We just got ripped off by a guy in uniform, and no, I'm not talking about certain specialised clubs here in Moscow.
When you arrive in Russia, you have 3 days to register your visa with the authorities. We knew it had to be done, and the hostel here in Moscow took copies of our passports and visas to register them.
What we didn't know was that we would be given a "stub", a piece of paper proving that we'd registered. Nor did we actually know about the 3-day limit. So when we were asked by a policeman and his interpreter outside the Kremlin why we didn't have the stub when it was later than 1pm on the day after we arrived, we told him that the hostel was registering it and the stub just hadn't reached us yet.
You might be wondering why the policeman said it needed to have been done by 1pm on the day after arrival, when we have 3 days to get it done. It's because he was setting the interpreter up for the phrase "Well, now there is problem..." The interpreter even had a piece of paper printed out which had the dubious deadline on it. Then he took me aside from Triny and told me that we would have to be arrested, go to the station, get the embassy involved, and the eventual fine would be 3000 roubles each. On the other hand, he said, there is a non-protocol way to deal with it.
End result was a 5000 rouble (£100 ish) cash "fine", and a promise on my part not to talk to anyone about this "unofficial" solution.
It's a bit annoying, because he was playing on my ignorance of the laws about the deadline for registration. Mind you, he also had our passports in his hands and a van load of mates behind him, which seemed to qualify as an instant position of power. I'm trying to look on it as just one of those things.
We are know back in our room trying to decide whether we go out and get some dinner now, or wait until later when our stubs should hopefully have arrived.
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What's all this about, then?
October 2007, and Triny and I have sold our house, quit our jobs, and are off to see what we can find. This is somewhere we can post things on the way. Hopefully, we'll remember to update it every now and then.
To see a map of where we've been so far, click here
To see a map of where we've been so far, click here
Rate my train
Pros: Familiar; slow enough to let Triny get over her hangover before arriving.
Cons: Too many chavs; too slow; late departure.
Overall: 5/10
Waterloo
Pros: Fast (on French side).
Cons: Too many boring rugby conversations; slow (on English side).
Overall: 6/10
Paris
Pros: Very fast; very flash; very smooth.
Cons: Boooooooring; uncomfortable seats difficult to sleep in.
Overall: 6/10
Frankfurt to
Pros: Private cabin; comfortable; breakfast served in cabin.
Cons: Prisoner Cell Block H; sink too technical for us; door also too technical for us; breakfast.
Overall: 8/10
Prague
Pros: Comfortable; half empty; toilet not smoke-alarmed.
Cons: Juddery.
Overall: 7/10
Warsaw to Moscow
Pros: Comfortable; helpful cheery guard; morning coffee for Triny.
Cons: Depressing scenery; no double bed; confusing Russian border crossing
Overall: 8/10
Moscow
Pros: Smiley chef lady; toasty; good hot food; large bottles of beer for Triny; befriending scary provodnitsa
Cons: Narrow beds; sudden braking throughout; drunk/miserable Russians; ablution facilities.
Overall: 6/10
Irkutsk to Ulanbatar
Pros: 4-berth cabin to ourselves; met Dutch people who became travelling companions.
Cons: Far too early departure time; being in Irkutsk; long border crossing.
Overall: 6/10
Ulanbatar to Beijing
Pros: Mongolian restaurant car; first class compartment.
Cons: Really monotonous scenery; toilet facilities; 5 hour border crossing and wheel change.
Overall: 7/10
Beijing to Shanghai
Pros: Brand new train; legroom even in second class seats; 250km/h express.
Cons: No smoking for 10 hours; never actually reached 250km/h.
Overall: 8/10
Shanghai to Hong Kong
Pros: Civilised departure and arrival times; very posh cabin.
Cons: Passport control in Shanghai station rather than on the train; air conditioning too enthusiastic; creaky compartment.
Overall: 7/10
Bangkok to Hua Hin
Pros: Very Michael Palin; plenty of room; lots of hawkers selling stuff; hanging off the side of the train while smoking a cigarette.
Cons: Too many Westerners; not punctual.
Overall: 9/10
Hua Hin to Surat Thani
Pros: Plenty of room; free meal.
Cons: Old and decrepit; too much air-con; no charm; so late that we had to stay in Surat Thani for a night.
Overall: 5/10
Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
Pros: TV at the end of the carriage; very comfortable seats; comedy accent of train conductor.
Cons: Having to get off the train at the Singapore border to go through Immigration.
Overall: 8/10
3 comments:
My week in Moscow was spent in a haze. Nobody in the company told us about "Stubs" and we did not have visas. We just presented our passports and they let us in and out. So probably good luck for us and bad luck for you.
Do you think your interpreter was in on the scam?
Barry
What a great idea. Thankyou so much for writing all of this.Isn't most of Barry's life spent in a haze? Have just come back from Tracy's and an iTomb meeting. Apart from living and breathing iTomb John and I managed to have three great offroad rides. It's so dark when the hour goes on. We are snug in our tiny little sitting room. HAVE FUN.XXXX Elaine
Mate!
Why didn't you whip out your Kalashnicov and bust a cap in his ass? Don't blame you really, situations like that can be really intimidating. As you say, just put it down to one of those things. Sounds like you're having a good time despite most of it being on trains.
Hope the scenery gets better as you go and watch out for those Mongolians... ;0)
JK
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