century, when the Mongols were bring their wrath to the world, then invaded Russia too and destroyed majority of cities and towns and burned down most of Moscow. The Russians then had to pay extortion taxes to the Mongolian khans for almost two and half century. By the 15
century the Tsar system is fully recognised in the country. This was time when the infamous ‘Ivan the terrible’ took over the reins. During the starting of the 17
century, the Romanov dynasty comes into picture, and westernization becomes the most important thing during ‘Peter the Great’s’ regime. In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte burns down the city once again but this time. After suffering a lot from the hands of Tsars and aristocrats, the commoners take on of the biggest revolutions in mankind, and become successful only by 1922, by uprooting the Tsars and by establishing U.S.S.R. In the year 1991, U.S.S.R was broken down and the new Russia is freed from communism, making Moscow the capital of a new capitalist state.
Arriving to Moscow
The airways are the most ideal way of reaching the city, but make sure you avoid travelling by the Russian airlines ‘Aeroflot’. I can completely assure you, it is one of the worst in the business, where everything is unexpected. You might sit in a small plane, which looks very creaky, and you might end up with nosebleeds and vomiting, as the plane cannot manage atmospheric pressure inside. If you are lucky, and if you get a bigger plane, then you will see the old, snobby, haggy Russian airhostesses getting perturbed by travellers for small requests. Your appetite will take a hike, when your food tray will be thrown on your table. So it’s best you book other airlines while coming to Moscow. Once you reach the airport, you will understand how alien you are, when you can’t speak Russian, and when the immigration lady will be making faces of disgust, as if you were a person whose IQ was that of less than a donkey. Though the airport has all the modern facilities, it is the time before the immigration that is going to be major pain in the traveller’s backyard.
Another way of entering the city is by the rail route. The route is limited to only some stops in
Europe, it is an experience in itself, and the sheer monstrous size of Russia could be assumed when it would take 7 days to travel inside Russia in the Trans-Siberian express. You can enter the city by the road, but it is not considered to be ideal, as there will be a lot of hassles, and also the chances of getting robbed on the way.
Travelling in the city
The city has one of the world’s most efficient metro systems that take you from one corner to another at a high pace and low cost. The only problem in the system is you won’t find a single letter written in English. Though you might have the map of the whole rail route, but it would be of negligible use if you can’t read or write Russian. There are also buses, trolley buses and trams that go about in the city. These locomotives are a good way of commuting as you get to see sites while travelling. Another way of travelling are the official taxis in the city, but there is a common practice in Moscow to show hand to any passing vehicle and majority of them will stop and drop you off to your desired location for a charge that you will have to negotiate. So don’t get surprised when you might get transported in a private Mercedes Benz for a nominal charge. Travellers can also hire cars but at expensive rates. It is the law of the city while renting cars, to have drivers more than 21 years old. Those tourists, who only believe in class, can hire chauffer driven limousines at reasonable rates.
Fun place in Moscow
Moscow does have a number of sites that can be visited by tourists. When you are in Moscow, you have to start your quest by visiting the one and only red square. This is the place where you will get into total awe with its beauty. This place is also normally packed with tourists, and is one of the highlights of not only the city but also the whole country. The St’ Basil’s Cathedral in the red square is an important tourist location. The edifice has a very unique architecture and also the colour scheming on the domes of the cathedral are very inimitable. Inside the cathedral is a museum, which is waiting to be explored. Another site that will catch your imagination is the ‘Kremlin’. The term itself means a fortified wall, and inside this wall there is a number of things you can do and visit. There are a number of structures of Russian architecture that you can see inside the Kremlin. You will be able to visit the olden palaces and cathedrals inside the Kremlin. Apart from Orthodox edifices you will also find an armoury museum along with a diamond treasury. You will also see mammoth sized cannon and a bell inside the Kremlin.
