In this episode, Jeremy is back on the Russian road, dancing between border towns, riverside promenades, and marathon drives that seem to stretch into the next century. What begins as a simple attempt to peek across into China turns into a chain of unexpected detours, hotel scavenger hunts, and some remarkably flavorful discoveries.
The adventure kicks off near the Russian China border, where Jeremy and the crew park by the Amur River and stare across at Heihe, only to be reminded they lack the proper paperwork to actually cross. Instead, they wander through Blagoveshchensk, absorbing riverside strolls, restored monuments from the 1800s, and locals casually enjoying their post-work leisure time. It is calm and mellow, until every hotel in town magically fills up overnight. Unable to stay another evening, the team barrels toward Khabarovsk, a hefty eight hundred kilometre expedition.
The region’s tidy apartments, quiet playgrounds and relaxed Saturday atmosphere soon give way to a grueling fourteen-hour drive. Khabarovsk greets them with vicious wind, hotel after hotel with no vacancies, and baffled staff explaining that fourteen thousand visitors have inundated the city for a sports festival. After five rejections, the sixth hotel finally has space, though the rooms introduce them to new aromas ranging from cigarette perfume to questionable mystery scents. At least the Chinese-run restaurant downstairs rescues them at breakfast with a feast far more exciting than the usual cold Russian morning fare.
Laundry is dropped off in a hidden basement laundromat. They explore parks where trams slide past forests, learn about China’s last emperor Puyi who was imprisoned here, and drift down to the riverside where vendors, hot air balloons, and families fill the promenade. The architecture glows. The weather is perfect. The whole town feels like a relaxed Sunday carnival.
Soon it is time to push toward the final Russian city of their journey. Vladivostok awaits nearly eight hundred kilometres away, along highways dotted with roadside farmers selling fresh pumpkins, garlic, and tomatoes straight from nearby fields. Jeremy buys nothing, admitting that cooking is not part of his current survival strategy.
Crossing the long bridge into Vladivostok feels triumphant. They settle into a seaside chalet village run by a Chinese businessman, only to discover that the Malaysian Land Cruiser refuses to start. A tow truck hauls it away for diagnostics, and Jeremy follows the mechanics into a network of workshops overflowing with Japanese cars. Between inspections, traffic jams, seafood hunts and sightings of both ancient churches and modern impatience, Vladivostok proves energetic and unpredictable.
Dive into the full video to watch Jeremy wrestle with border queues, dodgy motels, broken engines, and gourmet redemption by the sea!
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