Moscow!

Another great night's sleep, in spite of the revelation that Richard can't relax if there's a mosquito in the room.

It was 460 kms to Moscow, along the fast single lane M9. This road switches from smooth tarmaced highway, to unsurfaced, grooved tarmac, to bumpy truck rutted lanes. The weather stayed sunny for most of the way, so we made good progress.

Looking for a likely spot for lunch in Russia, is not your usual Happy Eater affair. We stopped at what appeared to be a run down shed that had been abandoned ten years previously. The door looked as though it was sealed shut and the inside was black. However we are now seasoned in the ways of Russian cafes. I boldly strolled through the door, and inside was a cosy little eating area with tables and chairs and some locals enjoying their midday sustainance. The proprietress was a large friendly accommodating lady. I pointed to the meal that one of the customers was finishing off, and held up two fingers.

We were then served with Borstch and burgers and mash. Mrs Malik will be pleased. Toilet at the end of a field behind the effervescent outside outhouse completed the picture.

We rode on to Moscow at a good pace, negotiating numerous police road blocks without being stopped.

Here's a little tip for the road bound adventurer entering Moscow. If you are hoping to locate a particular hostel near the centre of town, 5 p.m. is not the time to do it. Rush hour is the same in every big city. After an hour and a half of failing to find our destination we finally opted to pay a taxi driver to lead us. This stalwart, worthy gentleman of the road ripped me off by about twenty-five pounds. It would be an awful shame if he was run over by a tram while crossing the road.

Our hostel provides us with a private room. However access to the room (and also to the shared shower and toilet) is via a six bed dormitory. You can imagine how much we are looking forward to going to the toilet in the middle of the night!