Thanks for being here...and a couple of more questions

[markc444]

Hey all,

I would like to thank the owner of this site, Dan as well as all the other posters on here for the valuable help you have provided me over this last year while  deciding to head over to Russia.  So, now it looks like the trip will happen in March as I have tickets to head over to Chita.  I just wanted to make sure I gave ya'll a big thank you though because without the information on this site I would have been lost figuring out the best paths to take to make this journey possible.  

Two quick questions for now.  I have used gotorussia.com for the visa and I am still waiting for the visa to arrive.  I am leaving on March 5th and thought I would have the visa by now so I am just a little concerned about how long this is taking.  I emailed them about this and I will cut and paste the main part of the reply mostly because if anyone else knows about his holdup as well it would be nice to have some reassurance.  I hope I am not breaking any rules cutting someone else's reply, I just wanted to convey the reply I got correctly:

Hello Mark,
I do not see any reason for them not to approve your visa. The reason why they are making people wait is because Registration numbers are currently changing in Russia. If they issue a visa before it changes you might run into problems with Russian Government as if it changes while you are traveling it will not match your visa.

It sounds like its ok, I was just wondering if anyone else knows or if I should be on the phone calling at this point again.  

The second question is much simpler.  I was worried about communicating when I got into Russia with my friend in Chita.  I happen to work with a Russian friend who did a little research for me and found that I can rent a phone at the airport in Moscow and buy time on it at the same time.  I have never heard of renting the phone and was wondering has anyone tried that as well.  It sounds like a great
idea.  Just curious if anyone knows if it is as good as it sounds.  

Ok,  thanks again for all the help!
Mark

[MattyB4]

cant help with the visa question, but as for the phone, i went to ukr at the weekend and just bought a cell phone for 300 UAH. its cheap, but it serves its one and only purpose.

[Markus]

Mark,

I have used gotorussia.com for my visa many, many times. I have never had a problem with them. It's still early for you
so you should get your visa/passport soon.

Mark

[OlgaH]

Hi Mark, I can not tell for certain but I think that your visa delaying and approval can be depended on the fact that there are the strategic rocket forces located on the territory of Chita Region, and also the Siberian Military District's headquarters are located in Chita City.

[Faux Pas]

Mark
gotorussia has pretty much an impeccable reputation as far as I know. I have used them several times and I would take their word as you have laid out here. When in March is your departure? I would feel a bit antsy if it were inside of 30 days but their excuse does sound plausible.

[JR]

I can echo what others have said about gotorussia. I have used them and had no problems. If you're not leaving until March I don't think you have anything to worry about.
I am getting a visa to Uzbekistan and I am cutting it pretty close with an expected receipt date of about a week and a half prior to departure but I'm not sweatin it yet.

You'll be fine, enjoy your trip.

[boaterguy]

GTR cut mine 2 the wire 1 time! I had applied for a business visa through them. Through no fault of there own the business visa was delayed. At their expense they expedited a tourist vis that arrived at my door the day before the flight! Talk about sweating bullets!

[markc444]

Phew, I am starting to feel a little better.  I guess i am just used to the American way of things happening faster and I am sloooowly being introduced to the Russian way.  Hurry up and wait.  I can see they are really pushing the tourism industry.  I just hope it is not a day before I leave like what happened to boaterguy.  Its hard to get in the spirit of making plans till I feel I really have the visa to get in.  It seems like I am going to get one day in Moscow on my return trip due to flight time difference so I am thinking sooner or later I need to find the best way to Red Square from the hotel I'll be in when i get it reserved.  I had been waiting on the visa to do that but I think I would be best to get that done instead of waiting for approval. 

When Matty says he bought a phone iIt sounds like it is not like here in the States where you have to have a plan.  Does anyone know if I would be able to buy or rent one of those phones at Domodedovo.  Either option would be fine as it makes no sense to buy one here before I leave as I would not be able to charge the phone with an American plug. 

And here is the nobrianer stupid question of the day.  Do you guys that do not know Russian use one of those Russian/English phrase books.  It never crossed my mind to get one till a friend at work brought it up the other day.  I was just wondering if it works well for anyone here.

thanks again...

[myrddin]

When Matty says he bought a phone iIt sounds like it is not like here in the States where you have to have a plan.  Does anyone know if I would be able to buy or rent one of those phones at Domodedovo.  Either option would be fine as it makes no sense to buy one here before I leave as I would not be able to charge the phone with an American plug. 

You can get converters. I picked up several at REI for something like $3 apiece a few weeks ago.  I also got a 4-band phone so I can just put in a new SIM card (which has to be purchased there).

