We left the beekeeper compound and Sasha around 8am and rode into a misty rain towards Blagoveshchensk and the Chinese boarder. The roads were a bit rough in spots and disappeared at times like they had on M60 and M58. This would be about a 400 km diversion from our route on M58 to Chita, but we wanted to a least see China from across the river. We arrived in Blagoveshchensk around 2pm and found a little outdoor cafe for lunch. Two bikers pulled up as we were leaving and we chatted a bit and they offered to lead us to an ATM which we needed to hit before leaving town. Mikel lead us to the ATM and his friend disappeared. As we were leaving the bank Mikel offered to lead us out of town as the route was a bit tricky due to several roads that did not allow motorbikes (a few of which we unknowingly rode into town on). He stopped at the edge of town and asked us to wait a bit as his friend had some presents for us. He arrived a few minutes later with a bag of items from a Chinese grocery store - coffee, tea, biscuits, snacks and candies. What a nice gesture from someone we had just met and had spent less than an hour with! The Russian people certainly do show above and beyond hospitality towards foreign travelers!
All together at the Chinese restaurant.
Natasha #1 posing for photos on my bike.
Natasha #1 and #2 on the bikes
We rode out of town and were hit with a heavy downpour that lasted only about 15 minutes. We rode a some sometimes rough and sometimes smooth twisty road along the river north through the countryside. It really was quite beautiful through this stretch. We arrived in Svobodny around 7pm and found a guest house for around $30 US each. We striped down the bikes and dumped the gear in our room and headed out to find some dinner.
I was a bit behind Ken and Mark leaving the guesthouse as I had the key to the room and had a bit of trouble figuring out how to lock the door. As I arrived out front they were chatting with a Russian girl named Natasha. She and her friend - also Natasha had noticed the two of them standing out front waiting for me and had asked if they needed any help. Ken and Mark inquired about a place to eat and they recommended a Chinese restaurant nearby. Mark asked if they would like to join and Natasha #1 who spoke English informed us that Natasha #2 was married so would not be appropriate. We invited told her to invite him as well so Natasa #2 went off to collect her husband. While waiting we all chatted with Natasha #1 and learned she was a lawyer for a local real estate office. Natasha #2 was in school studying to become a lawyer. Her husband Artyom was in the auto paint business but had recently left to find other work due to having to work with harsh chemicals.
We all had a nice dinner and conversation. Mark conversing in Russian with Artyom and Natasha #2 - Ken and I conversing with Natasha #1 in English while she was also translating for the Russian speakers. They were all very interested in our journey and the motorbikes. Artyom is saving up to buy one of his own. We also found out the launch area for the Russian space program was only 30 km away and a good percentage of the 50,000 person town was employed there. It was a fun evening learning about each others culture. We seem to easily meet people everywhere we go in Russia. I hope the pattern continues. We ended the evening taking photos together with the bikes.
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