Since then, two Russian doctors have been to the United States and worked with us. In the summer of 2000, Dr. Stephen Saunders of Seattle and myself decided it was time to go back. Our ride to the Vladivostok Hotel is delayed by a huge traffic jam. The Chinese prime minister is in town, and for his return to the airport, they closed the main highway.
Life is fun, but unpredictable in Russia.
Vladivostok, home of the Spine Clinic, is a strategic port city on Russia's southeast coast, situated in the northern shores of the Sea of Japan. It has international trade potential, but was closed to foreigners until 1991, as it was the Russian Navy port. Previously, the grandmother of one of the Russian patients had sent me a panoramic view of the Golden Bay of Vladivostok. More staff and patients seen at the Spine Clinic in Vladivostok with Dr. Stephen Saunders. By U.S. standards, Vladivostok is run-down.