Day Two

We went walking again today, down to the ferry terminal, with seemingly many less people around, probably because so many were at work in the offices and shops. It was quite difficult to find our way around without help, but we managed reasonably well.   We caught the ferry across to the central area, but we were a bit concerned about setting out on an adventure and not getting back in time for a shower, to do our final packing and catching our bus to the airport.  It would have been nice to get the 'hop on hop off' bus, even just to do the trip around, but we started the day late after some much-needed sleep so had to give it a miss.  Caught the ferry back and started walking back to the hotel.  We were thinking of going through the Kowloon Gardens to get back to Nathan Street to get a cab back to the hotel, but Heather's feet were causing her pain (my toe was very unhappy too) and we were running out of time anyway so we jumped into a cab and got taken for a drive through some of the more seedy parts of HK.  The driver's English was almost as good as our Hongkongalese and we were getting concerned that he was taking us via the 'scenic route', but suddenly we were almost back to the hotel and the whole fare was a little under $5 Oz money.

On the way to the airport, I realised again how much of HK is a jungle of vivid green, dense, seemingly virgin bush.  This was in contrast to the intense industrial and teeming residential developments hemmed in by the mountainous emerald Sward.

At the Airport, it took a while to find Siberian Airlines - they are known as S7 by everyone except us.  Our big bag was slightly overweight so the woman on the counter said we would have to pay about $90 Oz or take something out and put it in our other bag that was only about a third of the allowance.  But that was up to its absolute capacity, almost bursting at the seams, so she said we would have to carry something - but that would mean we would have had one too many items of hand luggage so we said we would get our folding bag out and put our food and a backpack in that.  We unpacked our big bag and started to try to get things into our folding bag when she suddenly said everything would be OK and she would ignore the overweight bit.  So we repackaged everything and put it all through - only then to find that we had inadvertently left the folding bag and another bag containing a blanket out of the big bag.  By now the comedy seemed to have reached its climax with the woman just saying to carry the extra item.  So despite our very best intentions and coming prepared with the folding bag just in case we had a problem on that particular leg, we ended up with an overweight bag and more hand luggage than allowed - but having it all ticked off by the person who drew attention to the problem in the first place.

We eventually found our way through the complexities of the airport where language was a bigger issue than I anticipated, but que sera, sera (more language complexities - this time Latin ones!!).  Our departure lounge was literally several hundred metres walk, 7 or 8 flights up and down lifts and escalators, then two train stops and another half kilometre walk to the extreme far end of yet another terminal.  We were assailed by crying babies In the lounge, i.e., seats, and who should be seated immediately behind us on the plane (on both sides of the aisle) but two of the crying offenders, one of which shrieked continuously in five different languages for over two hours from the moment we boarded.  You would think she would eventually get tired and have a rest or that her Mum would give her a clout or someone would give her Mum a clout, but no, it seems people simply expect it, or expect to cop it, out in the near-wilds of near-Siberia.


HK to Vladivostok seemed a very long flight, arriving to a semi-deserted terminal at almost 1 am.  We were very quickly through Immigration much quicker and easier than expected and like Hong Kong walked straight through Customs without a word or look from anyone.

We found a corner of the terminal to get some kip and there were quite a few others doing the same, but it was still a long and uncomfortable few hours.  We both got a bit of sleep but not a lot and all a bit uncomfortable.  We wanted to change some of our dollars to rubles but our flight left at 7.35 and the Exchange didn't open until nine and nobody wanted any other currency so we had to wait for the very substantial brekky on the plane to get a tea and coffee.  I did see my first Russian bird while waiting for our flight to be called and I successfully identified it as a carrion crow.

Saw a lot of snow-capped mountains during the flight - very dramatic stark white and quite spectacular - we figured we were probably somewhere over some of the Japanese islands when we saw them but not sure.

Then it was Kamchatka!!!!  How long have we been planning and talking about that - and finally it is here!