RUSSIA

[alexandrea]

Love how you finally got to Russia, sis! Your pics are fabulous!

[Frozen Toes]

^ Haha, yeah. Next natin igapang yung Brazil natin!

[alexandrea]

^ I will also slave away on my body if matuloy ang Brazil na yan!

Oh wow I would love to go to Brazil. That could be my big splurge next year. I already have Bhutan as my biggest expense this year eh.

[projectgora]

dream destination ko din to! actually, I want to try China - Mongolia - Russia kaso I heard super expensive ang transiberian railway. Sana makapag ipon ako for this.

[sleepy_me]

Planning to do Russia May 2015.. Any blogs or article about Russia? Still drafting my itinerary.. Excited na ko 

[Frozen Toes]

^ Super excited for you! I miss Russia and we will go back together in 2018, di ba? Alam mo yan! Haha.

Anyway, will you also visit St. Petersburg? Spend Day 1 at the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Day 2 at the Hermitage and Yusopov's Palace, and Day 3 at St. Catherine's Palace (a few hours away from St. Pete's). In the evenings, you can go explore The Nevsky Prospekt or hang out at the Galeria Mall. Nothing special about Galeria, but it's right outside the metro station so accessible siya. Also, try to eat at Teremok. It's a fastfood chain that serves blinis. Parang wala akong nakitang Teremok in Moscow, so sa St. Petersburg kumain ka na. For experience lang. Okay lang din pelmeni nila.

Those are my must-sees, so you'll need at the very least 3 full days in St. Petersburg. Pero kung may time pa sana kami noon, I would've liked to see the Russian ballet at the Alexandrinsky.

[alexandrea]

Sis Frozen Toes, I'm planning to go to Moscow next year sa Holy Week. Sayang ang holidays eh haha. Also, off-peak ang April so we should be able to find good deals. Di nga lang ganun super kaganda ang weather kasi transitioning from winter to spring na, so medyo 'slushy' raw ang roads. Pero kebs na ako diyan.

I checked Aeroflot and nasa 30k pa rin lang naman ang HK-Moscow RT. Pero kaloka ha, ang Business Class seats, either sold out or limited seats na lang ang natitira!

[melodymedley]

Was in Russia in June this year as part of my uni's field trip. 
We did Moscow and Yekaterinburg.

The architecture in Russia is beautiful, and you can see its difference from the rest of Europe. Pretty easy to around to because of the really new and beautiful underground metro of Moscow. Some stops are like museums or hotel ballrooms. I spent around 2 hours hopping on and off their metro.

My main "issue" is probably some items/descriptions in their museums are not translated into English. So I wasn't able to fully understand some of what I saw.  Communication can be a bit frustrating at times, as they don't really speak English (even considering that they hosted the World Cup this year).

I got my Russian Rubles via ATM withdrawal ng BPI.
I have lots of spare ruble so DM me if you want/need them.

[aranses]

^will contact you kapag natuloy kami sa russia this may or july. 4 days enough na sa moscow? and another 4days sa saint petersburg ok na kaya? may kasama ako pamangkin, 12years old hopefully ma appreciate niya ang russia

[melodymedley]

^^Yes! I think 4 full days in Moscow is sufficient to see all the sights in a not-hurried manner.
Hopefully, when you visit Red Square, walang mga booths/stalls in it. They were conducting a sort of a cultural fair during the weekend, so medyo mahirap lang din kasi mag-picture and umikot kapag ganun.  I went to the Red Square 2x during the day, and 2x at night. Both were pretty sights for me. 

We didn't go to St. Petersburg, so that's for next time. Ang mahal kasi ng Russian Visa eh.

[aranses]

nag apply na kami russian visa last monday. almost 4500pesos ang single entry (regular processing) visa nila kapag rush processing x2 ang price. kapag rush pwede mag demand sa consul na the next day ang pick up, mga kasabay kasi namin aplicant last monday bumalik today for pick up. ako bumalik ulit para sa bayad, hindi kasi ako umabot sa cutoff ng bank last monday. ang dami nag apply ngayon ng russian visa tapos iisa lang consul kaya maghapon kami umabot.

nakahanap din ako mura travel voucher nasa 18usd per person binayad namin, buti nag cater sila ng philippine citizen. dami ko tinanungan, hindi na daw sila nagtatanggap ng filipino kasi may tendency mag tnt. 