And here is the nobrianer stupid question of the day.  Do you guys that do not know Russian use one of those Russian/English phrase books.  It never crossed my mind to get one till a friend at work brought it up the other day.  I was just wondering if it works well for anyone here.

The Lonely Planet Russian phrasebook is popular.    It's definitely worth looking at before the trip!  Most Russians appreciate any effort you've made to learn some of their language. They know it's not easy.  Frankly, I think they're proud of that. 

[Mike78]

I also got a 4-band phone so I can just put in a new SIM card (which has to be purchased there).

If I have a 2 year contract phone from T-Mobile will this work or do I have to get it unlocked? Where can you get a phone unlocked if necessary? Is it possible to get a prepaid data plan for mobile web access too?

[Jumper]

on the phone issue-

its just up to you ..a lot of ways to do it.

i have rented them there in Ukraine (many years ago)

bought cheap ones there (in ukraine)

and also have simply taken a unlocked 4 band phone from here
and bought SIM cards there for it.. you can buy a sim card most anywhere

the sim cards you can  buy,  by amount of time /minutes..
pop them in your unlocked 4 band phone and works fine.
 
enjoy your trip!

[JR]

When Matty says he bought a phone iIt sounds like it is not like here in the States where you have to have a plan.  Does anyone know if I would be able to buy or rent one of those phones at Domodedovo.  Either option would be fine as it makes no sense to buy one here before I leave as I would not be able to charge the phone with an American plug. 

I just bought a new, unlocked Samsung phone on ebay for $39. You can get a travel adapter kit for around $12 or a country specific one for about $3. Get the adapter kit, you'll eventually need it for a laptop, phone, toothe brush, whatever....just get one.

If you buy/rent one there it'll have ity bity, teensy tiny English characters next to the Cryillic ones. Impossible to read and therefor text. You will want to be able to text. It is soooo much better for things like addresses and meeting times than trying to do it verbally with someone who's English skills aren't up to what you are used to.

[Aloe]

Any people complaining about russian way being "slow", try living in belgium. Half a year to issue you a residence permit that is already expired by the time you receive it, and you have to apply for a new one. Not to mention police checks 3 times, not to mention selective interrogation at the police if you wanna marry a foreigner from non-EU.
Also we sent a faulty brand new monitor to service, they sent it back unfixed, we sent it back again, its been 3 months, they still havent fixed it. Not to mention it took them 2 weeks to get something delivered from an internet shop on an item that was marked "available immediately". And lots of other stuff. compared to this, Russia is VERY VERY fast and customer friendly.
Oh, and did i mention that internet services here are at the state that you could see in Russia like 7 years ago? Pay 50 euro for 30 gb traffic a month, there is NO unlimited traffic connections at all. I looked at every single company in belgium, one of them offered "unlimited" connection with fine print below, that if you download more than recommended maximum (about 50 gb), your speed will drop to dial up modem speed. At home i had a broadband connection for 15 euro a month with truly unlimited traffic.  
So really.. next time you wanna say Russian way is somehow worse than "western" way, better think twice
By the way, when my hubby came to visit me, it took 3 days to get a tourist visa every time.
But anyhow, there is a month before your trip, why even worry so early? Id start worrying 1 week before, not 1 month. 1 month is a huge period of time

[Shadow]

Oh, and did i mention that internet services here are at the state that you could see in Russia like 7 years ago? Pay 50 euro for 30 gb traffic a month, there is NO unlimited traffic connections at all.

http://www.dommel.com 
Also very cheap to call to Russa...

[TheBlackCat]

Any people complaining about russian way being "slow", try living in belgium. Half a year to issue you a residence permit that is already expired by the time you receive it, and you have to apply for a new one. Not to mention police checks 3 times, not to mention selective interrogation at the police if you wanna marry a foreigner from non-EU.
Also we sent a faulty brand new monitor to service, they sent it back unfixed, we sent it back again, its been 3 months, they still havent fixed it. Not to mention it took them 2 weeks to get something delivered from an internet shop on an item that was marked "available immediately". And lots of other stuff. compared to this, Russia is VERY VERY fast and customer friendly.
Oh, and did i mention that internet services here are at the state that you could see in Russia like 7 years ago? Pay 50 euro for 30 gb traffic a month, there is NO unlimited traffic connections at all. I looked at every single company in belgium, one of them offered "unlimited" connection with fine print below, that if you download more than recommended maximum (about 50 gb), your speed will drop to dial up modem speed. At home i had a broadband connection for 15 euro a month with truly unlimited traffic. 
So really.. next time you wanna say Russian way is somehow worse than "western" way, better think twice
By the way, when my hubby came to visit me, it took 3 days to get a tourist visa every time.
But anyhow, there is a month before your trip, why even worry so early? Id start worrying 1 week before, not 1 month. 1 month is a huge period of time

We just hired a french man from France at work and the very first thing he told us is don't ask me if I come from Belgium!  Everybody knows about those Belgium jokes in France. It probably has a lot to do with the way they are doing things like you are describing.

