Russia Roundup

Pictured: Karl Marx Statue on Teatralnaya Square, Moscow.

After the wedding, we made the long train trip to St. Petersburg.  Another great Russian city but it was a shame that we didn't have more time to explore the city.  After exploring the sites for two days, we made our way back to Moscow with Kristen heading back to Denver.  I hopped a plane to Barcelona, as I made my way to Pamplona,to attend the San Fermin Festival (Running with the Bulls.)

Overall, Russia was a fascinating country to visit.  It was very evident that the Russian economy has taken off.  There is construction and redevelopment happening everywhere.  With their natural resources, like oil and natural gas, there seems to be no end of for their economic growth in the foreseeable future.  Everyone I talked with says just ten years ago, Moscow was in shambles.  Now Moscow ranks up as one of the most expensive cities to visit.

Pictured: American tourists keeping it real on the 4th of July!

As a tourist, I found Russia a little difficult to maneuver.  They are a few years away from being a tourist friendly country.  I am pretty good with public transportation but I managed to get lost in the metro a few times.  The Cyrillic language is difficult to follow and read.  It was a fun challenge and I look forward to the time that I am able to make it back.

Pictured: My name in Cyrillic letters from the wedding table cards.

 

Wedding Fun in Moscow

The reason I was in Moscow was to attend a wedding.  Sam Rothman, the groom, is friends with my Denver crew.  We still don't know if our paths crossed during my annual trips to Denver in the 90's but I am sure it must have.  My friends Brian, Annette and Kristen were attending the wedding so it made sense for me to make the trip over.  I mean I was just down the street in Austria after all.

There were two small events preceding the wedding.  One night, the mother of the bride took the wedding party and a few stragglers like myself out to dinner at a traditional Georgian restaurant.  The meal was fantastic and I was introduced to vodka- Russian style.  Now don't get me wrong, I have a had a shot or two of vodka before but nothing like this.  I found out first hand that it is not a stereotype that Russians drink a lot of vodka.  Since I was seated near the groom, my shot glass was filled repeatedly as everyone made toasts to the couple. 

Pictured: Brian Coffee, Kristen Battendfield and Sam Singh.

The next day as we explored the city, I bought a few cheesy t-shirts since I hadn't received my luggage yet.  I thought it was very appropriate that the first shirt I bought read "Vodka- Connecting People."  That night was the rehearsal dinner and I made it over after the Bob Baldori/Bob Seeley concert at the Moscow International House of Music. 

Pictured: Sam Singh with Bud Hyman, family friend of the groom.

The wedding was a civil ceremony because the bride and groom were of different religions.  At the reception hall, the mothers of the bride and groom welcomed the two with a huge loaf of bread.  Sam and Lena, the bride, took a piece. The tradition is the one with largest piece symbolizes who was going to run the family.  Needless to say, Lena had the biggest piece.

Pictured: Sam and Lena Rothman.

Kristen and I sat with a crew of Sam's work colleagues.  The dinner went by fast with great conversation.  Not surprisingly for the third night in a row, the vodka flowed as if it was water and the night finished with dancing.

Pictured:  Sam Singh and the bride, Lena.

You will note that I was in a suit for the wedding.  Lucky for me, I had Brian and Annette pick up a suit for me from East Lansing.  They were in town dropping off their kids with their families and were able to hop over to Ann Street to pick up my suit and accessories.  Since I didn't get my luggage for the entire time I was in the country, it was the only day that I looked somewhat respectable.

Another Small World Experience-Moscow Style

A week before I went to Moscow, I received an e-mail from Walt Sorg.  Walt has a morning news radio show in Lansing and has been interviewing me monthly since the adventure has started.  You can listen to the interviews by going to the press section of the website.  Walt's e-mail said that he thought the jazz performer and Mid-Michigan based Boogie Bob Baldori was going to be in Moscow during the same time frame that I was there.  I shot a quick e-mail to Bob and found that to be the case.  I had seen Baldori play before and we would bump into each other at Michigan Athletic Club in East Lansing all the time.

