Hi Joe... Me and Mark (Bushman) stayed at the Panama last year - good hotel in comparison to some others in Siberia ! We also ate at the Chinese restaurant but somehow we missed the titty bar !!

Martin

In Omsk...Turist Hotel...
Checked in 5 min after midnight... so reception let me stay two nights for one. Nice town.. On the river bank.. Found a great biker bar.. Bob... threw me a party with few of his biker friends ,, smooth vodka,, left a signed hundred dollar bill, in his club picture frame.
Next day had a nice leisure swim on the river ,, great food and restaurants every where,, very European small village atmosphere ,, friendly and cosmopolitan town. Went to a local banya ,, great body rub and cold vodka after wards.
My second favourite city in Russia after Vladivostok.

In Ekartrinberg ,, ride from hell ,, worst 620 KM ,, worse than frigging Siberia ,,
Only reason I am here ,, for the Harley dealer for tire change ,, and service.
To put a mark on Tyumin ,, the beginning of Siberia ,,
Ugly town ,, ugly axx holes throwing garbage out the car windows in down town ,,
Staying at the hotel Onegin ,,

Next is Samara ,, I see why every one liked Siberia better ,, they had Ochin Dobre.
This is a mafia town as every one knows,,, and Tartar women looks like Filipinos !

Spent a day exploring the city.
Ran in to two Norwegians following Walter snd Tony's Magadan..at the Harley dealer..I have told him to look for two Poles..who went two weeks before...Harley dealer bought lunch..got charged 600 bucks...then tried to sell me a T shirt for 150 bucks after sales kid told me it was free. Mechs workef two times slower than US..three times than Korea or Japan, cigarette breaks ,, labour 9200 pyo ,, one rubber tie down,, air filter, two liters of oil ,, one nut 11,000 pyo with 5% discount.
And they fed up my windshield I said either polish or cut the top if not able to.. They did both.... American appetite..Some where Mexico and Pakistan mind set..avoid this Harley dealer. I was the only job for the day ..Go to Yamaha. Yamalube better than Harley oil if Mobil 1 gold cap not avaliable... thicker ,, lasts longer. Also just to top off a little ,, diesel is the best for Harley engine.

In Ufa...
Frigging bridge construction..putting all the traffic two hours back. I did cross the once in a life time Urals.. Met a most beautiful Armenian family, who runs motel at the very top.
Was caught in a thunder shower with frightening lightening all around ,, used the bike cover as a poncho for two hours off the road ,,
Also mind f ing blowing... I pay usd 150 for 3star hotels. Shit motels want 3200 pyo.. Gee.
Ufa looks..feels very greasy..

In Samara.. Another long day..left Ufa at 9AM Samara at 6PM... 36-38 celsus heat. Wrapping wet towels and swallowing salts at cafes. 50-50 bad and good road. Mariott with manicure helps. Tomorrow to Engels...hope less traffic than M5.

Still in Samara.. Met some wonderful people... I've came to an opinion that Russians in general are great people...ochin dobre. When I return..I will do every thing possible to promote friendship between Korea and Russia.
Three days of R&R here... took out all the road stress and kinks. Russia moved up to 8 out of 10 now.

Gee ,, so far Mogocha news paper ,, Omsk TV ,, Samara TV ,, today's interview was for two long hours ,, gee ,, for 10 minute spot ,,
Pushing Sam Sung ,, LG ,, Hyundai and Kia ,,
Tomorrow 4 am start for Volgograd ,,

Hey Joe,

your are doing a reverse of what I just did !!

I am now in Vlad, looking at my options.

I would like to sell my bike here and head towards Australia, if that is too difficult I will head to South Korea and meet up with you for storage and carry on to Australia.

I had a fantastic time getting here but some of the road conditions were soul destroying !!! and bumpy !!

Enjoy Volgograd and say hi to Mamma Russia :-)

Cheers
Geordie aka Will

Ya ,, new asphalt nice road blah blah is all BS ,, this road we traveled,, with non seat belt wearing Russians,, is far more worse than any other road I've ridden. Like the mysterious Russian mind ,,, nice then a f ing chin or lip that can send you off couple hundred feet in the air. Nice road with machine gun da da da da da da da da da da da da da bumps ..
New asphalt turns into an oil slick after 12PM hot sun,,,did you notice so many Russian cars with broken windshields ,,

Call Iron Angels, Vladivostok ,, our Korean HUBB counter part ,,,
+7 (8) 964 436 66 59 ,, We did charity work together. You can also stay at the club house for free.
Also ,, you could pack it over to Korea by DBS ferry ,, contact any Korean HUBBer mentioned under Riding Pointers in Korea thread, for selling in Korea. They will advertise it for you at our site.
It will be easier to ship to Australia, from Korea as a household personal item LCL basis ,, as you know huge Korean community in Sydney ,, they ship their households,, ramens ,, Sam Sung appliances etc. Ask Wendy Choi about this.
Around 1,000 dollar for this. I am shipping back my Harley from Milano to Korea, for 850 euros ,, by a Korean forwarder.

