We flew in to Khabarovsk airport and traveled approximately 2- 2.5 hours
by car. The roads were bumpy and rough, with police checkpoints along
the way. We just slowed down through these check points, and our driver
was waved through (I think they knew him well- we were told they were
just checking that the driver had a seatbelt on.) Seatbelts in the back
seats were non-existent. Our baby rode in my arms on the way back.
When we traveled in October the whole region was experiencing wild fires
- apparently a very common element at that time of the year. The fires
were intense, and burned along side the roadways. We were the only ones
who seemed concerned by them though.
Although Birobidjian is a fairly large city, it has a small-town feel to
it. There is one 'modern' grocery store, and numerous small corner
shops for groceries, beer and wine. There was a baby supply store
where most common supplies were available - I am not sure that small
umbrella strollers were available though. There was a bank, however
our U.S. money was exchanged at the Electronics Store. We were told
that this was where we would get the best rate - however it did depend
on whether the store needed U.S. dollars at the time.
We stayed in an apartment while we were there. We had a wonderful lady
who prepared our meals and took care of us. She is the Head Nurse of
the ward (at the hospital) we adopted our son from. She was able to
give us lots of additional information about him. Someone always stayed
with us in the apartment during the night, however we did get a lot of
privacy. Although the building was very shabby on the outside (they all
are) the apartments were very comfortable and secure.
We were able to stay in touch with home through email. There is one
central location, in a government building, where they have 4-5
computers available to use for a very reasonable cost.
Birobidjian has a large shoe factory with a store attached. We found
leather shoes there that were fantastic and so reasonable. We were also
able to purchase an excellent book (written in English and Russian) that
has great pictures and information for the whole region. It definitely
will make a great keepsake for baby.
Our son was still in the Children's Hospital when we adopted him. We
were only allowed to visit for a few hours in the morning, then again in
the afternoon. We were not permitted to take him outside, or in fact
even out of the visiting room. We passed the time that we were not with
him by walking in the central park or along the river. We went for
drives in the countryside and we went shopping. We visited the outdoor
market, and local churches. Not much else to do!
Your translator and driver will know of all the places I have mentioned
above. Once again it is a fairly small city. We found that the
translator was very reluctant to let us out of her sight during the day.
Enjoy the experience-
Jennifer, Greg and Joel Playford
