TransSib
Hello all,
Thank you for your messages. I apologize for not being able to put more stuff in here to read now. That and pictures will follow, I just do not know exactly when.
Anyway, I am still in Vladivostok. It is very hot here. I am staying at the clubhouse of the Iron Tigers. The clubhouse is actually just a room in the VladMoto motorcycle shop. All very nice guys. While waiting for train info to come through I have toured the city a bit with Doug. He left Tuesday. He took a ferry from Vladivostok to another Russian city near the North Korean border (I can't think of the name right now and I have no map with me). He called me yesterday when he was on board the ferry to South Korea. All was well.
Nice as it might be in Vladivostok, I want to get out of here. Things are finally happening. Doug was on the mail train from Chita to Vladivostok. He used the unofficial way and just offered the cart attendants some money to take him along. I should maybe try this, but then again there are a lot of buts and ifs. I think I will go with the official way: separate motorcycle and side-car; box them up and ship it to Novosibirsk on a seperate train. Max, the owner of VladMoto is helping me out with the shipping part. He ships out a lot of bikes so he knows what he is doing. If it is one thing I have not lacked so far in Russia it is help. Everybody offers to help and drop what they are holding to do so. Yesterday I got my temporary import paper for my motorcycle extended. What a hassle. The day before I went to the customs office in the train station. They then sent me on to the customs office at the docks. Finding the place was relatively easy. Finding the office was not, so I just started to ask anybody that I passed. In the end I was helped by a local cargo broker. He showed me whom I should talk to. The customs officer then informs me that he cannot help me unless I have my wishes indicated on paper and of course in Russian. Naturally I was unable to do that, so the cargo broker instructed one of his office employees to help me out and type the document. They provided this help free of charge of course and wished me well with my trip. It was already too late to get anything done at the customs office since they were getting ready to go home. Time flies when you are having fun. So the next morning I go back and present the papers to the first uniformed person I see. She takes copies of just about all official documents I have with me, fills in some more papers, passes the bundle on to another lady and she gives me a paper with Russian instructions on how to pay the required fee. She will not budge before I present here a receipt indicating the payment of the amount due. Although they have a bank located in the same building, specifically for the purpose of paying customs fees, I cannot go there and apparently have to make it to the centre of town again to pay the fee at a specific bank. I ask this guy that talked to me earlier (he speaks English) if he knows where the bank is downtown. He was waiting in line for something, but that suddenly is completely unimportant as he escorts me to the bank in the building were he inquires if it is really impossible to make the payment here: it is not possible. We then go to his car and we make our way downtown. We stop at another bank, go in, he passes everybody in line and asks if the payment can be made here: it can not. We get to the bank downtown and I can finally pay the incredible amount of 100 ruble + 10 ruble transaction fee !!!!! Why they do not accept cash at the customs office is incomprehensible. Anyway, I am handed two receipts and Alexander (the guy) and me go back to the customs office. I thank Alexander profusely, but he keeps saying that it is nothing and that I am a hero in Russia. He even gives me his telephone number just in case I have any more problems. I present the receipts to the lady and this apparently is the correct input as she proceeds to fill in more documents and input something in her computer. After triple checking all the previous steps the document I require is fed in the printer and out it comes with all required info. Then rubber stamps of all shapes and sizes are banged onto this fragile piece of paper, signatures are added and she hands it over to me. That's it. I'm glad I got this done, now I don't have to worry about this anymore.
So, about the train ... well, zavtra. More information tomorrow. All I know now is that I cannot travel together with my bike as the goods train only leaves Vladivostok when it is full. I will go as soon as possible, that may be tomorrow, maybe the day after. The train ride for me will take 5 days. My bike will take longer. I will probably go straight through to Kemerovo and pick up the bike later, once it is there. We will see. Shipping for my bike will be about 10000 rbls and my ticket about 2800 rbls. I would spend more riding back and it would take longer.
Regards to all,
Dom
Thank you for your messages. I apologize for not being able to put more stuff in here to read now. That and pictures will follow, I just do not know exactly when.