Bob Baldori, along with the talented Bob Seeley were performing at the US Embassy in Moscow for their 4th of July party and then they were performing at Moscow's International House of Music.  Bob invited me to the show at the International House of Music.  They put on a great show and the Russian audience mixed in with some ex pats loved it.  It was my first time seeing Bob Seeley perform and he was amazing.  He is 80 years old and jamming away like he was half his age. 

Picture: Bob Baldori on harmonica and Bob Seeley on piano in Moscow, Russia.

Here is some background on them from their website.

"Both Bob's play a relentless keyboard in the truest sense of jazz playing — Infectious rhythm and dizzying improvization. Both have unparalleled credentials in the genre.

Bob Seeley spent his formative years playing with Meade Lux Lewis and other jazz greats in the 1950s and early 60s. Over the years Seeley has become known as the best boogie woogie and stride player in the world.

"Boogie" Bob Baldori has been playing piano and harmonica with Chuck Berry since 1967. In addition to fronting his own group (The Woolies), he has spent years playing blues, boogie and backbeat rock and roll in Chicago and Detroit.

Together, their styles are at the crossroads of American music.

The relationship started when they met at a tribute to Chuck Berry's original piano player, Johnny Johnson. They started working together soon after Baldori sat in at Seeley's regular gig at Charley's Crab in Detroit. A mutual interest in the "two piano" boogie style of Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons led them to work out some of the original four hand classics. They also discovered a repertoire of mutually familiar blues, boogie and jazz tunes that Baldori could double on harmonica. From there it was a short step to creating original pieces for their live show.

Between them, they have an encyclopedic repertoire of jazz, boogie, stride, blues and backbeat rock and roll."

Kristen and I met up with them in St. Petersberg later in the week and broke bread with them.  It was an enjoyable diner and I look forward to seeing them play again when I get back to the States.

Pictured: Bob Seeley, Sam Singh and Bob Baldori in St. Petersberg, Russia.

PS.  I had taken some video from their show and was planning to upload them to Youtube but I was foiled by the Turkey government.  Turkey has banned Youtube in the country as well as Google Video so I wasn't able to upload them yet.  I will eventually and will add them to a future blog.

Wandering Through Moscow

I arrived in Russia at 2:30 am and worked my way through the passport control process.  After running that gauntlet, I made it to baggage claim to the harsh realization that my luggage did not arrive with me.  Oh, Alitalia how you seduced me with your low fare only to walk out on me in the morning.  Since I was one of the last people out of the terminal, I was swarmed by the taxi cab drivers that were trying to get one of their last fares of the night.  The initial quotes started at US $120 to take me to the hotel.  A combination of the threatening to wait till the metro opened and claiming to be a student brought the rate to US$40.  I am still waiting for someone to call me out for not being a student because of the gray hair but it hasn’t happened yet.  Since they are trying to take advantage of me, I have rationalized my white lie as fully appropriate and reasonable.

I was staying with my friends, Brian and Annette Coffee, at the swanky Marriott Grand.  They had for some unknown reason been upgraded to the executive club level, which meant free breakfast and appetizers in the afternoon.  Those perks came in handy, as Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world.  To make the point, the Marriott Grand charged US$30 for one hour of internet access.  I have been staying at $20 a night hostels throughout the trip and getting free wireless access while the $450 a night Marriott is charging $30 dollar for internet.  There is something wrong with this picture.

Brian and Annette had arrived in Moscow the day before and had down the official tour of the Kremlin and the Red Square.  In the morning, they gave me the "Coffee Tour" of the same sites.  It was cute the  way they kept correcting each other as they tried to remember the facts from their own tour.  We continued to explore the sites and then attempted to take the Metro.  The Russian Metro is by far the most stunning and beautiful public transit system I have been on.  Though many of the trains are old, the stations are works of art themselves with intricate and ornate art adorning the marble walls.  The hardest part of the day was getting around because many of the signs use the Cyrillic alphabet.  With the help of a few locals we eventually made it back to the hotel to meet up with our friend, Kristen Battenfield and get ready for the first of many events leading up to the wedding.

