Our two hour, forty minute Aeroflot flight from Khabarovsk to Magadan was thankfully uneventful. I cannot describe the flight as both of us slept throughout the entire trip. But uneventful trips for us when we are on our own and do not speak the language, are considered a god send! And we really should have appreciated our good fortune. The fun with our travels was only just about to begin.

I am always amazed that when we board flights in Russia, the staff immediately recognises us as foreigners. And even when I used my best Russian "Доьрое утро" or "Good morning" greeting, to my amusement - and somewhat disappointment - they always answer in English.... The Aeroflot staff was as usual, very friendly and interested as to what country we were from. You certainly get the impression that they are not used to seeing too many foreigners on flights to places such as Magadan.

It was wonderful to be back again in our beloved Magadan. But like Khabarovsk, this time we were only using Magadan as a stopover en route to Chukotka and would be staying for just one night. We would however be spending four days in the city on our return trip when we would have the opportunity to catch up with our good friend Valentina and her husband Misha who run the Magadan based travel agency Magtur.

Like our favourite Olympic Hotel in Khabarovsk, we also have a preferred hotel in Magadan*. The Golden House Hotel in our opinion is an excellent establishment, conveniently located and offering very good service. It may not look much from the front, but the rooms are spacious and well appointed, the staff is friendly and helpful, and the restaurant is always very good. 

Note: I have not included a detailed description of Magadan. Like Khabarovsk, I have written extensively about the oblast and city in my previous blogs "Beyond Siberia: Russia's Eastern Eagle" (link: http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog/crowdywendy/8) and "The Nineteenth Corner: Love Affair With Arctic Russia" (link: http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog/crowdywendy/9). 

Through hotel staff member Evgenia, we had organised a transfer from Magadan's Sokol Airport to the hotel. A forlorn township some 50 kilometers north of Magadan, Sokol is definitely not a place to be stranded on your own with no language. Despite having landed at Sokol on four previous visits to Magadan, we have never seen another foreigner at the airport - nor many in Magadan for that matter.... We agreed the cost of just 1,800 rubles (around AUD 38.00) was well worth the certainty of being met and driven back to our hotel. 

Our friendly and capable driver Dmitry was there to greet us at Sokol and in no time we were speeding back in his immaculate black Toyota Majeste sedan through the outskirts of Sokol town to Magadan city. 

Like Khabarovsk, spring had really sprung in Magadan. And it was certainly a great contrast to the incredibly deep snow we witnessed during our March travels when Magadan had received its heaviest autumn snow dump for some years. On a very warm afternoon our journey took us through dense taiga forests of birch, elder and coniferous species. Interestingly, and as we had observed on former visits, in some of the shallower soils and more exposed environments, the only vegetation was severely stunted coniferous plants locally known as "Low Lie" Cedar, mosses and sedges. With a severe sub-Arctic climate however, it is always surprising to us that anything can survive Magadan's harsh snow choked winters and bitterly cold gale force winds. 

Friendly Evgenia gave us a very warm welcome. Once again, it was lovely to be back in the comfort of the Golden House - almost like being at home. Evgenia spoke excellent English and spent quite some time chatting with us about our coming trip to Chukotka. Like all Russians we met on our travels, she was more than surprised about our choice of destination - especially as it was our second visit in just five months.

Tired from our travels and with little time, there was not much we could do that afternoon other than take a walk around the surrounds of the hotel and the outskirts of Magadan city. Of course for us, no stop in Magadan would be complete without a visit to what a friend Mike Brown affectionately calls "Harrods of Magadan". A large supermarket complex, Megamag boasts an astonishingly wide variety of goods and groceries, and a great liquor shop which even stocks good Australian wines. Armed with a heap of snack supplies and alcohol for our coming trip to Chukotka, we wandered back to the comfort of our hotel. 

At that time - and it was probably just as well - we didn't realise just how valuable those food supplies were going to be....

We enjoyed a very relaxed evening meal in the hotel's restaurant. The room had been refurbished and although we preferred the old style with its wonderful "snow flake" lantern lights, it was very comfortable with its great views out over Magadan city and the nearby Trinity Cathedral. We recalled with some nostalgia how we had looked out onto a very thickly snow blanketed city during our visit in March that year. There was no doubt the city had looked absolutely splendid in the snow.

I ordered halibut and Alan had the scaloppini with spinach; both meals served simply with grilled vegetables. The food was beautifully presented and of exceptional quality. It was a simply lovely night.

Yes, it was wonderful to be back home in Magadan. And as Mike Brown has always said "There is something quite magical about Magadan...."