With all the difficulties we encountered with organising our trip, we thought at times it would be a miracle if it ever eventuated. And it only just did - and it certainly was a miracle. But then again, we do travel to some very difficult destinations....

As mentioned, our itinerary was only presented to us in late June, and just days out from our trip, we were still waiting on our Russian domestic air tickets. And to top off a pretty stressful time, at the last minute we found we had to also obtain visas for our brief stay in China. Posting our passports to the Chinese Consulate in Sydney from where we live on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales was not something to take lightly at that stage of our trip organisation.... Thank goodness for our old friend David Hu from China Travel Service who ensured our visa applications were quickly processed.

It didn't help our frayed nerves either when following frosty relations US President Trump slapped trade sanctions on Russia - or that in Britain two more people had been poisoned (one of whom died) with what was almost certainly the same Russian nerve toxin used in poisoning a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain earlier in the year....

And I could only laugh when just two days before we left, I was caught in our local car wash when it broke down in full flight and I was unable to get out of the car to seek help... Perhaps it was a good training for when I got locked in the school kitchen freezer in remote Yanrakynnot? But that's a story for later....

The organisation of the trip was truly awful. But come to think of it, the lead up to all our trips is invariably the same. 

But It All Came Together in the End.... 

On the day of our departure, a glorious day dawned. We managed to pack an enormous amount of cold weather gear including hiking boots and anoraks into our luggage. Cat, pigeon and house sitter Jill arrived in plenty of time. Our cats Mao and Zabardas stayed around to bid us farewell - or that's what we would like to have thought... Even our adopted pigeon Vladimir was home. And so, with a sigh of relief we sped off to our nearest city of Taree to catch the Grafton XPT Express train to Sydney.

It was going all too well. To our relief, our luggage was well under the allowable amount of 20 kilos per bag and the train was on time. Looking at our tickets just before we boarded however, we realised that we had been booked in a Second Class carriage. The cost of the train trip is so cheap that we never hesitate to travel First Class. There was no point in asking who had done the booking but not checked the tickets (yes, I was guilty), nor was there any point in asking to have re-allocated tickets. The train was apparently full. To our delight however, the Second Class carriage was exactly the same as First Class. Who knows - perhaps it always is? In any case, we thoroughly enjoyed our uneventful but very pleasant train trip to Sydney - at a crazily cheap price of just AUD 43.50.

And the five hour journey was a good opportunity for relaxing over a few glasses of wine, reading and for me, to practise my Russian.

Life can take some unexpected yet interesting twists and turns. In February 2018, I had the fortune to meet Olga. And at our local hairdresser's salon, would you believe?

An interesting Russian woman, Olga had just returned home to Australia from a visit to her family in Vladivostok. Of course during the next hour or so, our animated conversation was "pure Russia". It was exciting for both of us. Living in regional Australia provides little opportunities for meeting people from other ethnic origins, and most certainly not people from Russia. Similarly for Olga, there are not a lot of local people who not only have travelled to Far East Russia several times, but really love the country and all things Russian. We agreed we just had to keep in contact. We did and it was fabulous to meet and talk about Russia with Olga and her Australian husband Davy, also a Russian-o-phile - over a lovely lunch and some good wines.

At a lunch at our house just before this trip, Olga offered to teach me Russian language. I must say I was hesitant as I knew it was a difficult language. And also, just how useful would it be when we are usually accompanied by guides? I guess though, my main concern was my fear of failure "Will I be able to learn the language? And what about learning Cyrillic text with all those funny back to front 'R's' and letters that look like 'r's' that are actually pronounced as 'g's'. And how could "B" be pronounced as 'V'?" It was daunting.

But as our Russian guide Alex said "It is a gift Wendy. You really are very fortunate". And it was a gift. So my Russian learning began with Olga providing me with helpful Russian phrases which she then pronounced for me in a video on Skype. I combined this learning with using Duolingo, an on-line language teaching app.

I can honestly say that my learning process was woeful. If you make too many mistakes on Duolingo, it cuts you out of the program for 24 hours. What is more you are told rather insultingly "You are out of health. Try later". It is both confronting and intimidating. I have to also admit that even when I cheated by using Google Translate, I still failed miserably.  I was also worried if I used this app too much I might learn to speak Russian with a Google accent....

Thanks to Olga's encouragement and support however, I managed to keep going, learning Cyrillic and just enough basic phrases to hopefully get us out of trouble when we were on our own in Russia. And for this trip, it certainly was very helpful. But while Olga was very supportive of my Russian lessons, she obviously thought we were quite cracked going back to Chukotka. "There are much nicer, safer places to see in Russia. Why don't you travel to Altai (Olga's home province) instead?" she asked. To our concern, a number of our other mainland Russian friends shared her sentiments.

Our train trips from Sydney's Central Station to the International Airport are always entertaining (that is apart from the discomfort of the private rail line which is as user unfriendly a system you would ever imagine*). There is a certain sense of excitement amongst the airport travellers and it is always the people we meet who make our trip special. And this occasion was no exception.

Grasping one of the hand grips in the uncomfortable crowded train carriage, Alan began chatting with an engaging young woman similarly struggling to hang on and balance her luggage. Juliet was good company. An attractive Argentinian woman who was working at Microsoft in Australia, she was making a trip back home to see her family. And where were we travelling to, she asked. "Oh, far north-east Russia. On the Arctic Ocean and then around the Bering Strait." said Alan. She shook her head in disbelief. "On your own or with a group of people?". "Just us..." replied Alan. She laughed. 

* The private rail line, which is the only means of train travel to Sydney's international and domestic terminals uses just basic rail carriages, totally unsuited for people carrying large amounts of luggage.

Rail - Central to International Airport

It is also a normal rail line for those travelling to Sydney's south-west and is often extremely crowded. Furthermore, at a cost of AUD 18.70 ($4.40 rail component plus a ridiculous $14.30 "Gate Access Pass"), it is hugely expensive and nothing more than a rip off for travellers. A great welcome for our overseas tourists - we don't think....

You cannot beat the location of Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel. Situated right in the grounds of the Kingsford Smith International Airport, it is just a short walking distance (advertised as 181 steps) from the international arrivals and departures terminal. 

We always stay at this hotel and we probably will continue to do so. It is just so convenient. On this occasion however we were somewhat disappointed. Granted, our room was comfortable (but another comfortable chair would surely not be too much to ask?) and had very nice views over the airport runway. But the staff seemed to take on a very much "take it or leave it" attitude, the bars were crowded and noisy, and the food was as usual, very ordinary - both in terms of variety and quality. 

And I guess this situation will continue - until there is some real competition. Right now, nothing beats Rydge's location.

There are two restaurants at the hotel - a casual one within the Touchdown Sports Bar and the classier Blackwattle Grill. Neither appealed and as usual, we ordered room service.  I don't think anyone who has an international flight the next day can do justice to a flash expensive meal and the crowded dark bar area is not only uninviting with its over sized plasma television blaring, but the bar stool type seating is decidedly uncomfortable.

We would however have to say that Rydges' rooms are very quiet and the beds are good. We enjoyed an early peaceful night, all set for an easy start the next morning and a comfortable departure flight of 10:30 am - or so we thought.....