Penultimate Country? CriMeA River! Putin on the Ritz: Turkmenistan, Siberia, Malaysia
Jul 25, 2016, 8:37 am
#122
Join Date: Nov 2009
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Posts: 1,633
Jul 28, 2016, 12:35 pm
#123
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,523
8. Return to Ashgabat, Underwater Lake, flight with S7 Airlines to Moscow
Unfortunately,we had a super early flight back to Ashgabat the next morning. It's very hard to find information about Turkmenistan Airlines online, so we just went with whatever scheduled the tour company had proposed. In retrospect, we should have suggested times that worked a bit better and avoided super early wake-up calls. But no big deal.
Short drive back to the Mary Airport, which was absolutely empty...or at least it felt empty. Our flight turned out to be rather full in the end, but thankfully in the waiting room there was a snack bar where we could get a little something for breakfast. Snickers bar and "Black Bruin" Turkish energy drink....the breakfast of champions!
We had a rather long walk out to the plane, but did manage to get an empty seat between us for the short flight back to Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan Airlines flight 128
Mary, Turkmenistan (MYP) to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (ASB)
Depart 07:55, Arrive 08:35, Flight Time: 0:40
Boeing 717-200, Registration EZ-A106, Manufactured 2005, Seat 10C
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 115,307
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,305,444
The 717 was in an all-economy configuration, but who needs pre-departure beverages when every passenger gets offered a pre-departure candy?
Flight was quick and uneventful, and as we got off the flight, I noticed the plane still had ancient Aeroflot supplies in the overhead. Not too sure what it would be, but chances are it was at least 25 years old:
Our driver/guide Serder was waiting for us at the airport, and we headed out of town to the Turkmenbashy Mosque. Capable of holding nearly 10,000 worshipers, we were told that most of the time it sits empty.
The reason it sits empty is that along with verses from the Koran inscribed on the building, Turkmenbashy (the first President of Turkmenistan) ordered verses from the Ruhnama to be inscribed as well. The Ruhnama is a book he "wrote" giving the guidelines for living a good life. Most people of Turkmenistan consider it wrong to have anything not from the Koran on a mosque, so they avoid going to this one whenever possible:
Next door to the mosque was Turkmenbashy's crypt, where you could go inside and see his tomb. Unlike Lenin, however, it wasn't a glass case so you couldn't actually see if he was really inside or not:
Across the street was the small town of Gypjak, where Turkmenbashy is said to be born. Of course this is commemorated with a giant golden statue of him unveiling the Ruhnama:
We drove through the streets, and while this was supposed to be a model village given its importance as the birthplace of the president, it was pretty unremarkable. We then headed out of the city to explore the Kow-Ata cave lake and its supposed healing waters. It was a bit over an hour drive to the lake, where we were promptly fleeced for over $10 each for the privilege. It was a rather long walk down the slippery steps into the cave, which was incredibly hot and humid inside:
When we got to the bottom, there were several local guys swimming in the murky water. It was too dark to see how clean it really was, but since I have an aversion to bringing amoebas and parasites home as souvenirs from vacation, I decided to give swimming a miss...which seemed to seriously disappoint our guide. The locals down there encouraged us to join them swimming, and when we said thanks but no thanks, one pointed out that we were not only missing out on the magical healing waters (let's get real...it's underground and heated by thermal power...and it's not clear how the water gets recycled...oh and it smelled like pee), but we were also missing out on swimming under Turkmenistan's largest colony of bats! Um, get me out of here!
When we got to the top we were encouraged to have lunch from one of the local shashlik stands. I went with the lamb, and Ian went with a mix of lamb and chicken. The next morning, waiting for our flight back to Moscow, that was to be a decision he regretted! Stay away from sketchy semi-grilled birds! The lamb, however, was delicious!
After this, we convinced our driver we had had enough for the day, and were happy to head back to the hotel. Partly, I needed their fast internet as I had a change in plans which meant I wouldn't be able to join Ian in Crimea. I spent the next couple of hours frantically trying to change flights, and ended up with a strange itinerary that would take me back home for a day in Moscow followed by Novosibirsk, Kazakhstan, Abu Dhabi, and finally Australia and Hong Kong!
This would be a good time to show that not only the lobby of the Yyldz Hotel was grand, but the rooms were absolutely huge. The bedroom:
Desk and work space behind the bed:
Long foyer leading into the room:
Glamourous washroom, complete with Bvlgari amenities:
We were both pretty beat from the early morning and the heat, so after I got my flights all sorted we had a final celebration dinner in the hotel's top floor sports bar. It was pretty lively and hopping...with the two of us being the only people there!
