Travel to Russia

[Gergiev]

Little by little, civilization is slouching its way towards Russia.

Its hour come round at last...

[Stravinsky]

Still a little shocked as they have actually made it a little easier to enter Russia.

Good news!

Little by little, civilization is slouching its way towards Russia...

[Skwiskwis]

Just arrived in St Petersburg and have something new to report regarding luggage and immigration. The two part immigration form was NOT passed out on the plane and there were none in the immigration area and when I arrived at the immigration officer she produced one herself and simply stamped it and gave me one part. Seems you still have to carry it around and return it when you leave, but you no longer have to complete one yourself prior to your passage thru immigration.

Baggage. I flew from NYC to St Pb via Moscow. I was told in NYC to "Pick up your bags at St Pb." And, as in past trips, I translated this to mean, 'Pick up your bags in Moscow, go thru customs, re-check your bags, and collect them in St Pb' (I was flying to Pulkovo 1, which is the domestic airport and it does not have a customs area for luggage. Like flying to the US to Omaha, via NYC, you have to go thru customs at your port of entry). Anyway, when I arrived in Moscow, no bags! I asked at the desk and was told "They are on the plane for St Pb." So it seems now they really will send your bags to St Pb even if you stop in Moscow first. And in St Pb I simply picked them up from the carousel and left the airport, no customs at all. Strange. And finally, in another strange development, there were no Russian airport officials at the baggage exit in Pulkovo 1 causing a major back up as they tried to match baggage claim tickets with the bags.

Still a little shocked as they have actually made it a little easier to enter Russia.

[Prosal]

"The quieter you go, the further you will be"

As a side note, this kind of disagreement can also happen in Russia. Russians can go from jovial to berserk in a heartbeat.

[Prosal]

Prosal,

In Russia they have a saying, &1090; &1080; &1096; &1077; &1077; &1076; &1077; &1096; &1100; . &1076; &1072; &1083; &1100; &1096; &1077; &1073; &1091; &1076; &1077; &1096; &1100; , it means,"The quieter you go, the further you will be"

Totally agree with that. This kind of thing certainly not add to your travel pleasure. That said, it is sometimes unfortunatly unavoidable. It was with drunk swarthy monkeys (indians or pakis) who became territory at the bar and started insulting me when I showed some resistance. Obviously indians can't hold alcohol and all their anger comes out when they are drunk. You know the Russian saying "Cho ou trezvogo na ume, to ou pjanogo na jazyke" (what is on sober's mind is on drunk's tongue). (wink)

[Stravinsky]

try to not get involved in a fight in FSU. I've had a detachment of the retina after a brawl in a club in Tashkent

Prosal,

In Russia they have a saying, тише едешь - дальше будешь, it means, "The quieter you go, the further you will be"

[Stravinsky]

YE is term generally used in the FSU that translates as Agreed Units. It almost always signifies US Dollars

у.е. stands for условная единица. This translates loosely as, "The agreed upon unit of measure".

It used to be, the only other currency used in Russia was the Dollar, so you could assume that у.е. meant Dollars. But now, there are 3 different currencies commonly in use in Russia; the Ruble, the Euro, and the Dollar. So, whenever you buy something, you need to know what currency is the basis for the transaction. But be careful with у.е., it does not always mean Dollars, it could also mean Euros, and there's a big difference.

This is a favorite trick of the dyeffki in Night Flight. You think they're talking Dollars, but when the time comes to pay up, they say, no, no, no, the price was in Euros.

у.е. will also tell you what is the conversion rate. If you are in a restaurant, or a night club, you may see something printed on the menu that says, 1 у.е. = 10 руб. So, when you get the bill for 1,000 у.е., you know you need to pay 10,000 Rubles.

[Prosal]

Medical service.

As a side note, try to not get involved in a fight in FSU. I've had a detachment of the retina after a brawl in a club in Tashkent and it was a struggle to find an eye-clinic.

[Uke Boy]

Just for the record, my passport and insurance came back."Infos" on.

www.lexgarant.ru.

I got a booklet with 10 pages in Russian and 5 in english (which are the ones you can read by clicking the mentioned site) , after an introduction page with details. From what I can understand, I'll be insured for the 12 days of my stay for:

Stomatological assistance (acute pain) up to 100 why. E. (what does this mean?)

YE is term generally used in the FSU that translates as Agreed Units. It almost always signifies US Dollars. That means if you are in great pain that $100 will only cover the cost of just opening your mouth when you get into that dental chair!

Good luck.

[Gergiev]

OK, that's pretty much what I thought. Just curious how someone who travels in the provinces handles the situation.

Someday, I'd love to get beyond the big city and poke around to see what I can find. (sigh)

Hi Strav,

If you're doing this then the best thing to do is -

By all means, enter where you think you intend to go and for peace of mind keep your internal travel tickets, in case of queries on departure.

