Nagoya, Japan to the Island of Sakhalinsk, Russia. Our customs experience was serious in Russia with 5-6 serious Russian military around our airplane. On a positive note, it was nice to open our door to cooler temperatures (18 C)

An interested young man greeted us at the airport and took photos of airplanes and pilots.

This is a stark looking place and there are so many people smoking.

The half-hour drive to the only “decent”  hotel gave us an overview of the town. Reported, there are two oil companies (Exxon and Shell) with large portion of business in Sakhalinsk. The housing buildings are austere, very old and run down, resembling housing projects. Very depressing until we came upon a small, but nice green park near the Pacific Plaza Hotel.

Very basic accommodations! We actually only had time to eat, sleep and dress for next day flight.