Saint Petersburg

[QUOTE=Skwiskwis;1823190]You cannot stay in Russia for a year or longer without leaving the country and reentering it. I'm too lazy to check the visa rules, but there is also a limit to the total number of days you can spend in Russia each year. I visit Russia 6-8 times each year, with stays varying between 10 days and 35 days, with a business visa. When I visit other cities, and my work contacts in those cities have to register my visa, someone actually does count the number of days I've been in Russia to see if I'm in danger of exceeding the max, so sometimes at least it's taken seriously.

I rent an apartment owned by a local and shop in nearby markets, cook in the apartment, etc. Presently, it's dirt cheap for me to live here.

There are a few members who post in the Moscow section who are basically expats. You might post your question there and see what their answers are to staying in Russia long term as well.

I'm in Piter now, January 2016. It becomes dark about 16.00 and light around 10.00, so your lucky to have 6 hours or so of sunlight. If it's overcast, it can seem dark the entire day. Piter weather is notoriously unpredictable and unhealthy, as it can be cold with high humidity, and this time of year the streets and metro, busses, etc are full of people coughing and hacking. Everyone in Piter complains about two things, the weather and Moscow. About a week ago it was +7c. Today it was -25 c. Moscow is hated because, well, basically it's a dump, the people there are obnoxious, and the metro is a labyrinth full of zombies, and, more to the point, every Russian not living in Moscow resents the fact that tax money is taken from their regions and sent to Moscow to try and make Moscow look good (a hopeless task). For example, when I was in a mid sized southern Russian city a few weeks ago, everyone was bitter about the fact that their city had no money for New Years decorations, because, so they claimed, the money had gone to Moscow to decorate Red Square...[/QUOTE]I can not agree more with your impression on Moscow and SP. I just come back from SP and Moscow, and my feelings is totally same, dark clouds all day long, but I think the biggest problem is still language! You may had some misunderstands even when you buy a train ticket at ticket office if you can not speak Russian.

Hey guys,

As a newcomer to the world of mongering, I think I have overstretched in coming to Russia, where I'm not overly familiar with the language. My first day in SPB and I'm really struggling to organise anything with salons, outcall or anything of the sorts. Would really appreciate any help you more experienced guys could give. Thanks in advance, and I promise reports should anything eventuate!

What is the regular price for a hotel date with a hot girl from Maximus?

[QUOTE=Skwiskwis;1823190]You cannot stay in Russia for a year or longer without leaving the country and reentering it. I'm too lazy to check the visa rules, but there is also a limit to the total number of days you can spend in Russia each year. I visit Russia 6-8 times each year, with stays varying between 10 days and 35 days, with a business visa. When I visit other cities, and my work contacts in those cities have to register my visa, someone actually does count the number of days I've been in Russia to see if I'm in danger of exceeding the max, so sometimes at least it's taken seriously.

I rent an apartment owned by a local and shop in nearby markets, cook in the apartment, etc. Presently, it's dirt cheap for me to live here.

There are a few members who post in the Moscow section who are basically expats. You might post your question there and see what their answers are to staying in Russia long term as well.

I'm in Piter now, January 2016. It becomes dark about 16.00 and light around 10.00, so your lucky to have 6 hours or so of sunlight. If it's overcast, it can seem dark the entire day. Piter weather is notoriously unpredictable and unhealthy, as it can be cold with high humidity, and this time of year the streets and metro, busses, etc are full of people coughing and hacking. Everyone in Piter complains about two things, the weather and Moscow. About a week ago it was +7c. Today it was -25 c. Moscow is hated because, well, basically it's a dump, the people there are obnoxious, and the metro is a labyrinth full of zombies, and, more to the point, every Russian not living in Moscow resents the fact that tax money is taken from their regions and sent to Moscow to try and make Moscow look good (a hopeless task). For example, when I was in a mid sized southern Russian city a few weeks ago, everyone was bitter about the fact that their city had no money for New Years decorations, because, so they claimed, the money had gone to Moscow to decorate Red Square.