But really, nothing to worry about...

[EastGoing]

Just for the record, my passport and insurance came back."Infos" on www.lexgarant.ru. I got a booklet with 10 pages in Russian and 5 in english (which are the ones you can read by clicking the mentioned site) , after an introduction page with details. From what I can understand, I'll be insured for the 12 days of my stay for:

Medical service;

Stomatological assistance (acute pain) up to 100 why. E. (what does this mean?) ;

Medical transport expenses;

Repatriation of remains.

Sum insured: 30000 euros.

I got (also countersigned by a scribble, supposed to be me, LOL) program A, the one with the shortest list of covers.

No receipt of price, but I'm not going to investigate. Needless to say, the annual insurance I'm going to subscribe on my own covers much more.

[EastGoing]

Hi Jonners,

Thanks for your answer. This is how things went: I bought the cruise from a travel agent online, which I don't mention because I don't know if I'm allowed to such advertising, anyway if you google "Russian river cruises" it is in the first page. They gave me the address of their visa office, to send passport and papers. I was charged 110 euros for this service, I wasn't given a written sum up, anyway I remember on the phone: free invitation (evidently some other operators charge to invite you) .65 for the visa. 25 for the mandatory insurance, some 20 for the courier to bring it back and maybe another minor thing, absolutely nothing for them, I remember on my first calls they had said 115. When I told the agent about my own insurance I was answered that Russian consulate has a list of authorized and accepted companies. I was given the phone number of the visa office of the travel agent, I rang, they didn't even want to know the name of my insurance, they only said that the consulate wants an insurance that covers the length of the stay, just that, not longer (?). I don't know any detail of this imposed insurance yet since the packet with my passport is supposed to come back next week. I informed the travel agent and they (obviously and reasonably) said that there is nothing that can be done and that it's necessary and compulsory to follow consulate's instructions. Amen.

It's a holiday that costs me some 2000 euros before stepping out from home, don't know (and don't dare to try to figure out, LOL) what the total will be in the end. I can't make too much mess for 25 euros, and travel agent seemed good and honest. Initially I had booked for an earlier cruise (cheaper) , they found out they could give me a single cabin in subsequent cruises, more expensive, but charged me the same price. If I'm being snatched 25 euros I'd shrink the suspects to the consulate or to the visa office, which I don't know how much has got to do with the agent.

P. S. Jackson, why don't you organize an ISG members cruise somewhere easier than Russia? Maybe with FKK girls, we should get better prices, make a great bargain and have wonderful time!

[Stravinsky]

The whole itinerary business on the visa is a sham and everyone knows it so there are no consequences for either breaking it or amending it.

OK, that's pretty much what I thought. Just curious how someone who travels in the provinces handles the situation.

Someday, I'd love to get beyond the big city and poke around to see what I can find. (sigh)

[Jonners]

East. This is the first time I have heard of the Russian consulate asking you to buy travel insurance through them. I have had a lot of visas over the years including tourist and business and each time the Russian visa service in my country have been happy with normal travel insurance. A number of times I have just put down the 'free' travel insurance that comes with amex. Had no problems. So either the travel agent is looking to make more money out of you or someone at the consulate is.

Since I planned to have at least 7-8 travels abroad this year, I contacted a couple of insurance companies to cover me for the whole year against the very most of the problems, if not all, that may occur, one even includes 1000 euros in case of hijacking! Obviously cancellation trips and health concerns are reasonably, if not fully, covered. The travel agent told me that the Russian consulate or whoever grants the visa wanted me to make another insurance from them, because they want one just for my stay up there, my own covers more and longer, so it's not good! So I'll be covered by two companies! Sounds just like one more wallet squeeze, should be some 25 euros expense.

[EastGoing]

Roll Buzz,

Well, I thought the same thing, I wondered similar questions too. I posted that info for fellow mongers to have a laughter, the real point was the curiosity to know if also other travellers had had the same request. I was to specify it when I posted, but I was in a hurry and anyway I thought it was obvious, apart from being funny. However, just to make it clear, I wrote "one includes", I didn't choose or ask for such a cover, it was given, included, like when you buy a car it has got many things given, you didn't ask for ashtray, clock, etc. And companies will not give you 20 euros back because you don't smoke, have your own watch and don't need theirs, right?

We all know that this world is full of nonsenses, if I don't make confusion with the destination, I think it was USA, once or twice in my past I had to fill forms on the airplane, where I was asked questions more or less like: "are you coming for killing" or "are you a terrorist?", I don't imagine the quotient of intelligence of those who thought about asking passengers such questions, and I wait for your opinion about how many answered "yes". (smilie)

Now, hoping I didn't look too much more stupid than I actually am, if someone wants to answer the real point.

Cheers