Best Budget Spa Trip in Japan: Beppu Onsen

Beppu is a spa playground for everyone.  There are so many choices that it’s hard to figure out which to not miss.  I had already taken to the hot sand baths and was ready to find my next indulgence.

My husband and I were looking for a private onsen this time which had a great view and was affordable.  We’re vegetarian and so we can cut out the options which include meals.  The Hotel Seifu with its oceanfront location seemed to be an excellent choice.  They have private two-person hot spring tub rooms which reserve in 45 minute increments and it cost us $30.  We headed over to reserve and found that there were plenty of times open for that evening.

I recommend going before you eat.  We timed it so we could go before the sun set and would be able to find something to eat right afterwards.  All the hot spring water makes you very thirsty and hungry when you are done.  Have a plan on where to go to eat and drink because it’s a town that closes early and there’s nothing more stressful than finding food when you are really hungry.

Let the spa begin

Our time was at 5:30 pm so we tried to get there around 5:15 pm.  The Japanese are timely and we just couldn’t wait to get in.  Here’s what happens:

The front desk of the hotel on the bottom floor checks you in and you proceed up the elevator to the top floor.  There, you exchange your shoes for a pair of wooden japanese slip-on sandals.  It’s hard to find ones that are over a size 9 US for men by the way.  Next, you head up to the very top-level via stairs in your comfortable clogs and an attendant give you your towels and soap.  You are welcome to bring your own shampoo etc.

There are few simple rules to follow to ensure while visiting a onsen:

  1. Totally scrubbing yourself down with a shower is mandatory before getting into the hot bath.  This ensures that the waters won’t get contaminated while you are enjoying it and the next visitor has no worries.  The waters are continuously flowing but the tub is usually made of wood so things can still stick.
  2. If you have a tattoo please consider just going to a private facility.  The Japanese love tattoos but you will notice that most are not visible to the public eye since they are socially not acceptable.
  3. Drinking plenty of water is a good idea.  It was very tempting to pick up a bottle of cold sake before going but this would have been a bad idea.  The water is salty and very hot.  This only leads to dehydration and a very bad hangover.  I highly suggest a liter of water instead.

Enjoy every moment and go back as much  as you can.  It’s hard to find the same thing back here in the states for those prices.  More information on Japanese Onsens.  Enjoy!

Top 10 Reasons NOT to waste money on Trip Insurance

10.  It’s a short trip

Short trips never mean that something bad is going happen right?  I guess the odds are in favor but who ever expects anything bad to happen.  It just takes a bad taxi driver, a crazy pack of dogs or just bad luck to get injured while away from home.

9.  I don’t do adventure sports/activities

When looking at the breakdowns of what trip insurance costs there are usually some fine print items intended to be easily overlooked. They usually are the exclusions of what the plan will not be responsible for.  They usually include such activities like scuba diving, bungee jumping, winter downhill sports and other extreme sports.  If you don’t do these things that’s fine but you may warm up to the idea after a few drinks..then what?

8.  I can eat ANYTHING…I have a cast-iron stomach

There are a million things out there that can make a traveler get sick.  These include things that you are used to eating on a regular basis at home and may even be imported from your travel destination.  I found out this the hard way.  I couldn’t resist the peak season bing cherries in Istanbul and had been deeply encouraged to try the “fresh” fish sandwiches off a boat docked on the Bosphorus.  My mistake.  I finally took a taxi to the American Hospital after many hours of waiting for the facial swelling to go down and thinking my hives where just going to go away.

7.  I know what to stay away from

The world you are visiting is usually unfamiliar and that’s the adventure of going there in the first place right?  Time should be taken to get an idea of the what’s going on locally.  It’s usually the sports and political events or both that get people riled up.   It’s best not to be too curious and get caught up in the energy unless you are ready to get roughed up.  I usually walk in the opposite direction as fast as possible since I can do without the drama and I’ll see what happened later.

