3. 10 June to 18 June 2011 - Moscow and Volgograd, Russia

Our morning at Catherine's Palace on the way out of St Petersburg took far longer than we anticipated, so it was mid-afternoon before we were on our way to Moscow. And the road had its challenges - tarred but rutted severely, causing havoc with steering both for us and a multitude of trucks. Meanwhile speedy Russian drivers, with scary spatial concepts, were weaving in and out of the heaving traffic. Soon we were driving through fir tree forests and patches of farming and we had our first Russian fuel stop experience, where payment is up-front and then back in for the receipt. And the diesel is so much cheaper, about a third of what we paid in England.

We made it as far as Novgorad, where we treated ourselves to a reasonable hotel overlooking the Volhov River. 'White nights' trick you into thinking it is much earlier than it is, which can trap you into late nights and late mornings. It doesn't get dark as far as we can tell, but we haven't skipped a night's sleep to test it.

The following day we were heading for a hotel on the outer ring road north of Moscow where they had pleasant camping in the grounds, or so it appeared on the web site. On arrival it was quite a different story. A boom gate with a Mayak Hotel sign and even a little tent icon all looked promising until the security man wouldn't let us through, obviously trying to explain something far beyond our Russian language comprehension. He understood we wanted to camp, but we didn't understand the problem. He then phoned someone and subsequently opened the gate directing us down the road past the hotel to where another security man waited for us. We found ourselves on the Moscow River at a marina where million dollar cruising vessels were moored and we were shown a cement area where they would let us camp. Confusion reigned till Brian said "atel nee rabotaeet?" (hotel not working?) and he said "Da, da da!" Now we understood the problem. Late in the day it really isn't an option to go searching for alternatives, and with the prized possessions of wealthy Russians only metres away, we figured we had found a very secure campsite. It was on a par with Brian's "I take you to some exotic places" standard, especially when as the evening wore on, one of the cruiser owners threw a small party on board, and we went to sleep to a medley of loud Russian music. But the price was right and we strangely enjoyed it.

Another hotel on the outer ring road south of Moscow was worth a try the next day, and after a 47km drive to 'Rushotel' they did offer camping in the huge carpark, but nothing else, and it seemed an unlikely place to erect our camping shower. So we opted for an economy room which was very economy, especially when compared to the lavish reception area. But they had a free shuttle service to a metro station, and we were planning a fairly short stay in Moscow.

Sixteen stations into Moscow, but we were getting quite used to the feel of the Russian metro. Luckily we didn't have to bother changing lines and could arrive right at the back of the Kremlin. Our weekend in Moscow included Russian Independence Day on the Sunday, dating back to events in 1991. For us this meant a view of the Kremlin with scaffolding set up for a huge concert on Sunday night, which we watched back in our hotel room having been there that afternoon. Other than that, a large number of militia about and official vehicles, and plenty of Russians enjoying the holiday weekend in the sun.

But it also meant that we couldn't apply for our Mongolian visas on a holiday Monday. Waiting in Moscow till Tuesday to apply and then however many days for the visa to come through didn't appeal, so we decided to apply in Almaty in Kazakhstan. Time will tell if this decision was a bad one.

Pleased to be leaving the city and on our way south, we were in countryside in no time and the rolling steppes of beautiful rich black soil, farmed for as far as you can see. This was the driving we had been looking forward to. Roads not great, still speeding cars and a few trucks, but we could travel our own speed comfortably. We had thought we might have been able to camp inside villages, but having managed to ask a couple of times, we found the people friendly, but a little unsure of us.

So our next option was the back of service station truck stops. Hard work to find those that were suitable, with big areas out the back for trucks to park overnight, but for 140 roubles (about A$5.00) and the use of a shower, we found back corner campsites, and truck stop cafe food interesting but quite OK. We have now slept to the roar of incoming trucks and refrigeration motors cutting in and out. The excitement never stops! We are getting our Russian feet slowly, though this part of the journey has been hard work.

Feeling rather tired when we arrived at Volgograd (once known as Stalingrad), we stayed at an ordinary hotel out at the airport the first night, and then treated ourselves again to a fabulous hotel right in the middle of the city for two more nights, with secure parking and a taste of luxury. The Volga River is Europe's longest river at 3530km and there's some interesting sightseeing here due to the fact that 1.5 million lives were lost in the Battle for Stalingrad in WWII and the city was destroyed then totally rebuilt after the war. It remains a significant event and the evidence is everywhere.

Now we have a 3 or 4 day journey down to Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea, before we cross into Kazakhstan.