I will be in Sydney on 14TH of August for a wedding of my favourite cousin.
Will also play few rounds of golf.

Arrived Volgograd late last night ,,
Gregory friend of an Omsk biker ,, heard I was in ,, he ran over ,, dragged me out with other biker friends Night Hawks. Went for a drink ,, he wanted me to do a Karaoke ,, after 16 hours of riding ,,, said no. Meet tomorrow.

Today they are taking me sight seeing Volgograd.

Tomorrow ,, again at 4AM I leave for Rostov-Na-Donu - then onto Odessa,, planning two days for this.

Sun gets hot by 11AM ,, but I've noticed more south I go ,, it is a dry hot like the Arizona desert ,, not humid as up in Omsk ,, Ekatrinburg,, Ufa and Samara.

I had enough of shit Russian roads , their insane f ing drivers ,,
I miss culture ,, relics of middle ages ,, renaissance ,, quaint European villages,, some real bread of variety ,, not f ing Klip ,, how many pieces shit any more.
No more 9,000 rubles becoming 19,000 rubles all of a sudden ,,

Going past the Volgograd University on the way to my hotel ,, I saw two black faces,,, I stopped the bike ,, got off and gave this two Nigerian students hug,,, just for being black in Russia.

Then when I went for a drink, with my welcoming bikers at a club ,, gee a Korean bar tender from Seoul ,, who also stayed after studying Russian. He met a Russian girl..

Russian girls in clubs ,, looks like Alstadt girls in Germany during 80s ,, dressed and acts like poodles.

Keep it coming Joe

Really enjoying your threads... your right.. Russia is not CHEAP !!! only fuel if you compare it to UK prices.

I hit a patch of diesel come melted tar just outside of Ulan Ude, it was like hitting black ice..... of course I went down !! Bike slid for 100 metres and I followed it on my arse for 50 metres!!

Broke a few bits but the bike was ridable and off I went again... I now have a phobia for anything that looks like shiney tar !

Will follow up your posts. I am meeting Yuri soon to discuss shipping or even selling bike in Russia

Cheers
Geordie aka Will

Semblance of civilization ,, still no civility ,,
However,, today... a kicker.
Went sight seeing with Gregory and Vladimir ,, The Night Hawks of Volgograd,, After the Stalin museum , a 21 year old ,,young girl younger than my daughter,, , came to me and said ,, You are a beautiful man ,, can I have a photo. This turned into a lunch with all of us , then she asked to hold my hand ,, you have to live a long life to see things like this ,, she was a lovely girl.

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In Rostov-On-Don ,,
Most boring city in Russia ,,
People are cursed here ,, it's in their genes ,, so frigging unfriendly ,, so paranoid,, later I found out ,, most racist city in Russia.
Staying at On Don Concord ,, tried to get a massage on the 17th and first floor ,, zombie robots said Nyet. All full.. and it's the way they say things ,, if they were Koreans or Americans I would have slapped their faces silly, with some choice words.
Can't wait to get out of this frigging country ,, I have Russia coming out of all my orifices,, 35 days of it.
Best city I like ,, in the route I took. Omsk and Vladivostok. It's the people that makes a city. The worst city ,, Samara, Rostov and Ekatrinburg.
Manana hitting Ukraine ,, need the change of expressions in people.
Can't wait till Romania ,, Bulgaria ,, then Italy.

Met a BMW rider from Barcelona ,, heading out to Ulan Batur via Kazak,, poor guy ,, tarmac hit 44 degrees today.

To cross into Ukraine from Russia took only 30 minutes ,, first thing was the insurance ,, 50 bucks for 15 days ,, changed all the Rubles,,
The road is not European standard but 10 times better than Russia ,, it is not life or death ,, did a rather nice run today.
People,, the zombie look is gone ,, very engaging ,, if ask a direction ,,, you get a mouthful ,, being on a Harley also helps,, I've noticed. A grandma waved her arm ,, for me to swim by her house on the river ,, seeing me riding shirtless,,,
Lunch was a nice size salmon with grilled vegetables ,, gas water ,, espresso ,, all for 12 bucks ,, for dinner steak ,, potato tartar ,, green salad ,, 500cc draft Armenian bread for 14 bucks ,, the best hotel in town Melitopol ,, with a view ,, 45 bucks ,,
I like it here ,, tomorrow to Odessa.