6.  I’m young

Being young is good when it comes to getting hurt but it’s not going save you from a snake bite or hard fall.  Getting stuck somewhere because you don’t have insurance can scary.  It’s hard to figure out how to get better when you are in pain and far from home.  The right insurance will get you treated, get you out or bring in family if need be.  Well worth it.

5. The airlines always are looking out for my best interest

Airlines like many businesses will most likely not be 100% on your side if it comes to getting you on the next flight if you missed or if it was cancelled for whatever reason.  There are many times where they will find that it’s your fault that you missed the flight or you have a ticket that’s economy and can’t be transferred.  The right plan can help you in this tricky situation and get you on your way.

4.  I bring a carry-on

The carry-on has made it through check-in but if you are the last one on there may not be any room to put it.  This problem has been made worse since most airlines are tacking on a fee for checked baggage.  You bag could end up being checked at the gate if you don’t manage to get it in the small overhead bin.  If that checked bag doesn’t make it to wherever you are going let’s hope you can afford to replace what you had for a day or more.  Hopefully it’s just a bathing suit.

3.  I never get sick

Who doesn’t get sick?  Ok…some don’t but flying across many times zones, the  usual lack of sleep, nutrition and exposure to new environments are all things that make a person most vulnerable to illness whether it be a cold, flu are allergic reaction to something you didn’t know you were even allergic to.  The over the counter drugs may not be strong enough to get over whatever bug you picked up.   Let’s hope that the local pharmacy doesn’t need a prescription and you are studying to be a medical professional.

2.  My credit card is safe

Credit cards are much more useful than the travelers checks of the old days.  They are good as long as the numbers aren’t swiped.  It’s very easy for people to get a hold of your numbers and clean you out while you are traveling.  There are many times where you can’t use local currency to book a room or reserve a side trip.  Trip insurance is the back up plan to getting back what was stolen including credit cards and the like.

1. I’m NOT a U.S. citizen

Ok…this is the only one I can’t argue.  For citizens of Britain, Canada and the EU have the option of buying relatively cheap travel insurance when they go beyond their borders.  We don’t and when we do get Travel Insurance coverage it is expensive if you get a good plan without a very high deductible impossible to find one that will cover you as soon as you land back in the states.

Travel insurance is something like deciding to not take anti-malarial drugs when in possible infected areas.  There are some who think that it’s not for them and the would rather use the money towards extending their trip.  Why get something if you arent’ going to use it?  This is a risk that many take but at least most of the world has healthcare facilities that aren’t as expensive out of pocket then here in the U.S.  (set aside quality of course).  A trip to a U.S. emergency room and easily go up into the tens of thousands for those hurt while visiting.  There is a good chance they will have to just put in on the card and get reimbursed for some or all of it when they return home.  Maybe someday it will happen here in the U.S?  Somehow, I doubt it.

Best Budget Spa Trip in Japan: Beppu Sand Spa

It’s 7:15am on a monday morning (weekend after spring-back daylight savings to boot) and I’m be-gowned and getting conveyed into the  tomb or otherwise known as an MRI machine.  I know, what does a MRI have to do with any trip to the spa to relax?  I guess it was a combination of what I was dressed in a cotton robe and quite ready to fall back asleep.  It’s kind of how I felt when my husband and I got to the sand spa in a town called Beppu in southern Japan this past October.

Getting into a very tight space where I can’t move and try not to think of the fact that it’s like being buried alive is one of those things that I really don’t enjoy.  We all have our cope mechanisms and mine is to use my imagination.  I imagine myself in a place where the situation is reversed but has some of the same themes.  (the robe and closed spaces) My recent trip to Beppu is the quickest and best I could come up with.  It was a good choice.

The fall visit to the Sand Spa or in Japanese Suna-yu on the Beppu shore in southern Japan is Japans answer to Las Vegas.  It’s famous for its hot springs of various colors and mineral types and of course the sex, gabbling, African Safari Park, Rakutenchi Kid Park, Aquarium, a day of seeing monkeys at Mount Takasaki and it’s rotten egg smell.  We had just a few days were here for the Japanese Spas alone.