This year it's been unusually warm in Piter, until just recently, with little snow. Usually there is snow and ice on the streets by this time and quite cold and often quite windy. In the summers it can be quite hot and, depending on where your staying, there can be a lot of tiny, aggressive, mosquitoes. Piter has suicidal mosquitoes. They will land on you, bite you, and stay biting you until they finish or until you kill them. For variation, you can go to one of the small islands and find giant mosquitoes. Which the locals claim were produced by all the chemical waste left on the islands over the years. Rumor has it one or more of these islands plays host to raves each summer.

As far as mongering goes, there are lots of posts in this section and in the Moscow section (the two cities most people go to) addressing various aspects of it. The situation may be trending pro-mongering however, as the extended slump in the Russian economy may be biting into "normal" people's budgets, and "normal" girls may start considering the occasional meeting with gift a go-to option, like it was back in the "day" before the Putin led recovery. A few hours ago I was able to exchange dollars for 74.3 rubles. The ruble has been trading in the 60's and 70's against the dollar now for about a year, and forecasts aren't good for 2016. Personally, I still use Mamba to find girls occasionally in Piter. In the completely un-scientific impression category, this trip it has seemed to me more girls replied on Mamba than previously, with prices being quoted as low as 5000r for 1-2 hours, though most of the girls who seemed to be independents and not some salon hustler wanted anywhere from 10-20000r.[/QUOTE]Amazing answer. I always thought ISG was a better travel guide than any other site.

It is BTW not olny HIV. Lets not underestimate papillovirus (that can lead to cancer in some cases), chlamydias, herpes etc. So I agree with you that the situation is serious.

[QUOTE=Cucumber;1820555] Sleeping with prostitutes without a condom is a very high risk activity in Russia and I would say anywhere, and also deeply unethical (possibly more so than involuntary forced sex or sleeping with girls not of legal age). The idiots on ISG bragging about their BBFS to me sound more like feminist imposters trying to denigrate mongering. But I am afraid that is unfortunately not what they are.[/QUOTE]

Planning on a trip to SPG. Just wondering what hotels are recommended for taking girls (Girl friendly)? Also seeking advice on which clubs to hit for semi pro girls?

[QUOTE=Atxzhang;1823529]Hey guys,

As a newcomer to the world of mongering, I think I have overstretched in coming to Russia, where I'm not overly familiar with the language. My first day in SPB and I'm really struggling to organise anything with salons, outcall or anything of the sorts. Would really appreciate any help you more experienced guys could give. Thanks in advance, and I promise reports should anything eventuate![/QUOTE]My first time in Russia, not a novice then, I got the taxi driver to ring, and then take me to the salon, he got me to the door and left me to it. Most taxi's have a brochure.

[QUOTE=JcFromNz;1824702]My first time in Russia, not a novice then, I got the taxi driver to ring, and then take me to the salon, he got me to the door and left me to it. Most taxi's have a brochure.[/QUOTE]Pretty much the same method I used. The bellman at The W would call / confirm who's working and get the address, then I just plugged it into Uber and we were off. All of the Uber drivers even walked me to the door to make sure I made it. I also speak zero Russian.

Drama.

[QUOTE=ManchesterCat;1823529]As a newcomer to the world of mongering, I think I have overstretched in coming to Russia, where I'm not overly familiar with the language. My first day in SPB and I'm really struggling to organise anything with salons, outcall or anything of the sorts. Would really appreciate any help you more experienced guys could give. Thanks in advance, and I promise reports should anything eventuate![/QUOTE]Sorry if this reply comes too late. I would find a taxi driver who spoke some English, and pay him to help you call one of the Markiza salons or one of the Karamelki salons (perhaps from his own phone) and accompany you to the the door (not the door to the building, but the last door into the apartment where the girls are). Once you're in it is pretty much point and shoot, and it is not dangerous. There are several apps for getting reasonable taxis in Petersburg and I would use one of them to find a helpful driver.

I vaguely recall there was also a Russian guy on this forum a few months ago advertising guiding for mongers or something like that. Better to spend some money on someone like that than to go home empty-handed.

After what started out as quite a struggle, I managed a few successful visit (despite the very little advice given despite the wonderful report by Cucumber), and as promised, here is the report. I'll classify this report with some information. First time in Russia, quite literally 0 Russian. Couldn't say Hi in Russian if my life depended on it. Will not be posting addresses or names of places or salons, PM me if you want the details.

