Exploring Russia diary :: 16 November, Novosibirsk

The bottle of vodka lurked menacingly on the table behind a plate of pickled cucumbers.

It seemed to be staring at me with cold mocking eyes.

I could almost hear it saying: "Steve, you know you're not going to leave this room without drinking me!"

Click here to see a map of Steve's planned route

We'd been invited to the flat of a famous Siberian explorer called Yura.

Within seconds of arriving Yura's kitchen table was bursting with food and drink.

There were sausages and salads, mushrooms and cheese, and plenty of vodka. This was real Russian hospitality.

There was just one problem. Me and vodka go together like a synchronised swimmer in a football team. One glass of the stuff and I'm under the table.

But Russians are very insistent, and when you are a guest in this country there are a string of vodka toasts you just have to get through if you don't wish to cause offence.

And they came thick and fast: "To new friends!" "To the past!" "To the future!"

Superman

Round the table Yura and his friend Yevgeny were knocking back the vodka and not looking any the worse for it.

Oh you English are so stiff - and far too predictable, not like us Russians Yura, explorer

I was taking tiny sips and struggling to stay vertical.

Yura is Novosibirsk's answer to Superman.

He has been on 72 expeditions around the world. He has been to the North Pole and the South Pole. He is also Novosibirsk's top radio ham.

Every day Yura spends hours chatting to people around the world over the airwaves. (He calls them his family.)

And he is only one of a few people in the city to have a sauna in the corner of his kitchen.

By now the vodka was flowing freely and the conversation turned to England, or "foggy Albion" as Russians like to call it. Yura and Yevgeny had been there a year ago.

Unpredictable Russians

I asked Yevgeny what he thought of the English. I imagined he would say something polite, after all we were guests.

What really amazed us was that everyone in your country obeys the law - and your policemen are superb Yevgeny

But Siberians say exactly what they think. "Oh you English are so stiff!" he cried with a warm Siberian smile. "And far too predictable, not like us Russians.

"What I like about my country is that you never know what's going to happen! We even had an earthquake here six weeks ago."

But they must have liked something about the UK, I insisted.

"What really amazed us" Yevgeny said, "was that everyone in your country obeys the law. And your policemen are superb."

Yura and Yevgeny had been so impressed with British Bobbies they had bought souvenir police hats and coats and marched down the streets of London dressed as policemen, causing utter confusion.

"People kept coming up to us to ask directions," Yevgeny said, "but we couldn't understand a word they were saying. Then two real policemen drove by and saluted us!"

Life in Siberia may be tough, but at least some people here haven't lost their sense of humour.

1. Leave Moscow: 9 November 2. Yekaterinburg: 10 November 3. Omsk: 11-13 November 4. Novosibirsk: 14-15 November 5. Krasnoyarsk: 16 November 6. Irkutsk: 16-19 November 7. Vladivostok: 20-24 November