Will Around the World

Russia

• Russia has strict visa requirements. A great way to get your visa support documents and learn more about the process is to contact White Nights travel agency. They will provide you the necessary documents for a reasonable price.
  
  You should get apply for a visa at least one month before you travel. In my case, the visa application process was a breeze. I completed the application forms and went to the Russian consulate in San Francisco to submit the application in person. My visa was ready one week later.
• You need to register your visa in each city you stay for more than 72 hours in. Usually you can do this at the hotel or hostel you stay at. (If you travel with a tour group, the tour agency will do this for you.) In Moscow, Travellers Guest House will register your visa, even if you are not a guest, for $25.
• In Russia you can withdraw cash from an ATM in US dollars. Do this. You save on the 1%-3% currency conversion fee that Visa and MasterCard charge. Further, you can get better exchange rates at banks and exchange offices than the InterBank rate that Visa and MasterCard use.
• Despite what you may have heard on other travel websites, traveling by train in Russia is quite safe. I rode on the overnight sleeper train from Moscow to St. Petersburg without a hitch. Use common sense: don't wear flashy jewelry or attract attention to yourself. If you want to feel extra secure, get a bottom bunk. These bunks have a metal bin that you can access only by lifting the bed. Use this to store your bags—when you sleep on the bunk there is no way that thieves can get to them.
• Despite what people may tell you, you can wait to buy a Moscow-St. Petersburg sleeper ticket until arrive in Russia. To be safe, give yourself at least three days before the date you want to travel. In Moscow, go to the central railway agency—I went on a weekday afternoon and did not have to wait in line. I paid $42 for my ticket, compared to $60 at a private booking office.
• If you travel to Russia, learn Cyrillic. It should take no more than a week, and it will aid you immensely in getting around. It enables you to recognize names of places, which are almost never written in the Latin alphabet.
• For that matter, learn Russian. You can get by with speaking English only if you talk to locals younger than 25. For everyone else, Russian is your only bet.
• Carrying a cell phone in Russia is extremely convenient, especially if you need to get in touch with locals. Your American cell phone will work there if it is a tri-band or quad-band model.
  
  International roaming is a ripoff. I had to pay $4.99 a minute in Russia (in Poland, it was $2.29 per minute). Instead, get a prepaid calling plan. You can get them at any of the hundreds of wireless stores in Moscow or St. Petersburg. All you need to do is give them the address of the place you're staying in (the address on your migration card will suffice). The basic plan costs 50 rubles (less than $2), and this provided twice as many text messages and voice time than I used for a week. The provider with the best coverage is supposed to be MTS, but this is also the expensive. The locals I met use Megafon.

Poland

• In Poland, when you ride on a bus make sure you validate your ticket. Transit cops are abundant and ruthless.

• Riga
  Sievasmates p iradzini. A self-serve eatery that serves tasty pierozhki and a mean borsch, all for a song. Kalku iela 10.
• Moscow
  FAQ Cafe. Funky interior and quirky staff add to the delicious, inexpensive menu. Service is a bit slow. 9, Gazetny Lane, bldg. 2. Metro: Okhotny Ryad
• St. Petersburg
  Zoom Cafe. Interior is casually well decorated. Little touches like a menu shaped like a card catalog go a long way. Food is good and affordable. 17-19 Kazanskaya Ulitsa/22 Gorokhovaya Ulitsa. Metro: Nevskiy Prospekt

# posted by billklee @ 09:46