Just arrived in St. Petersburg, but wanted to get a final report out on Vladivostok.  I had a little time to walk around Vladivostok some more before heading to the airport.  They drive on right side of road like we do, but most cars are left hand driven.  Reason is used cars are imported from Japan.

   As I waited for a tour group taking pictures of a Lenin statue, I heard the Russian guide say “Tso ba.”  This is Mandarin Chinese for “Let’s go.”  Turns out they are touring Vladivostok from Changchun, China.  What a coincidence, that’s where I worked in China.  I was surprised how much Chinese I could still understand and speak.  Well maybe not a lot, but I did figure out they were from Changchun.

   I checked out of the hotel at noon to catch the 12:20 bus to the airport, my flight was at 3:30, so I had plenty of time, or so I thought.  The bus showed up at 1:00, and then a trip that normally takes an hour, took two hours, arriving just 30 minutes before my flight.  But it was a small airport, and I made it to the gate as they were boarding.  The reason for the bus delays are the traffic jams.  Due to all the construction, roads are torn up and traffic rerouted.  Vladivostok is preparing itself for some large world conference next year.

   I didn’t see many people waiting to board the flight, so thought it must be a small plane.  I was thinking it was going to be uncomfortable for a 10 hour flight, traveling back across Russia, through 8 time zones.  Surprise, most of the people were already on board the Boeing 747.  And a much better surprise was that I was seated in business class.  Not sure why, my ticket was $387, but it made it a lot more comfortable.

   By the way, I saw the Detroit Red Wings plane on the tarmac at the Moscow airport where I had a connecting flight to St. Petersburg.

   Da Svidaniya

   Jim