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Russia is maybe not the best country for a traveler. There are not many hostels except in St. Petersburg and Moscow (and they are also quite expensive). I read from my Lonely Planet that there are only hotels in Vladivostok and there are no budget accommodations available. I arrived to Vladivostok on Tuesday morning and I had my flight from Vladivostok on Wednesday at 3pm. I was thinking to sleep in airport if I don´t find any cheap accommodation. Maria promised to help me to find a place to sleep and she knew some hotels near the train station. We went to ask prices and they were 80€+. Maria called to some other hotels and she found one with a reasonable price (over the half the price of average). They didn´t have any room ready before noon and we left my backpack to one hotel´s locker room and went to breakfast in students café. Maria had a meeting in US consulate at 9am and we set up a meeting at 10.30 in front of consulate. Consulate was two kilometers away from the centre and Maria met one guy in consulate who was also applying visa to America. The guy was staying in the same hotel where my backpack was and he arranged taxi for us all.
We picked up my backpack and went to my hotel and checked in. Airport was 50km away from the centre and my two year old Lonely Planet said that to go there, I have to take a local train to one bus station and then take a minivan to airport. It sounded complicated and Maria asked if there is any other way to get there. There was a direct bus from the train station and we went to check that what time they were running. Then Maria showed me the city and we walked a lot in city. We went to eat lunch to one student restaurant and the food was great. Maria left at 5pm back to her home and I went to rest to my hotel. Maria fixed everything what I needed and she was a great help for me in Vladivostok.
I took a long hot shower and after that I felt so refreshing. I spend two hours in internet updating my blog and sending some emails. Then I watched five episodes of Entourage one after the other from my laptop (Janne: ohh yes, it´s addictive) and went to sleep early. It was strange to go to sleep because there wasn´t any noises and my bed wasn´t shaking. It was good idea to have a room for a night because I really needed a hot shower and good sleep. I also knew that I´m going to sleep next night in Bangkok airport because I have my next flight to Penang on next day and there is no reason to go to any hostel. On morning I took a shower and felt fresh. I had a view to Sea of Japan from my window and there was only five minutes' walk to the train station. My journey to airport took over an hour and everything went well there.
I arrived to Bangkok at 11pm (17.12) and I have flight to Penang (North Malaysia) at 2.15pm on 18th of dec. On airport I went to eat first and oh my god how good was Thai food once again. After that I searched quiet place with plug box and set up my camp. I updated my blog and had Skype chat with my parents. It was quite cold in airport because of the strong air conditioning and I was lucky that I had a sleeping pack with me. I had good sleep in the floor and I had nice breakfast when I woke up. Now I will take a flight to Penang and then try to get somehow to Langkawi Island (Malaysia) as soon as possible. From there I will take a ferry to Koh Lipe (South of Thailand) and meet some Finnish friends there. We have planned to spend Christmas there and after that I don´t have any exact plans…Keep in touch…
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