My bags are packed

[Thomcat]

My bags are officially packed and I leave from Atlanta Thursday for Rostov-on-Don. I was planning on a trip to Kiev in September with my friend GregfromGa but after reading the post from Lina in our Products and Services section of the forum I decided to contact her. She answered all my questions and seems very honest so I changed my plans. After reading Greg's post from his trip maybe I have made the right decision. Lina has been very helpful setting up my introductions and providing email addresses for the girls I am meeting. Her service is a little more expensive than a typical match-maker service provided by most agencies but much cheaper than a full service agency and that is the type of service that I appear to be getting so far especially with the number of women I am being introduced to. I will keep you all posted(I forgot I am from Georgia also so that should have been "Y'all posted") to see if this holds true.
Doc Rep and Rina_G have given me advice on Rostov and Gator said to allow 3 hours for my transfer at Domdedovo. Gator I only was able to get 2 hours and 50 minutes so maybe that will be close enough. If anyone else has any advice for my first trip to Russia with Customs, Airport or anything in general I would appreciate it very much. I have been to Kiev but never into Russia.

[Mars]

You didn't mention it; but I hope you got a visa for your stay in Russia!!  Not needed for your previously intended trip to Ukraine, but needed for your visit inside the remains of the 'Evil Empire.'

[Shadow]

In case you are late, ask a black car with a blue light to drive in fromt of you.
You will know what I mean about 10 minutes after you hit the highway.

Regarding the transfer, if you are arriving during the rush hour, it could be tight. But usually it will be ok.
Dress dark clothes, do not smile without reason. Regarding customs and other law officers, handle them with respect, be calm and do not show signs of being nervous.

Do not go out in to dark places at night alone, do not draw attention to you being an American tourist, do not speak when near a woman's apartment or with her in a non-official taxi.
If they invite you to drink vodka, follow the Russian habits of eating pickled vegetables and drinking some fruit juice. It will make you be able to drink more and gain respect.

And for the interesting part:
Remember there are bears on the streets, every 3rd person you meet works for the KGB.

[Faux Pas]

Thomcat

There are several airline routes that will take you directly into DME from the US. You are cutting it close depending upon your arrival time and the line at customs. I prefer to arrive Moscow at DME. It's a pretty nice and modern airport. Other than that you have some UA experience and you should be fine. Local customs and much is the same. Always stay the alert traveler no matter where you go and incidents will be at a minimum.

[JR]

And have fun

So keep us posted!

[GregfromGa]

Sorry I missed your call tonight. I'll holler at you tomorrow. Good luck with everything man. You're a great catch for the right girl. Remember my #1 and #2 rules, stay away from the girls that smoke and wear those pointy shoes. My #3  rule is stay away from the girls that want to take you to the Buddha Bar but since you're not going to Kiev then we'll just have to nix that rule. The good girls, the girls that you will want to bring home to Mama will not want you to spend a lot of money on eating out when there is a perfectly good kitchen in your apartment. The right one will be the one that straightens up your scarf so you will not get cold. She will always worry about you being cold and being hungry. Dont waste time on the blood suckers. It's not like you're in that neck of the woods every week. Make every minute count and remember you can sleep when you die.

[RussianWind]

...every 3rd person you meet works for the KGB.

Exactly. Count those bears too.

P.S. Don't forget your registration card from a hotel, they can ask it on leaving.

[Thomcat]

Hello Everyone,
My 5th day in Rostov and it has been very busy since I arrived. The girls I had the most correspondance with were the ones least interested and the ones that didn't appear to be the best matches have worked out the best. Good English ability means none to little and basic English ability is close to fluent so go figure. The agency (russian-enigma.com) explained the girls rate theirselves which makes sense.
My apartment is very nice with modern appliances, a queen size bed, and nice kitchen. I am in walking distancey to anything I need. What has been most surprising is that most of the women here have good jobs and have their own automobiles. One very nice woman took me to the country on our second meeting and she could probably drive better than I can. My interpeter is the agency's owners daughter and she has been very helpful with the girls.
My only excitement so far was a Dulles on the way over when we landed from Atlanta I got a text from United telling me what gate my flight to Moscow was boarding so I never checked to moniters and when they called my name on the loud speaker system I knew I was in trouble. Picture OJ in those old Hertz commercials and you can see what I was having to go through, everyone on the plane was looking at me like I was an idiot and that is how I felt. United will here my opinion of their service when I get home.
DME in Moscow was one of the easiest airports I have ever transferred through. Everything was labeled in English even those damn overhead screens that I have now learned to check each and everytime.
More post later with some photos.
 

[Rina_G]

wow 
wellcome to Rostov TC!
hope our weather is nice for you?
Good luck!

[remiel6]

 
Monitors good !!!!
Never flown overseas with united, have delta and had a six hour delay, so the best of luck. Suffice it to say in my experience, the way over is a piece of cake the way back, well thats another story 

[boaterguy]

LOL on the Dulles thing. I had a similiar thing happen to me. Went to the gate where they were supposed to be and they were not there. I was a good hour and a half from my flight time. An hour later I hear my name! They loaded the damn plane and were ready to take off 1/2 an hour early! Turns out they had a little sign on the counter and didn't have the gate properly marked. I got the looks as well!

[Thomcat]

Just letting everyone know, I am out of Russia and in Frankfurt for a 12 hour layover. I did have to pay a 2000 rubble exit fee but besides that a very good trip. I will post more details when I get home.

[UTRO]

An Exit Fee??? I Never ever came accross that?! Did you lose your Registration Voucher or something?

[Faux Pas]

Sounds like a shakedown to me 

[dogspot]

Who did you pay 2000 Rubles to?

[XMan]

It is a shakedown.  

As I said in an earlier post (different thread), something similar happened to me when I was in Sochi 2 years ago.  
They tried to hold me up for a bribe for imaginary "tourist papers" that I didn't have.  
I knew I had all the appropriate paperwork and was so irritated that I refused to cough up a bribe.  
I'm lucky I'm not still there.  

[RussianWind]

An Exit Fee??? I Never ever came accross that?! Did you lose your Registration Voucher or something?

Looks like he didn't listen to my advice and paid penalty 

[Johnny2009]

I have heard of this happening in Rostov before, previously they have asked for a "tourist voucher", without this you would expect to pay a fee. Myself, I have visited Vladivostok many times and have never been asked for this once.

I would assume that this is what Thomcat forgot!

[Mars]

As a side note; I heard somewhere that Ukraine government set up a special phone number that you can call to report shake down attempts by policemen and other government officials.

Luckily, I have not had need to know or use such a number, but I suspect it has cut down on this problem somewhat.

[UTRO]

An Exit Fee??? I Never ever came across that?! Did you lose your Registration Voucher or something?

Then again, the Registration Voucher remains with whoever Registered you and they must send it back to the Interior Ministry.
It is the the Customs Voucher that you have to surrender to Immigration Control upon departure.