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Visiting Russia, what I learned
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Posted by: EasyTarget

Visiting Russia at New Year’s.

Well I had been to the FSU before. I visited Ukraine to meet E. E is a lovely woman, but things just did not work out between us. I wish her the best, she wishes me the best and our lives go on. That story lives over here...
http://russianmeetingplace.com/foru...read.php?t=9638

I spend 2 months wondering if I want to contact any one else or if a vldr (very long distance relationship) is right for me. Well I keep reading messages on RMP and I think, why not?

I wind up writing numerous women and I am quickly able to narrow down the list.

HOWEVER, this trip report will not be about whom I met and how things went, suffice it to say things went much better then the trip to the Ukraine. The trip report will be just about visiting Russia and the things I learnt from doing so….

Arriving in Moscow
I start what some would find a torturous journey of flying 31 hours from Honolulu to Samara. A long layover in Atlanta just can not be avoided. I start on Friday night from Honolulu to Atlanta. Wait 8 hours in Atlanta, Atlanta to Paris. Run to my plane with less then 1 hour between flights, and then Paris to Moscow, and finally Moscow to Samara. And for those who would ask. Yes technically a west bound flight is shorter distance wise, but time intervals between connecting flights makes the total travel time longer. Plus I have the added difficulty of not being allowed in to China, even on a transit visa.

26 hours of flying and waiting later…
I arrive in Moscow at about 11:30 am local time. I am herded off the plane to the frozen ground below. There is a light snow falling and I walk down the steps and for the first time in my life I am on Russian soil. All the passengers are herded on to the bus, for a 5 minute bus ride over to the airport terminal. I make it through passport control and customs with no issues. I had read numerous times on line that you can catch a bus from SVO 2 to SVO 1. I even found a website with photos of how to navigate between the airports.

Well after 26 hours your mind is not so clear. After clearing customs I head off to the left where there are some Western Union windows and there is an ATM. I get some Rubles. Ok, now where the hell is the shuttle bus. No idea. I look around and I find the “transit window.” There is a woman working there and there is a piece of paper written in English saying go outside and look for the bus. A whole bunch of people just waiting around, I don’t know why but there is.

I go outside see some taxi drivers; I ignore them or just say “nyet” in a commanding voice. I stand out by the second curb and wait a few minutes. Low and behold a city bus pulls up. In the front of the white city bus is a little sign that says Шереметьево 1 on it. I had memorized what Sheremetyevo looked like in Cyrillic letters. The bus stops and I hop on. I try and say “Sheremetyevo 1” in Russian. The driver has a blank stare. I hold up one finger and say it again. The driver finally says da, and we are off. However I have not paid for my bus ride. I try and pay with a 500 ruble note. It looks at me like I am crazy. He stops at the next bus stop and I think he is going to kick me off the bus. However, he says in Russian to go around to the back door so I can get a seat. I don’t know what he is saying at first but I finally figure it out by his hand gestures. Funny enough an older woman in a fur hat, is repeating his words in Russian, as though I am deaf. I am not deaf, I am just non-conversant in Russian. Actually I feel really stupid at this point, but I am on the bus.

I get on the back of the bus with my free bus ride. WooHoo. Granted I don’t advise using the 500 ruble note trick, because the driver may just kick you off the bus and be done with you. And then you would be stuck.

20 minute bus ride later I am at SVO 1. I follow the other bus passengers towards the terminal. There are enough signs in English so I am not totally lost. Actually quite surprised at the number of signs in English. There is a WORLD of difference between SVO 2 and SVO 1. SVO 2 looks more modern and looks like most European airports. SVO1 looks like a small commuter airport and very short on luxury. Luckily as I arrive I look at my watch and realize there is not much time between flights, and I will not have to stay her very long.

As I enter the terminal there are masses of people queuing up. I think to myself, “yup, long lings, this must be Russia.” I look at the plasma television screen and get my flight number and departure gate number. I walk over to the automated kiosk to try and print out my boarding pass. Aeroflot is trying to quickly make it into the modern age by having electronic tickets. For those of you not familiar with an electronic ticket, it means all you need is your passport and your boarding pass to get on the plane. Unfortunately not everyone at SVO 1 has gotten the message about electronic tickets.

The kiosk can’t find my information. Luckily the man sitting next to the kiosk is from Aeroflot and is able to quickly find my information and prints out a boarding pass for me. He then directs me to the security point. And this is where the real fun begins….

