Crossing the border into Russia on 15th June 2009

It took us an hour to get out of Ukraine as there seemed to be a problem with Tom's paperwork. At first I thought it was because I had drawn a beard, moustache and glasses on his passport photo but it turned out to be the misinterpretation between numbers and letters of his bike's registration - a simple misunderstanding between letter O and zero. Finally we reached the Russian section of the crossing and spent another hour getting the red tape sorted out. Much to our relief, this process was somewhat trouble-free, so we eventually set off into Russia heading for the nearest cafe. Tom told you about our experience there in his submission below but what he didn't say was that the cafe should have qualified for our Kamikaze Competition. The flusher in the toilet didn't work and the person who had visited the loo before us had failed to grasp the concept of 'flushing' the toilet utilising the bucket of water and ladle supplied by the proprietor. I only hope it wasn't the one and only soup ladle in the premises!!

A couple of miles down the road and we got stopped by the Russian Police at a checkpoint. All 5' 2" of him had us trembling at the knees. The height of the bikes obviously intimidated him into waving us through without much trouble, so that was it, we'd finally made it into Russia. So far it has been an enjoyable experience. The Russian people are warm and friendly - don't be fooled by the initial stony face, that soon disappears (well, usually does!) once we engage with them.

Picture 1 - A couple of kids appreciated a shot of the GS before offering us a fag. Almost everyone smokes here.

Picture 2 - Life on the road can be very stressful at times!!!