Prologue
Six weeks till I leave and counting. Can't stop thinking about it and planning every minute detail. So I've set up this web site in anticipation of being able to post reports and photos as I go.I started planning this trip probably about eight months ago. After my friend Tina moved to Oxford and started sending photos back, I've been dying to go over and see her. So I figured if I saved $300 a month for 10 months I'd have $3,000 to go over and visit her with. Ok, so it turned out to be a little more expensive than that. The airfare alone is $3,500. Anyway then I thought that if I was going to go all that way, it couldn't hurt to stop off in the States on the way over and visit Peter's family in Tacoma WA. And then I thought if I was doing that, it wouldn't hurt to stop off in Wisconsin either to visit a couple of Kiwi's I used to work with. And the easiest way to do that is to go through Chicago, so I'd have to spend at least a day there as well. And so with all these other stopovers, and since I was going to be in that part of the world, I also figured it wouldn't hurt to stop off on the way home and see my friend Tara who lives in Moscow.
The plan goes something like this. Leave New Zealand on Friday night and arrive in Seattle also on Friday night. Spend four or five days with Peter's family, then fly to Chicago. Spend the night there on my own, then the next day John has kindly offered to show me round the city before driving up to his place in Wisconsin. Spend the next day there with them, and then bus back down to Chicago and fly out to London Saturday afternoon. Will arrive in London first thing Sunday morning and the first thing I want to do is head to the Sunday morning markets in Camden. Will have the rest of that week in London. Then Friday I pick up a rental car and head off to Oxford where I'll spend the next eight days. Have got several day trips planned to nearby towns and areas. Then Sunday afternoon it's back to London to return the rental car and spend the night at Heathrow airport before an early morning flight out to Moscow (I'm assured it's quite safe to sleep at the airport). Then I'll have three days in Moscow before flying home again via Frankfurt and Singapore.
Most of the planning is done now. I sent off my application for a Russian visa two weeks ago. They say it takes three weeks for processing so still have to wait at least a week until I hear anything. For anyone contemplating a trip to Russia, it is very complicated to get the visa. First of all you can't just apply for it. Before you can get the visa, you need the *invitation*. If you're going with a tour, they can organise it for you. Or if you're staying at a hotel, they can issue you one. Even hostels will issue one ... for a fee. And that's the catch. The invitation costs money. On top of the cost of the visa. As I will be staying with friends, and not at a hotel, it seemed a little more complicated. Until I found this wonderful web site, www.waytorussia.net, a web site made by Russian travellers, for other travellers. And they explain all the requirements for the visa, and what to do. And they can also help you get an invitation. The standard cost of the invitation seems to be US$30. But wait, that's not all. Once you get your invitation, and your visa, you still have to register it within 72 hours of arriving in Russia. At the same place that issued your invitation. And that costs an extra US$20. So if you're planning on travelling to Russia remember these two points - start arranging your visa at least four weeks in advance, and make sure you budget plenty of money for the visa (mine will cost around US$85).
posted by Megz @ 6:23 pm
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