The next morning was super early for the second day in a row. All over the capital were these digital displays showing the countdown to the Asian Games coming to Turkmenistan in 2017:
Check-in at the airport was rather confusing. No english was spoken, and when we asked for the exit row she told us they were all taken. "But you are in business class! Why would you want to move?" Uh, there's no business class on this plane. She then said "well, ok, but you are in seat 1A and normally you have to pay for that. I can put your friend in seat 1B." Ok, good enough for me. Through immigration which took nearly an hour due to a line of travelers that clearly never traveled (and a sketchy-looking Ukrainian woman who got hauled into a side room with her teen son for questioning), but eventually we made it through for our second airport cafe breakfast in two days.
Today it was Royce brand energy drink, which tasted remarkably similar to the Bruin from the day before...and another Snickers bar. Ian, however, was having none of it, still dealing with the revenge of the sketchy grilled bird from the day before:
Soon we boarded, and indeed just about every seat was taken. There were only 10 free seats, including the entire second row along with 1C so we ended up with an empty seat between us. Turns out the first 2-3 rows are "extra legroom" which meant maybe an extra inch or two, and you have to pay for them. I have no idea how we ended up in them (connecting flight in Business? OneWorld Emerald status? who knows) but we were very thankful for the empty middle and nobody reclining into us:
S7 Airlines flight 970
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (ASB) to Moscow Domededovo, Russia (DME)
Depart 08:05, Arrive 09:50, Flight Time: 3:45
Airbus A319, Registration VP-BTP, Manufactured 1999, Seat 1A
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 116,842
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,306,979
Taxiing for takeoff we passed some of Turkmenistan Airlines' fleet, including this Ilyushin IL-76 which occasionally sees service:
The flight was my first on S7, and the service was pretty good for economy - with both a snack box and a hot meal handed out with a glass of water:
The snackbox contents were rather spooky...containing fruit/jellow, a beet and carrot salad, a packaged slice of bread, and a chocolate/hazelnut snack. I had the bread and candy bar, and then noticed the ketchup, which came in handy, because...
....this giant mystery meat ball was much tastier with ketchup on it!
We actually arrived in Moscow slightly early, where although it was a sunny day it was majorly colder than in Ashgabat. It was just barely 60 degrees fahrenheit mid morning and wasn't forecast to get much warmer.
Despite arriving at a jetbridge, we had to walk down stairs to a waiting bus which transported us to the terminal. We had likely arrived at a domestic gate, so they had to bus us over to the immigration area. Since I was staying in Moscow a few days, and Ian was off to Crimea, we had to clear passport control here in Moscow. The lines were incredibly confusing and and when I got to the front I got a rather quizzical agent. "Why are you coming to Moscow? Where else will you go? Why?" When I told her my next stop was Novosibirsk, because I had studied there in early 1989, her eyes lit up. "1989? Novosibirsk in the winter? In the Soviet times?" When I confirmed, she just mumbled "I'm sure it has changed..." and with that I was stamped into Russia.
We went on to find a cash machine to get Ian some cash for Crimea since it operates on a total cash economy, and then we said our goodbyes and I was off to the Aeroexpress train into the city...
Short drive back to the Mary Airport, which was absolutely empty...or at least it felt empty. Our flight turned out to be rather full in the end, but thankfully in the waiting room there was a snack bar where we could get a little something for breakfast. Snickers bar and "Black Bruin" Turkish energy drink....the breakfast of champions!
We had a rather long walk out to the plane, but did manage to get an empty seat between us for the short flight back to Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan Airlines flight 128
Mary, Turkmenistan (MYP) to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (ASB)
Depart 07:55, Arrive 08:35, Flight Time: 0:40
Boeing 717-200, Registration EZ-A106, Manufactured 2005, Seat 10C
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 115,307
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,305,444
The 717 was in an all-economy configuration, but who needs pre-departure beverages when every passenger gets offered a pre-departure candy?
Flight was quick and uneventful, and as we got off the flight, I noticed the plane still had ancient Aeroflot supplies in the overhead. Not too sure what it would be, but chances are it was at least 25 years old:
Our driver/guide Serder was waiting for us at the airport, and we headed out of town to the Turkmenbashy Mosque. Capable of holding nearly 10,000 worshipers, we were told that most of the time it sits empty.