It is a must for every traveller to visit the world famous ‘Pushkin museum of fine arts’. I was completely spellbound with the artworks and exhibits on display. If travelling with kids, do visit the Moscow’s ‘Memorial Museum of Space Exploration’. It is a one of a kind museum, and it displays a lot of artefacts during the time when Russia’s space technology was considered to be the best in the world. You can also wear Yuri Gagarin’s actual space suit for a nominal price and then can get your snap taken. The Gorky Park is another fun filled destination, where there are theme parks, food stalls, ponds, and even the very own ‘Moskva River’, on who’s the name of the city is derived from. There are a number of galleries and museums that will tell you about Moscow’s history and tragedies. The city has a very classy golf course known as the “Moscow city golf course’, where you can enter the green, by paying as low as US$20. During the winters, you can indulge in a number of winter sports activities in the city. There will be natural skating rinks in most parts of the city then as a no of lakes get frozen up because of the winter, also there are steep slopes from where the adrenalin pumped skiers can try their skills. It’s always a good idea to be booked on a tour for exploring the city.
Fun places around Moscow
Moscow is the star gate of Russia. You can travel to St. Petersburg from Moscow, by road as well as flight. St. Petersburg is also the second capital of Russia, and is a very mystic Russian city. If you have lots of time and have seen much of Moscow, then only try to see the countryside of this large state.
Shopping in the city
Moscow is not exactly a shopper’s paradise. The shops which you will see on the Red Square will sell merchandise 4 times the cost, which you will find in a shop in some different location. So a Levis jeans which cost $50, will cost close to $200 on the Red Square. Bargaining is a must in most of the shops, but if you cant’s speak the language, you cant do much, as either you will be fooled or will be insulted as not knowing Russian language is the biggest crime of all.
Chow time
The city has a huge variety of places where you can dine. You have right from the classy restaurants to kiosks where you will be getting triangular shaped tortillas filled with meat. There are places, where for just 70 roubles, you can fill up the bowl with uncooked meat in the restaurant, and then can see it getting cooked by highest quality chefs. The multi-cuisine restaurants will be a bit more on the expensive side; so don’t get startled to see your local dish for a phenomenal price. The Arabic shormas that you get on the streets are mind boggling and very appetising. If you go into the normal restaurants be ready to act the animal you want to eat, as it’s likely you would be able to read the menus.
Booze and pleasure
The city is jam packed with pubs, large bars and infinite discos. Most of the discos you will go, you will see strip shows and cabarets. It’s best to drink the Russian vodka when you are in Moscow. There are infinity choices of vodka and the combinations of vodka you can drink. It’s best to enquire about discos before going, as the violence rate and foreigner tolerance level are the things you got to keep in mind. Also be ready to receive calls in your hotel rooms saying “daushka”, meaning do you want girls??
Let’s go
This capital of Eurasia is a very different destination of the world and it echoes the orthodox European style of living.
Credits
Article written by Siddharth Sule.
As the Moscow born and all-life living resident I have to notice that I havn't found rough mistakes in the article. But
1) Nobody suspect you to be an idiot if you don't speak Russian. Everybody understand: you are foreigner and you cannot speak all the linguages of the world. It's very easy to find somebody a bit speaking English (other linguages are problem). It's good idea to spend a few hours to study Cyrillics (similar to Greek alphabet which is the common root of Latin and Cyrillics).
2) The price 70 Rubles referred is irreal for the subject. $70 is more real. For March 2007 1 US dollar is equal to about 26 Rubles and US dollar slowly goes down.
3) For already 10 years I have not heard about road robberies. The common rule is: never stop for the night outside cities and populated villages. Never drop the car unattended near road (it will be assumed to be a lot of useful spare parts). The most dangerous thing at the road is the GAI (road police) officer. But usually they avoid to have a buisness with foreigners. DDD (the Russian abreviation for "let fool to go") is the low.
4) Cheap vodka is bad. Use the most expensive you see.
Thanks
Thanks for the correction. It is always good to have first hand information.
TT
"Cheap vodka is bad. Use the most expensive you see" - agree, but (IMHO) the tryth is in the middle. Sometimes you can buy good vodka for 700 rub, or less.
Good article! :)