Vlad's Roads

As I was being driven today to an interview with English First, (international English school), it dawned on me, I need to make comment on Vlad's roads and the driving. Vladivostok is beautiful. Situated in hilly surrounds, Vlad is not your typical Soviet city design. With hills up to 200m in height, the city is made up of low rise wooden dwellings mix with Soviet style apartment blocks. They are scatted criss-cross across the hillsides and offer fantastic views of the port. However, the roads are atrocious! A mine field of pot holes, the roads here are infamous all over Russia. They are so bad that most residents will only by 4 wheel drives and when looking for a place to live will scrutinize the local streets. It is common to see cars stuck waiting for a tow, one wheel swallowed by the road. The locals joke about it but deep down I think they are a little peeved off. One local mentioned that Moscow keeps all the money. Another said that the government doesn't like pouring money into the ground. It is tough however, 6 months of the year it is impossible to work outside and most of the other time monsoonal rains are drenching the city. When does one have time to build anything! Driving on the other side of the road is one thing, but dogging thousands of pot holes, pedestrians and tiring to find a fixed lane in the sprawl that is Vlad's roads is another. My time will come as by the end of this week our car arrives. There is a 50/50 chance the steering wheel will be on the right side of the car. What hope dose a conservative Aussie driver, use to the overwhelming restrictions of back home, have!? By the way, I got the job.