Overnight stops (in date order): 25km NW of Tashanta (near Mongolian border); near Kosh-Agach; North of Biysk; 20km west of Novosibirsk; 70km west of Novosibirsk; 100km east of Omsk; 230km north-west of Omsk; 50km east of Tyumen; Yekaterinburg (x4); 100km east of Kungur; 40km north of Perm; 150km east of Kirov; 160km west of Kirov; 40km east of Kostroma; 40km east of Yaroslavl; 30km north-east of Uglich; 80km east of Vyshny Volochyok; 20km east of Veliky Novgorod; Veliky Novgorod (x2); St Petersburg (x5)br />
Tsagaannuur, the last Mongolian town before the Russian border, is a miserable place surrounded by a rusting double fence topped with barbed wire (it looks as if it had been a military camp at one time). Its only notable feature is a small mosque;
the only one that we had seen in Mongolia.
Usually we arrive at Borders in the morning when we are fresh and have the time and patience to deal with the officials and the paperwork. On this occasion, because Tsagaanuur was such a depressing place, we drove to the border with the intention of camping at the gates – the border closes at 6p.m. We arrived at about 4.45 and were surprised to be rushed through by the Mongolian border guards and told to hurry to the Russian side (which was about 20km away). The Russians clearly wanted to pack up for the night and, to our amazement, by 6.30 the gates to Russia were opened for us.
The euphoria did not last long. We camped in grassland off the road 40km from the border and next morning I had to change a wheel because the tyre valve had been damaged when we had become stuck in a ford on our last day in Mongolia. Back on the road, our first task was to find water (our tank carries about 200 litres). In the first settlement we came to a friendly policeman wearing a big hat (we thought it best not to photograph him) led us to the village supply (a water pump in a log-building).
For its first 300km or so, the road north-west from the Mongolian border runs through the mountainous Altai region; following the valley of the Chuya River for most of the way.
As we drove through this part of western Siberia we simply pulled off the road at night to camp.
Although the countryside was green, and often in flower
with crops in the fields,
the mosquitos and other biting insects stopped us from sitting outside to soak up the ambience (ie. smoke a cigar and drink a whiskey – that’s Paul not Danielle).
At Novosibirsk we had the tyre fixed and Vladimir, the Daf dealer (on the right),
sorted out a problem with the clutch; charging us a nominal 100 Roubles (£2) for the work.
West from Novosibirsk, we were on the trans-Siberian Highway and very much in the company of the trucks that traverse Russia.
For much of its route the highway follows the railway.
Stopping to take the picture above nearly ended our journey. What we thought was a hard shoulder was soft, wet clay and, instead of stopping, the truck slid gently down the embankment between the highway and the railway tracks (luckily, because most of the weight in the vehicle is carried low down, we did not roll over).
To complete our fortnight of disasters followed by miracles, a passing tractor stopped to haul us back onto the road.
Twenty days, and more than 4,000km after leaving Ulaanbataar we stopped in Yekaterinburg for four welcome nights in a hotel. The city is infamous as the place where the Bolsheviks murdered Csar Nicholas II and his family in 1918. Although the house in whose cellar the Romanovs were shot was pulled down in the 1970s, on the orders of Boris Yeltsin who was a leading local politician at that time, after the fall of Communism a huge church (the ‘Cathedral of the Blood’) has been built on the site to commemorate the event.
and the Romanovs have become martyrs and saints.
Yekaterinburg, which was founded in 1723 part of Peter the Great’s push east, is a pleasant and stately town
with its full share of restaurants,
cafes, bars and shops – though some of the latter could perhaps do with some guidance on branding!
20km east of Yekaterinburg we officially left Asia and arrived back in Europe
but still felt some way from home.
At Kungur we visited an ‘ice cave’ with its ice crystal formations and ice stalactites,
We found some great places to camp
on the 2,500km slog towards St Petersburg and made stops at some of Russia’s oldest towns on the stretch of the road that follows the Volga River.
Kostroma is famous for the Monastery of St Ipaty
and museum collection of old wooden buildings
(though we saw many to compare in situ and still in use in the villages we passed through).
At Yaroslavl
we visited more monasteries and churches
and by the time we had stopped at Uglich
and Veliky Novgorod (credited as being the birthplace of the Russian nation in the ninth Century)
we had had our fill of frescoes,
icons
and onion domes
– at least until we reach St Petersburg.
We spent an evening at the opera (Don Giovanni at the Mariinsky Theatre).
The performance was part of ‘White Nights’ festival – so called because, being so far north, it remains light deep into the night
(the time on the clock at the theatre after the performance is p.m. and we took the photos that follow even later as we walked home).
To top up on culture we spent two long days at the State Hermitage Museum, the extraordinary and over-the-top palace
with its enormous and eclectic collection of art and decorative objects;
including ‘The Dance’ by Matisse;
which we recognised from our hotel.
We ended our time in St. Petersburg at the Peter and Paul Fortress
in whose church
are buried Peter the Great
and the other Romanovs; including Czar Nicholas II and members of his family killed in 1918 whose remains were located in Yekaterinburg and reinterred in the church.
Responses
Simon Mcilroy says: What can one say? A few character building challenges in the last fortnight! At least you are safe and one presumes that once you are west of the Urals conditions may improve. Good luck. You will soon come across a Little Chef for a good fry up.
Paul Faithfull says: Call that hard going? You should try the 0632 Metropolitan Line train from Uxbridge changing onto the Jubilee at Finchley Road for Canary Wharf. I only just managed to get a seat today, although having a free pass now that I’m 60 eases the pain…Not far to go now, so stay safe and keep off the vodka xx
Andrée says: I am so impressed to see the pictures of the truck!!! I am happy to know that you made it.
kalbsgrind says: Hello adventurers. We’re happy you made it out of this mud…
We’re in Khovd, slowly approaching the border to Russia. If all works fine (i.e. not too many rivers with too much water and not too many closed roads due to diseases (right now parts of western Mongolia are closed because of plague and foot and mouth)) we will leave Mongolia in about a week. Have a safe trip home and enjoy the rest of your trip. We’ll certainly have an eye on you on your blog. And if you ever are looking for somebody to accompany you through China again, let us know. We enjoyed travelling with you very much. Sandra & Christian
Simon Mcilroy says: It seems that you have more or less reached civilisation (as ‘understood’ by most westerners, I suppose) St Petersburg is a place I would like to visit one day. I was trying to work out which way you were planning to return home. I thought you were going to drive through Finland and Scandinavia. However, your account and photos of your adventure have been brilliant and I am looking forward to some great photos of the stretch between Dover and Orpington
Paul Larsmon says: Nice to see you’ve made St P safe and well. Take care over the last leg(s). This may be the first time I’ve actually managed to leave a comment!
Andrée says: Je voudrais bien aller visiter cet endroit. Comme toujours, les photos sont magnifiques!