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296 Russia Background
Visa Stuff : I thought it would be difficult to visit Siberia and Russia cos I knew that, not only do I need a visa I need an invitation letter aswell. But Chi Keong in Malaysia had done the Trans- Siberian train ride and he explained an invitaion was easy to get on the internet via visitrussia.com etc.
It was so easy I just filled in the form right then, which was my first mistake and brush with Russian bureaucracy.
Most other countries are fairly flexible, but with Russia the days you put on the form are the ones you get. So I got 27 days instead of the 30. In fact I would recommend that people get a business visa , cos that way you get a 6 month visa. I always seemed to be in a rush cos I had to worry about being on time for my exit date. Other bureacracy the rule is get your visa stamped in the first hotel and again if you stay in a town for 3 days. On exit immigration didn't ask any difficult questions they just accepted the normal rubber stamp the first hotel put on my paper.
learn to be patient - things take longer than in other countries. When you buy a train ticket you must tell the seller what train number you want. Luckily many stations now have computerised timetable machines, which you can use. Otherwise you have to queue up at the information window first. I found it best to hand the seller my old ticket first so that they could copy my name in Russian and passport number from that.
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Russian language Russian Dictionary
Zdrast-vo-teh - Hi, Ps-yal-ta - Please, Kagda - When ?,
Gd-e-ye - Where ?,
Ptz-di-etz - Complete fucking fuck-up - pretty rude
pronoucing Russian correctly is very difficult..for one thing the system used for translating the Russian alphabet into Roman is not very good, the Russian sounds not being near the normal English sounds
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Some Links
wiki prasebook,
Expat Chat, .. ,
HOFA homestays is 30 euros a night, quite expensive village price is 5 or 10 and HC and couchsurfing are available
Books : The Lonely Planet Russia is OK, but cos Russia is so big there are only details for the main areas.. If you go to the minor areas then there's no info. The LP Trans-Siberian book is pretty good.
Someone gave me the Russia Experience Info-Pack from www.trans-siberian.co.uk and this has very good background info.
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Youth Hostels : Novgorod : http://www.hostelling.ru/index.php4?patchs=novgorod $4 cheaper than S Pete really. Cheap compared to all others in Russia, but no sign and institution like atmosphere so I used HC.
http://www.hostelling-russia.ru/ only 4 hostels
I would recommend to other people that they go on a workcamp with vfp.org
so that they can get accustomed to Russian ways and that they take a business visa so that can stay in the CIS more than a month.
Workcamps
HC members are invited to take part in a camp from
17/07/-31/07/06
first shift, 03/08/-17/08/06 - second shift.
Meals and lodging provided! Invitation?-we take care
about it! Cultural program
and ceramics painting workshop provided!
1 very important condition to take part: participants
should be willing to help
the hosting place (local children's orphanage) with
restoration/renovation
work 4 hours a day.
NB: People interested in
ceramics and painting have preferences, but it's not
obligatory.
Place: a small town in Russia Ostrogozhsk, very
picturesque, see the
www.ostrogozhsk.ru, but in Russian:-) We will meet in
Moscow and move all
together to Ostrogozhsk (only 1 night with train from
Moscow to the south)
Reason to organize such meeting: frankly speaking, we
work on the development
of
intercultural cooperation since 1998 and we organize
different international
projects like this one. We have experience and on HC
we found people who have
fun from intercultural communication
and travels. That' exactly how we are like:-)!!!
Who are we: http://www.workcamps.ru/3-vol.htm we are
from vfp.org
26-Jun-2006 3-Jul-2006 Russia RusDgv02-06 Camp Details 10 18+ THE GRUSHINSKY FEST ENVI
29-Jun-2006 9-Jul-2006 Russia RusWTFP01-06 Camp Details 10 18+ Tula RENO/ART/KIDS
1-Jul-2006 15-Jul-2006 Russia RusW4U03-06 Camp Details 6 18+ Siberia RENO/SOCI
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