First thing I did when I got here, buy a sim card (with help of translator) 3 GB for 250 RUB. Such a life saver, and in my experience, essential. The translator I got wasn't as helpful, as I never felt comfortable asking him for help anything mongering related. It certainly could work, it was just personally I did newest feel comfortable asking mine.

I started off messaging girls I found on Rusdosug (using proxies) but got no replies (even a few who listed being able to speak English, more on this later). I then tried calling a few salons in the area, also no use, as none I called spoke no English.

After calling a lot more salons, there were two that had madams who spoken English (I actually found three, but once I actually arrived at the address provided, the English speaking girl I spoke to was no longer there to provide me further instructions on how to actually get in, and I got the "no English" hang-up and had to just turn back). I also found messaging salons in Russian (literally google translating phrases) worked and got a few responses. A lot of madams complained to me later about how it was still difficult to understand my messages, but would recommend this to anyone who also speaks 0 Russian. Couldn't work out the full phone number of Markiza, so never was able to contact them. I ended up visiting all the Karamelki branches however.

The first salon I managed to visit was near Nevsky Pros, and the madam spoke good English, after a bit of getting lost, I made my way there. I had quite mixed experiences here, the girls on my first visit were really good (and I'm usually very picky). Sometimes there weren't many girls, my first time there was only 1 available, and 3 available the following time, 2 of which were stunners. I usually prefer petite girl next door type looks, but certainly don't mind a taller girl if she's got a good figure. The girl from the first time seemed new, open to kissing and extremely passionate and appeared to genuinely enjoy herself. Tall, skinny, but youthful look and long black hair. Her body wasn't as nice as the two girls the following time, but very nice. She didn't 'perform' as much, but I prefer it when a girl enjoys herself, great experience. The girls from the second time were both energetic, one even spoke a fair bit of English, so we chatted briefly afterwards, but neither offered FK. The other spoke no English, but more than made up for it in enthusiasm and energy. Both model like, tall and elegant, they were both wonderful. I kept being stunned by the English speaking girl; how stunning she was in just about every way, she seemed a little distant before we started but was very passionate once we started. She quite honestly, by far the most attractive girl I've visited on this trip. I went there one more time afterwards, and saw what must have been close to the full range of girls (9 in all), including the first girls I saw, and none of them other than her were that appealing. Damage: 5000 RUB an hour including CBJ, 1500 extra for BBBJ.

My second salon was a Karamelki branch. I went there earlier in the night after texting the madam for address (to which she replied and provided entire address and instructions succinctly in one text), she responded to other questions for a while, but once I arrived, she stopped replying and told me to return later at a specified time, prompting me that more girls would be free then. And she was right! When I returned, I think I got to pick from the whole lot! At least 6 girls to choose from, it was incredible! A smaller petite girl caught my eye, she looked blonde under the (lack of) light, but was a actually light brunette, Very tight body, and youthful look. I didn't pay as much attention to the other girls after that, but most were fit, tall brunettes who I would have been happy with. The girl offered a great performance, but also no FK, we talked briefly using my phone to translate, lovely girl. Damage: 4000 RUB and I gave a very small tip to the madam for putting up with my relentless messaging all night.

My other visits were usually in pursuit of specific girls who had caught my eye on the Karamelki website and it was a bit hit and miss. Most were as pictured (or very close to) and for some others, I can only imagine it had been some time since the photos had been taken. One who was advertised as a blonde was now a brunette (party girl personality, great English and good figure), another had clearly put on a bit of weight since the photo of and impeccable and petite figure was taken (but gave the best hand job of my life). In some cases the girl I had requested was no longer available and so I had to pick out of who was still available as I was often too embarrassed and / or lazy to leave without something to show for the trip out to the salon.

Also visited a strip club, and ended up spending nearly 4000 RUB. 1000 cover charge, 1000 on alcohol (beer for me and a Long Island Iced Tea for a English speaking girl who started talking to me) and 2000 on a hookah pipe. A few very attractive girls, and I was told taking a girl away for the night would be 20,000 30,000 depending on the girl and how busy it was. Decided it wasn't good value and never went back again.

I did also visit another salon right on Nevsky on my first night, there were two girls, neither appealing at all, so I simply left without any problems. Weirdly, another number I contacted for outcall service also pointed me towards the same salon. I politely declined based on the selection available when I went. But even weirder, the outcall number (who claimed to 'arrange' outcall) quoted a much higher price for even the incalls for the salon (from 3000 RUB advertised by salon, to 7000 original quoted price and 5000 when I called them out on it).