The reason it sits empty is that along with verses from the Koran inscribed on the building, Turkmenbashy (the first President of Turkmenistan) ordered verses from the Ruhnama to be inscribed as well. The Ruhnama is a book he "wrote" giving the guidelines for living a good life. Most people of Turkmenistan consider it wrong to have anything not from the Koran on a mosque, so they avoid going to this one whenever possible:
Next door to the mosque was Turkmenbashy's crypt, where you could go inside and see his tomb. Unlike Lenin, however, it wasn't a glass case so you couldn't actually see if he was really inside or not:
Across the street was the small town of Gypjak, where Turkmenbashy is said to be born. Of course this is commemorated with a giant golden statue of him unveiling the Ruhnama:
We drove through the streets, and while this was supposed to be a model village given its importance as the birthplace of the president, it was pretty unremarkable. We then headed out of the city to explore the Kow-Ata cave lake and its supposed healing waters. It was a bit over an hour drive to the lake, where we were promptly fleeced for over $10 each for the privilege. It was a rather long walk down the slippery steps into the cave, which was incredibly hot and humid inside:
When we got to the bottom, there were several local guys swimming in the murky water. It was too dark to see how clean it really was, but since I have an aversion to bringing amoebas and parasites home as souvenirs from vacation, I decided to give swimming a miss...which seemed to seriously disappoint our guide. The locals down there encouraged us to join them swimming, and when we said thanks but no thanks, one pointed out that we were not only missing out on the magical healing waters (let's get real...it's underground and heated by thermal power...and it's not clear how the water gets recycled...oh and it smelled like pee), but we were also missing out on swimming under Turkmenistan's largest colony of bats! Um, get me out of here!
When we got to the top we were encouraged to have lunch from one of the local shashlik stands. I went with the lamb, and Ian went with a mix of lamb and chicken. The next morning, waiting for our flight back to Moscow, that was to be a decision he regretted! Stay away from sketchy semi-grilled birds! The lamb, however, was delicious!
After this, we convinced our driver we had had enough for the day, and were happy to head back to the hotel. Partly, I needed their fast internet as I had a change in plans which meant I wouldn't be able to join Ian in Crimea. I spent the next couple of hours frantically trying to change flights, and ended up with a strange itinerary that would take me back home for a day in Moscow followed by Novosibirsk, Kazakhstan, Abu Dhabi, and finally Australia and Hong Kong!
This would be a good time to show that not only the lobby of the Yyldz Hotel was grand, but the rooms were absolutely huge. The bedroom:
Desk and work space behind the bed:
Long foyer leading into the room:
Glamourous washroom, complete with Bvlgari amenities:
We were both pretty beat from the early morning and the heat, so after I got my flights all sorted we had a final celebration dinner in the hotel's top floor sports bar. It was pretty lively and hopping...with the two of us being the only people there!
The next morning was super early for the second day in a row. All over the capital were these digital displays showing the countdown to the Asian Games coming to Turkmenistan in 2017:
Check-in at the airport was rather confusing. No english was spoken, and when we asked for the exit row she told us they were all taken. "But you are in business class! Why would you want to move?" Uh, there's no business class on this plane. She then said "well, ok, but you are in seat 1A and normally you have to pay for that. I can put your friend in seat 1B." Ok, good enough for me. Through immigration which took nearly an hour due to a line of travelers that clearly never traveled (and a sketchy-looking Ukrainian woman who got hauled into a side room with her teen son for questioning), but eventually we made it through for our second airport cafe breakfast in two days.
Today it was Royce brand energy drink, which tasted remarkably similar to the Bruin from the day before...and another Snickers bar. Ian, however, was having none of it, still dealing with the revenge of the sketchy grilled bird from the day before:
Soon we boarded, and indeed just about every seat was taken. There were only 10 free seats, including the entire second row along with 1C so we ended up with an empty seat between us. Turns out the first 2-3 rows are "extra legroom" which meant maybe an extra inch or two, and you have to pay for them. I have no idea how we ended up in them (connecting flight in Business? OneWorld Emerald status? who knows) but we were very thankful for the empty middle and nobody reclining into us:
S7 Airlines flight 970
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (ASB) to Moscow Domededovo, Russia (DME)
Depart 08:05, Arrive 09:50, Flight Time: 3:45
Airbus A319, Registration VP-BTP, Manufactured 1999, Seat 1A
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 116,842
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,306,979
Taxiing for takeoff we passed some of Turkmenistan Airlines' fleet, including this Ilyushin IL-76 which occasionally sees service:
The flight was my first on S7, and the service was pretty good for economy - with both a snack box and a hot meal handed out with a glass of water:
The snackbox contents were rather spooky...containing fruit/jellow, a beet and carrot salad, a packaged slice of bread, and a chocolate/hazelnut snack. I had the bread and candy bar, and then noticed the ketchup, which came in handy, because...
....this giant mystery meat ball was much tastier with ketchup on it!
We actually arrived in Moscow slightly early, where although it was a sunny day it was majorly colder than in Ashgabat. It was just barely 60 degrees fahrenheit mid morning and wasn't forecast to get much warmer.
Despite arriving at a jetbridge, we had to walk down stairs to a waiting bus which transported us to the terminal. We had likely arrived at a domestic gate, so they had to bus us over to the immigration area. Since I was staying in Moscow a few days, and Ian was off to Crimea, we had to clear passport control here in Moscow. The lines were incredibly confusing and and when I got to the front I got a rather quizzical agent. "Why are you coming to Moscow? Where else will you go? Why?" When I told her my next stop was Novosibirsk, because I had studied there in early 1989, her eyes lit up. "1989? Novosibirsk in the winter? In the Soviet times?" When I confirmed, she just mumbled "I'm sure it has changed..." and with that I was stamped into Russia.
