Russian Island

Once on the island the events on the ferry miraculous disappeared. In front of me was a natural wonderland. Quiet, unspoilt, with nature wildly growing in every direction, Russian island presented itself as a complete contrast to the hustle and bustle of Vladivostok. Being a port city Vlad has a rep of being a wild town where anything goes. It's population might only be around the 800 000 mark, however the city itself is constantly on the go and one could easily be mistaken that you are in a thriving metropolis.

Russian Island, a short 45min ferry ride away, is a little (amazingly) unspoilt oasis away from the port's lawless hysteria. Once a huge complex of forts, the island now is the residence of only a hand full of Russians, who commute back to the mainland everyday for work. I was rather taken back by the surroundings. Rolling hills and lush forests backing up to cliffs and coastline the island is pristine and void of litter!!! This last point alone highlights the fact that not to many day trippers make the journey across form Vlad.

We set off as a group up through the forest towards one of the forts. The trek was spectacular, ocean lapping the shore to our left and dense forest to our right, whilst a thick mist rolled in from the ocean. Fog and mist are a normal springtime phenomena here and coming form Brissy, I am still in awe whenever murkiness descends.

Once at the fort the view was almost apocalyptic. Stretching out in front of me, both the ocean and sky were indistinguishable. As I stood looking out over the ocean all that was in front of me was gray murkiness. It looked as if we had reached the end of the earth. Turning away from this eerie sight and looking back at the island I was met with another fascinating sight. Billowing gusts of mist were rolling in from the sea and enveloping the island like a blanket.

I was completely sold on the island. Such a natural gem. Perfect! Hold on a second. Nothing is perfect and my awe soon turned into horror as I discovered that the island is home to some mad killers! Not the weird outback, chain-saw wielding type but the almost microscopic insect type.

Ticks!! These guys are extremely venomous and can kill. The month of May is "tick time" just about all over Russia and Russian Island being the pristine natural paradise is home to a huge population of them. Well, there goes my retirement dreams. No way in the world is a little tick going to take me out!

Sea and sky. Where does one finish and one end.

Standing on one of the forts.

Topsy Turvy

Expect the unexpected! I guess it's all part of the appeal. Russian life is a rapidly evolving creature, where anything is possible. It really is an exciting place to be. Democracy is only 16 years old, in a country with a vast history and so change is the order of every day. The people here are fanatical about getting a head creating a “Wild West” attitude towards business where just about anything goes. Coming from the sanctity and reliability of Australia, this topsy turvy lifestyle is shocking, entertaining and has a raw originality that is rather addictive.
Life is moving and nothing is set in concrete.
The examples are endless. Yesterday’s weather was a sunny 18 degrees, today after an impenetrable fog descended over the city the mercury plummeted into the single digits. Visibility now is 10 meters at best. Tomorrow, who knows what will be ditched up?
Last weekend, as part of the schools extra curricular activities, a trip to Russian Island fort was organized. Or should I say disorganized! The event started normally enough, until it came time to board the ferry, when all mayhem broke out. Something went wrong with the purchasing of tickets and the result was a major scuffle where our guilds for the excursion were up-ended and thrown back onto the pier. It wasn’t only us; other passengers were being pushed back off the ship, with one gentleman being separated from his wife. It was like a scene from a war tragedy, the wife screaming for her husband, the husband fighting through the soldiers (ferry attendants) to be reunited.
What followed was pretty ugly; punches were exchanged as the man forced himself on board. The whole experience left me scratching my head and putting it all down to just another day in Russia.

Labour and Victory Day

Two weeks, two parades and yet another two jam packed weekends.

The 1st of May was huge. I never thought a Labour Day march could attract so much enthusiasm and fanfare. Actually, I never thought I would even go to one of these things let alone enjoy the whole process. Maybe that's because one Nicholas Unsworth-Smith donned the fluorescent orange "Primorskie Avto Dorogi" (Primorski Automobile Roads) safety vest and marched along side Vlad's proudest. That's right, I managed to utilise my amazing powers of espionage and slide my way into the workers' parade. Well it sounded like a cool story. In reality I just happened to know someone who hooked me up. Anyway, the experience was none the less exciting. Thousands of people lining the streets, placards, balloons, drums and the odd drunken marcher, made the march unforgettable. My position in the parade was right behind a group of these odd drunken marchers. It was hilarious, whilst assembling into position these proud old workers, from out of nowhere produced bottle after bottle of vodka. Now, we had to assemble a good hour and a half before the actual start and so it wasn't long before these guys were swaying in the wind. One bloke was completely legless, literally, and I bet Sasha that he wouldn't last 20 meters of the march. How wrong I was, for when the cue came to begin, somehow the guys actually moved with some sort of order. Sure they were a little wobbly but they marched and marched on! Huge respect, any mere mortal would have collapsed or needed his mate to prop him up. All I could put it down to was years of experience.

