General Info

I have never been to Russia, but I have followed the board and seen a fair number of photos of (I presume the best available) girls from the street and several of the bars and discos. I have also reviewed the offerings from several of the internet sites in which I found a lot of very attractive girls that give a complete list of their services and the prices fo 1hr, 2hr or all night. The prices seem to be very reasonable considering the prices quoted for lineup girls and others.

Is their a problem with the internet offerings? Any comparisons or info?

I want to visit Russia, but I don't speak the language. Where would this pose a problem.

Thanks,

Garotoz

Russian basics can be found at [url]www.masterrussian.com[/url]

I'd say the alfabet is a must when you enter the subway. only in cyrillics there.
Some russian lines to break the ice might come in handy.

Make sure you get the appropriate openers from "dermo"

This is good one too [url]http://www.learningrussian.com/phrases/slang/[/url]

Никогда не откройте ваши презервативы с ножницами as Tolstoi used to say

Never open your condoms with a pair of scissors

Have fun, Enrico

I need a bit of info on travel and hotel. I will be arriving in Germany, then off to Prague, Bucharest, Odessa, Kiev and Moscow this summer.

Which rails go thru Kiev and Moscow from Bucharest.

What is the deal on rent a car one way.

Do I have to book hotel prior to getting invitatation and visa in Kiev and Russia, seem squite a pain in the wazoo.

Any recocomendations on resonable hotels which are chica friendly and travel.

Big Nana

[QUOTE=Garotoz]
I want to visit Russia, but I don't speak the language. Where would this pose a problem.[/QUOTE]I'm also preparing for a trip to .ru and am establishing p2p relationships in order to have some additional options. I have a question about Russian phone numbers. On some of the p2p sites, a lot of the phone numbers start with an 8 (ex: 8(3412). I thought that this was the code for Aruba. Is this some sort of phone scam or am I ignorant about how the number system works?

Rain,

You're right, 7 is the country code for Russia. The prefix 8 is an internal code for dialing numbers from within Russia. The internet girls assume that you are a local guy so they give you the local prefix, which is 8. If you wanted to call a girl from outside Russia, you would substitute 7.

Stravinsky

Sorry if this is a newbie question, but what kind of visas are all you guys getting--business visas, or are you having someone invite you? I checked the Russian consolate's website, and it said to get a tourist visa, you need to be registered with an official travel agency, which sounded like in good 'ol communist days.

Thanks

What you do is to find a hotel (look on the web - search "moscow hotels") where you want to stay. THEY usually have connections with a "letter of invitation" services who will provide you with the letter (based on the dates you requested). They are usually a "link" on the web page. Alfa and Gamma-Delta have services available for sure - that's where I stayed last time

Depending, IF you want to "move around a little" (as in tour the country) - for which you SHOULD speak minimal Russian - you can get up to 30 days of "entry". And in deference to the comment (Enrico's) about "reading Cryllic" - YES, learn at least some. Russian is far easier than a tonal language and at least most of the alphabet is the same as the latinate alphabet.

Once you get the letter, ($35 to 50 depending on agency) book the flight and then go after the visa - go to a consulate (if you have easy access, paperwork available over the web - 3 passport pix needed) - visa cost is $70 for 3 week advance, $80 10 days; raising scale up to I sort of remember $200 for same day service - pretty much walk-up

(I'm only going on memory for the costs and that was 2 years ago - I read this forum but travel mostly to south-east Asia now - no visa necessary to Thailand) The rest, you can read from the forum.

Business visas are usually multi entry and cost extra

Hi,

Can anybody let me know where I can find Russian domestic airline information on the internet? ie. Moscow to Volograd, Volograd to Novosibirsk? I have heard that domestic flights are serviced by regional airlines, not Aeroflot. Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

I tried aeroflot website and it seems they mostly offer international flights as opposed to domestic ones.

ch... check the websites [url]www.waytorussia.com[/url] and/or [url]www.gotorussia.com[/url] I think they both and definitely one of them offer air tickets and will search the available flights and rates. You can buy it on-line I think as well.

More fun with phone numbers:

Both of these numbers are from the sexbombzzz site, and i think both are for SPb.

8-906-276-95-54

(911)208-31-97

Huh????

Why such divergent formats? The only thing that is in common is that both end with xxx-xx-xx (7 digits). But the prefixes are wierd.
8-906 - I assume this one is something like 8 being the regional code for SPb? Correct? But what is the 906?

Then there is the second number's prefix (911) ? What's up with that? Is that a Moscow number?

If I am inside of SPb what do I dial for both of these?

Rovnak,

Those are mobile numbers.

Anything beginning with 8-9xx is a mobile number.

If dialing locally (within Russia), you dial 8-9xx-xxx-xxxx. If dialing from a western mobile or from outside Russia, dial +7-9xx-xxx xxxx.

You can actually enter the numbers into a Russian phone using the international Russia prefix +7 9xxx etc. and it will work as well. I find this more convenient.

Be careful calling mobile numbers from outside Russia or with your Western mobile. You can spend $$$ very quickly. Get a Russian SIM card and phone number and use that for all your local calls. It'll pay off.

8 isnt a regional code, just a prefix.

Area code for St.Pete is 812 and for Moscow 095. Usually these area codes will mean the number is a land line, but not always. Some mobiles also use the original city area codes.

doc is correct, but to answer Rovnak's one last question... the 911 is the identifier for the mobile service the person has.

There are three main mobile providers in Russia, MTS/beeline/megafon. Each is assigned groups of numbers beginning with "9"... Each area has different 9XX numbers assigned to it. I've never seen the 911 so it must be in Spb or some other area outside of Moscow.

Doc's advice is very good, after your visa is registered, or get a RU friend to get a local SIM card for you. It costs less than a dollar and it will save a ton of money.

Also, I have been told that as of July 1st, it will cost to dial a mobile phone from a land line. So, it will really pay to have a SIM card. In any case if you have a number that is a land line or a "7 digit" mobile number, you can dial it from a land line without an extra charge.

Some mobile phone operators charge their subscribers even when they get called, not only when they originate a call. This is unheard of in other European countries AFAIK.

That's why some chicks prefer to get called on their landline. That's also why sometimes they tell you that they can't talk to you too long because they "haven't loaded up the phone".

thanks for clarification.

In other words for the two numbers I sited, both are mobile, and both require the 8 prefix, but one provider put the 8 in there and the other omitted it, thus the confusion.

So for the one listed as (911)208-31-97. You really need to dial 8-911-208-31-97.

Another question. ATMs. I just read in a tour book that some/all ATMs have a withdrawal limit of only 1000 R.

That seems absurdly low. What is the general experience?

Personally I've never found one that offered less than 7,500 rubles and some even more than that.

Most big ATM bank services offer the option of receiving Euros or USD.