soft drink-hard sleep

                                   iron doggy

                       male and female

                          ...touched by the beauty

You may find the locals reluctant to receiving your sms or calls. Explanation is simple. We are charged by our local cell operators for the INCOMING calls from non-Russian SIM-cards! I normally run out of balance on my cell account after receiving couple of such calls or sms-messages when usually the same balance lasts for a week.

When in Russia buy a Russian SIM-card if your mobile allows to replace it. Usually  SIM-cards are cheap and rates are generally affordable. Connecting to  MTS or Megafon will provide access to all  subscribers over the whole Russia and will be a clever alternative for the usually costly roaming. Your newly made Russian friends will appreciate it too. -:) Buy SIM-cards in respective company's office or through their authorized dealers.

Pickpocketing is something a traveller must be aware of  in any country Russia included.

Cheap public buses (thus especially crowded), trams and the corresponding bus/tram /minivan stops with the mobs pushing you into the vehicle from the behind are most dangerous. Also food markets and queues. I am not saying it happens universally, actually nowadays it's getting safer but still you'd  better know where to be more careful.

Read safety section of LonelyPlanet guide for instructions!  -:)

a grateful listener...

 Tsar in business

 Food.
Supermarkets (or mini-supermarkets :) can be found in any place in Russia. But  food quality is often low ( especially meat, fish and vegetables/fruit) and I personally rarely shop there. Meat and fish are defrosted/frozen many times (bought at discount prices at wholesale markets) and must be retired. Veggies/fruit are Chinese or Turkish, equally tasteless and infiltrated by chemicals.

Healthier alternative is food markets with local farmers selling their produce. Don't be afraid to buy local veggies/berries from babushkas at organized markets - more expensive as any organic food but worth it if you care about what you eat.

                            I  lllove tomaaatoooes!

                            "breakthrough"

                              sky-bound (St.Peters)

                            sadness hits dogs...

                             ...and people...

                                     ...and cats

Russian 5th floor is British 4th floor, 'cauz our 1st floor is your GROUND floor. Does it make sense?  :)

In private minivans (marshrutkas) in IRKUTSK you pay when you get off, in other cities (Moscow, St.Peters, Novosibirsk) - when you get on.  

Don't trust signs in Russia. ALWAYS double check/triple check with the local people. :) Don't be shy to ask, usually Russians are very friendly to foreigners. Sometimes even friendlier than to their co-citizens.

Taxi mafia does exist in Russia. So a taxi is better booked at taxi-agencies (see Yellow pages of a town/city) rather than caught along the street. For Irkutsk I recommend Radio Taxi  tel.       or 222-222,  I have worked with them for the last 3 years.

Visa registration is only demanded if you stay at any place in Russia for MORE than 3 days (weekends don't count). Only in that case you must get your registration stamp. For those NOT staying at hotels which are supposed to provide registration, such is easily obtained at ANY post office in Russia.

You go there with a local person who has propiska with his/her passport, your passports and immigration cards. Fill in the required forms there and post them to the immigration authority. The post-officer gives you a receipt which will be a sufficient proof of your registration. Post-office fee is around 150Rub/prs but the process can be time-consuming.

Make sure you keep all your train/plane tickets till the last minute in Russia, they may ask you at the customs to provide evidence of your actual itinerary.

a potty-stop :)