Russia!

I complained about Russia's foreigner prices yesterday, and got paid back -- in reverse karma* -- with a box of new shiny copies of the Lonely Planet Russia guide, which I worked on last year. You never get tired of seeing your name in print.

Last year I wrote a little blip on the scene in Vladivostok for The New York Times, which only touched on all that's happening in that wild city. A real Wild East. A recent mayor is in jail, so is an older one. Early business deals were punctuated with gunfire on the streets. These days, streams of Japanese and Korean cars are imported in big ships to the former navy docks daily -- you can see parking lots full of them awaiting clearance in immigration. Apparently after the Soviet Union fell, Boris Yeltsin tried to sever thoughts of such trade and the city threatened secession! The issue came up again last year, and protests hit the street. They do love their cars.

Usually the peripherals and personals of a trip -- little observations on secondary things, personal experiences with angry tram drivers or friendly bee keepers -- don't find homes in a guidebook. They're the sort of thing to blog about, to build with in a more inspirational feature article. But I did manage to squeeze in a first-person box on 'Car City' in this guide, where I drop by a 'car auction' and see if I can bid on a 1977 Soviet Lada. They tried to sell me an $18,000 Toyota instead. I passed.

Actually this is a good year to go to Russia. Last year, my dollar got me 25 rubles -- now it's getting 33, a 32% change benefiting the greenback. Inflation, meanwhile, has only risen 4% this year (affecting many imported goods in particular). So this might be the time for that Trans-Siberian Railway trip.

*Real karma came later, a black eye after someone's forehead slammed into my face in the last 15 seconds of a Brooklyn basketball game.