There are many spas to choose from in Beppu.  There are 8 onsen areas which include Mud baths, Drinking Spas (good for the stomach I guess),  Waterfall baths,  and Sand Baths.  There cater to families, couples and single travelers and prices go from budget to luxury.

We opt for the most interesting and budget friendly.   The first one we visited is called the Sea Side Sand Bath which is located down route 10 in Beppu.  It was a 15 minute bus ride from our hostel SPA Hostel Khaosan Beppu.  They have their own indoor spa but we decided to try ones that we could do together and not single sex.

The Sand Bath Spa was amazing and probably one of the closest Japanese cultural traditions I have had so far besides the usual Saki drinking and Sushi eating.  Here’s how it goes down:

  1. The visitor is given a cotton robe to use as well as a locker and towel.
  2. Out on the beach the attendant digs out a 2 foot trench where you in your cotton robe recline into.
  3. Next, they continue to shovel hot steamy sand on top of you covering you completely (everything except the head).  The sand is course and sometimes too hot and heavy for some.    I was one of those who needed to just close my eyes, do some relaxed breathing exercises and just try not to freak out.  I managed to keep everything under except my hands.
  4. Along the way, the ladies help keep you covered since if you tend to want to move  a little.
  5. When the 25 or so minutes of being soothed by the hot salty steam were over they unburied us.  We then showered off and had the option of soaking in there indoor onsen and showered off the black sand.

The attendants were great.  They off to take pictures and make sure that visitors were as comfortable as possible throughout the 25 or so minutes immersion.  They even put small umbrellas next to our heads when the sun got in our eyes.  At the end I was perfectly relaxed even after the claustrophobic panic feelings soon left.   I made it through with newly finished skin new and an appetite for more spa treatments.   What a great experience.   The budget part is that the 25 minute spa costs us $20 each.  We also had a day pass so we could hang out as long as we wanted to.

Some useful information needed for planning your spa trip to Beppu.

Train info: The best way and most economical way to travel in Japan is by getting a JAL Rail Pass before you depart.  We used a service called JTB USA here in New York City.  I take advantage of using services where I can make transactions in person.  The price is based on the current exchange rate which was 88 yen to the dollar so it came out to be $500 per person for 14 days of travel.  Seems steep but check out the individual trip changes and you’ll see for yourself.  It also depends on if you are going to travel beyond Tokyo and Kyoto which I highly recommend if you have the time.

The best site to start with is my favorite Seat61.com and it’s easy to figure out train schedules by using Hyperdia.com

A good place to visit before Beppu is Hiroshima.  There was a train that left Hiroshima in the morning and we just needed to switch trains once in Kokura.  We arrived in the late afternoon.  The scenery was wonderful as well.

Accommodation:

This is a place where you can find a fairly cheap and nice place to stay.  I just did the easy hostelworld.com search and found a place called SPA Hostel Khaosan Beppu.  They were very helpful with recommendations (they have put together their own guide of the area with details, prices and how to get there)  there was the free hot spring right inside the hostel for guests, free wi-fi and an overall relaxing atmosphere.  The convenience store was also a 5 minute walk away.

Guide to getting a Tourist Visa at the NYC Russian Consulate

So, going to Russia requires U.S. citizens to fill out a couple of pages of questions, getting a local invite (services usually charge around $30) and handing over some cash which is right now $131.  This can all be done through a service I decided to do as much of it as I can on my own.  I can just about walk to the Russian Consulate, so why not.

I see that it opens up at 9:30am and closes for an hour at 1pm and then open again from 2pm-5pm.  I decide to be safe and go when they open.  Things usually take longer then you think when it comes to dealing with foreign consulates.  I get off the 6 train and head uptown to 91st and Madison.  The Consulate is a lovely building located across the street from one of my favorite museums the Cooper-Hewitt.

