rough camping in eastern Europe can be quite dangerous. I would do it only in emergencies. I would definitely agree that learning the Cyrillic alphabet and the respective phonetics is very very useful!! made this mistake on my first trip to Russia and got very very lost, most of the place names are unrecognisable from their Roman equivalent unless you are familiar with the alphabet.

I only used maps and first made the mistake of buying a map in English so when i was lost or asking for directions the locals could not understand the map.

Using a map in Cyrillic is very easy just stop at the road signs and match up the Cyrillic letters on the map to the sign and you are away

I don't think you need to be able to fully understand the Cyrillic alphabet as it is pretty straight forward however i would learn some Russian words and you really only need to know about 50 words to get by, when i enter a new country i usually stop just pass the border as people there selling insurance/changing money mostly speak English so i stop there and ask them words/phrases and write them in my note book how i hear/understand them and never have any issues.

Locals really like it when you try (even a few words) speak there language and i think it makes for a better trip.

I totally disagree.
What is dangerous about it?
Did it on the last two trips, no problems at all.
Even the cops came to say hi, as we were in plain sight (no other option).

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I have to admit that I'd never done it, but know lots of people doing it without any issues. Only one rule is that one needs to have a bit of situation awareness, and if it does not feel right don't camp there.

I've been traveling in Eastern Europe for the last 3 years and have never had any issues (except for mad drivers), and found that you're less likely to lose things there than anywhere in Western Europe. There are exceptions....


Casper

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Great tips and ever up to date - thanks.

Not been to Siberia yet! but my tips for Russia

Never refuse a drink

Actually probably my tip for life in general

Chris, although dated, I enjoyed reading of your travel through Russia. My brother and I are planning a similar trip to yours (east to west through Russia) ending in Paris and back to the states. I do have a question you may be able to steer me to an answer on. I share the title of my bike with the bank (not paid off yet). Can this be a problem with entry and exit through Russia, South Korea, eastern Europe?

Probably since that Japanese rider was murdered Camping by the side of the road in Russia.

I think there is a recent ride report where the travellers were advised by local Russian bike clubs not to camp rough. Too.

The problem is, unless you can camp rough you can't enjoy some of the more famous routes like the BAM road and Road of Bones.

By many accounts the Trans-siberian highway has been described as dull and boring, but is the fastest way east.

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Great tips for me here, thanks for sharing. I am planning on rough camping. The advice I got was to go up one if the side roads that have a Red Cross and if no rubbish camp


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I have a tip... don't go to Yakutia in winter

But if you do... eat lots of salo (pure pork fat), drink chai with lots of sugar in, vodka won't go amiss either. Cognac freezes at a much lower temp than water. Probably best not to switch off the engine either (if your bike has one)!

For the rest of the year, the above advice I concur with (language/camping/never turning down a drink etc).

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I very much admire westerners who managed the necessary communication travelling through Russia. Russian is extremely difficult for foreigners (as are other Slavic languages - but at least Polish is written in Latin). I am Polish and I speak Russian fluently, however even I, travelling through Russia, have moments that somebody speaking fast, using strange accent, gives me hard time to understand him. Also reading in Cyrylic, especially any official documents with bureaucratic language, is not easy. But, at least in Russia everybody speaks Russian. Situation however is worsening in countries being former Soviet Republics, especially in those, which are currently rather Russia-unfriendly. (E.g. Georgia). In those countries the knowledge of Russian is decreasing. Still, anybody at the age of 45+ speaks Russian quite good, but amongst young people the knowledge of Russian dissappears. The goverments do some effort in teaching English, so you can expect that well educated young man speaks quite good English, but it is definitely not common phenomenon yet. For example, if you encounter a young saleswoman in rural Georgian shop, she rather certainly will not know any other language than Georgian. And who knows Georgian? And if Cyrylic alphabet is difficult, then Georgian is much more. To varying degrees, this phenomenon affects the other post-Soviet countries.
JO

I think is very cold in Siberia at night. Should I find some warm clothes special for such a low temperature? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia

I`m really interested in the Yamaha YBR 125 for serious over landing, such lightweight bikes and 50k per liter gives an amazing tank range. I know Nick from TalesfromtheSaddle took one down to Africa and said it held up great. Super cheap on Ebay too!

Wouldn't trust that guy

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That is consistent with my experiences in Russia. I have never ridden a motorcycle in Russia, but I have transited eastern Russia (Anadyr - Petropavlovsk - Magadan - Khabarovsk - Vladivostok) many times during the past 3 years during my "day job", which is delivering new aircraft from the factory to customers in various parts of the world.

My experience with Russian officials is that they are scrupulously honest, but that it is essential that all the paperwork be in order, as they will check it very carefully. They don't cut any slack whatsoever on the rules, but as long as you have followed all the rules, they are professional and friendly, all in all pretty easy to get along with.

You must be talking about a Pan with a terminal case of anorexia. Heck, my ST1100 weighs 633 pounds (290 kg) without any fluids in it. Add a full tank of gas, coolant, and engine oil, and the darn thing is close to 700 pounds.

Eh, not so sure I would agree with that. I've been all over Europe with my ST1100, 160,000 km from Bodo Norway to Gibraltar, the west coast of Ireland to the Syrian border, including all of the Balkans.

A Pan is a great long-distance bike provided you can stick to paved roads. It can cope with gravel or dirt roads for limited distances, but that's not a pleasant experience, nor is it what the bike was designed for.

But, it copes well with poor quality paved roads. I have had no problems in the past month going through all of the former Yugoslavian countries and Albania... and I mostly stuck to secondary roads, not the motorways.

Having said all that, I don't think it would be an appropriate choice for a trip from Europe to the east coast of Russia.

You are kidding us, right? The temperatures in Siberia regularly hit -40°C in the winter. That's not just cold, it is unbelievably fuggin' cold. In January and February, it was not uncommon for me to have to pre-heat the aircraft engines (using a kerosene-powered heater) in order to bring the oil temperature up above -30°C, which is the minimum oil temperature permitted for engine start. I would often take the aircraft battery into the hotel with me at night, to keep it warm and thus keep the cranking power up.

If you are asking that question seriously (meaning, innocently), I honestly don't recommend you go to Siberia in the winter without doing a heck of a lot more research on the subject.

Michael