We went on to find a cash machine to get Ian some cash for Crimea since it operates on a total cash economy, and then we said our goodbyes and I was off to the Aeroexpress train into the city...
Cost of traveling, though.
Jul 29, 2016, 4:15 pm
#125
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,523
9. Overnight in Moscow, flight with S7 to Novosibirsk
After purchasing my ticket, I headed to the AeroExpress train to Moscow. It was only 1,000 rubles for a "business class" ticket (around $17) so I figured the extra was certainly worth it for a 45 minute train ride. It was definitely the right call, as the economy section was packed, and business had less than half the seats full and plenty of space to spread out. The train went to Pavletskaya Station in the southeast of the city, and it was an easy transfer to the metro. Unfortunately, I had to change metro trains as well, so this meant two transfers. Slight pain with a rolling bag, but really not bad at all.
Got off at Lubyanka station, which was right next to my hotel. I had chosen to stay at the St Regis in Moscow mainly because I still had to stay at one in order to complete Starwood's stay at every brand in 2016 promo and I had a great corporate rate.
Oh, and it was also just across the square from a Starbucks....but that had nothing to to with my choice...
I'd been "upgraded" to a tiny room on the top floor, with a perfect view of the old KGB headquarters, now home to Russia's FSB Security Service:
Overall thoughts on the hotel. The room was rather warm, although it did eventually cool down to around 22C after I asked the butler. 20C was the lowest setting on the thermostat, but that didn't get the room below 25C, so when I asked the butler she said the engineer could do a manual override and set it for 17C. That helped the room get down to 22C, which was reasonable.
Other than that, bed was comfortable, but the room was super small. I'm also not used to hotel rooms with chandeliers hanging over the bed, but hey, everyone has their tastes in decor. The stay confirmed that the St Regis brand really isn't my thing, although I have nothing but positive reviews for the hotel. It just felt a little too uptight and formal for my tastes, but the internet was super fast, since I unfortunately spent almost two hours on Skype getting my onward tickets sorted out. Tickets sorted. I headed for a walk.
Just five short minutes from my hotel, I passed the GUM department store and headed into Red Square:
Lots of flowers. This was my first time in Moscow NOT in the winter, and it's a totally different city:
Red Square on a clear summer day:
St Basil's against a clear blue sky...complete with bird flying by:
The Kremlin...I wonder if they're busy searching for Hillary's missing emails inside...
Lenin's tomb...unfortunately it had already closed for the day so I couldn't verify if he's still there...
Stopped in GUM after my walk for an ice cream cone. They've been selling them there forever, and it's a treat lots of folks look forward to when visiting. Plus, they're an absolute bargain. Pistachio please!
I did, however, pass on visiting GUM's "historic toilet" - I wonder if it dates back to Soviet times, or what...
Grabbed a quick dinner, and headed back to the room to get to bed early. Watched some rerun KHL hockey on tv, and noticed the Lubyanka was even more eerie looking lit up at night...this is after 10pm!
Had a good night of sleep, and headed down to check out the breakfast. Very formal at St Regis, but also very Russian at the same time. Where else can you have smoked eel, caviar, and tea for breakfast?
Walked around for a few more hours, before taking the metro back to the airport. Watching for a change of trains at Park Kultury station:
Finally arriving at Pavletskaya to change to the AeroExpress train:
One of the cool things about the Moscow Metro is that lots of the old soviet murals and architecture have been left completely unchanged:
Check-in and security were super easy, and soon I'd arrived at the S7 airlines domestic lounge. Nothing to write home about. More meatballs as snacks. Seriously, what is it with S7 and meatballs?
Last minute gate change meant a bit of a hike to our plane, which appeared to be absolutely packed. There was a family of eight occupying eight of the twelve seats in business class, and they were scattered around the cabin - probably a last minute purchase. Some swapping, but other people refused to give up their seats so I was stuck next to a 10 year old for the whole flight. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...maybe he'd be well behaved...
S7 Airlines flight 181
Moscow Domededovo, Russia (DME) to Novosibirsk, Russia (OVB)
Depart 17:20, Arrive 00:15 next day, Flight Time: 3:55
Airbus A320, Registration VQ-BRG, Manufactured 2012, Seat 2D
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 119,579
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,308,716
S7 has an...interesting colour scheme going on....purple seats:
Raspberry and lime flight attendant uniforms:
Lime green safety cards...in case of a water landing, your flight attendant's lips may be used as a flotation device:
Even the toilet seat and the bathroom were lime green:
Oh, and a snapshot of our plane...
Just kidding....
