Cold Camping

Looking back, we got into Russia pretty easily. No bribes, no arguments, no worries with the out of date rego papers and not owning one of the cars we were driving!

The border crossing was about 2500m above sea level, and quite cold. The run to Biysk, in Russia, was 600+km and downhill for 450 of those. Biysk and 100s of km around are only 300m asl and that downhill run would make a great alternative to the Beechwood Billycart Derby!

Anyway, we camped on a creek, about 120km into Russia, windy and cold. Woke up in the morning, looked at the thermometer and saw minus 7.4° C. Didn’t mention it to Lynn, just rolled over and waited for the sun to get a bit higher.

It did, so I had a look, and it was minus 5°C. Lynn had stirred by now and asked me what I was doing. Just told her that the temperature had risen quickly in the last half hour and I felt like sleeping in a bit.

When we got up, my job is to unpack the car, set up a fire or the stove, get a cuppa on, and generally do what blokes do at this hour. Lynn packs up and folds the roof top tent, so I can pack it up.

Anyway, this particular morning, Lynn said, while packing the tent, “Hey Al, one side of the tent is frozen solid”, to which I think I replied, “come down for a cuppa and we’ll check it after breakfast”. Now that is cold weather to be camping.

From then on, in Russia, it has been too cold and wet to camp, so we have hotelled it.

Barry’s Gaff

I can’t wait to tell this story. We’re 30km north of the Russian / Kazakhstan border. The night before we got into this particular town late, as we got fouled up earlier with a couple of ruffies and a separate bunch of young kids, in a town that a sequel to  “Deliverance” could easily be made (more of that later).

Anyway, Barry and I go into a shop, me to get some LED lights, for the front of the car and Barry to get a 220 volt power point multi adaptor. The shop is about as big as a double garage. The LED lights were not there, so I was about to leave.

Barry saw the adaptor he wanted, behind an unlocked glass cabinet. So he opened the cabinet, grabbed the adaptor, and went over to the young (35) salesperson – a distance of say 5m. Boy, didn’t she give him a spray. She grabbed the adaptor off him, walked back to the cabinet, opened the glass cabinet, placed the adaptor back, closed the cabinet, walked back 5m, and sat down.

Barry used his best Kazak to ask for the same item, so she got up, walked the 5m to the cabinet, etc. etc. and sat down. Barry, when paying the one dollar amount (49 Rubles), and with a smile on his face, called her a grumpy old something.

She looked at him with a scowl on her face, and simply and perfectly said, “I speak English”! To which Barry had no answer, took his plug and bolted. We’ve been ribbing him about it all day!