Anyway, I am still in Vladivostok. It is very hot here. I am staying at the clubhouse of the Iron Tigers. The clubhouse is actually just a room in the VladMoto motorcycle shop. All very nice guys. While waiting for train info to come through I have toured the city a bit with Doug. He left Tuesday. He took a ferry from Vladivostok to another Russian city near the North Korean border (I can't think of the name right now and I have no map with me). He called me yesterday when he was on board the ferry to South Korea. All was well.
Nice as it might be in Vladivostok, I want to get out of here. Things are finally happening. Doug was on the mail train from Chita to Vladivostok. He used the unofficial way and just offered the cart attendants some money to take him along. I should maybe try this, but then again there are a lot of buts and ifs. I think I will go with the official way: separate motorcycle and side-car; box them up and ship it to Novosibirsk on a seperate train. Max, the owner of VladMoto is helping me out with the shipping part. He ships out a lot of bikes so he knows what he is doing. If it is one thing I have not lacked so far in Russia it is help. Everybody offers to help and drop what they are holding to do so. Yesterday I got my temporary import paper for my motorcycle extended. What a hassle. The day before I went to the customs office in the train station. They then sent me on to the customs office at the docks. Finding the place was relatively easy. Finding the office was not, so I just started to ask anybody that I passed. In the end I was helped by a local cargo broker. He showed me whom I should talk to. The customs officer then informs me that he cannot help me unless I have my wishes indicated on paper and of course in Russian. Naturally I was unable to do that, so the cargo broker instructed one of his office employees to help me out and type the document. They provided this help free of charge of course and wished me well with my trip. It was already too late to get anything done at the customs office since they were getting ready to go home. Time flies when you are having fun. So the next morning I go back and present the papers to the first uniformed person I see. She takes copies of just about all official documents I have with me, fills in some more papers, passes the bundle on to another lady and she gives me a paper with Russian instructions on how to pay the required fee. She will not budge before I present here a receipt indicating the payment of the amount due. Although they have a bank located in the same building, specifically for the purpose of paying customs fees, I cannot go there and apparently have to make it to the centre of town again to pay the fee at a specific bank. I ask this guy that talked to me earlier (he speaks English) if he knows where the bank is downtown. He was waiting in line for something, but that suddenly is completely unimportant as he escorts me to the bank in the building were he inquires if it is really impossible to make the payment here: it is not possible. We then go to his car and we make our way downtown. We stop at another bank, go in, he passes everybody in line and asks if the payment can be made here: it can not. We get to the bank downtown and I can finally pay the incredible amount of 100 ruble + 10 ruble transaction fee !!!!! Why they do not accept cash at the customs office is incomprehensible. Anyway, I am handed two receipts and Alexander (the guy) and me go back to the customs office. I thank Alexander profusely, but he keeps saying that it is nothing and that I am a hero in Russia. He even gives me his telephone number just in case I have any more problems. I present the receipts to the lady and this apparently is the correct input as she proceeds to fill in more documents and input something in her computer. After triple checking all the previous steps the document I require is fed in the printer and out it comes with all required info. Then rubber stamps of all shapes and sizes are banged onto this fragile piece of paper, signatures are added and she hands it over to me. That's it. I'm glad I got this done, now I don't have to worry about this anymore.
So, about the train ... well, zavtra. More information tomorrow. All I know now is that I cannot travel together with my bike as the goods train only leaves Vladivostok when it is full. I will go as soon as possible, that may be tomorrow, maybe the day after. The train ride for me will take 5 days. My bike will take longer. I will probably go straight through to Kemerovo and pick up the bike later, once it is there. We will see. Shipping for my bike will be about 10000 rbls and my ticket about 2800 rbls. I would spend more riding back and it would take longer.
Regards to all,
Dom
posted by Anonymous | 8:34 am
1 Comments:
Dominik.
Congrats man. Knew you would make it. Guess you've the toughest time behind you now, enjoy the rest of your journey.
Rule.
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