I hand the security guard my passport and boarding pass. She looks up at me and says “ticket?”
I reply “electronic ticket, just boarding pass”
She deftly replies, “ticket?”
I shake my head and say, “no ticket, electronic, just boarding pass.”
The security guard waves over another security guard with better English skills. However we run through the same Abbot and Costello routine of ticket, no ticket it is electronic.
A third and fourth security guard join the conversation, but after 15 minutes of making no progress and it is looking like I can not get through security I had back out to the lobby area.

I go back to the original guy from Aeroflot and tell them security won’t let me through with out a ticket. He looks at the ceiling and sighs. He then leads me over to the purchase ticket agent for Aeroflot. He explains to the woman in Russian what the story is. The ticketing agent takes my boarding pass and then asks me, “ticket?”

At this point I am about to flip. If it wasn’t for the simple fact that I work for an airline and I know the rules for embarkation I guess I wouldn’t have been as upset. I then tell her, “no ticket, electronic ticket.”

She punches my name and flight number in to the Sabre terminal and sees my flight information. Then asks me again, “ticket?”

With all my might, I politely smile and say, “no ticket, electronic ticket.” The woman is now confused as to what to do. She walks over to the other ticketing agent and they discuss my “no ticket” situation for about 10 minutes. Finally the original ticketing agent sits back down and is thinking about what to do.

She takes a white piece of paper and hand writes my name and passport information on it. I sign the paper, she stamps it twice, and hands the paper to me with my boarding pass. For future reference I learn nothing is official in Russia unless it has been stamped twice.

I return to the security check point. The same security guard from 20 minutes earlier is still sitting there. Again she asks, “ticket?” Although I was really tempted to go into the Abbot and Costello routine about electronic tickets, instead I hand over the white paper with the two stamps. She looks up and says in very good English, “See I knew you had a ticket.” As though she was correct all along, I let her have her little victory, for I had much bigger and better things to worry about.

I get through the security point, and head upstairs to the departure gate. They haven’t started boarding the plane yet, but by watch I know they will board in about 10 to 15 minutes. I take a cold, and I mean cold metal seat and wait for the boarding announcement. Something is said in Russian and I can see all the people around handing for the departure gate, I follow the crowd and proceed downstairs to wait in a pseudo lobby area. While waiting for about 10 to 15 minutes, with big no smoking signs, a small group stands off to the side and gets a last smoke before flying.

It is cold since there is no heat and we are waiting for the bus to take us to the plane. I notice it is still snowing but it is light and shouldn’t be an issue for hardened Russian pilots. The bus leads us out to the Tupolev 134 jet. For those unfamiliar with this jet you should know that it seats about 96 passengers in a 2 by 2 configuration. The other interesting features are that the jet does not have an overhead compartment, just a shelf, and the planes were built in the mid 1960’s. So for you non-math geniuses out there, yes the jet is about 40 years old.

Next, flying to Samara……

Posted by: Seaview

Quote:

There is a WORLD of difference between SVO 2 and SVO 1. SVO 2 looks more modern and looks like most European airports. SVO1 looks like a small commuter airport and very short on luxury.

THere is a world of difference between SVO 2 and Domodedovo airport too. Domodedovo is much better plus Domodedovo serves international and domestic flights, so you don't have to go from SVO2 to SVO1. Just some additional info.

Quote:

Aeroflot is trying to quickly make it into the modern age by having electronic tickets. For those of you not familiar with an electronic ticket, it means all you need is your passport and your boarding pass to get on the plane. Unfortunately not everyone at SVO 1 has gotten the message about electronic tickets.

I am afraid, electronic tickets are still unusual for domestic flights. It's highly probable that Aeroflot started issueing them but SVO1 security (flight attendants) still have no idea about it. Awful!

Anyway, you should not have said "no ticket, electronic ticket". I am afraid, all they could get from this message is that you have no ticket at all. Glad you managed to get it all sorted. The only advice I would give to people in such a situation is to print out the page of Aeroflot website where it's written that they DO issue electronic tickets for domestic flights (smth like that), keep it with you and show to security (flight attendants).

However, I was using electronic tickets twice last year (in Domodedovo with BA and Swiss Air) without any problem.

Quote:

For future reference I learn nothing is official in Russia unless it has been stamped twice.

You made my day!

