The wait is finally over! Their vehicles which were struck in the truck and waiting for clearance, finally got unloaded after three days. Thanks to Anatoly, their local agent/Wheeler dealer and a half dozen other people who helped them clear the complicated process.
The wait was finally over for Dhanu and Sheru, the team's sturdy vehicles, which were stuck in the truck and awaiting clearance for three long days, thanks Anatoly, the team's local agent and half a dozen other people who helped them clear the complicated process. At about 12.15 pm on Tuesday, the sight of the vehicles was a huge relief to the team.
Before handing over the vehicles to the team, they were taken to a customs holding office in Kraskino for final clearance. "Suddenly, six more people arrived at the customs holding office and hardly negotiated with the officials to release the vehicle. After some money was exchanged, we were asked to sign some papers and at last the vehicles were handed over to us. The whole experience was like a thriller movie," says Meenakshi, the team's Captain. She adds that the team awaiting the vehicels at the hotel were relieved and rejoiced at the sight of them. In under 20 minutes, the team packed up and headed toward Vladivostok..
"It was good to be back behind the wheels and our babies - 'Dhanu' and 'Sheru' - on the roads. The 233 km drive in three and a half hours from Kraskino to Vladivostok was a breeze," says Meenakshi. She opined that the Indian Embassy at Vladivostok had helped the team a lot to clear their cars. The team have planned to allocate Wednesday for overhauling their cars, before the runbber hits the roads on the much awaited adventurous Trans Siberian Highway.