Answers

Motorcyclists, take tyres for Siberian biking as many as possible!

August 4, 2011

Many tyres are a must for the Road of Bones, Kolyma Highway. Photo of the bike from the Siberia Off Czech expedition.

As it is hard not to make your rear tyres flat...

As it is hard not to make your rear tyres flat...

Let’s repeat the truth about the Road of Bones, known officially as the Kolyma Highway that connects Yakutsk and Magadan. Siberia, including Yakutia, doesn’t have highways as perfect as European amd Asia-advanced ones. It’s Siberia!

Previously, I wrote that it’s impossible to buy spare parts for your motorbikes in Yakutsk. No so many motorcyclists in the city. As a result, no high demand for motorcycle shops at all.

Yesterday, I met really nice British bikers Ed and Dan from the brighton2expeditions. They made the long way from London to Yakutsk via Central Asian countries and Mongolia.

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Travel Guide Video: The Kolyma Highway (The Road of Bones). By Casey Handmer.

July 27, 2011

An Australian hitchhiker Casey Handmer (on the left) with Vadim, a biker of Anadyr.

An Australian hitchhiker Casey Handmer (on the left) with Vadim, a biker of Anadyr.

A year ago, July 28, in Yakutsk I met Casey Handmer, who said he was on the way to Magadan. Asked, how he was going to make it. Hitchhiking was his answer.

He was not the first one, who travelled the Kolyma Highway (Road of Bones) by that mean. So, I didn’t worry much, but I should actually.

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Do you know any contact (a fixer, travel/custom helper) in Vladivostok, Russia?

July 24, 2011

Two Australian families brought their cars to Vladivostok. Now they are heading from Yakutsk to Magadan. In weeks, they hope to traverse Mongolia. It was Jon (the 1st from the right), who gave me Yuri Melnikov s contact. The latter helped them with dealing custom clearance and cargo company in Vladivostok.

Travellers, who prefer to move across Russia’s Siberia and Far East on their own vehicles (motorcycles or off-road cars), tend to ask me this question often.

Indeed, if they ship their transport to Vladivostok by sea, they would need a person, who will help them to deal with custom clearance service, a sea port’s clerks, cargo companies, and do the seem-to-be-complicated paper work and etc, etc, etc.

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Which travel insurance is valid for Yakutia, Russia?

July 22, 2011

Which travel insurance is valid for Yakutia, Russia? This is a good question! You cannot be sure in your health, but you can be sure in your pro-activity.

Let’s start from the fact that Yakutia is a part of Russia. So when you think about insurance valid in Yakutia, you need to apply this issue in relation with the whole country. If your insurance works out in Russia, it should do in Russia’s Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). It must be so at least, but…

Morelikely, when foreingers will be asked to pay for medical service and treatment and consults in a Russian hospital and they will refer to their available foreign insurance policies, they might hear the reply, “We do not recognize your paper! You should have an insurance from a Russian company. So, you need to pay yourself.” Actually, if doctors say that, it means they do not know, what to do with your paper.

Here are my quick tips about travel insurance for Russia:

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How to find Gulags on the way to Topolinoe, Yakutia / Russia?

July 20, 2011

Remains of one of gulags on the way to Topolinoe in Tomponsky region, Republic of Sakha, Yakutia, Russia. Photo by Ajar Varlamov.

“Do you have any coordinates of gulags in Yakutia?” a question asked very, very often. No, I don’t have GPS coordinates, but I know there are some Stalin’s labour camps north off the Kolyma Higway on the way to Topolinoe (see the settlement on the map). If to be more precise, closer to the village.

Here are a few tips how to find camps. Read more…

Where to buy BMW or KTM motorbike spare parts in Yakutsk, Russia?

July 19, 2011

An American motorbiker, Ben Myburgh, in Yakutsk before his ride on the Kolyma Highway also known as the Road of Bones.

An American motorbiker, Ben Myburgh, in Yakutsk before his ride on the Kolyma Highway also known as the Road of Bones.

Yesterday, an American motorbiker, Ben Myburgh, arrived in Yakutsk. He made the way from Portugal to Yakutsk via Moscow and Mongolia. Today he is starting his journey the Kolyma Highway from Yakutsk to Magadan.

When he arrived, he got a few questions, but his most important request was, Where to buy a front wheel tube for his BWM F800 motorcycle in Yakutsk? Everything is cool with his current tubes, but he wanted to have one more for replacement.

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What is the condition of the Road of Bones in June? Watch the video of June 2011.

June 29, 2011

Milosz Augustyniak on the Road of Bones in Yakutia, Russia, in June 2011

Milosz Augustyniak on the Road of Bones in Yakutia, Russia, in June 2011

Previously I described the condition of the Kolyma Highway (known also as the Road of Bones) in June. As you know, the Kolyma Highway (M 56) connects Yakutsk and Magadan. The significant part of the road, precisely Khandyga – Magadan, was built by labour workers of Stalin’s gulags.