Quote:

The other interesting features are that the jet does not have an overhead compartment, just a shelf, and the planes were built in the mid 1960’s. So for you non-math geniuses out there, yes the jet is about 40 years old.

Ha - ha - ha. It flies. honestly, it flies

. It even lands occasionally

What else do you want from such an ancient thing? Look at your space shuttles LOL

Posted by: GoingToRussia

I think the worst airport I've ever been in is the Moscow National airport. It basically has 1 main gate were everyone gets hearded into. It is always busy and a long wait.

Posted by: EasyTarget

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seaview

Just a side note. Aeroflot has begun building SVO 3. SVO 3 will have their International and domestic travel consolidated into one terminal building. It is scheduled for completion in late 2007 or early 2008.

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasyTarget

I think this had something to do with Sochi bidding for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Sochi is under major construction in preparation for the games. The Sochi/Adler airport is prerhistoric. Maintenance workers and flight crews ride bicycles all over the airport and they have the motorised stairs, no gates to speak of. This will have to change too. One thing they do have are a lot of hotels. It's a great city to visit. I've been ther twice and haven't done everything I'd like to do. I highly recommend it but don't use the tiolet in the airport!

Posted by: gonlaz

I hope you don't mind me asking, I am flying to Moscow in the 29th from D.C. but I didn't know there are 2 airpost to go through, called Sheremetyevo.

Could you tell me why you hd to go through both of them? Will I have to do that when I arrive in Moscow?

Posted by: stevo

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonlaz

I hope you don't mind me asking, I am flying to Moscow in the 29th from D.C. but I didn't know there are 2 airpost to go through, called Sheremetyevo.
Could you tell me why you hd to go through both of them? Will I have to do that when I arrive in Moscow?

EasyTarget arrived from Paris at SVO-2 and flew to Samara from SVO-1, hence the transfer. If you're just flying to Moscow, you won't have to go through the same ordeal.

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonlaz

I hope you don't mind me asking, I am flying to Moscow in the 29th from D.C. but I didn't know there are 2 airpost to go through, called Sheremetyevo.

Could you tell me why you hd to go through both of them? Will I have to do that when I arrive in Moscow?

Only possbly if you are flying on to another city from Moscow. If you are staying in Moscow as Stevo says you will finish at SVO 1 or 2 whichever one you arrived at.

I seem to remember you are staying in Moscow, so you will be OK and not have the SVO shuffle to worry about

Posted by: gonlaz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrismc

Excellent news, thanks guys

Another question though (tired yet?)

He menytioned using rubles for paying for the metro. I just emailed Inna and she says we will use the Metro to get to my hotel, etc. so what's the best thing to do, other than carry a little cash in the passport and my Debit card? Where can I get a quick set of rubles or russian cash to carry around? Also, how much Russian cash should I carry?

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonlaz

Excellent news, thanks guys

Just get some Rubles at the airport......in fact I changed some once for USD with the taxi driver, he was happy to act as a mobile exchange bureau for me

Just get a few hundred Rubles and in low denomination notes, they don't like it when you give them a large note, you don't always get change

Quote:

Another question though (tired yet?)

May be better to make one gigantic list of questions, so we can answer them all in one go

Posted by: gonlaz

I would love to do that but I think of questions daily, so if I just edited one post, it wouldn't work I think, heh. Where in the airport can I get rubles?

Posted by: sidney

The airport has a currency exchange booth. It gives posted exchange rates for different currencies. They are easy to find.
Sid

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonlaz

I would love to do that but I think of questions daily, so if I just edited one post, it wouldn't work I think, heh. Where in the airport can I get rubles?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidney

The airport has a currency exchange booth. It gives posted exchange rates for different currencies. They are easy to find.
Sid

Yes and ther are exchange booths around in most cities also for later on, or the banks of course.

But remember to get some low denomination notes!

Posted by: EasyTarget

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonlaz

I would love to do that but I think of questions daily, so if I just edited one post, it wouldn't work I think, heh. Where in the airport can I get rubles?

The easiest way to get rubles is at the ATM located just outside of the last security check point. It will be on the left side away from the windows. This should be the area your friend will be waiting for you. Get some Rubles from the ATM, walk over to the western union or currency exchange folks and have them give you smaller notes. If you get 500 notes you should be able to use it at the metro. You will most likely buy a 20 trip card for the metro. Don't overly worry about it. The only places that seemed to be picky about big notes are taxi drivers, little booths on the sidewalks, and the grocery store.

