[S1 - Eps.92] CROSSING INTO RUSSIA

Well, this is interesting I thought it was going to be a ferry but it's this Good morning internet, it is 6.53 in the morning and welcome back to the channel Today I'm leaving a little bit earlier than usual because today is going to be a long day I have to ride 300 kilometers to the border with Russia cross the border and then ride to Astrakhan and in many countries it's the case that roads to borders are bad and in this case it's not any different and I've heard from other travellers that the road to the border with Russia is horrible and it's going to take me forever so I want to leave a little bit early I'll show you in the map where I'm going So I am now here in Atirao and this is the stretch I have to ride to the border and then after the border it's very close, I only have to ride this little bit to Astrakhan so I bought myself yesterday some breakfast this is it, with some fresh cherries so I'm quickly going to eat my breakfast and then go Alright to Astrakhan Let's go So it's 150 kilometers till the border now so that means that I'm almost half way towards the border it's going pretty well, some parts are pretty rough and a lot of potholes and I just try to avoid as many as I can but so far it's still pretty okay so yeah, making good progress not much to see again, except for a couple of camels but at this moment it's not so bad for me because I have to watch the road anyway to dodge potholes so I don't have much time to watch the surroundings anyway so yeah, let's go Hello Look at those faces they're like what? Hi sweeties Quite a lot of road work on this stretch I guess it's necessary Border Hi Okay Hi, passport Hi Good Passport And welcome to Russia I made it into Russia the border crossing all in all it took about an hour and 15 minutes, it was really not bad on the Kazakhstan side it went super smooth it was very quickly, just a stamp on my passport I had to open my panniers had to check my panniers and that was it then I crossed a river and then there was already the first check post of the Russian side so I decided to switch the camera off because I thought better not mess with the Russian authorities anyway so then it was about 10 kilometers of no man's land and then I reached the Russian immigration and customs and it took quite some time because there was a line so I had to wait in line for some time but when it was my turn it went pretty quickly, maybe it took them 10 minutes or something my visa was okay passport got stamped and they checked the bike I had to open the panniers again but that was it nothing else and they told me very good bike so they liked Basanti I think so anyway and then they said welcome to Russia so this is the first little bit of Russia and there is a lot of flies here, super annoying, it is a little bit swampy or something so you have all these tiny little flies but anyway I am going to see if I can find some food along the way because I haven't had lunch yet, Astrakhan is still 63 kilometers from here so I will see if I see something on the way otherwise I will just eat something in Astrakhan so let's go! So it turns out that to reach Astrakhan I have to go via a small ferry or something and you have to pay but I don't have local money yet hey so I have to change some money first otherwise I cannot pay for the ferry so I am just going to ask maybe I can change something here sometimes they do that although it is not really a ferry it is kind of I don't know what it is but it seems like you have to pay so oh hello puppy oh careful okay I met this guy in the cafe and he is going to show me where I can change some money so that is super nice so I am just going to quickly follow him okay well that was very nice of him see if I can change some money Speaking Russian So I have local money Russian rubles so I can actually get some food and then go across that river so Speaking Russian Where are you from? India Thank you Are you taking me? No Okay, good luck Okay, bye So it is now 1.30 and I am having my lunch Thank you 75 Okay, thank you I am having my lunch, I am having a tea and I don't know yet what is inside and I can have a clear view on the Basanti so I can keep an eye on her as well So Yeah, so far it is all going pretty smooth to be honest From here it is, I don't know 40, 50 kilometers to Astrakhan So I have all the time in the world to have a lunch It is some kind of chicken wrap So good Really, really good Thank you Oh, that was the best lunch I have had in months Oh, that was delicious Alright Let's cross the water Oh, this is interesting I thought it was going to be a ferry but it is Oh, this Why need a bridge if you can just do this right Very nice Well, that was the first day allowed So it seems that nobody is home yet I don't know I found this place on Booking.com because on iOverlander there was only one place listed in Astrakhan and that place didn't have private rooms, only like a room with like 9 beds or something So then I looked on Booking.com and I found this place and I made a reservation but I thought I would be much later because I thought it was going to take me the entire day So I said I would be here around 5 and it is actually 2.30 Not bad So I am a bit early and now there is nobody I will just wait for a little bit I am sure somebody will show up at some point I hope otherwise I go somewhere else Let's see Well, I decided since there is nobody here yet to try and find a local sim card So then I have internet again plus I can actually call them to tell them I am already here According to Maps.me there is a mobile phone shop very close to here Let's check it out So that was that I am connected again So I will just ride back to the hotel and then see if there is anybody there or else I can give them a call Yay! There is somebody there Nice! Hi! How are you? I am fine, thank you My English is very little No problem Sorry? Yes, that is me I arrived here half hour ago but there was nobody so I went to do something else Never mind Doesn't matter Oh wow So nice I made it to my room It is so super lovely Really, really cute little room So I am really happy with it It was an eventful day a long day but anyway I am going to have a shower now because especially that last stretch on the Kazakhstan side like the last 30 kilometers or something to the border the road was really bad and it was so dusty and I couldn't ride very fast because it was too bumpy and too many potholes so it was hot and dusty so I really need a shower right now but anyway all went well and all in all I think a very smooth border crossing again so I am happy with that and I have internet again, I have money so I am all set for one week in Russia so from now I have 7 days to ride to the border with Georgia, that is where I am going so that should be easily doable it is about 1000 kilometers so that is like 3 days ride or something like that so I am not too worried about that so that was it for today I really hope you liked this video, if you did please give me a big thumbs up and subscribe down below and then I will see you in the next video