Day 10: Bumping over potholes

Laurance Yap

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Though we covered over 600 km today, it was easily the shortest day we've had yet.

An early start and clear roads meant that we made the trip from Omsk to Novosibirsk in just over five hours with a couple of fuel stops. There were, thankfully, no endless stops at police checkpoints and we even managed to wolf down a good breakfast at a busy truck stop.

The roads outside Novosibirsk are in much worse shape than those near Moscow.

The further east we drive, the more interesting the variety of vehicles we see becomes. In the Asian part of Russia, cars are often imported from other Asian markets, meaning about half the cars we see now are right-hand-drive Japanese models among the mix of Ladas and Volgas and other random military-looking vehicles.

The roads here are in much worse shape than those just outside of Moscow, and we were thankful for the comfort setting on the Cayenne's air suspension as we bounced over frost heaves and potholes that would send ordinary cars flying. Even then, my helmet hit the roll cage more than a couple of times. It's become apparent that the transit stages between the closed-course specials are as grueling and perhaps even more dangerous.

Half the cars are right-hand-drive Japanese models among the mix of Ladas and Volgas.

Novosibirsk is a busy, dusty town that seems to be growing at an impressive rate. There's construction everywhere and people seem to be spending plenty of money. Traffic is chaotic, but all the modern conveniences, including high-speed Internet access, are here.

Part of the reason for the short drive today was a chance to catch up on our sleep, a chance to re-pack our luggage and to grab a last shower. We camp out at Kosh Agash, just north of the Mongolian border, tomorrow.

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