I had to shuffle from SVO 2 to SVO 1 because I was flying domestically. SVO 2 is international flights, SVO 1 is domestic flights.

hope this helps.

Posted by: EasyTarget

Flying and arriving in Samara

Here are some fun facts about the plane.

My seat is in the first row of coach seats on the wonderfully aging Tupolev 134 jet. The interior of the plane looks like it has not been updated since it was originally built 40 years ago. There is no overhead bin to store your luggage. There is quite simply just a shelf, like a bus, to put things. Somehow I am able to jam my carry on the shelf so it does not move around. If no one is in the seat, the seats have a nasty habit of going completely forward when the plane lands. The bulkhead seats, the first row of coach, have a big giant shelf? instead of tray tables. There is first class on these flights. I have no idea what the difference was. There is only 1, count them 1, fasten seat belt sign. And for reference, it is at the front of the aircraft located above the door to the cockpit. Speaking of seatbelts, I am not sure what it is about the seatbelts on the plane, they were just odd. Can’t explain it more then that, they are just odd. They do work, so luckily I did not have to test their efficiency. The pilot will speak Russian and English on the flight. And he will make announcements in Russian and English. Flight attendants will most likely not speak any English.

The meal service, if I can call it a meal service, deserves its own special attention. I am a vegetarian. When placing my ticket purchase through Aeroflot’s web site I was able to select the option of vegetarian meal. I thought this was pretty neat. Somehow, some way I was thinking it would make a difference. Yes there is a difference between the vegetarian and normal meal. But first I need to describe the normal meal. The normal meal consists of a small roll, about the size of your fist; in the roll was a piece of ham. The roll was wrapped in plastic wrap. No tray, no flatware, salt and pepper, no need, for all you have for you meal is the roll. The flight attendants will serve beverages, limited to soda and water. There may have been a coffee and tea option but I couldn’t tell. Now you must be asking yourself how was the vegetarian meal was different from the normal meal service. Quite simply it is the same roll, and you guessed it, without the ham.

The point of the discussion about the meal service is Aeroflot should just save themselves the money and not even bother with a meal service. It is only a two hour flight. If people KNOW they will not be getting any food, they will just buy food ahead of time and bring it on board if necessary. Or they will wait until they get home to eat. It is simple. Aeroflot heed my advice stop the inflight meal service and every will be happier.

Ok now the passengers and I are all seated and the plane is ready for its departure to Samara. The pilot announces we must wait until the wings have been de-iced. I don’t mind the wait, and I think it is a prudent call since there is a light snow falling outside. 20 minutes later the de-icer truck gives a cursory spray over the wings and we are off to the races. On take off we fly through some of the worst turbulence I have ever encountered. Mind you I have taken literally thousands of flights. I used to fly on a daily basis for my job, so I know turbulence. I don’t think any US airport would have allowed departure flights with the snow and cross winds we encountered. I guess the Russian pilots know what their old birds can handle.

We land at Samara airport with little issues. Here is a helpful note for anyone thinking of taking the Frankfurt to Samara in bound flight. If you are not a Russian you may have problems entering the country through Samara. I have read on numerous web sites that Americans have been denied entry if coming directly from Frankfurt, instead of going through Moscow. I don’t how true it is but I didn’t want to take the risk.

The plane taxis to its parking spot and we wait for the bus to take us to the terminal. I descend down the stairs and very quickly enter the waiting bus. A 30 second, no exaggeration, bus ride to the terminal and I am there. Samara airport is very small. The arrivals building is separate from the departure area. As soon as you enter the arrivals building there is a small railing where everyone is waiting. Walk twenty feet and you are outside. There are plenty of taxis waiting if you need them. I didn’t see any ATM’s or currency exchange places inside of Samara’s airport. Someone correct me if I am wrong. It is dark, it is snowing, and it is very cold. However I put on a brave front and start my journey in Russia.

Next braving Russian taxi drivers.

Posted by: Khashyar

Thanks for sharing your stories and experiences in Russia, EasyT. Khashyar

Posted by: EasyTarget

Russian Taxi drivers.
While I was in Russia I got the dubious pleasure of experiencing first hand why Russian taxi drivers are the worlds best.