S7 even had a printed drink menu for a relatively short domestic flight:
Started off with a glass of red wine...I like the little airplanes...
Nice and tasty salad and some good black bread:
Chicken stew...it was way tastier than it looked.
After eating, I watched some movies and had a few glasses of wine. At one point, I got up and went to the washroom, and remember thinking "I should slow down...I could swear I had a full glass of wine when I left." Got a refill, kept watching more tv, eventually went to the washroom again. Came back...again empty glass...and then it clicked. The 10 year old was drinking my wine when I went to the washroom! I tapped his dad on the shoulder in front of me and told him what was going on....and he congratulated the kid with almost getting away with it. Ugh!
Soon, time to land, and they passed out some sort of vegetable juice shooter....it was...interesting...
Overall, S7 was solid service for a domestic flight. Comfortable enough seats that rival anything in North America, and are way ahead of what you would get in Western Europe. I definitely wouldn't hesitate to fly them again. With the time change it was just before midnight when we landed in Novosibirsk, and we ended up with a remote gate. There was a special bus for business class passengers, which meant we were from plane to taxi rank in less than five minutes. Can't complain about that! Then, it was off to the hotel and time to explore Novosibirsk!
Got off at Lubyanka station, which was right next to my hotel. I had chosen to stay at the St Regis in Moscow mainly because I still had to stay at one in order to complete Starwood's stay at every brand in 2016 promo and I had a great corporate rate.
Oh, and it was also just across the square from a Starbucks....but that had nothing to to with my choice...
I'd been "upgraded" to a tiny room on the top floor, with a perfect view of the old KGB headquarters, now home to Russia's FSB Security Service:
Overall thoughts on the hotel. The room was rather warm, although it did eventually cool down to around 22C after I asked the butler. 20C was the lowest setting on the thermostat, but that didn't get the room below 25C, so when I asked the butler she said the engineer could do a manual override and set it for 17C. That helped the room get down to 22C, which was reasonable.
Other than that, bed was comfortable, but the room was super small. I'm also not used to hotel rooms with chandeliers hanging over the bed, but hey, everyone has their tastes in decor. The stay confirmed that the St Regis brand really isn't my thing, although I have nothing but positive reviews for the hotel. It just felt a little too uptight and formal for my tastes, but the internet was super fast, since I unfortunately spent almost two hours on Skype getting my onward tickets sorted out. Tickets sorted. I headed for a walk.
Just five short minutes from my hotel, I passed the GUM department store and headed into Red Square:
Lots of flowers. This was my first time in Moscow NOT in the winter, and it's a totally different city:
Red Square on a clear summer day:
St Basil's against a clear blue sky...complete with bird flying by:
The Kremlin...I wonder if they're busy searching for Hillary's missing emails inside...
Lenin's tomb...unfortunately it had already closed for the day so I couldn't verify if he's still there...
Stopped in GUM after my walk for an ice cream cone. They've been selling them there forever, and it's a treat lots of folks look forward to when visiting. Plus, they're an absolute bargain. Pistachio please!
I did, however, pass on visiting GUM's "historic toilet" - I wonder if it dates back to Soviet times, or what...
Grabbed a quick dinner, and headed back to the room to get to bed early. Watched some rerun KHL hockey on tv, and noticed the Lubyanka was even more eerie looking lit up at night...this is after 10pm!
Had a good night of sleep, and headed down to check out the breakfast. Very formal at St Regis, but also very Russian at the same time. Where else can you have smoked eel, caviar, and tea for breakfast?
Walked around for a few more hours, before taking the metro back to the airport. Watching for a change of trains at Park Kultury station:
Finally arriving at Pavletskaya to change to the AeroExpress train:
One of the cool things about the Moscow Metro is that lots of the old soviet murals and architecture have been left completely unchanged:
Check-in and security were super easy, and soon I'd arrived at the S7 airlines domestic lounge. Nothing to write home about. More meatballs as snacks. Seriously, what is it with S7 and meatballs?
Last minute gate change meant a bit of a hike to our plane, which appeared to be absolutely packed. There was a family of eight occupying eight of the twelve seats in business class, and they were scattered around the cabin - probably a last minute purchase. Some swapping, but other people refused to give up their seats so I was stuck next to a 10 year old for the whole flight. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...maybe he'd be well behaved...
S7 Airlines flight 181
Moscow Domededovo, Russia (DME) to Novosibirsk, Russia (OVB)
Depart 17:20, Arrive 00:15 next day, Flight Time: 3:55
Airbus A320, Registration VQ-BRG, Manufactured 2012, Seat 2D
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 119,579
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,308,716
S7 has an...interesting colour scheme going on....purple seats:
Raspberry and lime flight attendant uniforms:
Lime green safety cards...in case of a water landing, your flight attendant's lips may be used as a flotation device:
Even the toilet seat and the bathroom were lime green:
Oh, and a snapshot of our plane...
