The
facilities provided in the Yasnaya Polyana Hotel were much below par for the
price charged. There was not a bottle of water, or a dispenser in lieu, nor any
arrangements for coffee. As a stop gap arrangement it proved ok. The locality
had no other stay facility. At least the lunch and dinner yesterday had been
good. I was ready earlier than scheduled to leave this morning. Then I found
the gate locked and I had no means to contact anyone. I remembered just in
time, before despair set in, that the receptionist had mentioned something
about lifting the phone in the room to call in case of any requirement. I did
that and a voice answered. I mentioned that I am ready to leave and the line
went dead! But things started happening. A man appeared to open the gate and a
young lady handed over a breakfast pack, which turned out to be very sparse – four
small slices of bread with slivers of salami and cheese.
It was
only 6 km to the highway and the condition of the road was very good. The M5
was becoming better as Moscow neared. Massive road works are also on. There
were some delays attendant to that. But what amazed me each time was the
discipline with which the control regulations were accepted by the road users.
Not once did anyone want to overtake or cut the lanes, or anything bordering on
something that would put others to trouble. Never. Even when the road is empty
people obey signals, at whatever time of day or night, and the lane discipline
is total. Therefore, even with the single carriageway the throughput is
maximized. Honking is unheard of. Unless it is to caution. However, there seems
to a problem with drunken driving because there are large number of warnings
about the same. The best warning I saw was a smashed up car mounted on a
concrete ‘bottle’ with VODKA written on it. A very forceful warning indeed.
Another interesting thing I noticed were thick cutouts of police car at
intermediate locations that were vulnerable to excessive speeding. This not
only served as a ‘speed breaker’ but also gave details of who could be
contacted in times of need. I have seen this in Kazakhstan too. 
The distance
to Orekhovo Zuveyo – to where I was originally destined for the day – was over
700 km. That overnight halt had been chosen in combination with Kazan. With
Kazan dropped from the itinerary I had to rethink Orekhovo too, which I should
have the day before. However, it is only when the mind was free in the car that
I started thinking about the need to go to Orekhovo. It would mean a diversion from
the Trans-Siberian Highway because Orekhovo was on M7 and not on M5. I took a
break from the drive and seriously started mulling changes. It struck me that
Bonnitsy or Kolomna would be good places to halt on M5. Bonnitsy did not come
up with many options for accommodation, whereas Kolomna gave me a fabulous
option of staying in a floating hotel on River Moscow! I plumped for that and
confirmed the booking. The beauty was that I had just about 50 km to do for the
rest of the day after the booking was done!
I
could not believe my eyes when I drove into the beautiful city of Kolomna. It
had a paradisiacal look to it. I could make out at the outset that the city was
very special – a large number of heritage buildings and good signages. Alas!
All in Russian. The Arbat 40 Meridian Hotel was a classic. Even though I did
not have a river view from the room it was large and very aesthetically done
up. The added bonus was that the young receptionist spoke fluent English. This
has a terrific advantage for a traveler like me because with little time for
sightseeing there should be someone to guide you to the absolute must sees in
the area. Two other issues I got sorted out with her. The first was the case of
my MTS sim connection. I had loaded on 2000 RUB for voice at the time of
activating the sim and had never used it, because my only use was the data
pack. Now when I wanted to use the voice to contact Egor in Moscow to arrange
the car shipment the call would not go through and message after message
started coming in, all in Russian, of course. The girl told me that there was
just 6 RUB balance in my account and hence, the connection was not being put
through! Then it struck me. The connection was taken in Vladivostok and all
incoming, which I thought to be free, was being charges as roaming! Anyway,
with the mystery solved the girl told me where to get the top up done. Next I
had to speak to Egor and she got the connection done from the hotel phone. With
that conversation the first step towards containerizing the Champion in St
Petersburg, after the expedition, began. All the above happened only because
the young girl was proficient in English. Undoubtedly a Guardian Angel.
As I
was driving into Kolomna I drove into a fuel station to tank up. When that was
being done I asked the attendant if I could find a car wash somewhere. He asked
me to take the car to the facility just behind the fuel station! There the lady
in charge did a most thorough job seeing the condition of the car. She asked
about the details of the trip and gave the Champion more than normal attention.
In the end, she was gleaming and ready for the final assault of the summit. In
a short while many cars lined up for wash and most of them came to the car and
took photos.
The
evening was reserved for a walk in the historic and heritage old part of
Kolomna. The hotel was so well located that the entrance to the historical part
of the city was just 5 minutes away. It was surprising to note that the city
had been closed to visitors till 1994 since the city was producing missile
components. The well preserved ancient city is said to have been founded
between 1140 and 1160 on a sharp bend of the River Moscow and that gave the
city its name. The churches, monasteries and many places of worship, remnants
of the old fortress and walls, old residences, even its Kremlin and the modern
speed skating rink and the fine square call for a leisurely walk, with each
demanding time to take in its history and architecture. I was most fascinated
to see two young boys on bicycles stopping at a water sump to slake their
thirst! Something we don’t find in India these days, even in villages. I did a
cursory walk and reached the square to top up the MTS sim, which was done
without any hassle using a machine. Later I walked around to shortlist a
restaurant. I came across one that was highly recommended by Tripadvisor. The
local beer, homemade noodle soup and the pork sirloin was worth every RUB I
paid for them.
I went
to sleep in the comfort that tomorrow would, hopefully, be the last lap of the
expedition, which was about 800 plus km. It had been a wonderful expedition
with its share of tensions, challenges and great experiences.
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