The driver quickly jerked the emergency brake and deftly glided the Lada into a perfect J turn knowing exactly how much the car would slide on the snow as the car darted down the ancillary road in front of the apartment buildings. In the back seat my body was thrown quickly to the left as I continued my stranglehold on the front seat’s head rest. My friend and I exchanged quick glances and with a silent agreement, we both knew that the driver was experienced and enjoyed pushing his 15 year old car to its limits. In hindsight I think the only way for the driver to break up the boredom of transporting local residents was to “play in the snow” and be a little reckless.

I can not say that this particular driver was unique. Better then most of the drivers, yes, unique I would say no. I found most taxi drivers in the quite city of Tolayatti to be quite adept at maneuvering their vehicles in adverse weather conditions. With 2 inches of snow or fresh ice on the road, the drivers just took it all in stride. They made the minor adjustments when necessary to be able to continue at their 40, 50, 60 mph pace down city roads. Never impeding traffic and never showing their frustration when other drivers only had 10 percent of their skill, it is a talent unto itself.

My first introduction in to the league of professional taxi drivers and their finely tuned skills was when we approached our first traffic rotary. Normally in America one would anticipate only one lane of traffic at a time navigating the rotary. But in Russia, where every thing is bigger, and with 3 lanes of traffic entering and exiting the rotary, it was a whole new game. It was a game that I was totally unfamiliar with. The taxi driver slowed to a mere 30 mph and quickly merged with the mid-morning traffic. I looked on with horror and was fully anticipating a collision with the bread truck barreling around the rotary. I do not know if the driver could see the look of astonishment on my face or the way I was frantically clutching the front seat, and with no hesitation he just continued on as though everything was perfectly normal. And I am sure since he has navigated this rotary dozens of times a day for numerous years, in his mind it was all perfectly normal. I for one was deeply alarmed.

Maybe it is because Tolayatti is located in the middle of Lada country, or maybe it is because one has to lose all fear to be successful at driving a taxi, I am not sure which it is, but my perception of the skill of the drivers quickly transcended from fear to awe-inspiring. It was quite remarkable how the driver knew exactly when to add an additional 50-75 feet for braking distances at a particular intersection. Did he see a small patch of snow or ice? Or was it just pure instincts? How does he know that the other driver will yield and allow him to cross over the three lanes necessary for our car to navigate the rotary? The driver did not use a turn signal. Do fathers teach these skills to their sons? Is there a special Lada taxi driving school? Maybe it is just something they are born with?

Invariably most of the taxi drivers I encountered were men. Until one snowy evening I was surprised when the driver was a woman in her mid 40’s. Any preconceived notions that men are better drivers then women should take a ride with her. In dark and snowy conditions she was just as adept at keeping pace with traffic and compensating for the weather conditions as any male taxi driver. I would go so far as to say she was better then most of the other drivers.

I will finish by saying that even though I saw my fair share of accidents on the snow covered roads of Tolayatti not of them involved a taxi driver. Is that the other drivers know to give a wider berth to the professionals? In a culture that I am just beginning to learn about I can not say, and maybe I will never know. However after more then a dozen safe journeys in Russian taxi’s I have begun to relax just a little, however next time I will be glad there will be no snow on the road.

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasyTarget

Russian Taxi drivers.

I will finish by saying that even though I saw my fair share of accidents on the snow covered roads of Tolayatti not of them involved a taxi driver. Is that the other drivers know to give a wider berth to the professionals? In a culture that I am just beginning to learn about I can not say, and maybe I will never know. However after more then a dozen safe journeys in Russian taxi’s I have begun to relax just a little, however next time I will be glad there will be no snow on the road.

No the taxi drivers do not personally get involved in accidents, they just cause them all!!!

it sure beats the white knuckle rides on the fun fair though doesn't it. I had one that overtook on the wrong side of a dual carriageway, at night in the dark and with no streetlights on and traffic coming at 60mph in the opposite direction, this sort of driving lasted for over 300 miles Kiev to Kharkiv, I was shattered when I finally arrived at my destination,but very relieved!! there was no accidents for us, but I am sure there were plenty left in his wake!!

from where he had been!

Posted by: firemansam

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasyTarget

Now you must be asking yourself how was the vegetarian meal was different from the normal meal service. Quite simply it is the same roll, and you guessed it, without the ham.

Brilliant!!!! This had me laughing for ages.....

Thanks ET!!

