Port Vladivostok Russia!

Welcome to Port Vladivostok!!

The bikes FINALLY get released from Customs after a completely full day (9 - 5!!) of going from office to office, paperwork after paperwork... fees after fees..  but we have been officially released!

No wonder the girls are grumpy, look at the work load on her desk!!














Walter organizes a guy from the local motorcycle club here, the Iron Angels, to meet us and he leads us back to his club where my bike needs a good service and new tires for the road ahead.

What's that girl riding??  Ohh.. Ka Te EMmma
I think it's that Safari tank that throws people off initially.. ;-)

Also at the club are they guys from Khazakstan,  the Steppe Riders, whom have just come in for a service from their journey.  Will my bike be looking like that soon??   And what's with all the dead hanging fish?

Very busy club.. it's late, so we leave the bikes there and head back into town.

We found cheaper accommodation the day before and moved in.. this wonderful Russian woman, Ira.. is very welcoming!  She rents out her rooms, in this big ol' concrete building that would be the safest place in the world if there is an invasion!

Check out front door(s)!  Double steel doors.. and what's with the padding?  Is it there in case you are behind it when the enemy blasts through with dyno-mite?

The entry door to the building is steel as well.. no signage to mark the entrance, and a passcode you need to enter and wait for somebody to buzz you in..

Good news is, I feel safe here!!  I might pull my funds out of my bank and store them here as well!

Here is lovely Ira..  and her very tiny kitchen.. where she offers us a welcome tea and homemade little pastry things with potatoes and mushrooms inside..

It's all about the tiger here in Vladivostok.. Ira proudly displays hers on the wall..

I also noticed these calendars on the wall at the Customs office.

They do love their tigers, and I do too!!..

Not much sleep the first night at Ira's.. So many people out side the door talking, t.v., etc, all through the night!

2nd night, a bit of the same, and when I walk out in the morning, they are all gone!  I ask Walter, why they come in during the night and leave so early.. He says that Ira also rents rooms by the hour.. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!  I am in another LOVE HOTEL and didn't even know it - again!!!  Took me 2 days to work that out this time.. gee whiz I am slow..






Accommodation in Vlad is very expensive... sounds to be the case all through Russia.  We are here for several days and must conserve funds.. but I can't help but to laugh that I have managed to stay in a Love Hotel in every country so far, Japan, Korea and now Russia..  Big business, I'm tellin' ya!

Sokcho South Korea

And on top of that.. a Welcoming Committee!!
(photo is not on actual arrival.. but wish I had got one.. Both these English ladies had on their Australia shirts - they have great taste!)

And after several days on my own, it was great to have someone to speak "English" with..

Anyway, these amazing adventurers (Sheonagh Ravensdale and Pat Thomson) contacted me by email yesterday in Samcheok.  I had sort of heard about them being in Korea and they about me, and through a contact in Japan, they got my email address.

And so glad they did!

I had first seen them months ago on my Horizon's Unlimited prep DVD's, clearly remember Sheonagh admitting on tape to sneaking in more pairs of underwear to her pack than she was meant to take... ! (If she can do it, I can do it!!)

Sorry, I'm waffling on... I must divert you back quickly to my time in Samcheok.. if I don't do it now, I will forget - and I don't want to cut a whole chunk out of my Korea blog. You would miss a lot with how small this country is.!

Korea is very mountainous, and I had some beautiful riding around this area in particular.

Stopped off a Asia's largest cave, Hwanseongul Cave.

Absolutely gorgeous and mammoth (reminding me of Mammoth Cave in Tennessee USA).. the Koreans sure know how to light it up!  It could pass for Hwanseongul Night Club!

And the quirky names included:

This is the Valley of Desire  

A rather odd experience in cave adventures, but I'm always up for trying something new!  I do have a rather cocky comment to make.. with the mass amount of Love Hotels in this country, not joking, they rival the amount of restaurants here.. AND with the mass amount of population in such a small space: 48,607,000.. and here is what Wikipedia says: South Koreans have had to learn to live peacefully with each other in small, crowded spaces, in which the competition for limited resources, including space itself, is intense. Continued population growth means that the shortage of space for living and working will grow more severe. 

My cocky comment is that I'm not surprised about the population problem!  The Hotels, the Valley of Desires, and this!

Where you go to proclaim your love for one another on the beach..

(I actually quite like this one.. well all of them really)... I'm just sayin'..

Now, back to Pat and Sheonagh.. once I got their email we worked out I was only about 100 km away in Samcheok, and they were staying at the same Hostel I reserved for on the 12th.. since they were leaving, I came here a day early.

Rode through pouring pouring rain the whole way.. but it was well worth it!  These 2 have traveled all over the world, and many times on motorcycle, and they had such great stories and advice to share.. I was soaking it up!  And off to dinner we went.. (yes, I ate the Korean food, and it was a delicious bbq meal!)

Next morning, it is time for them to pack up.

This is actually really great for me, because so far, even though I have had loads of great advice from many other bikers,  I have never actually been around any other motorbike world travelers currently living on the road.  And to watch and learn is huge for me!  Checking the tires, oil, packing up.. the whole bit I've been doing, but honestly just winging it..

We say our goodbyes and Sheonagh shares one last tip... "Make sure if you fall over, that you get a photo before you pick it up.. people love those photos!"

I am such a slow learner...!!!!!

Shortly after, Sheonagh gets on her bike, and falls right over!  I put my camera down and run over to help pick her up and she's shouting right out... "Get a photo!  Get a photo!"  Of coarse!  What was I thinking!

All good, a soft cushion of bushes to catch her.. and after that I won't forget again!  Such good teachers they are!!

And off they went..

Thank YOU!!  Hope to see you again!!

South Korea begins..

