Originally Posted by
Swanhunter
Having spent a couple of weeks hopping down the Trans-Siberian this September (see link in my signature for the TR), my observations would be
* some Russians can't cope with foreigners, mostly for language reasons, and react by shouting and getting angry when you don't understand. Attempts to use a phrasebook to communicate often result in more anger! I have rarely felt less welcome in 125+ countries. Curious as the Russians I know personally through work are delightful people.
* stuff is just not set up for tourists - tourist offices, sightseeing tours, travel passes, reliable taxi drivers rarely exist. Getting around requires a degree of investment and some travel smarts
* the visa process is a headache, even with the shiny new centre in London which beats queuing in the rain
* the size of the country makes dropping in for a week quite limiting in what you can feasible visit
* politics gets in the way too, Putin seems to have infected everyone's brain and when you do find an English speaker their views on Ukraine etc are...interesting...
It is a great destination for the adventurous but by far the hardest of any developed/mostly developed nation. Easier than somewhere like Ethiopia but that isn't saying much.
Great report! Looks like we stopped in the same places, but trade your Perm for my Kazan+Suzdal.
As to your points:
*absolutely agree. We speak and read a bit of Russian and found it frustrating sometimes when trying to get anything done, and not being able to fully communicate, I can only imagine how hard it is for someone without any Russian. We didnt feel unwelcomed, but 99% of people thought we were Russian. People even asked us for directions
*stuff is very well set up for tourists - those who dont mind spending $200 on a day tour, or those who can communicate in Russian. Not set up at all for foreign visitors, especially independent ones outside of M/STP. Taxi drivers. As an experiment, we asked in English, and then in Russian, price quoted was always at least half then.
I agree, outside of M/STP is for the adventurous, especially for independent travelers - but that makes it very rewarding.
The fact that one can now buy train tickets online makes a HUGE difference.
*The above is from a perspective of an independent tourist. I m sure its a lot different when one comes to Russia for work and/or on a tour.