Moscow
On December 14th 2000 I flew out to Moscow on the first leg on my trip to Volzhsky. On the following pages you can read about my experience. Enjoy
Much has been said about immigration and customs in Russia. This was my first visit to Russia having only been to Belarus before. On the plane you are given a declaration form to fill in. This is for anyone who is taking into Russia currency over ^1500 and goods of similar value. I had my laptop, digital camcorder and mobile phone which I declared on the form. You get 2 copies to complete and once you have passed through passport control you have two customs channels. Red and green. Go to the red channel to declare the money and equipment you are bringing into Russia. Make sure one of the forms is stamped. When you leave Russia this is proof you brought these items and money into the country. I was told if you don't declare any of this then if you are stopped when leaving they could confiscate these items by saying you obtained the goods/money in Russia and are not allowed to take them out. Honesty is the best policy! I didn't hide anything and breezed through. From the time the plane landed to getting to my hotel room it took under an hour! I was met in the airport by my driver Alexi. He took my luggage and carried it to his car. We then had a 5 minute drive to the hotel.
In fact when we left the airport building I could see the Novotel hotel and thought it was within walking distance. As it was snowing heavily now I was glad Alexi was there. I had heard there is a mad rush of taxi drivers who grab you and try to direct you to their cars. Well I got lucky as the airport was dead quiet probably because we were one of the last planes to land. The Novotel hotel is a reasonably impressive hotel up to western standards. The girls on the front desk when you check in speak fluent English and are friendly and helpful. The room was clean, large and had all the services you expect of any modern hotel in the West. The hot shower was a God send. You can't dial to mobile phones from your room. I wanted to speak to my agent in Moscow and had to use my own mobile for this. All other calls are ok. The only gripe I had was that the walls are thin. I could hear people in the room above walking around and as a light sleeper I subsequently woke many times in the night because of various noises! I had breakfast brought to my room in the morning and it was ok. I am not keen on croissants for breakfast. I like my cereal!!
Now my thoughts turn to the flight to Volgograd which is later today. I have a flight time of 16.25. It is still snowing and I must admit I'm not looking forward to flying with Aeroflot in these conditions. My thoughts are turning to why didn't I take a train instead! On to Volzhsky