I can’t miss it.  The building has two entrances.   Each one of them at this point has an entrance full of what look like Russian baby boomers.  I walk up to the entrance with a sign that says Visa Entrance.   I’m quite convinced that this is the correct one because everyone I try to confirm with does not speak english.   I don’t but I  just question why they all need to be getting a tourist visa.  It’s a day after a holiday and the beginning of the month so they may be here for another reason (collecting a Pension or doing person business).  So, I wait to see what happens and finally a kind person approaches me and says that I need to stand in line at the other entrance.  They were like me but speak Russian.  I wasn’t alone.  It was getting a little wild there at this point.  No one was getting in and the line was growing.  One good thing that happened was a women came up to me speaking Russian.  Does this mean I’ll not stand out so much?  It’s probably just the blonde/white hair color.

So, if you are going for a tourist visa then go to the entrance closest to the Cooper-Hewitt (closer to Central Park)  Stand to the left of the entrance behind the rope if it’s there.

I’m lucky because it’s just 9:30am at that point and have just a couple of people waiting ahead of me.  I end up striking a conversation with a gentleman behind me who has been to Russia before.  He gives me some good tips on where to eat in Moscow (Cafe Pushkin) and suggests sitting on the second level.  He also mentioned a couple of day possible day trips.   One was going to Zagorsk or as it is known today as Sergiyev Posad.  Another  suggested town is called Kostroma.  I’ll research all of that later.

So the very friendly and good-looking man at the door lets me inside since it’s my turn.  I hope I had everything in line because it’s never 100% clear what you really need to have in order to get a visa.  This is why I don’t wait until last-minute.  So, I get in and now get to sit and wait for my turn patiently.  It appears to be only one person ahead of me…maybe two.  The other is kind of hanging out and looking anxious.  I strike up another conversation with the gentleman ahead of me.  He has an interesting trip ahead of him.  He’s one of the U.S. coaches of the Bobsled team just getting back from Vancouver. They had won the gold and Russian Officials wanted him to come over and check out there newly built course before the cold weather is gone.  We had a great chat about the games.  It was great getting a chance to speak to him.  Very interesting man.

My turn…I think.  There’s one person behind the plexiglass and he seems to be overwhelmed or just ready for lunch.  I think there’s an event going on because a large delivery came in while I have been waiting.  There must be a holiday  going on.  Election day maybe?  So, I just take a chance and head up to the window and see what happens.  It was my turn and it only was 10:45am.  Not bad.

So he looked and looked at my papers, looking quickly through the passports (all for show I think).  The only questions he had been asking me if I was going anywhere else besides Moscow?  Where was I staying in Moscow? and the purpose of the visit.  That was it.  Done.  I just needed to pay the cashier and come back at 11am March 24th (2 weeks) and pick up my passports.  No worries.

So here is the list of things I had with me.  If something goes wrong and I don’t get the visa on the 24th I will update on this blog.

1.  Valid passport with a few clean visa pages available.

2.  One photo which I was smiling in and it says not to smile but they let me get away with it.  They cut and pasted the picture in for me so you don’t have to worry if it seems to big.  Most places in town sell larger ones.

3.  One invitation I got through a service called http://www.gettorussia.com which cost $34 and came within 5 minutes via email over the internet.  There’s a cheaper $29 that takes longer and how long I don’t know.  It was worth the extra $5 spot.

4.  Completed Application form.

5.  Bank Check made out to the Russian Consulate for $131.  You can pay more for expedited service (about $100) but this one will arrive in 2 weeks.  I have the time.

Now that’s done is time for more trip planning, memorizing the cyrillic alphabet, and learning at least the few key phrases.  I can’t wait 🙂  I hope the Visa has some cool artwork.

больше позже  (more later…I think?)