Posted by: vic2012

Your description took me back, Easy. What you experienced, was called a gyratory roundabout in the UK about 30 years ago (they’ve long since vanished). The most well known one was Hyde Park Corner, in central London. There were no lines on the road and there was no entry or exit strategy, you simply gave way to traffic on your right (or left in US and Russia). Some people just flew on, without slowing. Others would stop and quake on the slip road. Of course it only worked on roundabouts with three or more lanes of traffic going round. But it was great fun.

Posted by: Cheburashka

BRAVO! More Please.

Posted by: clark

Great story thus far EasyTarget. I'm clammoring for more

Posted by: EasyTarget

Matt, Cheb, Kash, Clark, Chris, and Vic
I am glad you are enjoying my travel log and thanks for the encouragement.

I want to share it because I am sure some will find it entertaining and some will find it educational. My friend was constantly amazed at my reaction when riding in a taxi. Most of the time she had nerves of steel. Maybe I wouldn't have been so un"Easy" if I was driving.

As you have noticed I am not talking about my experiences with my friend for privacy concerns. Maybe if things continue to work out I may be able to share that story.

However.......
My next installment is about the "Coffee Bean" in Russia.

Posted by: GoingToRussia

I find it bringing me back to memories of Russia and the time I thought for sure I was a dead man. Even "my friend" squeezed my hand very tight, her eyes widened, and then let out a sigh when we were safe.!!!

Thanks for the memories!

Posted by: EasyTarget

I uploaded lots of photos from my trip to Russia on my personal website.

http://www.eipsoftware.com/travel/
username: RMP
password: RMP

Posted by: Pin Boy

what? no chicks? how are we gonna start another firestorm on the rmp about posting pics?

seriously, thanks for the link. you're a lucky man to have traveled to such places.

pb

Posted by: EasyTarget

Lots of photos of the ladies, but I think it best to not post them.

Posted by: Chrismc

Great photos EasyT but where are all the Hawaiian shirts

Posted by: EasyTarget

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrismc

Great photos EasyT but where are all the Hawaiian shirts

Oh, I wore Hawaiian shirts. I always do. Why should Russia be any different. Besides my friend thought they looked very nice. 100% silk Hawaiian shirts are very nice, look good, and comfortable.

Posted by: GoingToRussia

I wish I had a nickel for every picture taken of St. Basils. I think everyone that goes to Moscow snaps a picture of it.

You can tell you're in Russia by looking out your window. The view of apartments is the same everywhere.

Thanks, nice pics!

Posted by: EasyTarget

Russian Coffee Bean.

I am with my friend and in the efforts of deciding where to go to dinner on my second night in town, I suggest a café I had noticed from the day earlier. I looked inside and it looked rather normal, actually it had a familiar look to me. Stepped inside and noticed it had an open air seating arrangement with round tables located in the middle of the café, and booths along the walls. Hang our jackets on the coat rack, sit down, and the waitress promptly presents the menus. In Hawaii waitress service is slow, real slow. It is almost lethargic. It reminds me of service in Western European countries like Germany and France. The waiters and waitresses in Western Europe usually are not tipped so they can take their time. In Hawaii the wait staff expects to be tipped, but they still take their time. I can always spot a waitress from the mainland. Not only is she prompt with service but has that overly friendliness in an effort to boost her tip. Growing up on the East Coast I am used to prompt and efficient service. But I digress…

I will say that no matter what restaurant / café I visited, the waitresses all seemed to have similar characteristics. They were quick, young, no small talk, and more importantly almost always attractive. I also noticed that most could speak a few words of English but were very appreciative if you could speak some Russian.

The waitress hands the menu to me, and it is large. Not just physically large, but there is good amount of choices on the menu. For this size café (about 30 tables) I am use to have only about a dozen menu options. I did notice that most cafés would offer at least 40 or 50 menu items. Unfortunately I can only read some of the Russian words, and I do have a limited choice for my dietary needs, (I am a vegetarian) so my menu options were still constrained. However in every café I went too I could find some thing enjoyable to eat.

After placing our orders, I then scanned the café. The wall paper was a tan color and in huge letters (2 feet high) they had written espresso, latte, café, etc… On the wall was a 40” plasma screen tuned to the local music video channel. And unlike in the US the music video channel actually plays music videos. I have forgotten the name, but after watching it a little bit I realized they had a good concept. Viewers would vote via SMS as to what is the next video to show. They would show how the voting was going and the more votes, the quicker it moved up in the rotation. They also had some method of making sure the same video wasn’t played more then once in a day. I liked the idea. The music playing in café however was an mp3 disk on random shuffle, so the music and the video where definitely not in sync. Luckily the music was in Russian, otherwise I think it would have annoyed me a little.