Sort of uneventful blog today.. but those will happen from time to time.. so I will keep this one a bit short.

After studying my Lonely Planet book a bit, I left Busan for Gyeongju.  Had a bit of a rough time getting there.. it was really hot, and not sure if it was the food, or adjusting to a new country, but sitting through the normal overcrowded city traffic for around 3 hours again, I nearly fainted a couple times.

Wearing my riding suit, plus gloves, plus helmet in humid heat combined with lots of truck and car fumes was doing me in..  I felt the tingling in my head and then I got cold and a bit dizzy.  It was not the sort of traffic or roads (10 lanes total) that you can pull over quickly.. so I toughed it out and made sure no passing out in a new country!

It was a relief to find Gyeongju and I didn't think much but to go to a hotel recommended in the LP book.

Once settled, and after not eating all day, I set out to find a meal...

This is what I found!

I can get some potatoes or a dress.. hmm, maybe go for the dress? Nah.. potatoes are better..

Or try some dead little dried fish..?

I went past restaurant after restaurant, and what really helps is they put a photo in the window of every meal they make.. Problem was, there was no way I was going to eat anything I saw in the photo..

I gave up and scuffled around the convenience store, I took home a cheapie.. Ramen noodles.

Made it in my room, and it was yuk as well... give up!

This is a small country and I have plenty of time to get to Sokcho, so I opt to stay another day to try to get used to where I am..

I decided the Museum I passed on the way in will help me get to know the country and the people - even the food.

I love this never ending question:  What came first the chicken or the egg?

Another common phrase I hear in Australia all the time is:  "bits and pieces"

I found the origin!  (Note: bottom right hand corner)

That's the bit and these are the pieces!

I saw lots of arrowheads and burial mounds.. so much in common with Native American Indian!

Okay I get it.. the Kings and Queens and Emperors... I'm glad I went to the Museum.

Now another attempt at finding a food.. this is starting to concern me!

I wandered around the city, and I found a McDonalds.  Honestly!  Nothing in there looked any good either, not that it normally does.. but they serve Shrimp Burgers!! Super yuk!

I got a kick out of their delivery mobiles though.  Won/Juan/John from the ferry told me about this.  McDonald's doesn't do so well in this country so to try to keep business up, they offer free delivery..

I finally got lucky... I found a Pizza Hut.. I know, I know, I am in South Korea, and should not be attennding such a place.. but I really just wanted vegetables.. a salad to be precise.  And this pizza hut had a salad bar.. Perfect!  I can eat!!

Plus, it was my birthday, and a fun meal of pizza and salad worked for me..!

On my way home I stopped into a bakery, and noticed they had birthday cakes.. If I could choose any cake in the shop, this is the one I would pick.

Instead of eating it, I took a photo of it... my body thanks me.. ;-)

Sayonara Japan!

Sayonara Japan, An nyung ha se yo Korea!

Only been in Korea 2 days, but already missing Japan greatly!

I had a wonderful time in Japan, and hope to return some day.. but for now, we must move on..

The ferry over to Korea was quite a process. Not ever really sure I could go actually!  I had done the best I could to book myself from my computer in Adelaide before I left, and was told you can not book a motorcycle, unless you call a week in advance.

Then once I was here, I was told  I CAN NOT take the ferry unless I have a Japanese registered motorcycle!  Hmmm.

Was also told another couple from Australia had tried to use the ferry a couple years ago and failed..  Hmmm Hmmm

Not one to give up easily, I had another English speaking helper call from Hiroshima.  She was able to work out I can take my motorcycle after viewing and faxing all my documents.  However, they will only book a round trip ticket.  (I had heard this before on the forums for other ferry's, so this did not surprise me).  This is super expensive however!  Nearly $750 AUD!!  But what can ya do?

So I paid, and was very happy that I get to continue my next leg of the trip!

I would say while I was at the Camellia Lines office, there were not less than 4 people working on my case at all times.  They were back and forth and back and forth.. One of the gentelmen officials was quite boisterous about it, and I knew that if I could not board, it would be because of him.

Then the main Boss man (I call him), comes up to me and says, "I am sorry, you can not go to Korea, they do not participate in Carnet program, but Japan does.. but I call them for you.."  Hmmm!  again

So I continue waiting.. he comes back to me and says, "Where do you go after Korea?"  I said,  "I return here.. he says "Hai" but where to you go after here?" I say "Russia"..  He says, "You want to go from Korea to Russia?"  I said "Yes, but your rules say I must return to Japan first" (there is a direct ferry to Russia from another prefecture, but I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to explore Korea).

Next, he says, "You can go to Russia from Korea, we will refund your return ticket.."  Gee whiz, I had 4  other people try to accomplish that for me including myself!  One thing I wasn't going to do was mess around with the rules, even though I had no intention of returning on that ticket...

Yay!! Hallelujah!!  Good good man, I love this man!!!  Here he is

He spent the entire morning with me, organizing everything.  And each time we went to the next step, I was always surprised.  One step closer to approval for Korea!

He had me load my bike on the ship.. ok, I can officially be relieved now..

That was scary riding it up the ramp.. but I did it!

Good good good..  next step go back to the terminal and go through proper immigration and re-board the ship.

Whew!  Good day..  I love ferry's and really looking forward to this!

Thank you to all the good people at Camellia Lines.. especially Boss man.. ! He saved me nearly $350 and he didn't really have to do that, I had already paid.

Goodbye Japan....

So!  Here is my room!

Shared with many others of coarse.  But that's okay.. The ferry was 12:30 to 18:00.  That is nothing, and I don't intend to sleep through it!

I was surprised that so many do though.

I was up on deck most of the time, mainly because it was sunny!  Hallelujah #2!  A nice break from the rain..

What a fun and successful day..