Hi guys

martheijnens wrote:

From Mogotsa till the village of Sbegd is a local road, loam surface and absolute riddled with potholes. Very difficult to drive. 20 km/h

I can completely acknowledge this information. This is the part where i had a big accident. I was driving there with about 70km/h, it was very comfortable to fly over the potholes until a big stone laid in the middle of the road... :-)

The thread which is mentioned by liketoride2: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000706.html <- There is some information regarding Shipping to/from vladivostok

Greetings to martheijnens which i met in vladivostok, hope you are doing well!

Marco

To add my 5c worth...maps

Anything Stanfords in London have got is probably out of date(I've been there). I got my maps in Moscow as I go there every year. The best overall atlas and most uptodate I found in August 2004 was...

Atlas Avtomobilnui dorogi
rossiya, stranui sng, pribaltica
isbn# 5-95230-003-0
obviously it's all in russian.
originally printed in 2000 but updated for 2004 (released for print run of 40,000 on 22.01.2004) ie changes since say 11/2003 unlikely to be included.
Its a hardback.
The scales are mostly 1:1,000,000 , but obviously in siberia this stretches up to 1:2-3-4-6,000,000 . Distances in km are shown.
I think it's the mutts nuts.

Road maps are available at 1:200,000 from St Petersberg to Tyumen but for you 2 wheels people you'd need another bike just to carry them! However, they may be useful. Many shops sell them but better to buy them at source in Moscow from the factory shop of
edited:
central experimental war map factory
Building 9 , Ulitsa Bolshoi Polianka Moscow
Shop has wierd hours 10-12.30am and 2-4pm but all maps here about 50-60 rubles (YES!) each - a map covers one region eg krai, oblast, republic. I bought the whole set!


On the subject of road conditions between chita and khabarovsk - martheijnens - well done.

For my part, I plan to go to Vladivostock in 2007 by road - so anyone providing extra hard information on conditions between chita and khabarovsk is thanked in advance. If someone wants to be really good, an accurate diary of road conditions (and speeds achievable) and towns against kilometers travelled would be very useful for planning purposes - as would uptodate reports on "hotels".

Rgds

Les


[This message has been edited by 4wheels (edited 21 December 2004).]

Les, thanks for the great info on maps. I am planning to travel from Magadan across Siberia in summer 2005 (Yakutsk, Skovorodino, CHita, Ulan Ude, Irkutsk) and at the moment only have a "GeoCenter" 1:10,000,000 road map covering this area. What would you suggest as a better and more detailed map for me? ANy help greatly appreciated.

I am travelling to Russia soon so could pick up something there.

Adrian

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The Atlas Automobilje, which I mentioned, is absolutely the best. It covers the whole of Russia, contains all information you need and is sold everywhere in Russia

I travel to Russia regularly on business. I can pick up a bunch of Atlas Avtomobilnye next time I am there - Early Feb probably next one (was there alst week) ... so if anyone wants any copies picked up, let me know.

Adrian, how are you planning to get to Magadan?
- - -
www.TokyotoLondon.com

[This message has been edited by colebatch (edited 19 December 2004).]

Starting in Magadan so will be flying there. FESCO ships stuff there regularly so I am trying to get my bike there for when I arrive. I am also in process of getting carnet (from Australian Automobile Assoc).

Why do you ask?

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Adrian:
Just curious as to what options were available to get out of there. I know flights operate between Magadan and Anchorage.

There is a whole episode on the road from Yakutsk to Magadan on the Ewan McGregor / Charley Boorman DVD available at www.LongWayRound.com. That section and their adventures in Mongolia are the two best parts of their whole story.

Adrian, you don't need a carnet for Russia, do you? Are you getting it for other countries further along your route?

I may be wrong, but I believe one can traverse Russia and Europe (as long as one stays in the EU countries) without needing a carnet. If this isn't correct, someone please correct me.

Mike

Mike,

Based on my research (which may be imperfect), you do not need a carnet de passage for Russia. My route is: Russia, Mongolia, China, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey.

Based on my research, you must have a carnet for Iran and Turkey. I am going to get this from our local (Australian) automobile association.

Let me know if you know otherwise re:carnets or have any questions.

Adrian

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Walter,

Thanks for the pointer to Obe Wan's DVD - much appreciated.

To answer your question re: options for "getting out" - perhaps I was not clear, I am starting my trip in Magadan and travelling overland on my bike to Yakutsk and onwards to Skovorodino, Irkutsk and so on. Let me know if you want/need to know more. I understand that a few others have been able to get through this part of Siberia. I understand that the final part of the trip to Yakutsk (from Khadanga) is viaferry in Summer and that the road from Ust Nera is the most questionable......

As always, any advice greatlt appreciated.

Adrian

You are right Adrian, that road is definately do-able but not many people have actually done it. I spoke with Eric and Gail Haws a few years back - they are 50-60 year old librarian / lawyer couple form the US who did the road 2 up about 10 years ago ... It seems as long as you are not pressed for time, it can be done. River crossings are the issue between Magadan and Khandyga, and from there its a ferry, as you mentioned. The rest of your plans looks very do-able with the exception of the China part. Getting into China on a motorbike is hit and miss (about 1% hit and 99% miss) - so I would make a pretty well worked out contingency plan to go back to Russia and Kazakhstan in order to get down towards Kirghizstan if as is likely, China proves a problem.

If you are interested is going to Tajikstan, will you be tring the Pamir Highway? You might need a special permit. In 2003 you could only get the permit once you where in the country and only in Dushanbe. We tried from Dushanbe, but had to turn around due to ill health. Will be giving it ago again in 2006.
Cheers

I think we're talking about the 'same' thing, although there are a number of these maps which cover 'everything'. Obviously, I haven't seen your map but I did look at a number of different ones before I settled on mine and believe me, I am VERY picky when it comes to maps.

Rgds

Les

Your geocentre map isn't going to get you very far at 1:10,000,000 . A road Atlas is definitely required. I'm biased (of course) but whichever one you get, it should be a 2004 one. (And I even quoted the ISBN number).

It is possible to get other maps which deal with specific regions in the far east, but they are likely to be much more out of date and even if recently printed will not have been recently revised (ie up to 10 years ago)
Therefore there is not much point in getting them. The scale of these other maps might provide more information, but it will be old as I said.

Rgds

Les

Remembered that I located the website of the russian company that produces the map which I bought...

http://www.okf.ru/System.asp?Item=Catalog

Scroll to the bottom. Left hand column - click in the bottom row...

And hey presto - a pic of what you need.
edit:pic is v small but okay to identify map
Rgds

Les



[This message has been edited by 4wheels (edited 21 December 2004).]