Just kidding....
S7 even had a printed drink menu for a relatively short domestic flight:
Started off with a glass of red wine...I like the little airplanes...
Nice and tasty salad and some good black bread:
Chicken stew...it was way tastier than it looked.
After eating, I watched some movies and had a few glasses of wine. At one point, I got up and went to the washroom, and remember thinking "I should slow down...I could swear I had a full glass of wine when I left." Got a refill, kept watching more tv, eventually went to the washroom again. Came back...again empty glass...and then it clicked. The 10 year old was drinking my wine when I went to the washroom! I tapped his dad on the shoulder in front of me and told him what was going on....and he congratulated the kid with almost getting away with it. Ugh!
Soon, time to land, and they passed out some sort of vegetable juice shooter....it was...interesting...
Overall, S7 was solid service for a domestic flight. Comfortable enough seats that rival anything in North America, and are way ahead of what you would get in Western Europe. I definitely wouldn't hesitate to fly them again. With the time change it was just before midnight when we landed in Novosibirsk, and we ended up with a remote gate. There was a special bus for business class passengers, which meant we were from plane to taxi rank in less than five minutes. Can't complain about that! Then, it was off to the hotel and time to explore Novosibirsk!
Jul 31, 2016, 12:49 pm
#129
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,523
10. Two nights in Novosibirsk
Upon arrival, I looked for the driver who had my name on a sign board, but couldn't find him. Not knowing the taxi situation in Novosibirsk, coupled with the fact we were supposed to arrive just after midnight, I ordered the "business sedan transfer" offered on the S7 website when I booked. For 12 euros a driver was supposed to meet me, and take me to my hotel. Finally found him after 10 minutes (he was slightly late) and we were off through very dark roads to the city.
One thing that immediately struck me, was that for the third biggest city in Russia (according to some sources) and definitely the largest east of the Urals, it was dark. Very dark. There were a good number of buildings, but it just struck me as very very dark. Arrived at my hotel just after midnight, the Marriott Novosibirsk. They wanted a bit over $100 a night for the stay, but I got it for an absolute steal on points. This hotel is a fantastic value!
Check in was quick and polite with decent English spoken, but the weirdest part was the insistence that they had to photocopy every page of my passport for "local border region security services." Definitely a new one - I've never experienced this anywhere else in Russia - but I didn't really have any room to complain. Fortunately, this passport was filled with relatively boring stamps.
The hotel had reached out to me a few days before the stay to ask if there was anything they could do to make the stay extra special, so I mentioned I was coming back for the first time in over 25 years, and looked forward to seeing how the city had changed. Oh, and any upgrade they could give would be appreciated I certainly didn't expect this huge corner suite:
Odd layout with bed on the middle of the room, with a mini wall separating it from the living room area:
Huge shower cube:
Plus a tub and double sink:
To top it off, they had left some brownie bites, chocolates, macarons, tea service, and a bottle of wine for me, well done!
Didn't end up making it to bed until nearly 2:30 given the time change, but no problem. I slept in until nearly 11, and then grabbed tea in the lobby (included with the suite upgrade) before heading out for a walk around the city. First stop was right near the hotel, the Novosibirsk Opera House. It's the largest Opera House in Russia (bigger than the Bolshoi in Moscow) but unfortunately, there were no performances going on while I was there:
The opera is located on the Lenin Square, which still has not been renamed, and has great statues:
...including Lenin himself:
Workers of the world, unite!
I then headed down Krasnij Prospekt, or Red Avenue...surprisingly still quite a number of symbols and names from Soviet days remaining in Novosibirsk. Stopped at the Chapel of St Nicholas, which is said to sit at the geographic centre of the old Soviet Union:
After walking another hour or so, I decided to stop for lunch when I came upon a place called "Pivofactory" - literally translated as beer factory. I had a seat and asked for a menu, and was told "nope, we only have the business lunch menu now." Sure, why not...when in Novosibirsk...
I was asked if I wanted dark or light beer, and I went with the dark. First the schci (cold soup) came out with cilantro, radishes, potatoes, cabbage in broth along with a salad of shredded cabbage, cucumbers, more radishes and vinegar along with the beer in a mini boot and a bag of bread. This was a ton of food!
Basket of bread:
...but wait, there's more! Mystery steak (somewhat like salisbury steak) with a BBQ sauce and mixed vegetables...and a nicely garnished plate sprinkled with paprika: ...I also asked to try the light beer, which they were happy to bring:
Grand total for all that food plus the second beer? Just over US$7. What a bargain! Kept walking, and was surprised at an intersection to see another of my favourite Washingtonians...Alex Ovechkin, peering down from a billboard:
You can see how wet the ground is. There were periodic sprinkles and downpours all afternoon, in between which there would be sunny skies. During one downpour I decided it was a good time to check out the metro system. Took a ride to the end of the line, and found out the KHL Sibir hockey rink wasn't far away. Thanks to google maps I managed to figure out which bus would take me there, and piece of cake I was able to get on. I had no idea how the busses worked but it was a piece of cake. Each stop a lady would come around selling tickets, super easy!
