Entries about people

Vladivostok Railway Station, just a few hundred metres from our hotel, in kilometre mark 9288 on the Trans-Siberian Railway, Moscow Railway Station being kilometre 0 and St Petersburg kilometre -680 (go figure, the poor people that live there are behind at the start!).

After the obligatory security screening and baggage x-ray, John, Oleg, David and I started wandering around inside the station taking photos and videos, some of which you see below, only to be approached and politely reprimanded by a young man who informed us that we required a guide if we were not in the station to actually catch a train. Of course there is a cost to the guide - 200 rubles each (about $5).

We were escorted back upstairs where we were handed very official looking passes to hand around our neck and the same young man instantly became our guide :-)

I was well worth the money. he pointed out a lot of things we would certainly have missed or at the very least not understood the significance of.

Vladivostok Railway Station

David admiring the architecture

Our guide pointing out the painted ceiling mural, with one side depicting Moscow and the other Vladivostok with associated dignitaries and VIPs from early 20th century Russia.

Vladivostok at the bottom, Moscow at top

Moscow bottom, Vladivostok top.

Apparently this says Ho Chi Minh visited the station on three occasions, 1924, 1927 and 1934.

We are really lucky to have David with us on the trip, he has figured out which way we need to go!