Visas.
Visas, visas, visas.
Tickets we can do. Malarone, bandages, warm wooly hats, spare shoelaces, jabs in the posterior, growing a beard to keep warm, booking dingy hostels, all this we can do. But visas...
Before we leave, we need to get permission to enter and exit Belarus, Russia, Mongolia, China and Vietnam. Most of them are a matter of money, time and patience, as well as giving some paper-pushing yoke your life story. Russia though is a different kettle of vodka.
Tickets we can do. Malarone, bandages, warm wooly hats, spare shoelaces, jabs in the posterior, growing a beard to keep warm, booking dingy hostels, all this we can do. But visas...
Before we leave, we need to get permission to enter and exit Belarus, Russia, Mongolia, China and Vietnam. Most of them are a matter of money, time and patience, as well as giving some paper-pushing yoke your life story. Russia though is a different kettle of vodka.
First you need to be invited to Russia. This was news to us when we rang the embassy, and when asked "how do we get invited, how do we get into Russia", the Russian Embassy told us they couldn't tell us that. Fantastic.
It seems the post-communist system is red-taped and red-squared up to the gills and beauracracy is convoluted and unavoidable. The Government allows certain agencies, hotels and companies to issue an invite to the country which will allow you to acquire a Visa. This can be done by booking the most expensive hotels, or going with a dodgy agency to book your tour, or pay some online company £15-20 to send you an email invite which supposedly will get you in. Dodgy as...
I liked a comment I read about the "new" Russia after the fall of communism. "It hasn't yet gotten to the point that the authorities, police and populace have realised that capitalism isn't all about ripping off everyone who crosses your path". Should make for an interesting leg of the journey.
3 comments:
In Communist Russia, Visa gets you!
write something new on your fucking blog!
how's that, pinky?
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