Another few pieces of advice for (other) newbies (/ summary of information already posted or available):

My personal experience is the outcall are harder to arrange (unless you have a relationship with the salon), and only one of the outcall I contacted (not too many, but a fair few) replied to my messages (google translated to Russian), and it turned out to be a bait and switch, though the second girl they sent (claiming the first girl was a mix-up) was okay, but not worth the higher rate. 7000 RUB. Salons often for a higher rate, have a longer min. Booking length or ask you to pay for taxi (or some combination thereof).

I had very little success with individuals through Rusdosug, but information on salons is useful, Rusprostitutes (usually the first website you find on google) was practically useless for me (it was where I found the bait and switch) and now I also think the prices are little bit unrealistic (in terms of rates quoted).

Persist, if you don't get many (or any) replies, keep looking, the market is out there, non-Russian speakers just have to work a bit harder. Getting a local to help would make things a lot easier, but I found no easy way to find someone (I didn't like the idea of just asking hotel reception, or asking just anybody, I really like the idea of asking the taxi driver, although I never got around to it / had the guts to ask).

Get a local SIM, it's so cheap and makes organizing things yourself without help possible. I personally found it useful to turn on request message status on my phone, to know which numbers were right / real and who I actually managed to contact (the regional codes are confusing!

If a site posts pictures of girls with their faces, it's probably a fake. Honestly, I was optimistic at first, but from experience, the ones with faces are all dead ends / bait and switch and the ones with blurred faces are usually real photos (I've certainly met ones who was advertised online)!

I ended up extending my stay in SPB, and am glad I did. Summarizing my experience: SPB isn't really a bargain basement destination (which I'm starting to feel Germany, Thailand and Romania may be more like from what I've been told / read). Based on prices in UK and other Western countries I'm familiar with, it's still quite cost effective. You can get girls that would usually be 'Premium VIP models' who might charge GBP200+ for just 5000 RUB. Hotels are also cheaper, but personally, although I want to come back, it's still not cost effective for a purely mongering focused trip (as I have to stay for a while to get my travel costs worth, you do your own maths). The city is however beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time here in general. In terms of quality, with a bit of persistence, there's some great quality girls. Yet to find my perfect 10 (as I'the hoped), but the girls here in general are very attractive, and I've certainly seen a few perfect 10's in the streets and cafes. I hope to come back in the future and try experimenting a bit more, but until then.

[QUOTE=ManchesterCat;1826729]After what started out as quite a struggle, I managed a few successful visit (despite the very little advice given despite the wonderful report by Cucumber), and as promised, here is the report. I'll classify this report with some information. First time in Russia, quite literally 0 Russian. Couldn't say Hi in Russian if my life depended on it. Will not be posting addresses or names of places or salons, PM me if you want the details. [/QUOTE]Well done, braving the Russian scene can be extremely challenging for somebody who doesn't know the place or the language and you have demonstrated great tenacity. I also think your observations are highly astute.

Cucumber.

[QUOTE=ManchesterCat;1826729]

Couldn't work out the full phone number of Markiza, so never was able to contact them. I ended up visiting all the Karamelki branches however.

[/QUOTE]Just returned from a few weeks in Saint Petersburg.

I posted the issue concerning Markiza's phone numbers previously. The dialing code for all of the numbers posted on their web site is (921).

I figured this out, discovering that there was one page on the web site that included (921) with the phone number. Curiously, I note as I write this that they have removed (921) from their web site. I can't find it anywhere! Perhaps they are using this piece of information to filter out the non-local, non-russian speaking clients? In any case, I saw it as a puzzle to be solved.

Before figuring this out, I was attempting to use (812), the standard dialing code for non-cell numbers. After doing so, I got the impression that the owners of those numbers have NOTHING to do with salons and receive hundreds of non-russian callers.

(921) appears to be a default cell dialing code for business who use a cell number for their main business phone service. Megaphone seems to be by far the most common cell company they use. Then I started noticing adverts on buses, newspapers and elsewhere that only include 7 digits for their contact number. Much of the time, this seems to imply (921). This worked for me, for example, when calling an industrial parts distributor for work.

