Joomla Login LightBox powered by WowJoomla.com

Day 12 - More good Russia

Following on from yesterday's blog...

We woke up in our favourite environment - in a bed, and an air conditioned room. We got about 8 hours sleep, which was our new rally record. After the slog of the past couple of days, we were beginning to enjoy it again. We had a good touristy day yesterday, visiting the might of Mother Russia and war monuments, and it had eventually culminating in finding a hotel. Mackey and I shared a room, and Will had the luxury of his own. For some reason, everywhere only has a twin and a single, so we have an unspoken game of "who pays, gets the single". Last night, Will and I had both fought to pay for the hotel, no matter what it had cost. As i'd won the last game, it was only fair to let Will have the opulence of the single room.

We headed down for breakfast, expecting the same random breakfast as we've had throughout most of Europe and Russia, and we were right. Sausage (but not the type we love in the UK, more tinned hot dog style), strange ham, potatoes, vegetables etc.. Will and I grabbed some more regular breakfast type goods (such as cereal or pancakes), whereas Mackey went all out again, living the Russian dream. I commend him for this. 

We packed our stuff, and headed out to the carpark, where a few other rally teams had parked their ambulances either side of the Saxo, dwarfing it in comparison. Perhaps if we ever do the Mongol Rally again (I can hear our bosses collectively shaking their head) we'd take an ambulance - so much space inside, teams just sleep in them, as well as the luxury of standing room. And cupboard space. And… and… I must stop, else i'll get rally envy. We love you, Pete the Saxo.

We chatted with a couple New Zealand/Irish teams, including one who bragged about his fridge in the back of his ambulance. We don't like him any more. All were going a similar way to us, especially for the first few days - we'd always guessed we'd find more teams as we approached the Russian/Kazakh border, as there are only a couple of roads to use, rather than the millions of route combinations through Europe.

Our target today was Astrakhan - the last city on the way to Borat Land, apparently renowned for it's oil wealth and the redevelopment of the city. As we were back onto a semi-tight schedule, Mackey offered to drive to the city. About a 6 hour drive at Mackey's speeds - Will and I could only legally drive at 43mph in Russia. Due to not having our licenses for less than 2 years, we were limited to a paltry 70kph, even on the open motorways. This felt ridiculous, being overtaken by more Ladas in 10 minutes that you'd see in the UK and Europe your entire life.

Onwards we pushed, towards Astrakhan. Our map reading skills are improving all the time - whoever is stationed in the front has the responsibility of giving the driver directions, usually in plenty of time but there have been one or two "Four Weddings and a Funeral" moments (mini on the motorway).

On the route, we met up with Team Mongolia Is Our Everest, three lads from Swindon driving a silver Dihatsu Terios. As with the Mongol Rally camaraderie that is beautiful to see, they began to convoy with us and off we headed together. 
It was quite an uneventful drive - no police stops, although plenty of police check points. In Russia, there are millions of police. Literally, more police than you've ever seen. And at rather sneaky points along motorways and busy roads, they have watch towers,; big circular towers of imposing concrete, something more suited to the bygone days of the Wild West rather than the modern day. We'd spot them in advance, sometimes aided by the flash of headlights from the oncoming traffic - something that doesn't really happen in the UK, motorists warning each other of police, but saved our bacon countless times.

The scenery from the car was much of the same, flat land of enormous proportions as far as the eye could see. Scattered trees, numbering in the dozens rather than the thousands, broke the monotony of the landscape. The road surfaces were relatively very good - Russia obviously has the money to ensure that at least the main roads were somewhat pothole free. 

It's a strange place, old Russia. We'd pass countless towns and villages, each looking like they should be in a third world country  - shacks and huts, made from scrap wood and looking as if the first storm would wipe any sign of them away, were the only signs of life between the sprawling larger cities (such as hell hole Rostov and awesome Volgograd). How they became a superpower though is very clear - driving for an hour, we saw dozens of huge army trucks, adapted for different needs - troop carriers, ground to air missile launchers, logistical support etc. We all agreed we'd seen more of a military presence in 1 hour, than our entire lives on UK roads. Crazy stuff.

As we approached Astrakhan, we were shocked. Stereotypical Soviet industry, rusting after being long abandoned, began to rise from the horizon. Was this the city that had found new money? Were the stories of it being clean that far from the truth? Industrial smoke billowed from the few factories still able to continue their work, and the housing areas looked as distraught as ever. We were a bit worried. Luckily though (well, lucky for us rather than the residents), we drove through and spotted a sign hinting that our target was just that little bit further.

Scilly Mission and Team Mongolia Is Our Everest (TMIOE from here on)took turns in leading the 2 car convoy, trying to find a hotel. The maps we had, the Lonely Planet we had, both seemed to be out of date. The cheap, no frills hotel we originally searched for seems to have disappeared. We did, however, find a very upmarket establishment, where single rooms were £90. Which, if you've stayed at a good UK hotel (like the Island Hotel, New Inn or Hell Bay for example. Tresco are getting their money's worth from this sponsorship!) isn't a bad price. For us however, hotels being a every few night treat as we simply cannot afford them for a month. Their air conditioning and shower might actually save us from killing each other, and all those around us (just like the Rostov population) so we asked the receptionist if she could advise where we could find a slightly more affordable option.

She pointed down river - a huge Soviet block of flats style building, albeit right on the edge of the river Volga. It turns out they had rooms - not overly cheap, but how much is a life really worth? We checked in, along with our convoying buddies, and before long were joined by 3 or 4 other teams arriving late in the evening. As it turns out, the rooms weren't tooooo bad. Completely overshadowed by the foyer and reception area though, stunningly clean and modern, which must have cost as much as the 100 or something rooms put together. 

It had air con, it had a shower in a wet room. We were very happy once again.

Ourselves, TMIOE and the Penegade Pencils, a team hailing from New York and driving an ambulance, all got together for some evening beers and food. Once again, menu roulette was about to be played, until I spotted some pictures of pizzas. 6 of them, 20 odd Bavarian beers and we we all swapped stories of heartbreak and joy, trials and tribulations, all while sat 50 meters away from the perfectly serene river.

The hotel had wifi, hence the large number of blog updates that were forced upon you at once. Wifi is becoming more and more of a luxury now, something we're having to spend an hour or two to find every other day. Fear not though, we shall endeavour to regale you on a semi regular basis!

Russia has got much better. We like Russia. Although, tomorrow, possibly the next day; Kazakhstan!