Hostels…nothing like the movie

It seems like when I talk to many I know back home about my travels they always have a negative opinion about the usual things.  The one of the biggest ones are why we enjoy staying in a hostels.  I wonder if this having to stay in one is sometimes what intimidates people from getting out there and traveling to unfamiliar places. In many cases, a hostel may be the best or only option.

I can understand that some travelers can do without the adventure and prefer to book a room at the hotel who is backed up by the chain brand like a Holiday Inn.  They are supposed to uphold a standard.  If something goes wrong it’s nice to know that you can call customer service to help.  There are also the travelers who will not anything below a 3 star hotel.  This is also fine since each trip and traveler is unique and has different levels of comfort zones and some vacations are just a time to relax and get taken care of.  Hostels are not all equal but many are very comfortable and add so much more to a trip then just the a UNESCO site or other major attraction that brought you there in the first place.

There are some really interesting towns and villages not found in a Frommer’s Guide that don’t have a need or market for such a hotel.  In some cases the town itself is protecting itself from the outside.  Not every town or city wants a foreign-owned conglomerate taking over and no directly contributing money back to the community.  There are also many instances where these 4-5 star hotel/resorts have taken over a once pristine village and turned it into a full-blown tourist trap.   Examples of this are the Golf Resorts of China Beach, sewage problems seen in Boracay, and Palawan soon could be the next paradise turned toxic wasteland.

Hostels

Hostels have come along nicely in the past decade.  American travelers in the 80’s who used to spend spring break remember them as being more like flophouse.  The stereotypical hostel has restricted hours (closed during the day), they imposed curfews and sometimes ask backpackers to help maintain the hostel in exchange for a cheap bed.  They had a more communal hippy way about them.  They tended to lend themselves to the stereotype of being of the grimy sort and full of travelers who were young and ready to party until all hours.  For those looking to stay up all night and hook up with other travelers the word gets around pretty fast on where to go.  Let the debauchery begin. These are still around but some of them have also grown up.

The internet has made it easy for travelers to find out where to stay according to what kind of crowd they would like to hang out with amongst many other things.  The field has opened up for those who want the character of a hostel and all the social aspects of it but without the fraternity atmosphere.  There are now a vast selection of hostels to choose from in most towns and villages on the tourist trail.  There are the original form and the ones who like to get a good nights sleep and are willing to pay for their own room sometimes with a private bath go to another.

I was at the New York Times Travel Show the other weekend and one of the audience members asked the panel who he can find a hostel and know that it’s not going to be full of 18-year-old partying drunks?  I’m glad that one of them, Michelle Higgins from the Times, defended hostels and said they are much more sophisticated than that these days.  Another audience member helped out and mentioned that the best thing to do is going to a site called http://www.hostelworld.com and use it to research what kind of crowd goes to which hostel.   If it’s a party hostel it will most likely say it in the reviews and the reviewer is required to put in their age.  So, if all the reviews are 18-24 then there’s their target market.

This is still the case in some instances but the field has grown exponentially in the past decade or so.   Social media and the reviews that are  written on online travel guides and booking sites have changed things.   They are written by those who have been there recently and have nothing to gain (also for the most part) by putting a good or bad review.  I have found most travelers are eager to give others words of advice, but remember it’s best to take them all with pinch of salt.  Not everyday is a good day at a hostel.

I’m in my 30’s and my husband and I usually travel together.  We enjoy meeting people along the way but prefer a private room and if there is a private bath attached it’s an added bonus.   It’s more expensive but having our own space is well worth the money since we like our sleep but like the option of being able to hang out with a nice group of people all night as well.

It’s interesting on how what looks like a Business Hotel or in Japans case the Love Hotel are now considered hostel according to booking sites.  Travelers beware.  All these places need to do is add-on a few dorm rooms, put in a common area in a spare closet, dust off the computer they found on the side of the road, put out some guide books travelers tossed and then well- la. You can’t blame them.  Hostels are encroaching on their space and taking away customers.  This isn’t good when a traveler is looking an actual hostel not a hotel that was intentionally built to serve business men in transit and looking for a cheap no-frills room.

