Carry a photocopy of your passport? And, leave the real deal with the US
Embassy?

-----Original Message-----
From: JRhodes [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 10:08 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Russia


schfh:

I will probably be in Moscow the end of July, hoping to fly to St.
Petersburg for a couple days on my own.
Having been there a few times, my advise:

1. Dress for the heat.  Air conditioning is not big there.  Neither
are some of the operable windows which you don't want to open anyway
because of the noise and exhaust.  (Cars still burn leaded gas.)
2. Walk around a lot, but don't count on crossing streets where you
want to.  There are spaced out underpasses for that.  And the
pedestrian does NOT have the right of way.
3. Take the Metro and get off at lots of stations just to see the
architecture.  The next train will be along by the time you take one
picture.  They are clean and well traveled.  Learn a little of the
cyrillic alphabet first and sound things out.  A lot of it "sounds
like" English or French!  Learn some friendly phrases.  The Tretyakov
Museum of Russian Art was an eye opener...to the quality of the last
two centuries of art.
4. Don't count on Red Square or your destination to be open when you
walk up to the gate, and learn where to get tickets.  The Armory, for
example, a treasure house of the Tsars sells tickets over by the
bridge to the Kremlin where you'll be hounded by "guides", some of
whom really know their stuff, like for the churches in the Kremlin.
5. Negotiate prices and tip well, but not too well.
6. Have a Russian negotiate and/or travel with you when you go by
taxi.  Expect any old car and driver to stop.  Refuse if you're not
comfortable.
7. Most of the Russians I met have good curiosity and a sense of
humor.  But Moscow is as different from the countryside as Washington
is to Appalachia.
8. Don't take up smoking (It's everywhere!), and buy your vodka on
the street, not in the hotel.  (You get 10x for your money there.)
9. Walk the back streets, archways and alleys to discover some real
architectural delights...arcades, churches and a lot of good stuff
from the late 19th early 20th centuries.
10 A boat ride from the bridge at the Radison gives you a good perspective.
12. Only carry a xerox of your passport and just enough money for the
day in Rubles or crisp new dollars.  Traveler's checks should be
American Express, the only company with offices in Moscow.  You can
easily get the next day's money at the hotel or banks.  Look for
bargains where things may be marked in older ruble prices...like
books.
11. Be street smart like in New York and you'll do OK.