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kiwi047
Just Starting
Joined: 30 Oct 2009
Posts: 1
Location: New Zealand
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 Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:25 am Post subject: First time to russia, second time overseas |
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Hi. Sounds like a broken record doesnt it? I plan to go to russia in approximately 3-4 years time. Why so long? I want to plan ahead so there will be very little that can go wrong for me. I am the sort of person who has the worst luck with things going wrong. I also wish to I have read the other posts, but why I post this topic again, is because I am from new zealand, and we do things differently to the united states in terms of travel. Now basically Im asking, from getting onto an air new zealand 747 and flying to russia, to getting back to new zealand soil, what do I need to do to ensure I enjoy my stay in russia, and dont get lost and die. 
Please do not leave out any minor detail it doesnt matter how little. If I know about it then I can know what to do. It could even be about not touching a certain bug at a certain time, or even putting my left foot on a train rather than my right foot it doesnt matter. I have very bad luck with different things going wrong, for example at 1 job I had, I tried to push a table out so I could clean underneath it, and ended up putting my arse through the wall because I didnt know that the wall was an inch thick and wasnt stable. hence my luck.    So I need to be as safe as possible and as prepared as possible. With that out of the way, heres a few questions I prepared (and copied) earlier:
How much money in total will I need to get from my doorstep to russia and back again without spending too much?
Is there a good chance of me meeting a russian girl, and are russian girls friendly to tourists like me? (I'll be honest I would like a russian girl for my wife and a family, so thats half the reason of why I am going)
What places should I go to "experience" russia? you know landmarks monuments museums etc and just generally nice places
How much of a risk is there of me getting mugged or robbed? I have street smarts (not walking down a dark alleyway at night etc) but I am not an imposing person so gangsters would view me as an easy target.
If I lose my return ticket is it easy for me to get back to new zealand, and if so what do I have to do? Or will I be stuck in russia with nothing?
Im sure I can learn enough russian to hold a conversation, in 3 years time, so that when I go to russia I can speak the language. Also I will know something about russia itself in 3 years time, so I dont get lost, and if someone like myself reads this they can travel with me and help me out a little bit too. If someone can help me speak and learn russian, too that would be great, but I shall scour google for tuition though. In advance thank you to anyone who helps me, if they do, and if I can repay the favour to someone in russia, I will. |
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nikir
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 54
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| Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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| OMFG, you probably shouldn't go anywhere near the place. Do a weekend in Bondi or St Kilda (planned 3 or 4 years ahead of course) and be sure to stay out of the dark alleys once the sun goes down. |
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Artem1
Just Starting
Joined: 05 Nov 2009
Posts: 5
Location: Russia.City Krasnoyarsk
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| Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Hello, I Russian and with pleasure will answer all questions about Russia, I can help to learn Russkija language and you to me English, I now just learn English language! |
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romdur
Lounge Lizard
Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 189
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| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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kiwi: Was that a serious post, or are you pulling our leg? Bravely assuming that you wrote in earnest...
| Quote: | | what do I need to do to ensure I enjoy my stay in russia, and dont get lost and die |
Simple answer: Visit during comfortable weather (best season depends on the location), and either (1) travel on a tour (river cruises are very popular and convenient), or (2) visit cities that are popular for tourism. Either method will answer all three of your concerns.
| Quote: | | I have very bad luck with different things going wrong |
Provided you follow the course suggested above, the only Big Thing to worry about is the Russian visa. This site has plenty of information about getting and registering your visa (if you take a river cruise, you won't need a visa at all!). If you follow the rules, and don't lose your passport (mainly, protect against pickpockets), then this issue (which is more difficult in Russia than most countries) won't be any problem for you at all.
| Quote: | | How much money in total will I need to get from my doorstep to russia and back again without spending too much? |
From my experience, you can be quite comfortable in central Moscow (the most expensive place in Russia... and for that matter the most expensive place on Earth) on 200 US per day, plus whatever you want to spend on entertainments, events, museums, etc. Of course you can go much cheaper than this, I'm referring to high comfort (your own nice apartment in a very convenient central location) for a casual short-term visitor. Anywhere else in Russia will of course be less expensive, but the smaller the town, the more difficult it is to find high-comfort accommodation.
| Quote: | | If I lose my return ticket is it easy for me to get back to new zealand, and if so what do I have to do? Or will I be stuck in russia with nothing? |
If you use an electronic ticket (I always do nowadays) then nothing to go wrong here. The really difficult case is loss of your passport - you could be stuck in Russia for as much as two weeks, literally unable to leave the country. Many folks recommend leaving your passport in a safe place, and carrying photocopies of the 1st page and the Russian visa, for the unlikely event that someone will ask to see your documents on the street. If you DID lose your passport, you must get a new passport from the NZ consulate in Russia, and then get an exit visa with the help of the company that provided your original visa invitation.
| Quote: | | Is there a good chance of me meeting a russian girl |
Dating etc. is a huge subject that is discouraged in this forum, which is oriented toward Russian travel and exploration. In my opinion, looking for love there is a tricky business - but people are people, wherever you go.
| Quote: | | What places should I go to "experience" russia? |
Well, the Russian experience covers a lot of ground. To really understand Russian life, it would be educational to visit a village where no house has plumbing, or an industrial town that has only shabby Soviet-era concrete apartment blocks and horribly polluted factory sites. But I would save these for the time when you're an experienced traveler in Russia... If you want to delight in some landmarks of Russia's history and high culture, then Sankt Peterburg has (in my opinion) more to offer than all the rest of that huge land put together. There are plenty of places (including this site) that suggest where to visit.
| Quote: | | Im sure I can learn enough russian to hold a conversation, in 3 years time, so that when I go to russia I can speak the language. |
If you're quite serious (for example, 10+ hours per week of concentrated study) then you should be able to achieve a useful level of communication in 2-3 years. Knowing even a little Russian greatly enhances the experience of visiting Russia: the more, the better.
| Quote: | | How much of a risk is there of me getting mugged or robbed? |
When walking the streets of Sankt Peterburg or Moscow, I feel safer than most American cities I have seen. [One proviso: like some other famous cities, Rome for example, pickpocketing is a big problem, and it is common to lose wallets, cell phones, and purses to non-violent robbery.] I haven't suffered, seen, or even heard personally of street violence. Commonsense precautions that you would use anywhere in the world, will stand you in good stead. I do my best to blend in to the population (in other words, I don't loudly advertise "hey I'm a tourist").
If you go "off the beaten path," here is my opinion:
1) It is hard to recognize a bad neighborhood - it can look just like a good neighborhood.
2) Some cities (not the very famous ones) are reputed (by Russians) to have bad street crime - I would want the advice of locals, before visiting an obscure town.
3) Don't visit a rural area unless accompanied by a Russian who knows their way around.
P.S. Russian gangsters don't care about dumb tourists like you and me. They have bigger fish to fry. |
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nikir
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 54
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 4:34 am Post subject: |
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Dating etc. is a huge subject that is discouraged in this forum, which is oriented toward Russian travel and exploration. |
Just to clarify, it is fine to talk about dating and forming relationships as this is often an integral part of ones travel experience.
It is not OK to advertise dating agencies or whine about scams concerning these agencies. There are many forums on the net where this can be done. WTR is not one of them. |
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