This is when it’s important to research before the bus gets to town.  Know exactly what you are booking beforehand. It may be that it’s the only place in town sometimes, but it’s better to know what you are getting into before showing up.  For me, it’s sometimes may just come down to having a clean bed with a safe place to spend the night before moving on the next day if there’s nothing else available.  And yes, maybe you may end up at that party hostel full of 18-year-old’s on spring break if that’s what available.  All I can say is earplugs and a plan to get on the first bus and on to the next town.

Here are some great examples of places I have stayed in that were listed as hostels  but ended up being a very wonderful places.  We even stayed longer then we originally planned because when you get a chance to be totally comfortable after a long stretch of not being so then you take it.

Seventh Heaven Hotel

Pushkar, India

We happened to get to this part of India during Rajasthan’s famous Pushkar Camel Fair.  We were lucky to get a room for the night since it’s Pushkar’s only real draw besides being Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace was this event.  The Seventh Heaven is a hotel with 3-star accommodation but also provides less expensive annex rooms that were not air-conditioned and very basic.  This was fine since we had a device in the room that plugged into the wall.  Once plugged in it seemed like the mosquitoes were being exterminated in mid-flight.  I still am not sure how it did and what it did to us but I didn’t get stung once.

The camel fair is in November this year, so book now.

Backpax Hostel

Xi’an, China

I can’t say enough good things about this sanctuary that appeared on hostelworld.com in the middle of my short month-long stay in China.

My husband and I were both recovering from being sick and just needed a place to relax, get better and catch up on some travel planning.  This place had comfortable beds, hot water, laundry, wi-fi and a great place to lounge and meet other travelers.  The owner, Mark, was also from New Jersey so it was nice hanging out with him and while enjoying a cup of real coffee and great food from there cafe.

Mark had just opened the place about 6 months before we arrived and was still working it out.  The space had some interesting history.  Let’s just say it used to be a high-end spa but some bad business decisions had made it go under.  Mark scooped up the place immediately and transformed it into a hostel.  I took this picture from their Facebook page since I forgot to take any pics when I was there.  I hope they don’t mind.

The place was kind of tricky to find but if you get the first train in the morning into Xi’an there is usually a person waiting for the arrival of weary travelers looking for a bed.  Just look for a nice looking person holding a big sign saying “Backpax Hostel” and they will assist you in finding the place.

So, check them out if you are heading into town to see the Terracotta Warriors.  Make sure you go to the Shaanxi History Museum in town before you get the bus out to the site.  It’s very informative and above all free.  Just get there early because there’s always a line.

A trip to plan: will it be Stoic Russian or Festive Mexico?

The trip in May came down to two locations.  Mexico or Russia?  My husband and I had our usual debate.  We breakdown each place and do the pros and cons, look to see what the weather is like when we can travel, find out if there are any holidays that could get in the way of travel, and write down the initial costs of going.

We decided on Russia.  The weather is nice, the end of May will allow us to travel without the hassles of May Day and Victory Day that fall at the beginning of the month (parades would have been a sight but maybe another time) and we could use our miles with Capital One.  The free flight helps when we think about how the costs of hotels, restaurants and all the other chiselers Russian we will meet along the way.   At least we expect it.

So the plane tickets we decided upon are with Finnair.  This way we won’t be flying through Heathrow or Charles de Gaulle, have a chance of getting a decent vegetarian meal and we get One World sky miles.  The half hour turnaround in Helsinki is going to be a challenge.  A carry-on in this case is required.

We will only be staying for 11 nights so booking hotels or hostels beforehand is necessary.    There isn’t much room for a side trips on this one.  Moscow and St. Petersburg are both known to be very expensive cities.  It was tricky finding a budget price that’s within a reasonable walking distance to Red Square.  There were plenty of hostels that were very close and have good prices but for the most part were bunk style accommodation and reviewers on the particular booking site seemed to be mostly 18-24 in age.  They may have been an option 10 years ago.

