Day 1: Vladivostok “Rule the East”

This city, whose name means “Rule the East,” is Russia’s main Pacific port and home of the Russian Pacific Fleet, was originally founded in 1859 by a party of 40 soldiers.  Now boasting a population of roughly 600,000, this teeming port city is beautifully set on rising hills overlooking the Zolotoy Rog (Golden Horn Bay).

The only thing we had for lunch was a cheese sandwich provided by the airline, so we set off to find a place to eat.  We found a Georgian restaurant recommended in the Trans-Siberian Handbook called Крестоывй Перевал (Kretovy Pereval).  Unfortunately, the waitress didn’t speak English, and the menu was in Cyrillic.  Plan B was asking the waitress in broken Russian what she recommended, but after she started pointing out virtually every item on the menu, we chose four dishes at random which turned out surprisingly well. 

We ended up ordering Толма (meat and rice stuffed in vine leaves), Чакапули из баранны (something with lamb), Шашлык из куриныых (skewered chicken) крыльев, and Хачапупи с сыром (a cheesy bread similar to a quesadilla) which cost about $30.  The waitress didn’t smile throughout the meal, though I think part of that is the general trait of most Russians in being reserved towards outsiders and only opening up to close friends and family. 

The interior of the Krestovy Pereval restaurant.	Lance, Liz, and Jasper at the restaurant.  Хачапупи с сыром (left dish) and Толма (right)

We also stopped at a store to get provisions for the trip ahead, most importantly water (for about 30 rubles for 1.5 liters – considerably cheaper than we’d get from the restaurants or on the train.  As in Europe, water isn’t free in restaurants), some black bread, sausage, and some pastries (not the sweetened pastries we’re used to in America, but filled with a meat filling of sorts).

Contrary to most American shops, everything is kept behind the counter and you have to tell the shopkeeper what you want to buy.	A monument to the Soviet victory in the Far East during the Russian Civil War (1917-1922) in which Vladivostok was occupied by the White Russians and foreign troops (to include Japanese, American, and Czech troops among others).

Walking about in Vladivostok we got a chance to see the ships coming and going, a few of the Russian navy’s destroyers in the distance, and see a few of the monuments.  It was too late for us to see any of the museums (mostly centered on the Russian Navy or the coastal fortifications).  We returned to the train station at 2130hrs, about an hour prior to departure, just in time to see the train pull into the station.

All of us (minus Lance, the photographer) getting ready to embark on the Trans-Siberian Railroad at Vladivostok.

Traveling to Vladivostok

Every journey has its beginning… this one started at 0430hrs on Thursday morning, 26 July 2012, as Dad and I made final adjustments to our bags.  We linked up with Lance, Liz, and Jasper at the Dongducheon train station and took the three-hour ride through Seoul to Incheon International Airport. 

Lunch at Incheon International Airport.

Apparently, Vladivostok isn’t that popular of a destination, considering the check-in lines compared to the Aeroflot flight to Moscow.  We made it to the gate on time, despite a few delays involving reshuffling baggage to meet the check-in luggage weight restrictions and making sure our documents were all in order, and in contrast to the other two Aeroflot flights I’ve flown, this one departed on time (though technically speaking it was Aeroflot operated by Vladivostok Air).

Take a guess which line is for the Vladivostok flight and which one is for Moscow…	Lance, Liz, and Jasper on their way to the boarding gate.

Our route took us across Korea and into Vladivostok from the south.  Even as we were flying over these far eastern reaches of Siberia, the most striking difference from Korea was the far lower population density.  In Korea, even in the more remote and rugged sections of eastern Korea, the vast majority of the valley and draws have some form of town or village.  In contrast, Siberia is extremely empty.  There are still towns, quarries, and factories (some in a better state of upkeep than others) but they are mere dots amid the vast wilderness of the land.

A mine and surrounding area on the approach to Vladivostok airport.

Vladivostok’s airport is actually about 40km north of the city.  We avoided the nagging taxi drivers (who wanted to charge 2000 rubles – about $65) and instead took the No. 107 bus (which departs on the hour and costs 70 rubles per person – about $2, with an additional 10 rubble fee per piece of luggage you want stored under the bus).  The fares are collected by a ticket lady who rides with the bus and gives you a ticket, which really is more of a receipt than anything.  The bus driver and ticket lady didn’t speak English, but one of the passengers knew a few words so we were able to communicate that we were going all the way to the train station (the last stop on the line). The bus itself was old, dilapidated, and decorated with colorful curtains and stuffed animals, but the worst part was the complete lack of air conditioning.

The ticket lady collects payment for tickets on board the rather colorful bus taking us to the train station.	Some of the new apartments rising up on the hills as we drive through Vladivostok.

On the ride to Vladivostok (which took about an hour 15 minutes), the surroundings became increasingly urbanized as we got to the city limits.  We ran into a traffic jam shortly inside the city limits.  There are a lot of the old Soviet-style ugly block apartments and run-down houses, as well as evidence of new construction (roads, apartments, etc.). 

The route from the airport to the train station (blue).  The railroad is marked in red.

We got to the train station around 1730hrs local time (GMT +11), checked our luggage into a storage area (manned by a meticulously slow lady at the cost of 100 rubles per luggage for up to 24 hours), checked in at the ticket counter, and set off to find a place to eat.

The Vladivostok Train Station.

NOTE: Most of the maps in these posts come from Garmin BaseCamp and the tracks are from my Garmin GPS.