According to the website the rink had a fan shop, so I did a walk around looking for it. First, came upon the team bus. Given the location of Novosibirsk, I can't imagine they drive to too many games:
After a bit of wandering, someone finally asked what I was looking for. Told him, and it turned out he was the team equipment manager. He brought me inside, and showed me around the rink. It was much smaller than I expected:
The "team store" turned out to be a glass display case with a few pieces of merchandise in it, but I did manage to pick up a t-shirt and hat at least. Banner outside the rink - you can see it sits right in the middle of a residential neighbourhood - "Sibir Hockey Club - Novosibirsk State"
Full view of the rink:
Then, it was time to head back into the metro and ride a bit more. It wasn't as fancy as the Moscow metro, but still really cool to see:
There was a station called Gagarinskaya - after Cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin, so I had to get off and take a themed pic of the station. You can't see it well in the picture, but it's a lit up pic of Gargarin in the circle:
Got off at the station near the Ob river, and walked out onto the bridge. Unfortunately, there was really no good place to take a picture, but this was the best I was able to do:
After a bit more walking around, I was getting really warm (it was nearly 90 degrees fahrenheit and humid!) I headed back into the metro. Note the murals of Lenin still in the station:
I guess that was fitting, since the station near the hotel was called Lenin Square:
After a bit of a rest at the hotel (the hotel doesn't have a lounge, but has this weird arrangement where half the lobby cafe/bar is set aside for breakfasts and happy hour for club room guests. They had several snacks, and the staff was quite pleased to see I was willing to eat local pickled fish and other local foods along with a couple of rather poor local beers.
Finally headed out for some dinner. Many years ago, when I studied near Novosibirsk in high school, there was a pelmeni eating contest sponsored by the local Young Pioneers chapter. Pelmeni are a dumpling that is common in the region, filled with diced mixed meats. Needless to say, given the fact I won the championship 25 years and there was a whole restaurant for pelmeni, I had to go there. On top of it, it was called Beerman and Pelmeni...how could I go wrong!
They had several different kinds on the menu, but I decided to go with the "pick any three" sampler. I have to say the beer menu was a bit of a let down, but the pelmeni were great. I had one that was mixed beef and lamb, the black ones are squid ink filled with calamari, and the final one I think was called the Novosibirsk with onions and lamb, it was delicious, but unfortunately I've lost a bit of my touch - wasn't able to finish them all:
After a good night's sleep, headed down for breakfast in the lobby. Lots of fresh fruit, croissant and nutella, boiled eggs, local cheese, and pickled mushrooms with fish. Quite tasty!
Unfortunately my visit to Novosibirsk could only be for two nights due to the change in plans. With one more night I would have loved to go out to the small town of Akademgorodok where I studied and see how things have changed. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have recognized anything at all! All too soon it was time to head off to the airport, and begin the onward trip...
One thing that immediately struck me, was that for the third biggest city in Russia (according to some sources) and definitely the largest east of the Urals, it was dark. Very dark. There were a good number of buildings, but it just struck me as very very dark. Arrived at my hotel just after midnight, the Marriott Novosibirsk. They wanted a bit over $100 a night for the stay, but I got it for an absolute steal on points. This hotel is a fantastic value!
Check in was quick and polite with decent English spoken, but the weirdest part was the insistence that they had to photocopy every page of my passport for "local border region security services." Definitely a new one - I've never experienced this anywhere else in Russia - but I didn't really have any room to complain. Fortunately, this passport was filled with relatively boring stamps.
The hotel had reached out to me a few days before the stay to ask if there was anything they could do to make the stay extra special, so I mentioned I was coming back for the first time in over 25 years, and looked forward to seeing how the city had changed. Oh, and any upgrade they could give would be appreciated
I certainly didn't expect this huge corner suite:Odd layout with bed on the middle of the room, with a mini wall separating it from the living room area:
Huge shower cube:
Plus a tub and double sink:
To top it off, they had left some brownie bites, chocolates, macarons, tea service, and a bottle of wine for me, well done!
Didn't end up making it to bed until nearly 2:30 given the time change, but no problem. I slept in until nearly 11, and then grabbed tea in the lobby (included with the suite upgrade) before heading out for a walk around the city. First stop was right near the hotel, the Novosibirsk Opera House. It's the largest Opera House in Russia (bigger than the Bolshoi in Moscow) but unfortunately, there were no performances going on while I was there:
The opera is located on the Lenin Square, which still has not been renamed, and has great statues:
...including Lenin himself:
Workers of the world, unite!
