Getting back from Kamchatka to the Russian mainland, I was in need of a way to reach back to Moscow in time to catch my flight out of the country. This happened to be a fairly cheap flight from Khabarovsk to Moscow. So, although I wasn't originally planning to visit Khabarovsk this time, I found myself boarded on that night train heading thither from Vladivostok. Early next … [Read more...]

It was gloomy, rainy daybreak I, finally, after five straight days and nights on the train, was setting foot in the city of Vladivostok for the first time. For some reason, the prospect of visiting this city was always deeply charming for my adventurous reveries; perhaps because I thought of it as the end of the world: the most distant place I could get to. My long-craved-for … [Read more...]

On my way east from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok, after Kazan and Ekaterinburg, my third stop was Novosibirsk. My main reason for stopping by was to head for a trekking trip to the Altai Mountains. Before and after this trip, however, I got to spend a few days in this city, too.So far throughout my life, upon hearing the word Novosibirsk, I would always imagine a cold, … [Read more...]