Vladivostok "Beach"

Day 72  Sunday 12^th June 2011 

I could no longer resist the boiled vegetables at breakfast so I indulged myself in this Russian repast and found it to be not too bad after all. It does seem odd having carrots, potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower at that time of day but not half as strange as what I followed on with – buckwheat and chicken. I am still here though as witnessed by my written word and have suffered no ill effects.

The sunny skies of yesterday were replaced with grey cloud but no rain. We went off in search of the marina and “beach” that we can see from our hotel window. It wasn’t too difficult to find as adjacent to the marina is a small amusement park which boasts a Ferris Wheel which rises above the nearby buildings making it an easy reference point when navigating the Vladivostok streets but we did pass this church along the way ...

Fishermen were out on the boat mooring pier catching small silver fish at a good pace and on the water were the myriad of coloured sails of small yachts from the local club which had taken to the water together with the much larger tall ship anchored in the bay a good way into the distance. The water lapping gently against the concrete sea wall was not as clear as I thought it might be but it was obviously clean enough to sustain the fishes being plucked out. We  stayed for a while watching the morning promenaders before heading back to the hotel and getting ourselves a good cup of coffee.

Vladivostok "Beach"

I read my novel in the lobby for a while but my concentration was shattered when a crowd of Chinese tourists returned from a shopping trip and sat near us.  We have found almost all of the Chinese tourists to be so rude and loud with a really annoying habit of clearing their throats and noses right next to you, Ugh !!

I went to the reception desk and eventually squeezed our visa registration from the hotel staff. In Russia if you stay anywhere longer than 3 days you have 7 days to register this with the Federal Migration Services. The hotel has to do it for you but ours had been dragging its heels so I made a small fuss and it was dealt with immediately. (The hotel can be fined for not registering the visa) - anyway we are now all legal.

We went back to the room where I caught up with my clothes washing and then we tucked into some of the bits that we bought from the local supermarket yesterday, cheese, sausage and bread plus a bit of fruit all of which had been earned after walking up and down the hilly Vladivostok city roads.