I used a tourist visa, but rules were different in 2007. At the time it was possible to get a visa for up to one year and I entered in April and had a visa stamp through December. I believe after that it became limited to no more than 90 days.
]]>Tjanks
]]>http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%95%D0%B2%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Lalenkov
Wish you all the best 🙂
]]>Man i love reading your blog, interesting posts !…
]]>In the total scheme of things this latest visa deal sort of seems analagous to a person who has completed a 100 mile ultramarathon without falling down or getting a scratch, even after jumping through fallen trees, et al. Then upon driving up the the driveway and getting out of the car he takes one step and twists an ankle and falls down with injury right there in the driveway in front of the homestead.
To me it is quite a deal that you did not have more mishaps in Russia like this Chinese situation. I wish you well in this transition!
]]>Susan
]]>Ed and I loved the slide show! How did you find the time to do this! I can’t picture any cyclist riding on sooo many gravel roads and “eating” sooo much dust!! You’re looking a little thin in the last few pitures. Once again we noticed in the slide show that you managed to make it into a newspaper!! We just didn’t know what you were doing with your hands in the photo. We were surprised that you didn’t include a slide of your mosquito bites. Looks liek you’ve been having an excting adventure!! Hope things continue to go as well for you in China! Can’t wait to hear all your stories!! Keep on pedalling!!
Robin
There are several visa processing companies. I found three based on recommendations on the internet:
Shoestring Travel advertises that they process visas even on Sundays and holidays. Monday is a holiday. So, I went to the Shoestring travel offices. They flat out told me they could only do 30-day tourist visas for US citizens. I tried several different ways, but they suggest going to the China Resources Building of the Foreign office.
The second recommended travel agency: Japan Travel Agency Limited has a note that they do not handle US applicants. They are also closed on Sundays and holidays.
The third recommended travel agency: Forever Bright Travel Agency is also closed until Tuesday.
So, it looks like I will go to the China Resources building on Tuesday and plead my case for a 60-day duration on the visa.
Also to let one cat out of the bag, I’ve put up a temporary blog at china.bikerussia.com that describes my China adventures. I don’t know how much I’ll post to this from within China itself and in long run plan is for this to go away in favor of a site at .
]]>Language training. I had about 100 class hours of training in Fort Collins before I left and 60 class hours in St Petersburg. I definitely found those class hours in St Petersburg to be very useful. I also found it nice to have a “soft landing” in a Russian city and just be able to live in one place for three weeks as well as experience things such as the Victory Day. I would rate my language ability as somewhere between “survival” and “conversational”.
I think a trip like this can be done with less training (closer to “survival”, knowing only alphabet and phrase book items). However, I also think the more language you know, the richer the interactions you can have with Russians. Hence, mine was rich enough for some basic conversations about the road ahead, about our trip and basic interactions. At the same time, if I had better language, then I could do more complex interactions as well as better know what people thought about things. So I think it depends some what you want out of the trip.
Mickey flew back to Amsterdam on September 24th. She has a paper journal in Dutch and wasn’t planning to publish on the internet.
I’ve had fun exploring Vladivostok and just relaxing. I’ve read a few books including an intriguing one about the Cold War, seen a few DVD videos and created a slide show. Some very useful people I’ve found here include Discovery Travel Club, a travel group that has helped with everything from arranging a home stay to airport transportation and X-treme sports, a bicycle shop who has done a full service on the bike as well as boxed it up.
Otherwise, fun just to live in this port city and get a sense of the rhythm (e.g. yesterday was extra busy since Sapphire Princess cruise ship landed; today I talked with some US Navy sailors who are docked in the port – headquarters of the Russian Pacific fleet) the local places (e.g. Burger Cafe that seems to be visited by locals). Also getting ready for my flight to China.
]]>Is Mickey planning on publishing her own journal and will she be flying home or taking the train? Like most others, I will miss reading about your progress and that seems like one way to keep it going.
]]>Regarding the language barrier, did you find your 3 weeks Russian course in St Petersburg to be really useful? Do you think a 2 months course would have been more beneficial or did you have enough by the end of the 3 weeks?
I’m asking this because I’m planning a similar trip across Russia in 2008 and, like you did, I’ve had some Russian classes at home (about 60h) and am thinking about stopping in St Petersburg for one or two months to improve my very basic Russian.
I wish you many happy future travels!
Arnaud.
Harlan
]]>I am in Vladivostok for another week or so. Today I moved from a hotel to a home stay. During this week, I’m running various errands. For example, today I brought the bike to a bicycle shop and got things serviced.
At the end of the month, I’ll fly to Urumqi, China. From there, I’ll bicycle to Turpan, China and join Tour D’Afrique for 3600km of cycling to Beijing on their Silk Route ride. It is a little different type of trip, supported (some meals are provided, gear is carried) and with longer distances per day. I’m looking forward to cycling through China, though will need to make sure I can ride quick enough in shrinking daylight hours. My plan is to create a web page with text and photos of the China trip but not until after I return. This site remains Russia, rather than being reused for China.
After the Silk Route trip, my plan is to relax a little before returning to work in December. I haven’t yet figured out if that will be in Thailand or Colorado.
]]>What a feat !!!! Congratulations!!!!
]]>Best Regards,
Paul
Evan
]]>Ready to buy a car yet? Going to start 5 years of Spanish lessons?
]]>I have been following your progress for a few months and I hope to do a similar trip though Russia next year, your blog was fantastic to read. Thanks!
Arnaud.
]]>As far as doing this ride on recumbent trikes goes, the more populated European roads might be more difficult as there are few shoulders. However, on average most drivers are courteous. Cycling across the gravel, I’ve found that some of this gravel is more difficult than what I encountered on the Dalton Highway or other US & Canadian roads. Somehow maintenance in US/Canada involves putting down some oil, whereas here it is more a mixture of crushed stones and then sand. This leaves a curious mixture of too hard (lots of hard bumps) with a topping of too soft (graded soft gravel). So while I haven’t ridden it, if I were to recommend a Russian road to try on trikes, I would investigate the “road of bones” from Magadan and then around south to Vladivostok, more than I would our route.
]]>How many people ask you about your web site? Have you had a chance to check your logs for folks you have met along the way?
]]>