Jebber45
Frequent Guest
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Posts: 17
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 Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:59 pm Post subject: Just got back, my experiences & advice. |
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Hey everyone, I just got back from a two-week trip to Russia. My girlfriend and I visited Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sergiev Posad, and Rostov. I got so much help from reading these boards, I thought I would give back and just share a few things that I would recommend to others. Thank you again to all who provided help.
1. Airport. We arrived at DME, which is a nice airport, from Chicago directly. Passport control was a breeze, and we just walked right on through customs. The same can be said for our return trip. We were nervous about what we would have to say and such, but it could not have been easier.
2. Passport/Visa Checks. We read a lot about people getting stopped on the street for random checks of paperwork. We did not experience this once in two weeks. Of course we did not look like tourists (see point 3) and tried to cut speaking English when passing the cops. So have your papers on you, but don't worry too much.
3. Dress nice. I read this ahead of time, and didn't even bring a pair of jeans. I wore slacks and a long sleave shirt with my leather coat, and fit right in. To the point where nearly daily I had Russians on the street ask me questions .. about a metro stop, where something was, etc. And I actually helped a lady on the metro. Crazy!
4. Try to get small bills. All the ATM machines seem to only dispense 1000 ruble notes. It seems that almost everywhere people hate changing big bills. So we would make a note to try and break our 1000s any time we were at a big restaurant or major shop. Small vendors, cafes, and museums may not have change, or simply not want to try and break it.
5. Be aggressive in lines. Russians don't seem to have much of a concept of lines. I got the impression that their attitude was that if you were waiting in a line you were stupid. Many, many times I was waiting in a line to have people (mainly women) skip right in front of me with zero regard that I had been waiting. So dive in there and keep inching your way to the front! Don't be afraid to push a bit, they will do it to you!
6. Speak & read some Russian. I have been taking Russian with a private tutor for 18 months. I definitely was not fooling any natives, but I knew enough to get exactly what we needed, order food, order tickets, etc. My girlfriend knew no Russian, and she was pretty heavily dependent on me. If you do not want to be in a tour, there is absolutely no way you can make it around Russia without knowing some of the language. And reading of course is key to getting around. Very few people speak more than a few phrases of English - especially if you are not in fancy hotels or restaurants.
7. Buy some good TP. We rented apartments in both cities, and here I will give a good plug for Pulford Apartments (www.pulford.com). They were very nice, very large, and the locations couldn't have been more perfect for getting everywhere. Yet, after a couple of days we NEEDED to go buy some quality TP. I'll leave it at that! So if you see a grocery store, pop in and get some!
8. Taxis. Most inter-city taxi rides cost between 100-400 rubles. I love the fact that it is a flat rate regardless of time because traffic can be brutal. And in Chicago the jackass taxi drivers will take their sweet time as the meter runs! Don't get pushed around about the rate, and don't close the door to the taxi until you have agreed on one. We had a guy try to "sell" us an 800 ruble ride for about a 3/4 of a mile in St. Petersburg, I started laughing and said 300, and he agreed. So act like you know what you are doing.
9. Try to make connections! Despite speaking an intermediate level of Russian, I found it difficult to make a lot of connections with people in Russia. The people that we did speak with were very nice and fun to be around, but we really had to make the effort. People do not seem to be really outgoing at first, so really make the effort to touch base with them.
Well that is it off the top of my head. If any one would like some more advice from a recent visitor to Russia, please feel free to write. I would really love to help some people with their trips as people on this board have helped me. I'd be happy to give more advice on restaurants, shopping, sights, banya, etc.
James |
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EricP
Frequent Guest
Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 10
Location: Moscow or Texas
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| Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 7:03 am Post subject: Thanks for your nice reply! |
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| I only want to add, if you are a business traveller to Moscow you really don't need any language skills. The Russians charge "world" prices but at the places you pay them, you can get by with English. |
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