[ninglovesturquoise]

Hi @aranses, grabe sis, Monday rin ako nag-apply, baka nagkita pa tayo haha,  next monday ang release ng sa amin. Humingi ako sa mga hotel namin ng travel vouchers para wala ng bayad, doon rin naman kami magstastay.  Kailan kayo punta?

[aranses]

^awts for sure nagkita nga tayo nun monday. kami banda huli na, past 3pm na ako natapos. bumalik pa ako last wednesday para sa payment sa bank then binalik ko sa consul proof of payment. iba iba kasi hotels namin kaya nag apply na lang ako travel voucher online. sa june pa kami lalapag ng russia, pero sa May alis na kami pinas punta europe.

[sturmfrei]

If you're doing a DIY trip I suggest na i-Google nyo muna yung mga destinations nyo & kung anong metro station kayo bababa then download kayo ng metro app ng Moscow. Wala silang English translation doon. Sign language lang din ang pagbili ko ng metro tickets haha! Then pag nawala ka, wala kang mapagtatanungan kasi walang nageEnglish (I tried). Nung first time ko natatakot pa ako kasi di talaga sila nagssmile, tapos mag-isa lang kasi akong naglilibot Kung bibili naman kayo sa mga bazaar or yung mga nasa street make sure to count your money kasi may time na di ako nasuklian ng tama.  Been to Moscow 5x. Loved their Christmas market too. Fun times. 

[kachich]

Would anyone know how strict is their visa? Just applied last Friday -- I didnt think ahead and added leeways on my application. My problem is -- I'm on standby and my leaves are not approved yet.

[ninglovesturquoise]

Hi sis, I'm sure nakuha mo na yung Russian visa mo.

Mga sis, does anyone have spare Russian rubles that you want to sell? Or does anyone know where can I buy Russian rubles here in Manila?

Mas kampante kasi ako pag may konting Russian rubles kami bago pumunta ng Russia hehe. Nagtanong ako sa Czarina at Sanrys wala daw sila. Thank you!!!

[kachich]

^yeah got it already. Now I'm very concerned about my flight -- im on standby only

[ninglovesturquoise]

Hi sis kahich, what do you mean by "on standby"?

[avitot]

We're planning to visit russia this December for our wedding anniversary. At first I was considering beijing- mongolia and russia pero nasasayangan ako sa time spent sa train though I really want to try

My hubby had been to moscow and ayaw niya daw doon coz of hirap makausap and to navigate kasi walang english translation always hehe.

Ngayon pa lang ako nagstart ng research ko hahaha medyo kinabahan ako sa mga naread kong babala about roaming around without a group. Ok lang kaya pag kami lang ni hubby?? Doable naman siya??

What is an estimate fund if inc. airfare and hotels per pax?


Sis  aranses, may I know where you got your travel voucher? Hahanap din ako ng cheaper option. hehe

[aranses]

^kararating lang namin yesterday from russia. Mas nag enjoy kami sa moscow, mga russo very warm-hearted madalang man sila mag smile pero maramdaman mo sa kanila welcoming sila kahit may language barrier.

Regarding sa funds mahal talaga mga restaurant sa russia. Good thing sale month ngayon June halos lahat ng shops naka sale pero mas mura bumili sa Izmailovsky Market. ticket roundtrip nasa 38k kapag naka sale thai airways pero ang tagal layover. sa airbnb kami nag book accommodation para makatipid, ok naman mga na stay namin condo may elevator,aircon,kitchen etc. Mahal din sa russia mga entrance fee sa museum, kapag nanood ka sa bolshoi or mariinsky theatre, entrance sa circus show, entrance sa indoor aquapark nila. Nag book kami sa airbnb ng local tourguide sa St Petersburg at Moscow, super sulit.

nag hoard ako guerlain,givenchy,chanel, estee lauder makeup naka 30 - 50% sale sa rivegauche shops parang sephora nila. mga gold jewelry and amber naka 50 - 70% sale.

nasa .80 ang exchange rate ng russian rubles to php during the time we withdraw cash in Moscow. plus 171 na bank fee sa metrobank. Good thing pwede mag withdraw up to 50,000 rubles sa atm nila.

PM ko sa iyo kung saan kami nakakuha mura travel voucher. nasa 1000+pesos lang binayad namin per head.