Russia
18.06.95-09.09.95
VISA: Officially you need an organized tour or an invitation. I found a travel agency that sold me a 'tour' for 100 swiss francs. So I easily got a 3 months visa. The entry and exit dates are fixed (you can`t enter before the entry date). At the Narva/Ivangorod border it's easy to bring a bicycle in, I heard at the border with Finland it's more difficult.
DISTANCE: ca. 7000 Km
ROUTE: Narva/Ivangorod - St. Petersburg - Nizhni Novgorod - Kazan - Ufa - Celjabinsk - Kurgan - Omsk - Novosibirsk - Irkutsk - Ulan Ude - Naushki
ROADS: The condition of the roads was much better than expected. Mostly good asphalt. Between Omsk and Kuybishev for ca 200 Km the road was a very bad gravel road. Between Krasnojarsk and Irkutsk for all together 250 Km the road was unpaved as well but in quite good conditions.
TRAFFIC: Not too bad, expect on weekends near big cities. (Everybody is coming home from their datchas (landhouse))
ACCOMODATION: Mostly I camped. There are lots of forests, where I could hide. In big cities I stayed in hotels. I payed around 15$ a night. You can find cheaper hotels, but it's difficult, you might spend a couple of hours before you find it.
FOOD: Almost everything is available in Russia nowadays. I mostly bought food at kiosks. In shops it's a bit complicated, if you don't speak russian. First you have to show what you want, then go to the cashier and pay and finally collect your stuff. During the day I mostly ate in Stolowajas (cheap restaurants, often with fixed menu) or bought chocolate bars. In many villages along the main roads, women sell food. The only problem is they all have the same thing in one village for example berrys, while in the next village they will have something else. The distance between two villages can be long, so I always carried some food and something to drink with me. There are waterpumps in every village, I never filtered or treated it and never got sick, so I think it's o.k. At every kiosk it's possible to buy fruitjuice (imported from Hungary. The russian ice cream is very good !!!!!!
PEOPLE: Before I started of Russia. Everybody in Switzerland, Germany, Poland and the baltic states told me russians would be aggressiv and hot tempered people and that I would be lucky to survive Russia. Not at all. I had the impression, that they are very calm and sometimes even shy. I was invited to sleep at a private place a couple of times and often people just stopped on the road to talk or share some wodka and food. It was the people, who made me really enjoyed Russia.
LANGUAGE: Russians words are easy, the grammar not at all. So I just tried to learn the words and it worked o.k. In Irkutsk I was able to talk with russians about simple things. The cyryllic script is quite easy. Of course a phrasebook with cyryllic script is very helpful. Overall I met 7 people, who spoke english or french.
DANGERS: I didn't have any problems. But if you are dirty and sit on a bicycle you don't look very rich. Traveling by Mercedes would be another story. When I camped I was always hiding, and I never entered a city in the dark. When I wanted to pass through I never entered during the last 3 hours before sunset. Russian cities can be big and usually don't have any roadsigns, so it takes time to cycle through.
MONEY: 1 U$ = 4500 Rubel. During my stay stable, but prices going up. Credit cards are not very useful so far, but in big cities you can get cash, if you find the right bank. VISA card is the most widespread.
PRICES: Cheap compared to Europe, expensive compared to Asia: Bread 1000 R, Chocolate bars 4500 R, Ice cream 600 R, fruit juice 6000 R
BICYCLE PARTS: There are few bicycles in Russia. It's possible to buy good 28 inch tyres, usually in the sport section of the big departement stores in big cities. It's impossible to find innertubes with the presta valve !!!
28.2.98/chs - All pictures by Christoph Sauser