In posts where I mention the road condition in June, I write that it’s possible to drive the Kolyma Highway in this month, but if to go via Ust Nera. The route via this settlement is a major way and maintained all a year around.

The road through Tomtor is not reconstructed. Moreover, there are no bridges over rivers, that tend to be full of high waters at this period. Keep in mind that late May is the period of ice river melting and spring flooding. Therefore, in June, rivers are still full of waters. So, if you’ve got motorbikes and off-road vehicles, you can try the old road, but more likely you’ll be stuck on the part Tomtor – Magadan Oblast.

On the contrary, the new route via Ust Nera is the only way to be used in June. Last years, it has been improved by road workers pretty good. Broken bridges were reconstructed. If there were gaps, they were filled.

But… Read more…

Canadian 4wd travellers about their 5-day trip Vladivostok – Yakutsk. They plan to made it to Magadan.

June 13, 2011

Canadian 4wd travellers about their 5-day trip Vladivostok – Yakutsk. They plan to made it to Magadan.

Canadians just arrived to Yakutsk from Vladivostok. They spent 12 days in Vladivostok waiting for their Toyota Landcruiser from custom clearance, and they spent 5 days on the way with camping along the route. Yes, they were really tired.

A week ago, I received the sms on my mobile. It said, “Hi, it’s me, Ian. I got my car from the custom service. Now I and my friends are starting the trip to Yakutsk…” I was like, “Who is Ian?..” Then I thought, if he knew my mobile number, he must have kept in touch with me via AskYakutia.com… and I was right.

I checked my email box, typed his name in the search box and found Ian Veinot‘s message dated April 7th, 2010. A year ago! He wrote:

Hi..Thanks so much for posting all of the information you have so far. I just want to clarify one thing…Is the all weather road from Yakutsk to Magadan a separate route to the Road of Bones? I would like to travel the Road of Bones next year but would like to start in June so am hoping to use the all weather road starting in Yakutsk before returning from Magadan in mid-June on the Road of Bones when the rivers are hopefully lower. Thanks for any advise! Cheers.

My answer was short:

If you go by the new route of the Kolyma Highway, i.e. through Ust Nera, you can do it in June as well. This part is in good condition in the course of the whole summer. If by the old route via Tomtor, in late July and August only because of rivers.

My god! I remember, a few months later, he was also asking me, how to clear the car at the Russian custom. I recommended to forward all custom-related inquires to Walter Colebatch from SibirskyExtreme.

One year past, Ian arrived in Yakutsk, as he promised, in June. It happened yesterday, June 12th, 2011.

Further, please, find out the video with his story about the way Vladivostok to Yakutsk, learn what type of problems he had with his car custom clearance and see what made tired travellers happy in Yakutsk.

Read more…

Yudoma River Fishing Lodge in South-East Yakutia, Siberia / Russia. Fishing in Siberian rivers at reasonable prices!

June 1, 2011

Exclusive offer: VIP fishing at reasonable prices in Yakutia, Siberia, Russia

Exclusive fishing at reasonable prices in Yakutia, Siberia, Russia

A frequently asked question: “What types of fishing do you have in Yakutia, Siberia / Russia?” In other words, people are interested in where, what and when to fish.

Frankly, Yakutia is considered to be one a highly desired fishing destination. Yakutia offers Siberian taimen fishing, perch fishing, whitefish fishing, lenok fishing and grayling fishing. Moreover, Siberian rivers with wildness and abundance of various fishes are, indeed, something for a fisherman to try in a life.

I do not say, it is a must to fish in Yakutia, because I live in here. No, just fishing in Yakutia is one of our special gifts. A brand, I would say.

When distinguished guests, celebrities, high officials and other VIPs come to Yakutia in summer and early autumn, hosts take them for fishing in Siberian rivers. That’s what locals love to do, as they know, when their guests will come back home, they would repeat one phrase for sure. “Yakutia has mind-blowing fishing!”

Great news is that. A friend of mine, who works for LenaTourFlot LLC, a travel agency of the biggest Lena River carrier company called LORP JSC, informed me that

“..Its so-called Yudomskaya fishing lodge constructed for VIP guests on the Yudoma River in South-East Yakutia is now available for regular fishermen at very reasonable prices…”

I say, “My god!” This place used to serve exclusively the chosen people. Now it is available for any fisherman, who can do all above-mentioned types of fishing. The big plus, IMHO, is the absence of furious mosquitoes and gnats.

Further, please, find information for LenaTourFlot’s 4-day fishing tour. Read more…

What is the current population of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), according to the 2010 Census?

May 24, 2011

One of the most common question I come across is… right…

What is the current population of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the biggest Russian region, with around 3 million sq km?

According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Russian population census, announced officially on Oct. 14, 2010, the population of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is 958.3 thousand people.

In terms of population, Yakutia is the 3rd largest Far Eastern region in Russia. The first position belongs to the Primorsky Kray (1956.4 K) and the Khabarovsk Territory (1344.2 K).

Read more…

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