Happy 40^th Maureen, if you’re reading this, although, it’s probably not even your Birthday back home yet.

I made a decision last night to not pack until this morning and surprise myself by actually getting up, showering, having a proper Russian breakfast of porridge, pancakes and fruit and packing all before Tanya texts to say she would be along soon to pick me up.  I check out, picking up my registration documents (oh yes, I’m on the ball now) and wait outside in the cool drizzle for a few minutes till Tanya turns up in a taxi.  She’d left her car at the Bavarian joint last night and the plan is to go there, pick up the car and head off to the ticket agency, then be at the office by 9:30 – 10:00.

Well that was Plan A, anyway.  Plan B quickly came along when we get stuck for ages in traffic, and when we eventually get to the pub we find the world’s largest Land Cruiser has blocked Tanya’s car in, and it takes a full 30 minutes to track down the owner and get it moved.  I’m not panicking yet, but am conscious that time is ticking by, the traffic is still heavy and the airport is a good 40km from the city, something not uncommon in most Russian cities.  The ticket agency take a little while to print the tickets, but at least this time all my details are in English so we don’t have the situation I’ve had in other places where there have been the mistranslations between the English characters and Cyrillic characters in my name.  Tanya has to go to the bank and we eventually get to the office at just after 11:00.

The people in the office have some gifts for me, a decorative plate from Vladivostok, a souvenir from the railway station, being the end of the line, and some more Russian titbits which we’d discussed last night and they’d decided that I must try.  I am once more amazed at their generosity and thank them for the kindness and hospitality they have shown me during my all too brief time in their city.

My taxi is waiting, so it really is just a quick into the office, collect my stuff, say my goodbyes and I’m off again heading for the 9 hour flight back to Moscow. 

I can honestly say that I really enjoyed Vladivostok.  In the same way as St Petersburg at the one end of this vast country has a very Western European feel to it, there is something about Vladivostok which stands it apart from the other central Russian cities I have visited.  I had been told that it was very Asian, and they drove on the left, all kinds of things.  To me, it  is still a very Russian place.  The majority of the people there are typically Russian in appearance, most of the buildings are soviet concrete monstrosities and they drive on the right, albeit in right-hand drive Japanese cars.

Whether it is having the Pacific Ocean to look out to, or the fact that it is bordering Asian countries and most of the business is Pan-Asian, but there is a definite uniqueness to Vladivostok.  In the same way as I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity to visit St Petersburg, I think I would say the same for Vladivostok.  Certainly the people I met there were generous to a fault, recognising that I was alone in a country where I could now just about read a few words, and speak even fewer.  I’ve marked it down in my list of places I would definitely like to visit again.

The airport is very clean and efficient, I manage to get through without any excess baggage and even grab a window emergency exit seat which, with a 9 hour flight ahead of me I’m pleased about.

I’m actually flying with Aeroflot, which may bring sniggers to some, but trust me, are the Virgin Atlantic / Emirates of the Russian fleet.  The weather is much clearer than on the way here and as we fly back over frozen Siberia, there are some stunning views out over thousands of miles of snow-covered nothingness, frozen lakes and rivers.  We always say when there’s a cold snap back home that the wind is blowing in from Siberia and it never meant a great deal until now.

Now it’s me who is blowing in from Siberia, slowly but surely heading home.