[Aloe]

http://www.dommel.com 
Also very cheap to call to Russa...

min contract period of 12 months
Do you use that company? How is the internet ? Does it go down during a thunderstorm? How often do you have problems with internet? Cuz 12 month commitment sounds like helluva long time for something without any particular promises of good service. If it really does provide good service, without internet downtimes and etc, then this is so many times better than anything ive seen here

[Shadow]

min contract period of 12 months
Do you use that company? How is the internet ? Does it go down during a thunderstorm? How often do you have problems with internet? Cuz 12 month commitment sounds like helluva long time for something without any particular promises of good service. If it really does provide good service, without internet downtimes and etc, then this is so many times better than anything ive seen here

Using it for 1 year. as for thunderstorms no problem. I have had once or twice problems with the phone connection, but it was solved quickly.
As for the speed, it does depend on where you live. I have had higher speed in the past, but its enough to surf, play games or download (Russian  ) movies.

[markc444]

Hey AJ, thanks explaining how the phone issue works.  That was a bit on the confusing side but I think I have been enlightened as to how to handle it now with what you explained and Jollyrats explaining the texting on the keys as well.  I had never really thought of texting but you are right, I may need it and it would certainly make more sense to pick up the phone here  now I know that I need a four band phone with pretty english letters thanks again to AJ and myriddin, whatever a four band phone is.  I am sure I will know soon enough when the shopping begins for it.  

And Jollyrats and myriddin, thank you so much for bringing up the adapter kit.  I had no idea those existed.  Yeah, you can tell I am very new to all of this leaving the country and what do I need part.  I had been wondering how I could run my laptop and had pretty much decided it was staying at home till I saw what you suggested.  I had even  bought a few extra batteries for my camera becuase I had no idea how to charge the battery without the plug once I was there.  Any suggestions or a link on a adapter kit that would be safe for my laptop and be good for the camera and phone.  I would think they are all ok but just wanted to ask in case any one had a specific recommendation. That will make the trip that much better having the laptop with me, well except for lugging it through airports for thirty plus hours or so.  And trying to stay awake too, but that's another story.  

I will only be in Moscow for about 24 hours on the way back due to the plane schedules.  I was thinking of staying at the Hotel Milan as it is not to far from the airport I will be at and it has a shuttle back and forth which is very nice for someone who will be as lost as I am when I get there.  I used gotorussia just a few minutes ago to check on that hotel and they said although they do not usually use it they would check the prices on that hotel as well as the two they use as well.  I think mostly I just want to visit Red Square while i am there and did not want to get to far into the city to make leaving a bit easier.  Any thoughts on that hotel while I wait on for them to get back to me on rates.  And if I do bring the laptop, do ya'll feel safe leaving it  in a room or do you usually get a safety depost box.

 

You can get converters. I picked up several at REI for something like $3 apiece a few weeks ago.  I also got a 4-band phone so I can just put in a new SIM card (which has to be purchased there).

The Lonely Planet Russian phrasebook is popular.    It's definitely worth looking at before the trip!  Most Russians appreciate any effort you've made to learn some of their language. They know it's not easy.  Frankly, I think they're proud of that.  

Ill get that phrasebook as well myriddin, although I am not sure how much Russian I will get to practice in the short month before I go.  Mostly I was planning on letting my friend do most of the talking but there will be a lot of time when it is just me as I get to Chita.  Thanks for the recommendation.  

Aloe....thankyou for making me feel better as well about waiting for my visa.  After reading all you said suddenly Russia seems like the perfect place to try to visit.  Just joking, you just get used to doing things a bit faster here in the states.  Not that I was criticizing..well not to much anyway.  Every country has there way and you just have to deal with.  That being said, maybe I will keep my distance from Belgium till they become more customer friendly.   

[UTRO]

min contract period of 12 months
Do you use that company? How is the internet ? Does it go down during a thunderstorm? How often do you have problems with internet? Cuz 12 month commitment sounds like helluva long time for something without any particular promises of good service. If it really does provide good service, without internet downtimes and etc, then this is so many times better than anything ive seen here

There will be No Internet young Lady until the Vacuuming has been done!