I then headed down Krasnij Prospekt, or Red Avenue...surprisingly still quite a number of symbols and names from Soviet days remaining in Novosibirsk. Stopped at the Chapel of St Nicholas, which is said to sit at the geographic centre of the old Soviet Union:
After walking another hour or so, I decided to stop for lunch when I came upon a place called "Pivofactory" - literally translated as beer factory. I had a seat and asked for a menu, and was told "nope, we only have the business lunch menu now." Sure, why not...when in Novosibirsk...
I was asked if I wanted dark or light beer, and I went with the dark. First the schci (cold soup) came out with cilantro, radishes, potatoes, cabbage in broth along with a salad of shredded cabbage, cucumbers, more radishes and vinegar along with the beer in a mini boot and a bag of bread. This was a ton of food!
Basket of bread:
...but wait, there's more! Mystery steak (somewhat like salisbury steak) with a BBQ sauce and mixed vegetables...and a nicely garnished plate sprinkled with paprika: ...I also asked to try the light beer, which they were happy to bring:
Grand total for all that food plus the second beer? Just over US$7. What a bargain! Kept walking, and was surprised at an intersection to see another of my favourite Washingtonians...Alex Ovechkin, peering down from a billboard:
You can see how wet the ground is. There were periodic sprinkles and downpours all afternoon, in between which there would be sunny skies. During one downpour I decided it was a good time to check out the metro system. Took a ride to the end of the line, and found out the KHL Sibir hockey rink wasn't far away. Thanks to google maps I managed to figure out which bus would take me there, and piece of cake I was able to get on. I had no idea how the busses worked but it was a piece of cake. Each stop a lady would come around selling tickets, super easy!
According to the website the rink had a fan shop, so I did a walk around looking for it. First, came upon the team bus. Given the location of Novosibirsk, I can't imagine they drive to too many games:
After a bit of wandering, someone finally asked what I was looking for. Told him, and it turned out he was the team equipment manager. He brought me inside, and showed me around the rink. It was much smaller than I expected:
The "team store" turned out to be a glass display case with a few pieces of merchandise in it, but I did manage to pick up a t-shirt and hat at least. Banner outside the rink - you can see it sits right in the middle of a residential neighbourhood - "Sibir Hockey Club - Novosibirsk State"
Full view of the rink:
Then, it was time to head back into the metro and ride a bit more. It wasn't as fancy as the Moscow metro, but still really cool to see:
There was a station called Gagarinskaya - after Cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin, so I had to get off and take a themed pic of the station. You can't see it well in the picture, but it's a lit up pic of Gargarin in the circle:
Got off at the station near the Ob river, and walked out onto the bridge. Unfortunately, there was really no good place to take a picture, but this was the best I was able to do:
After a bit more walking around, I was getting really warm (it was nearly 90 degrees fahrenheit and humid!) I headed back into the metro. Note the murals of Lenin still in the station:
I guess that was fitting, since the station near the hotel was called Lenin Square:
After a bit of a rest at the hotel (the hotel doesn't have a lounge, but has this weird arrangement where half the lobby cafe/bar is set aside for breakfasts and happy hour for club room guests. They had several snacks, and the staff was quite pleased to see I was willing to eat local pickled fish and other local foods along with a couple of rather poor local beers.
Finally headed out for some dinner. Many years ago, when I studied near Novosibirsk in high school, there was a pelmeni eating contest sponsored by the local Young Pioneers chapter. Pelmeni are a dumpling that is common in the region, filled with diced mixed meats. Needless to say, given the fact I won the championship 25 years and there was a whole restaurant for pelmeni, I had to go there. On top of it, it was called Beerman and Pelmeni...how could I go wrong!
They had several different kinds on the menu, but I decided to go with the "pick any three" sampler. I have to say the beer menu was a bit of a let down, but the pelmeni were great. I had one that was mixed beef and lamb, the black ones are squid ink filled with calamari, and the final one I think was called the Novosibirsk with onions and lamb, it was delicious, but unfortunately I've lost a bit of my touch - wasn't able to finish them all:
After a good night's sleep, headed down for breakfast in the lobby. Lots of fresh fruit, croissant and nutella, boiled eggs, local cheese, and pickled mushrooms with fish. Quite tasty!
Unfortunately my visit to Novosibirsk could only be for two nights due to the change in plans. With one more night I would have loved to go out to the small town of Akademgorodok where I studied and see how things have changed. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have recognized anything at all! All too soon it was time to head off to the airport, and begin the onward trip...
Jul 31, 2016, 8:36 pm
#132
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,523
Well TripIt is a huge help, as is mapping things out in a spreadsheet. It's kind of hard to believe I've never booked a wrong date, and almost never had to eat a change fee because I forgot to cancel something...
.
Aug 1, 2016, 8:30 am
#135
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,523