San Francisco and Pyongyang

Just because my train journey had ended did not mean my adventures had ended as well. After three weeks on the road, I had three days to discover Vladivostok, or as it is called, the San Francisco of the East. I also had a close encounter with North Korea in more than one sense. All in all, Vladivostok was a great way to end my Transsiberian trip.

Lenin Greets All in Vladivostok

After getting off the train I went in search of food. Unsurprisingly, nothing was open until eight or nine o’clock in the morning. This meant that I was forced to haul my bags around until I found a place to eat. Once that mission was accomplished, I was able to start getting the lay of the land. The city center is actually quite small. I was able to walk the main parts within a couple of hours. The highlight is the shoreline which overlooks a bay that points further East, towards Japan. I was unsure

I Spy Lenin in the Window

of whether I was looking a Japan off in the distance or some local island. Either way, it was just as beautiful in the rain as it was during sunset. The rest of the city was indeed hilly. I could see where the comparisons with San Francisco came in to play. There were also a few impressive bridges that spanned the bay and reached over on to the neighboring islands. What I did find odd was that, for such a secretive country, a small part of its naval fleet was docked in the harbor, in full view of anyone who cared to look. And I cared to look.

The first day was just me, finding my hotel and getting a feel for the city. My hotel ended up being on the top of an enormous hill overlooking the river which emptied into the bay. It was not a posh place by any means but it was clean, safe, and allowed me to see a part of the town where most tourists fail to go. And it helped that the United States Consulate was right down the street. The next day, I had a ton of plans, some of which I fulfilled. I went to the local history museum and saw an exhibit on my best buddy, Lenin. They had a couple of rooms filled with Lenin iconography from Komsomol pins to marble busts to paintings by local fan(atics). The top floor of the museum had an photo exhibit done by a Japanese photographer who took pictures of an Old Believers colony before the outbreak of World War II. It might have been the most interesting museum visit of my

Hall of Lenins

trip. After exercising my brain, it was time to exercise my feet and visit Russky Island on the other side of the bridge.

I really didn’t plan the island trip very well. It is recommended for those who want to explore nature trails and visit the old forts that guarded the USSR’s eastern coast during the Cold War years (and today?). That proved to be more difficult than anticipated since guide books give you the location but are sketchy on the details on how to get to these points of interest. I thought I would give it a go when my waiter at one restaurant suggested I take a bus that leaves Vladivostok and circles Russky Island. He did warn me not to take the bus in during morning and afternoon rush hours since Vladivostok has some of the worst traffic in Russia. I took his advice but it, apparently, didn’t matter when I took the bus; traffic was terrible throughout the day. Much like Ulan-Ude, Vladivostok is not well-built for traffic. For some reason, there is a lack of traffic lights on the side streets so cars have to merge into traffic when they feel able. This means that cars are pushing onto the main roads with abandon, causing massive traffic jams. It took forever to get from Vladivostok, over the bridge, and onto Russky

Cool Street Art

Island. What I soon realized is that it was no tiny island that I could explore in a couple of hours; rather, it was more on the size of Staten Island in New York. I saw many impressive views of the ocean but I had no idea how to access it. One site I will not forget is seeing the rest of the Russian fleet in a cove on the eastern side of the island. It was massive and everyone who cared to look out the bus’s window would have seen a giant nuclear submarine pulling into the harbor. It was impressive and a wee bit scary. I had thoughts of hopping of the bus and snapping some pictures. Then, I had other thoughts of being arrested for spying and spending time in a Russian jail so, I deferred. When I finally came to the point where I needed to transfer buses, my plans changed. It seems that the island is not set up for tourism. The next bus would arrive and depart in fifty-four minutes. At this point, I called it a day and headed back to the city. As I was retracing my route, the bus crossed a bridge and I spied the guns that once protected the islands. I very much wanted to hop off the bus, but exhaustion dictated that I get some dinner back in Vladivostok.

Spanning the City 

"Hidden" Fleet

Dinner was awesome. I got as close to North Korea as I ever hope to get. There is one North Korean owned restaurant in the city and it was highly recommended. I’m pretty sure the food doesn’t differ from a South Korean restaurant but I thought I’d go for the novelty. The restaurant had two statues

Welcome to North Korea

guarding the door but they looked friendly, for statues. Inside I was greeted by a very attractive waitress who seated me and took my order. There was nothing different about the restaurant other than it being a little bit spare. It was not overly decorated with prints or ornate furniture. In fact, I found this an attractive feature of the place. When the food came, it was delicious. I ordered a sizzling duck platter with vegetables. As I chowed down on the food, I wondered about the food situation in North Korea. I was pretty sure I was eating better than most of the country’s citizens and that duck was not on most people’s plate at night. I finished my meal, made some small talk with the waitresses, and then made my way to my hotel high in the hills. Another day well done and almost time to leave.

Russky Island

Sun Sets in the East