Almost every café I would visit would have a plasma screen showing either sports or music videos. I noticed a trend. On our first visit to this Italian restaurant, they did not have a television screen. I was glad. Then on a subsequent visit, we were there when the satellite dish guy was installing the TV and the dish. It was late, 8pm or so, and snowing. The satellite dish guy had to keep going in and out of the snowy weather to align the dish, poor guy.

The café also had a Christmas tree, with lights, decorations, the whole works. For whatever reason in my mind I didn’t think I would see that many Christmas trees. However the Christmas trees were everywhere. I guess I was thinking that the Communist rule, officially suppressing religion would have made the idea of Christmas trees foreign. However I was completely wrong on this one. It was great. There was a holiday festive spirit everywhere. I saw way more Christmas trees in Russia then I ever do in Hawaii, go figure. :-)

The food service was prompt even though there was a good amount of people in the café. The waitress that was serving us, overheard my English. She seemed more then eager to try and say some phrases in English to me. My guess was that she was studying at the university and wanted to give it a try. The few phrases she knew where dead on, and I told her so. The waitresses were busy shuffling back and forth, but you could always get their attention if need be. However the waitresses were more then happy to let you sit and talk if you wanted. If you are a non-smoker just resign yourself to the fact that there is no such thing as a non-smoking section in a café. And a high percentage of people smoke, so you will leave smelling like cigarettes. It is what it is.

My friend and I visited the café a few more times during my visit since it was conveniently located and I like their tea with lemon. On one of the visits to the café, I asked my friend what was the name of the place. She thought for a second on how to translate to English and then she said, “Coffee Bean”.

I replied, “Seriously?”
“Yes”.

I then started laughing very loudly. Luckily it was not too crowded otherwise I am sure I would have gathered quite a few stares. My friend taken aback from my reaction had a puzzled look on her face. She said, “What is so funny, I don’t know why they call it that.”

I then caught my breath and told her, “about 7 minutes from my house, there is a little café. They sell coffee, and pastries. And it is popular place to go to sit with friends and chat. The name of the place is….’Coffee Bean’”

My friend stared at me in disbelief. And I reassured it was true. “Yes about 7 minutes from my house there is a place very similar to this called Coffee Bean.” As my friend started to laugh, I told her, “I don’t why I traveled 20,000KM to visit a ‘Coffee Bean’, I just need to go down the street from where I live. What was I thinking?”

For those who are unaware Coffee Bean is a chain of coffee shops located in the USA. They are similar in nature to Starbucks, selling overpriced foo-foo coffee drinks and variety of pastry items.

It really appeared to me as though someone from Tolyatti had visited America, seen a Coffee Bean, took some photos and duplicated the café in Russia. It had the same look and feel, but a little Russified for the local population.

Photo is from a slow morning, after learning the name of the Café.

Posted by: EasyTarget

Side note about speaking with the wait staff at a cafe. All you HAVE to learn to say is please and thank you in Russian. Good manners go a long way.

Posted by: EasyTarget

Omnibus.

I have no idea what the Russian name is for the vans that transport the locals around the city. In Turkey we used to call them Omnibuses. The bus which is really a van and not a bus, sits 12 passengers plus the driver. They have a little sign in the dashboard window stating the number and where it goes. Also on the side of the bus usually they will have painted more detailed destination information. The inside of the vans is where the fun begins.

They have arranged the seats in very ingenious arrangement that allows for you to climb over and get very friendly with your fellow travelers, when entering and exiting the bus. The arrangement maximizes the available seats that could possibly squeeze in the back of the van. However if you are over 6 feet tall like myself you will feel squished into any of the available seats. Unless by some rare chance there is an opportunity to sit in the front passenger seats next to the driver.

The van only costs 10 rubles per person, although your mileage may vary. You pay when exiting the van. Which is great since you could get a free ride if are the unscrupulous sort.

Unless your Russian is really strong and you can read the destination information, or you are exactly sure of what van you need, I would strongly suggest having a guide help you navigate the van (bus) system.

