survival guide

Since one of my closest friends has kindly informed me that im getting old and boring and my my writing style has lost its own specific acuteness, ive decided to leave behind the description of consecutive days  and focus on more topical issue. That is why the title of today's post refers to some essential tips of survival for the total Russian freshers.

Money:

By all means the only legal local currency is russian ruble ( don't be misguided if the gentleman in the currrency exchange in warsaw is struggling very hard to sell you belarussian rubles instead of the one you really need, just keep focused) and any attempt of paying with dollars or not even think about  it Euros will end quite badly. Unless anything untoward happens you can exchange money in your own country ( if you live in Poland dont count only on your luck), but if you happen to forget to do it  no worries, there are like thousands of cash machines on every single corner, in every local shop or on every average tube station. So supply yourself with a fan of credit or debit cards and have fun. A word of warning to business travellers who love paying in the restaurants by credit cards: khym khym DONT DO THAT!!!!!!!! If you like you credit card and want to keep your current account number and especially money you have to be cautious because it's quite probable the number of your card would be copied. 

Transport:

As one of my Dutch friends  nimbly noticed the  streets in Russia are very wide in comparison to the rest of Europe.  Unfortunately that's the only compliment they deserve. Following the communist legacy you will find a lot of uneven roads and holes in the concrete. If you are from eastern Europe you won't be suprised but if by any chance you come from "the civilisation"( greetings to Germany) you have to provide yourself with a dose of tranquilizers. 

What is more if you are not a big fun of rollercoasters, better stay at home. There are many ways of travelling in the city: you can choose between a normal bus, minibus, trolleybus, marshrutnoye taksi or elektryczka. Unfortunately the variety does not go along with the quality. People whose blood pressure is quite high shoould just choose walking. Despite the previous, the biggest advantage of want St Petersburg transport has to offer is its low prize. You can travel by bus starting just from 19 rubles and by minibus 20. Moreover, if your haggling skills are quite high you can travel by private taxis starting even from 150 rubles. But  keep in mind that the drivers  from eastern ex soviet republics will not always get you to the destination you wanted. So never travel on your own by the unlicensed cabs. 

For my favourite Japanese and American tourists

Souvenirs:

Some may think that the souvenirs should not be included in the survival tip but believe me buying something nice for a decent prize in st. Petersburg is almost such a challenge as getting home by an unlicensed taxi. Those who are lucky enough to bring vodka as a souvenir from the trip should be in the 7th heaven. Not only the prizes are very low, but also the variety and this time the quality is definietely more than good. But remember there are some custom limits, so if you don't want to walk through the red channel at the airport don't cross the heaven's borderline. Those of you who are more traditional and can be satisfied with matrioshka dolls should also keep a few tips in mind. First of all remember to haggle with a trader before paying the final prize, in most cases the dolls are extremely overprized and sellers count on the naivity of the potential purchasers. Second of all, check before buying if the doll is not broken or does not have any hidden defects, its quite common since the manufacture was invented in the 18th century. Third of all, the matioskha is not a trip neccessity, there are so many things Russia has to offer ( covered in following  post).