Do you know what restaurant this sign is for?

Guess who found his luggage?

Dear Gentle Readers,

For those who have been following me via facebook know that I have been without my luggage during the entire time I was in Russia.  I just picked it up from the airport an hour before I boarded my flight to Spain.  It was an exciting seven days and I just want thank REI for making quick dry clothes and for the small vendors in Moscow that had cheap cheesy t-shirts for me to buy.  Sam

How the Bar, Crunchy's, Helped Me Get My Visa to Russia

Alternate titles: The Travel Gods Looked Down and Smiled
                          You Can't Stop Sam Singh- You Can Only Hope to Contain Him   

Dear Gentle Reader,

The saga of the Russian visa has come to a successful ending. Just like it was planned.  Well, maybe not like it was planned but successful nonetheless. For those who have been sending me well wishes over e-mail, I appreciate it.  It was the first time during the six months of this journey that I was actually worried that something might not work out.  I don't know why I ever doubted Rule #1 of Singh Around the World- "Everything Works Out in the End" because it does work out in the end. 

To catch people up, I was invited to be the date of a friend who is attending a wedding in Moscow.  I met the groom briefly in the past so I jumped on the opportunity.  When will I ever be invited to a wedding in Russia again? 

Russia, like many other countries, has a process for visiting their country that requires an individual to acquire a visa prior to entering the country.   Unlike other countries, their process is fairly complicated. First, you are required to get a formal invitation from a Russian company. Most tourists will get their formal invitation through a tour agency.  After receiving your invitation letter, you need to make your hotel bookings.   Each hotel then submits you a letter confirming your stay and those letters must be submitted with your visa paperwork.  Of course, each hotel requires that you pay upfront which makes it more difficult to back out even if your visa is denied by the Russian Embassy.  The last part is to book your flight and then send all that information with the completed application and passport photo to the Russian Embassy.

Many people utilize a private visa processing company because they know all of the rules and regulations and often can cut through the red tape better than you can on your own.  The process usually takes a few weeks. Since most people are at home and not traveling, this process works out quite well and it did for my three friends that are going to the wedding.

My problem was that I needed my passport and that I wasn't going to be in the US for an extended period of time to get it processed.  I was in LA for a few days in early May but we were still finalizing the hotel arrangements and I was there to acquire my visa for China so I could go to the Olympics in August.  I would need to get my visa in Europe.  I talked with a visa processing company and they told me that I could easily get my visa in any major European city that had a Russian Embassy or Consulate. My first mistake was believing them.  Over a three week time frame in June, I tried to get my visa in Barcelona, Edinburgh and Salzburg.  Both Barcelona and Salzburg wouldn't process my paperwork because I didn't have a work or living permit for their country.  Edinburgh would process the paperwork but it would take ten days and it would mean that I would miss the EuroCup Semifinals and Final in Vienna.  I love football (soccer to the American readers) and so that wasn't option.

The last ditch effort was made on Tuesday, June 23.  It was the Hail Mary pass at the end of the game.  Everything had to work out or I was screwed. I contacted a Russian visa processing company in Washington, DC.  I sent my paperwork and passport to them in DC by DHL which could only guarantee two day turnaround.  It arrived on Thursday, June 25.  The Russian Embassy needed to approve on Friday or it would not arrive in time for my flight.  The Embassy did approve it on Friday though I was required to pay a $200 emergency turnaround fee.  It was then sent Fed EX to Vienna because I was flying from there to Moscow.

