Belarus and Russia aren't generally the sort of places you would think to take a motorhome but not many Brits contemplate shipping their motorhome to the States for a year either, which we did in 2003. With this in mind perhaps it shouldn't be that much of a surprise that when our friends Jon and Linda asked us if we would like to accompany them on their summer trip to St Petersburg, no arm twisting was involved. Now we're back I'm in reflective mood and it was definitely a great experience to go on a trip where motorhomes don't routinely go. It also confirmed that these countries, percieved to be 'dangerous' were non threatening, but culturally and linguistically very different to our own. Living in the motorhome separated us from the local people, time on public transport and in paid accommodation would have enabled us to see and learn more of the reality of their lives. We observed from the comfort of our vehicle that people mainly lived in wooden huts in the countryside and blocks of flats in urban areas. I didn't think that those in rural areas would be living a rustic, back to nature kind of existence. I just thought how harsh it looked and found it hard to imagine enduring a winter in such a location. These houses didn't even have piped water a few houses in each village had a hand pumped well in front of the house.
The government of Belarus claims to have a free and fair democratic process but this is not the case and they have a dictator who has been in control since 1994. The politics of the country did not have any bearing on our trip at all and the Belarussians appeared cheerful and relaxed. Money looks to be being spent on infrastructure, parks and monuments, which all looked manicured and well cared for. The border crossing into Belarus took over 9 hours due to the volume of traffic and much beaurocracy required by the officials. This favours public transport for travelling to less accessible places as it definitely adds hassle importing a vehicle into a country which is what we were effectively doing. The crossing into Russia from Belarus was very straightforward as there was no border at all. Just like travelling from France into Germany for example.
Russians are generally perceived to be dour, unapproachable and difficult to communicate with. Bearing in mind the language barrier we thought they were no problem to deal with and only met beaurocratic ones at the Hermitage in St Petersburg and at the Belarussian Border. Smiling at a stranger is seen to be a come on and the Russians we interacted with were polite and deferential.
It was sad that we had to make such a hurried departure from the Baltic States following problems with our domestic gas system. Having had a full examination and testing in the UK it transpired that a viscous substance had got into our tank somehow. This had damaged the regulator and caused the gas to flare at the hob. A new tank has now been fitted by Wildax, the manufacturer of our motorhome. Apparently this is a very rare occurence and the Gas Supplier FES said that they have seen one other contamination case with gas from Russia. We did take on gas in Belarus, where one attendant altered his regulator to force extra LPG into our tank. Mike quickly put a stop to this overfill when he realised what was going on but it can't have helped. This has all caused considerable extra cost but it's all relative as we could have blown ourselves up.
The government of Belarus claims to have a free and fair democratic process but this is not the case and they have a dictator who has been in control since 1994. The politics of the country did not have any bearing on our trip at all and the Belarussians appeared cheerful and relaxed. Money looks to be being spent on infrastructure, parks and monuments, which all looked manicured and well cared for. The border crossing into Belarus took over 9 hours due to the volume of traffic and much beaurocracy required by the officials. This favours public transport for travelling to less accessible places as it definitely adds hassle importing a vehicle into a country which is what we were effectively doing. The crossing into Russia from Belarus was very straightforward as there was no border at all. Just like travelling from France into Germany for example.
Russians are generally perceived to be dour, unapproachable and difficult to communicate with. Bearing in mind the language barrier we thought they were no problem to deal with and only met beaurocratic ones at the Hermitage in St Petersburg and at the Belarussian Border. Smiling at a stranger is seen to be a come on and the Russians we interacted with were polite and deferential.
It was sad that we had to make such a hurried departure from the Baltic States following problems with our domestic gas system. Having had a full examination and testing in the UK it transpired that a viscous substance had got into our tank somehow. This had damaged the regulator and caused the gas to flare at the hob. A new tank has now been fitted by Wildax, the manufacturer of our motorhome. Apparently this is a very rare occurence and the Gas Supplier FES said that they have seen one other contamination case with gas from Russia. We did take on gas in Belarus, where one attendant altered his regulator to force extra LPG into our tank. Mike quickly put a stop to this overfill when he realised what was going on but it can't have helped. This has all caused considerable extra cost but it's all relative as we could have blown ourselves up.
Russia looked poorer and more run down than Belarus. When we visited Pskov I noticed a collection of derelict buildings. There were a couple of ambulances parked outside and when we walked through it looked like some sort of medical facility. Pskov was also the only place we took a couple of taxi rides. Each one was a white knuckle ride for completely different reasons. The first was a speedy Lada with abrupt lane changes. The second a more sedate journey as the driver was watching TV. Keeping one eye on the road and the other on what appeared to be a soap opera.
I updated the blog regularly while we were away but if you would just like an overview you can look at the photos and route maps.
Overall, we have had a brilliant summer and a big thank you to Jon and Linda for inviting us. Of course we're going to go back to the Baltic States when we don't have to rush through.
I updated the blog regularly while we were away but if you would just like an overview you can look at the photos and route maps.
Overall, we have had a brilliant summer and a big thank you to Jon and Linda for inviting us. Of course we're going to go back to the Baltic States when we don't have to rush through.
