October 25, 2004
Russia, and the longest border crossing in history!
The Russian border. So close, but so far away. It took us 12 hours (+) to enter the country.
Photo by Nancy Olson
| Logbook for Oct. 25th, Day 360 | ||
|
Start: Semey, Kazakhstan Time: 10:20 a.m. N: 50* 24.906 E: 080*15.598 |
Finish: Rubtsovsk, Russia Time: 1:45 a.m. N: 51* 31.140 E: 081*12.777 | Mileage: 93 |
| Notes: Ivan earned his stripes today; we all did. We had a slow fuel-up in Semey before hitting the road. The spare tire is breaking off of D3, so we strapped it to the roof. We arrived at the Kaz/Russia border at about 12:30, and then we spent the rest of the day and much of the night trying to cross it. Russia wouldn't accept our carnet/registration/etc. At 4:45 p.m., they DID accept a hefty bribe...It took forever to get out of there, and it is a very long story. They were going to make us travel several hours to another border. Anyway, we finally left the Russia border after heavy expenditures of our precious cash, at about 11:00 p.m. We hadn't eaten or used the bathroom all day, so we immediately stopped at a local restaurant for chow and relief. Dinner was pleasant, with live Russian music, and Ivan did a good job helping us order. Dinner was followed by the longest hotel search in our history, and we finally hit the rack at about 2:30 a.m. Oh, and the hotel charges foreigners DOUBLE! So far, this country is testing our resolve at every corner. We're standing fast. (N.O.) | ||
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