I found that once I called Markiza with a minimal amount of Russian language skills, they were happy to switch to SMS with both of us google translating the SMS on our cellphones to negotiate the arrangements.

Hope this helps.

Made the mistake of visiting this strip club today. It's on Nevsky pros, slightly ahead of Burger King. There is just a street board on the road and the club is a bit inside. There was a tall girl and a couple of other guys handling over flyers. Apart from the other high promises, she said the erotic massages are also available starting 2000 rubles. Paid the 500 as entry and went in. Club itself is small. There were 5 girls taking turns on the pole. After some time one girl sat next to me, speaking passable English. Soon she starts asking for a drink, which I avoid for some time. When I asked her for the massage, I got the first shock. It starts at 5000! I should have walked out then, but didn't. Tried bargaining with the price, she kept declining and kept asking for a drink. Finally when she understood that I would not shell out 5000, she went in and came back saying that as a special price of 3000, she would do the massage. I accepted, God knows why! Paid 3000 at the counter and was asked for 150 more for the sheet! What? Anyway, went in a private room undressed and she changed up to her panties. She started the massage by applying cream, but she did not know m of massage. She played with my tool a bit, but not much. After about 20 minutes, there was knocking on the door, and she said 'time is up'. Again what? She said that the time was less since it was for 3000!! Knew immediately that I've been had. While I tried to reason with her, it was with the know that it would not work. Being a non local, there seemed to be no point in fighting it out. May have only complicated things further. Kept cursing myself. When will I learn!

Back at my hotel on never start after the nightmare. Guys, please help. Am here till this weekend. Some pointers to massage, sex etc would help in overcoming this incident before moving on to Moscow.

Thanks a ton!

[QUOTE=Meesee;1832693]Just returned from a few weeks in Saint Petersburg.

I posted the issue concerning Markiza's phone numbers previously. The dialing code for all of the numbers posted on their web site is (921).

I figured this out, discovering that there was one page on the web site that included (921) with the phone number. Curiously, I note as I write this that they have removed (921) from their web site. I can't find it anywhere! Perhaps they are using this piece of information to filter out the non-local, non-russian speaking clients? In any case, I saw it as a puzzle to be solved.

Before figuring this out, I was attempting to use (812), the standard dialing code for non-cell numbers. After doing so, I got the impression that the owners of those numbers have NOTHING to do with salons and receive hundreds of non-russian callers.

(921) appears to be a default cell dialing code for business who use a cell number for their main business phone service. Megaphone seems to be by far the most common cell company they use. Then I started noticing adverts on buses, newspapers and elsewhere that only include 7 digits for their contact number. Much of the time, this seems to imply (921). This worked for me, for example, when calling an industrial parts distributor for work.

I found that once I called Markiza with a minimal amount of Russian language skills, they were happy to switch to SMS with both of us google translating the SMS on our cellphones to negotiate the arrangements.

Hope this helps.[/QUOTE]Tried called markiza (ligovsky) from both foreign and local SIMs.

http://markizaspb.org/index.php/saloon
956-08-93

The phone number didn't work from either phone (nb has previously worked fine from both)

Any ideas what is the correct (full) number to use?

[QUOTE=Tiger888;1842299]Tried called markiza (ligovsky) from both foreign and local SIMs.

http://markizaspb.org/index.php/saloon
956-08-93

The phone number didn't work from either phone (nb has previously worked fine from both)

Any ideas what is the correct (full) number to use?[/QUOTE]And (921) 956-08-93, does it work? You need a dialing code in front of it.

Look on this page on the web site for the Prosveshenya location (sorry, wish I could post russian letters, but you'll have to figure it out) http://markizaspb.org/index.php/prosvet
(http markizaspb dot org slash index dot php slash prosvet)

Look on the upper right corner of the page and you will see (921) 956-08-93
Only on that salon location page you will see (921). Try using that (921) dialing code for the other locations also.

If on a Russian SIM card, I think the actual digits to dial on your phone would be 8-921-956-08-93
If on a foreign SIMcard, try +7 921 956-08-93
Not sure how to dial it from a Russian land phone but perhaps try doing a little net research or asking an english speaking local

I will be back over in a few months and will report back confirm this but that is what I recall I did on last trip.