Another option was renting a flat.   This is nice because they usually have a kitchen (good if you are looking to save money and have diet restrictions), and have privacy.   These are usually best if you are on an extended holiday that runs at least a month.  The rates looked reasonable on a site called http://www.getorussia.com but if you read the fine print the quoted rates are based on a month or more.  A few days stay goes up at least 30%.  So that wasn’t an option.

With a little more  research on Thorn tree and basic google searches I found a place called the Petrovka Loft. This place looks good through pictures they and travelers on http://www.tripadvisor.com had posted.  There gets to a point where I have to just believe the reviewers.   I found that they are listed on http://www.hostelworld.com.  I like using this site or http://www.hostelbookers over others like Expedia and Orbitz because a reservation only requires a 10% down-payment.  The remainder is paid when you arrive.  If you don’t like it for some reason you don’t lose too much money if you keep on walking.  It’s also a trust issue between yourself and the hotel.  I have had the times when I show up at a hostel and they haven’t a record of my reservation.  It’s always safe to make contact ahead if possible so they know you are coming.  This may just prod them to check their bookings from outside agencies and update yours and other reservations.

The fun has momentarily ended.  It’s time to gather documents for putting together the Visa application.  Each country that requires a visa has their own system.  Some are easy at the border stamps (they just really want cash) and others require filling out questionnaires and forking over large sums of cash.  Russia is stuck in the pre-Pesrestroika days. The questions are pretty much aimed at figuring out if you are a Jason Bourne character whom they are trying to prevent from entering the country or just an innocent tourist wanting to take pictures and spend money.  The questions are like an employment application.  I wonder if they ever call up your previous employees and ask them questions about your character and if you legit?   I had visions of the person on the other line not having a clue that I worked there since it’s been so long.  Let’s just hope they believe I have written only the truth.

The Russian Federation is very thorough with each applicant.  Visitors are required to get an invitation from a hotel, travel agency or person living in Russia.  Basically, someone who will be responsible for you  while in Russia.  These days it’s just another money-making tool but you have to do it.  The hotel you have booked can either vouch for you or they can recommend a travel company to process the paper work.  We just paid the $30 used http://www.getorussia.com.  It took less than 5 minutes on the internet.

Now, my  (1) valid passport with at least  two clear visa places available (2) a 1″ 3/8 X 1″ 3/4 photo of myself not smiling and showing my shoulders up (3) questionnaire is filled out, I have a copy of (4) my invitation, and  now all I need to do is get (5) a  $131 USD money order from the bank.  I hope I don’t forget anything when I head to the Russian Consulates office in the morning.  I’m fortunate to have a Russian Consulates office in town so I don’t have to mail off my passport and nervously await for it to come back to me via U.S. Mail or Fed-ex.

The process takes anywhere from 4-20 business days.  I’ve got some time but these things seem to end up taking more than you think.  Now, I have to go look for more trip information including what our hotel options will be in St. Petersburg, train schedules to St. Petersburg and what there is to do and see in each city.  After that, a good nights sleep because who knows how long it’s going to take me to get through the consulates office tomorrow.

Maybe I should have gone with the room facing the Caribbean and the days of sipping margaritas on the beach…naahh

Click here for more information on obtaining a Russian Visa

For a quick guide of St. Petersburg click here

For Moscow click here

The New York Times Travel Show was very …

The New York Times Travel Show was very informative today. Interesting to see who showed up and I wonder if this was a good sample of who travels in the United States? I sort of hope not. The exhibits weren’t made up of only Cruise Ship Companies and trips to Mexico 🙂 Got some good Malbec from Argentina and saw some penguins from Sea World. The tank didn’t have any sharks or dolphins. They tried to convince me to go in and try out the scuba equipment. Not thanks.

The only disappointment was my home states’ lack of presentation. There was nothing but a table, brochures and an empty chair. Way to go Massachusetts 😦