The next weekend after Labour Day was Den' Pobedy or Victory Day. What a holiday! I mean just the significance of this holiday is awe inspiring. The day commemorates the Soviet Union beating the fascists all the way back to Germany. 30 something million of these guys were sacrificed, a mind boggling figure considering our whole population is only 20 something. There were more Russian soldiers killed than that of the total allied forces combined. There are many phenomenal statistics that are just incomprehensible. During the Leningrad siege, for example, in the Winter months 11-12000 people were dieing, that's more than a Gallipoli everyday! So with such devastation why wouldn't you commemorate, celebrate, toast the night away to VICTORY!

The parade itself was huge and in Moscow rehearsals started 3 months ago. Unfortunately for me the overwhelming crowds meant a very limited view point. The fact that I arrived 2 and half hours beforehand to position myself was a completely futile gesture. So it is difficult for me to comment on what actually happened.

Following the parade however, a group of us traveled out to Jeff's dacha or country house for the night. Toast after toast for victory ensured the 0 degree temperature was not even an issue.

Victory Day in the country.

Khabarovsk

Chalk and cheese! The differences were so shockingly blatant I thought I had traveled to another country. As I've mentioned before Nastya has been on a business trip for the last two weeks in Khabarovsk. Life without moya golubka has been trying and so last weekend I decided to take the 12 hour train trip to K-town and see Nastya. The official capital of The Far East, I had heard varying reviews of the city and so wanted to check the place out for myself.

The two lords of the East are 1000 km away from each other, geographically quite close by Russian standards, however worlds apart when it comes to just about everything else.

The two sibling cities share a certain affinity with each other as they are stuck out here in the East, isolated for the rest of Russia. They are roughly about the same size and are both ports, Khabarovsk being a river port and Vlad a sea port. And that's where the similarities come to a screeching halt!

Cars actually stopped at pedestrian crossing! Streets were litter free! Buildings were actually maintained! K-town at first resembled an old Soviet city caught in a time warp. A far cry from the hustle and bustle of hectic Vlad. The main street Muravieva-Amurski is gorgeous and well worth strolling its length from Lenin Square to the mighty Amur River. I was enraptured, I'd fallen in love with K-towns quaint boulevard, I was converted , I want to move here.

Hang on did I say quaint, let me rephrase, bloody boring. All that cleanliness, that politeness and that maintenance of Khabarovsk was suddenly washed away as I reached Naberezhnaya, (the waterfront) and the mighty Amur. This was the place where everyone was supposed to hang out. Naberezhnya in Vlad is a people watches paradise, but here not a sole was seen. Don't get me wrong it had potential, beautiful location, view and plenty of benches to sit and down a brew. But I was the only one there! That's right in a city of nearly 1 million, I was the only cruiser in what should be cruiser's paradise.

Khabarovsk is beautiful, just a little slow and boring. Restaurant service was painstakingly slow and no one seems to mind if you have to wait 45 min for a slice of cheese cake.

The nightlife however was a different story. K-town local Alexei, whom I met on the train, took Nastya and I to one of the most amazing clubs I've ever seen. "Nebo" or "Sky" is a 3 story club with a glass roof and aeronautical decor. It is literally set in the sky. Very cool place and once again the boy to girl ratio was learning heavily to the feminine side.

Arriving in Khabarovsk.Yes, that is snow and there is only one more month until Summer!!!???

Beautiful Muravieva-Amurski Street.

Natya, me and Alexei relaxing "Nebo" style, sky high.

Haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

Two weeks and no blog entry. Yes, I have been a busy boy. Been here, there and everywhere. The longer I stay in Russia the more I hectic it seems to get.

Let's start with the 16th of April, my Birthday. Nastya was away on yet another business trip and so I was left alone to celebrate. Now here in Russia if it's your Birthday you are almost obliged to have some sort of shindig. No flying under the radder here, as someones Birthday is yet another excuse to crack open a bottle and party! Interestingly here is where the cultural difference comes in. If it's your Birthday you must do everything. Meaning, you must cater, pay and organise the whole celebration. No splitting up the bill at the restaurant, if it's your Birthday you pay for all the guests.

The same follows at work, where the tradition has been set that if it's your Birthday you must hold a party and therefore do all the catering. At EF, just about every week, a staff member has a party and out come all the goodies and grog. Each persons do tends to run the same course. The catering is rather predictable. The same old food platters with kolbasa, cheese, ogurets, fruit, cake and champagne are has regular as the buses around here. Something needed to be done to break this monotony.

