Way to Russia Talk Lounge

Babuschka · Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 28

Hello,

from Paulo Coelho?s newsletter I know that the writer had planned to undertake a trip on the Transiberian railway throughout Siberia till Wladiwostok this Summer. Somehow it seems, however, that the authorities were slow in confirming the possibility for him to make this trip together with readers and fans. For now, Coelho cancelled the trip.

I wounder if you, as Russians, would have an advice on how to approach the authorities for obtaining permission to make the trip?

Apparently it?s not that easy to deal with Russian railway officials and it?s honestly a great pity that Paulo Coelho had to cancel what would have been an incredible travel experience not only for himself but for many readers.

Cheers,
Razz

blaked · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:08 pm Post subject:

He wouldn't have any trouble getting a visa - he's hugely popular here in Russia - you can find his books in almost every book store. My Russian teacher loves him.

Babuschka · Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 28

So do I!

wavetossed · WayToRussified Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 337

I think he must have gotten some bad advice from people and he was probably confused by the terminology of visas.

First of all, for that kind of trip, he should have applied for a business visa, not for a tourist visa. That gives him flexibility to travel without a specific itinerary. This is important because it is difficult to plan a trip by train in the summer before the summer timetable is published.

Secondly, he should not take the english language terminology seriously. For instance the so-called "invitation" is not what we would normally call an invitation in english. But, since the russian name for it is normally translated as "invitation" we get this confusing situation.

And thirdly, the Russian railway officials have no role to play whatsoever. Their job is to make the railways run, all 17 regional operating companies within the Russian railways. Forget about them. They are doing their job very well and that is why you will have such a wide choice of trains to use.

So, my advice to Paul is as follows. Get yourself a business visa long enough to cover the period of travel. If you expect to make friends and want to return for a visit in a few months, then get a 12 month multi-entry business visa. This is what I did myself.

Book your flights now but don't worry about the trains. Wait until 30-40 days before departure to book the first train tickets. Realize that you do *NOT* buy trans-Siberian tickets. There is no such thing in Russia, only in the west. In Russia, the reality is that there are many trains running on many tracks between many cities. Each trip from city A to city B is one ticket. So just buy your first two or three legs in advance. Buy other tickets as you need them when you are in Russia. Every train station will sell tickets. And, yes, I have personal experience of this, including changing tickets 2 days before travelling. You don't actually change the ticket. You sell back the wrong ticket for a full refund and then buy another one at another wicket. One time I went to the station, bought a ticket, and 5 minutes later I was on the train.

Also, when you find an awkward scheduling for trains between city A and city B, it probably means that the locals don't normally use trains on that route. Try the bus instead. For instance it is darn near impossible to get between Chelyabinsk and Ekaterinburg by train. But it is an easy 4 hour bus ride and there are several buses per day. I have done this particular trip 3 times. Once, I got to the station and was able to get a ticket for a bus leaving in 15 minutes. And once, the next bus was full and I had to wait for an hour and a half.

The trick to travelling in Russia, is to play it by ear and do *NOT* try to plan every detail in advance. That is not how Russians do things and therefore the system is not set up to accomodate a lot of detailled advance planning.

If Paul wants to ask questions in private, you can contact me by way of this site's private messaging facility. It is in the icon to the right of "Profile" and under "FAQ" at the top of the page.

Eve Meier · Just Starting Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 2

Hi there; Thanks for all your information. I plan to travel from Mongolia to Moscow in August. Are you suggesting that I need not buy any tickets before arriving at my starting point? Thanks for your replay. Eve

wavetossed · WayToRussified Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 337

It depends on whether you are making a non-stop trip or lots of shorter ones. If it is non-stop, then buy your tickets 30-40 days before arriving.

But if it is lots of shorter ones, there is no need to buy all the tickets in advance. Just buy the Mongolia to Russia ticket in advance. When you stop in Russia, you can buy tickets at the train station.

Babuschka · Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 28

Dear Wavetosed,

thank you for your overwhelming friendliness in posting this detailed information. It might be vital for Paulo Coelho to come to know about it.

I don?t know if you noticed but we are talking here of a widely well-known and highly respected book author who was planning a public trip on the Transib. Somehow the authorities seemed to have crossed that plan. As a matter of fact, he would have reserved a whole train for this trip!

Cheers and thank you again so much for your consideration!

wavetossed · WayToRussified Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 337

The authorities have nothing to do with the railways. Russian Railways (RZhD) is a national company divided into 17 regional operating companies. They run the trains.

If Coelho's group went to the government of Russia for some help then they went to the wrong place. This is not the Soviet Union any more.

Now, in summertime RZhD is running more trains than at any other time of year so it is possible that there simply are no spare trains available for rent. But there are private companies who own trains that can be rented, for instance:
http://www.trans-siberia.com/tours-deluxe.html
http://www.mircorp.com/tsx.html

Frankly, I'm surprised that someone like Paul Coelho, who is so popular in Russia, wants to sit in a train all the way. It would make more sense for him to visit various towns and cities along the way, staying a day or two in each city. Then there would be no problem with train tickets, because you just buy the intercity journeys that you want.

There really is no need for a great amount of advance planning of the train journeys. Just plan out the stops, leaving enough time between cities for the trains. You can use http://www.poezda.net as a rough guide. However the summer schedule will have additional trains running.

Remember, you cannot take the Trans-Sibir train because it does not exist. You can take a Trans-Siberian journey and you will likely enjoy that journey far more if you do NOT try to do it on the same train all the way.

Babuschka · Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 28

Dear Wavetossed,

I am awed by your detailed explanation! Thank you very much!!!
As far as I heard from some people at the Fan Club and read in a newsletter of January, Paulo Coelho intended to rent one or several waggons of a Transib-train in order to take that journey with, as I mentioned further above, people provenient of different nations and cultures this summer. According to what I heard they certainly would have changed trains at some point, because they would make 1-2 day stops at some of the Transib-stations where they would have met other people, visit the sights, have readings etc. Well, it sounded tremendously interesting and adventurous!
After reading your posts, it seems to me that he has not been provided with the complete information and eventually misled to waiting for an approval of authorities who don t even are in the position of giving any approval at all... Oh Russia, what a place!!!
Again, thank you for your enlightening background information. I will see to get it through to Paulo Coelho. I am sure he will appreciate this though it seems he might already have changed plans and won t consider doing that journey anymore or, at least, not in June.

With many greetings,

Babuschka

Razz