Коля в Россие

Sitting in an Internet cafe in Хабаровск (Khabarovsk), waiting for some software to download that can hopefully unformat my camera's memory card which used to contain a months worth of pictures from Mongolia, China and my entry into Russia.

Karl, I know you're going to post a comment asking how I managed to format my memory card. It was a stupid accident on my part-- leave it at that.

Last Saturday, I arrived at the Chinese border town of Suifenhe. Getting off the train, I was trying to get some Russians to help me, but they were all travelling in an organized tour so that they didn't have to worry about things like how to find the border and how to get a bus to Vladivostok.

I was on my way to ask a taxi to take me to the border when I heard, "Excuse me, do you speak English?" Turning around, I met Alex, a Belgian