In 1969 when I first trotted round the world, I met a guy called Phil in Western Australia and we hatched a plan for the following year. I was to fly out to Perth and together we would hitch a ride on a banana boat, or something similar, from Freemantle to Vladivostok.
On arrival in Vladivostok, we planned make our way to the railway station and from there travel on the Trans-Siberian train to Moscow, or St Petersburg (this was all USSR in those days) and then make our way across Europe to London. Home for me and a year or two in the UK for Phil. The plan came to nothing as I got married. Then years later, when I dreamt of Vladivostok, it was too late: the Soviets had closed the port to the rest of world as it was the base of their navy and therefore a site of top secrecy. I’d often seen photos of the station and so getting off the ship and actually being there, was something I’d been looking forward to! Definitely a sentimental journey – about 42 years late!
Unlike other ports where you need a shuttle bus to take you downtown, you get directly off the ship in the heart of Vladivostok and you’re there. I made for the railway station right away – across a bridge from which there were steps to various platforms. The outside of the station is beautiful. Tsar Nicholas, before he ascended the Russian throne, went on a trip in 1891 and laid the foundation stone for this station, designed to link the far east of the nation with the rest of Russia through the rail network.
As well as a beautiful facade with lovely roof decoration and picture tiles around the edge, the entrance hall has an interesting ceiling mural (is that the right word?) depicting the building of the railway from its start in western Russia, right across the continent to the end in Vladivostok. There was actually a train setting off for Moscow when we were there. A peculiar feeling.
Outside the station, the land rises quite steeply, and pedestrians access parallel streets higher up by steps. I’m not sure what Lenin is pointing at, but it could be our ship, which towers over the waterside area like a massive hotel with hundreds of windows. Vladivostok is not the most stimulating place to be and apparently young people leave to go elsewhere if they can. It’s the end of the world, really. If you go north you’re in an inhospitable part of Siberia with poor roads and only a few towns. South is China, and most locals go there to buy their vegetables and sell at exorbitant prices in Vladivostok. West is the railway, and East is the sea. The navy, moored near us, looks in need of repair, but granted I saw only a few ships. Maybe the rest are out on the high seas.
Before setting sail, we were treated to a performance of dance, singing and music courtesy of a local group from Vladivostok. Really beautiful, lovely costumes, very Russian – passionate and stirring! There were three main female performers – all very different from each other, with one of them definitely aiming to get out of Vladivostok and on to a wider circuit! The men performed typical Russian dances, squatting and kicking – great muscle control….. And the musicians, lovely.
My lasting memory of Vladivostok will be the lovely lady who stopped to chat to us and was so pleased to see visitors in the city. And the crowds who stood and waved as we left port.
I was actually reading up in the conservatory as it was bitterly cold outside. But when I saw two of the crew waving to people on the ground curiosity got the better of me and I went outside on deck to see what girls they had in this port! I was amazed to see the people lining the harbour as we moved away, waving and taking photos. Vladivostok is not a place I’d want to live, because of its isolation and general greyness and its long history of communist oppression and deprivation. This ship calls in for a day just twice a year, so it’s quite an event. It’s yet another thing on this trip which has highlighted how fortunate we are to live where we do, in the West, with the freedom we take for granted.
Patamateria 