Enter the Aussie twist to the compulsory Russian work Birthday party. On the 16th out came the snags, white bread, tomato sauce and beers. You ripper, it was a little bit of Australiana right here in Vladiviostok. Not too sure how it all went down, although everything that I provided was gobbled down in the blink of an eye.

Once the food was set then the toasting began.

Gorky Park

Haven't had a creative minute to spare in order to fill everyone in on the whirlwind of a week! To start with, last weekend was splendid. I got to meet rock legends "Gorky Park"! Well actually I ran the press conference for them. Now, many of you are probably scratching your heads and thinking, "who the"? Well let me tell you, the band were the first Russian rock group to hit the worldwide music scene. At the time of Glasnost and Perestroika they were the first to escape the shackles of communism and sign a record deal in the US. They hit the big time when Russian, American relations were thawing and the world wanted to find out what was behind the iron curtain. They had a couple of hits in the late 80s early 90s and then fell into obscurity. However, in Russia they live forever, pioneers of the international music scene.

"Bang Bang" and "Moscow Calling" were two of their hits and if I must say so, are bloody unreal!

If you're a fan of cheesy, late 80s Rock and love the likes of "Motley Crue", "Bon Jovi" and "Skid Row" then check out these spandex wearing, long haired louts on youtube: "Gorky Park!

Press Conference with "Gorky Park"

Following my brush with fame it was off the the footy. Little "Luch" (Vlad's soccer team) was once again up against one of the powerful Moscow teams in Saturn.

Luch Energia is the classical underdog. Just one player from Saturn's, Zenit's or another high profile, cash rich, club form the west, is worth the same as Luch's whole team. Not only are we up against far better paid players, but every fortnight the team must fly to Moscow, St Petes or somewhere near (10-12 hours) and fight jet lag, fanatical support and the arrogance of western Russia.

I love it! Sure our team has the odds stacked up against us, but we punch well above or weight. I've always supported the underdog, the little guy, the one who is not expected to win and Luch is just that little man. With so much against them you'd think winning is rare, and you're right. But when they win, especially against the pompous Moscow clubs, the win is like a grand final, very, very sweet.

Oh by the way, we drew nil all against Saturn and sit at 12th position on the Russian Premier League table. One place below last years champion Zenit (St Petersburg)! Raaahhhh! Fear the hicks from the east coast! Passion and pride conquers fame and fortune!

The three foreign stooges! Oz, US and England.

Davai Luch!!!

Shashliking.

Spring is finally here and this weekend the locals and myself took full advantage of the warm weather. OK, sure, 10 degrees is still bloody cold for all you Queenslanders, however, now that I am slowly acclimatising, 10 degrees felt absolutely perfect. Yesterday Nastya and I headed to Naberezhnaya. Forget Cavil Ave, Hastings St and James St, Naberezhnaya is where it's at! An endless parade of Vlad's finest, all checking each other out, as they walk the boardwalk. It really is quite the spectacle and beats Perver's Paradise (Surfers) hands down. Winter has only just finished and the girls here are chomping at the bit, to strut their stuff, in the most revealing outfit. Yesterday would have been 5 degrees, if that, and I saw more mini skirts on the boardwalk than you would at Cavil over a week. The Naberezhnaya experience involves donning your Sunday best, picking up a couple of roadies (stubbies) and then start to strut. Oh I nearly forgot, you can't go without purchasing the obligatory shaurma, or Russian kebab. We waited over half an hour for ours, but boy was it worth it.

The weather stayed pleasant through into today and so a group of us from EF headed to Sanatornaya for Shashliking. Now the great Aussie BBQ is dam hard to beat, however the Russian Sharshlik experience is on a par if not, dare I even think it, one higher. Unfortunately, back home with the fire restrictions you can't just rock up to the BBQ area and get a serious bon fire cranking. The sterile electronic BBQ hotplates found all over the place in Brisbane are safe and environmentally friendly but also detract from the whole open fire, great outdoor cooking process. Nothing beats the smell, the hypnotic flames, the whole primitive cooking on the open fire process, that Shashliking is.

Now what exactly is a Shashlik? Well it's basically a shish kebab. Chunks of meat skewered on to a long skewer and then cooked over hot coals. Vegetarians beware, this is a pure carnivore ritual. As a mater of fact, if you are a vegetarian you my as well come from Mars here in Russia. It's another one of those strange foreign customs like "political correctness" that is so far removed from Russian culture.

Today was great. Meat, beer, kavas, the beach and a roaring fire to ward off the chilly spring weather, what more could you want.

Nastya, shaurma in hand at Naberezhnaya.

Me, Nastya, Nastya form EF, Lena and Anton shashliking.