I couldn't travel because I didn't have a passport so I was going to be stuck in Vienna. The travel gods were looking down at me because I received an e-mail from a friend in Chicago that mentioned that our friend, Jamie Turner, had moved to Vienna.  I hadn't realized that Jamie and her husband, Greg, had moved because last I knew they were in Berlin.  Jamie and Greg have been great. They have opened their house to me for the past three days.  Jamie told me to send the passport to her office because they have a receptionist at all times that could sign for the package.  I went with Jamie this morning to her office because the Fed Ex web tracking system stated it was signed for and delivered.  We had a tiny scare when no one could find the package.  The person who had signed for it wasn't in the office and the mail people said we had to wait till the afternoon. Jamie was understandably upset while I was just glad that it was in the same city as me. 

Jamie told me that we would go to the cafeteria and wait because she had a plan.  She talked with her supervisor's secretary and she was on the case.  It is funny it doesn't matter what country you are in, the people with the most power and resourcefulness are the secretaries.  We had a call in five minutes that the package was mysteriously found and the secretary was bringing it up for us.  I now had my visa and passport and I had twenty-two hours to spare!

Oh, you are probably wondering about the title of the post.   Well--I first met Jamie Turner when she was Jamie Paszek.  She was a waitress at Crunchy's in East Lansing while she was finishing up her degree at MSU.  Small World, huh?

The Ongoing Struggle of the Russia Visa

Dear Gentle Reader,

Seven days till I fly to Russia and still no visa!!  I attempted to acquire my visa in Salzburg, Austria and was told that I couldn't get one in Austria due to a European Union treaty with Russia.  The visa person at the consulate explained why I was getting so much misinformation because the rules had recently changed.  He said since my case is so unusual most consulates haven't paid much attention to those rules that impact my situation.  At least, I am educating Russian consulates on the new rules! I have that going for me.

I didn't have many choices since I needed my passport to board a plane yesterday.  So yesterday after I landed, I initiated plan D.  It is the last possible hope.  There are no other options.  Everything has to work out just right for this to work.  The planets need to align.  My passport and Russian paper work are on a DHL plane heading to Washington DC.  If everything works out I will get the passport and visa in Vienna the day before I fly to Moscow.  If anything goes wrong- I will miss out on Russia and the wedding.  The drama continues!

Wish me luck!  Sam

12 days till I go to Russia and Still No Visa!!!

Picture from Encyclopedia.com.

Dear Gentle Reader:

We stop this blog so I can freak out!!!!!!

On July 2, I have a flight from Vienna, Austria to Moscow, Russia.  I currently do not have a visa to enter the country.  I have a wedding that I am attending on July 5.  So it is 12 days and counting until my flight.

Russia requires many countries to fill out paperwork to acquire a Visa to enter the country.  I am not unfamiliar with the process of getting a visa because I have acquired visas for my trip to Nigeria and my upcoming trip to China.  I flew specifically to Los Angeles on the way to Europe from Columbia to get my China visa.  China had been making it more difficult to get visas according to some reports because of the protests surrounding the Olympics.  I was able to get my China visa in under 24 hours.

I was told that the Russian process was comprehensive but shouldn't be too hard to receive a visa.  Since I was not going to be in the US again, I needed to get the visa on the road.  I was told that shouldn't be a problem.  I went to Barcelona and tried to get the visa at the Russian Embassy there.  The process and time lines there were very bureaucratic and I was advised to get it done in the UK.  I am in Scotland this week and went to the consulate office in Edinburgh.   I was told before I got there that it would take five days max but when I arrive at the consulate, I was informed by the staff that it would take 10 days because I was American.  Unfortunately, I am heading to Austria for the EuroCup games next week and need my passport in my possession to get on the plane for my flight to Salzburg.

I do have a few options.  First option, hope that the Russian Embassy in Austria grants me my visa.  Second option, send my passport to the states to get it done and be in a foreign country without proper credentials.  Third option, head back to the states and get an emergency visa done, which would be a budget buster.  Anyway, my fate is not in my hands and I can only hope that the travel gods look down and smile.  Rule # 1 of Singh Around the World is "Everything works out in the end."  Let's hope it is true this time.

We now return you to your regular blog which will be updating you over the next few days about my recent trips to Monaco and Morocco.