this point, making a pit stop to buy supplies. We stopped by what we thought was a little grocery store, but turned out to be a consortium of little vendors – one beverage vendor, a pastry/bakery vendor, chocolate vendor, etc. It was fun! We pointed and purchased our way through the different stands! Also bought some cold beverages from one of the many kiosks all over the city. We wanted a couple beverages out of the cooler out front – but it was locked. We pointed and asked – and the girl stuck her head out of the kiosk window and pointed a remote control at the cooler. Clicked the button a couple of times and the door popped right open! Ingenious!!! This is too fun.

As we were crossing the bridge at the Train station to get back on board the ship, the sun came back out and it was beautiful again – so we kept wandering around. Walked down to the Foo Fighters memorial and took some pictures – then finally headed back to the ship for a late, late lunch.

So – our overall reactions to our first time in Russia? Really wild, really cool, and not at all as poverty stricken or downtrodden as we expected. And the people? We have to tell you, overall they were totally friendly. Didn’t speak a word of the same language but everyone was sweet and nice, and went out of their way to help. An older woman on the street even stopped me to tell me that my back pack was unzipped. Well – pantomimed and spoke in rapid Russian until I figured it out. The only word we ever learned in Russian was sposibo – which means thank you – and we used it all day long, and meant it!

The other thing we noticed were the women. Oh boy! Our friend Sigis has always contended that Italy is the best country because they have the best food, the best wine and the prettiest women. We are going to have to argue that point now. You would not believe how incredibly beautiful all these women are here. The dark looks combined with skinny little figures and fabulous clothes – right down to those spiked heels that EVERYONE wears (including the army guard watching the ship) – can’t tell you how many drop dead gorgeous girls there are in Vladivostock. Ed and I noticed it right away, and then later back on the ship, all the guys were saying the same thing. It really was just incredible and great for people watching.

Of course there are definitely the negatives – besides the obvious politics, etc., - the traffic is brutal. Constant traffic jams, cars going every which way. There are only 2 North/South routes out of the city so it’s just crazy with cars. Also most of the cars are right hand drive, while the roads are all left side. That’s because most of the cars are used from Japan – shipped over and sold cheaply to the Russians. They say Vlad has 1 car for every person in Siberia – including children!

All in all, a great day in a totally different culture and situation. Back on board, we cleaned up and headed to dinner, then wandered around and back to the cabin. We’re going to need our sea day tomorrow!