Now that you have some general information on the vans, let me relate an interesting ride I had. I needed to take the bus from Samara to Tolyatti. We went to the local bus station in Samara. There were numerous buses that go back and forth between the cities so we had plenty of different time options. We went over to the bus station in late afternoon. I had my local guide with me so all was well in getting the tickets and finding the right van. However we would have to wait about 1 hour for the next bus to come. We proceed upstairs to the waiting area.

Note to self. Avoid waiting for any bus if you can. There are some cold steel chairs in the unheated bus terminal. The bus terminal truly has seen the last of its better days. That is assuming the bus terminal actually had better days.

There are some small little booths selling drinks and some sort of food. However in the future this will not be my preferred method of traveling any long distances in Russia.

We walk out to the van about 15 minutes before leaving and get the seats, with only one “seat” left. Actually one of the seats is missing and the last guy to show up has to sort of sit up on metal bars. And lucky for me he gets to sit next to me. The guy had been drinking, a lot, a real lot. Which with the whole having to sit on metal bars thing, I think it worked out that it was good thing for him, that he had been drinking.

Now there are all types of drunks in this world and when the drunk sits down next to you, it is like rolling the dice as to what type of drunk are you going to get. You just pray that it is not the type of drunk that will puke on your shoes. Well I got the talkative drunk. Great. However he is speaking Russian. And I haven’t a clue as to what he is saying. Although even if he had been speaking English it would have been very difficult to hear him since the driver of this particular van decided he need to “Rock Out” to some 90’s music.

So, if you don’t have visual, I am squished in to a seat in the back of the van, with 90’s rock music at 80 decibels with a drunk Russian guy babbling about who knows what. Finally after looking at him with a puzzled look on my face, and telling him “Sta?”. He finally picks up on the fact that I am not Russian. Yes, it is true, the tall guy with a tan, had some difficulty blending with the locals. He then starts speaking 1 or 2 words of English that he knew. I knew this would not be a good situation. If he knew that I spoke English he would babble on in Russian / English for the rest of the trip. I finally just kept saying, “Parlez-vous en Francais?”

After about 10 minutes he finally gave up trying to speak to me, and sort of passed out. The older Russian woman sitting across from me, gave me a look as to say, “Finally!”

The van stops after an hour, on the side of the busy multi-lane highway, when it is pitch black out, so everyone can hop out and smoke a cigarette. Great, the drunk is stirred goes outside and starts smoking. The van is about to pull away, when the drunk bangs on the door to get let back in to the van. Darn, I thought I had lost him. Some how in the whole process he had forgotten that I don’t speak Russian. I do the whole “Parlez-vous en Francais?” thing again and after another 10 minutes it realizes that I am not going to speak Russian with him.

After the trip, and I am freed from the van, my knees hurting and back sore, I suggest to my friend maybe…that is not the most ideal form of transportation for long trips. She agrees with me, but states, there were no big buses running today, what could we do?

Posted by: gonlaz

Excellent story and photos, dude

Posted by: ira156

Hey Easy......oh i remember the buses very well......and the smell of pure vodka breath......the record in Ulyanovsk while i was there was 27 people in a bus licenced for 14......2 days earlier a passanger was killed when one hit a tram. And im sure i caught the flu on one of them....but it was all fun

Posted by: Pin Boy

one of the nastiest smells i ever had the pleasure of experiencing was on a minibus in ukraine last summer. i'm getting nauseous now just from the memory.

pb

Posted by: Raspberry

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoingToRussia

GTR, I'm not sure if you know this, but Sochi airport has been under private ownership for about a year. The Russian government sold the airport to two individuals---one Russian, and one American. The runways are being lengthened....granted, you will not get the A-380 or 747, but enough to accomodate up to a 767.

Should be interesting to see what progress goes on this year in the construction/remodeling.

I'm just guessing, but the toilet in the Sochi airport is most likely like the one on the Donetsk bus station---squat down, and no seat, right??

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Yes I knew it was sold. I haven't been there for about 1.5 years.

I don't know about a 747 landing. You have to clear the mountains first then decend rather steep to get to an altitude to land. I was told it is the 3rd hardest airport to land a plane. Part of the runway already extends into the Black Sea. They will have to build new runways if they what big planes to land. They would be better off landing international flight at Krasnodar then taking a flight to Sochi.

Yes the tiolet, if you what to call it that, was just a hole. But there was so much "stuff" around the hole you couldn't get to it.