29 July 2009 Vladivostock Russia

Today on the top of my agenda is finding money to get my motorcycle out of South Korea. I’m about $2000 USD short for sending my motorcycle back to Vancouver, British Colombia Canada. I’m going to try to get a cash advance out of my credit cards. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this is possible. My first attempt failed. I tried all my credit cards and they all were rejected. I was bummed out. These attempts were made at a currency exchange office in the hotel so who knows what’s going on there. They said my bank wouldn’t allow any withdrawls. I also asked the currency exchange office if they would cash American Express Travelers checks. No was the answer to that. I went upstairs to Intourist Travel Agency and asked them if they knew of any banks that would cash Travelers Checks. They kind of said they are longer used in Russia and are outdated. I said I knew that. They called around and found a bank that was relatively close to the Hyundai Hotel. I asked the lady in the office if I could call her and have her translate for me if I encountered any problems. She said she would. I told her I was off on another adventure and set about finding this bank. I stopped at the first bank she had written down and they said they don’t cash Travelers Checks. One of the ladies from that bank took me outside and pointed down the street to another bank with a green sign. I walked down there and entered the bank. It was full of people. What window am I suppose to stand in front of? Here comes a woman with a bank name tag. I handed my note to her explaining I wanted to cash Travelers Checks. She directed to me to stand in front of a door to a small room. I waited for two people ahead of me to enter and leave the room. Finally it was my turn. I walked in and handed the lady cashier my note explaining I wanted to cash Travelers Checks. She handed my passport and Travelers Checks back to me. She said something to me which I didn’t understand. The lady I met outside the room came in and asked what the problem was. I told her to call the lady at Intourist-Nakhodka. So we rang her up. I asked her if she can find out what the problem is. The cashier told her that I had to pay a 2% service charge to cash the traveler’s check. I said that’s ok, let’s do it. Well, 30 minutes later I left with my Travelers Checks cashed and in a good mood. Cashing those Travelers Checks entails a fair amount of paperwork in Russia. I’m unsure what or why, but its a lot of paperwork. The people waiting for me to leave the room were a little anxious because of the extended wait. I took some pictures of the hotel on the way back. I was a bit relieved having been successful in cashing those Travelers Checks. At 5:30 p.m. I had an appointment with Intourist-Nakhodka Travel Agency during which I picked up my ferry ticket and my hotel voucher for the night of 31 July 2009 in the city of Slavjanka. That is where I will stay the night before I depart on the ferry Zarubino. I also found out they have an English translator that works in the port itself so I didn’t have to hire one. I have to be on the ferry 1 August 2009. I worked on my blog till midnight.