back from russia with love

[HARRYPALMER]

i've done a fair bit of travelling in my time but have never come across girls as fine as i saw recently in moscow.
really incredibly beautiful.
would definately recommend this town to anyone with a pulse.
make sure your visa is good first though.
athens next week but im not going on to greece.com (if there is one)

[ILay]

Hello HP,

could you provide us with a short travel report?
Just, where did you stay, what did you visit, how were the prices etc.??

[HARRYPALMER]

Originally posted by ILay
Hello HP,

could you provide us with a short travel report?
Just, where did you stay, what did you visit, how were the prices etc.??

well ilay it was a business trip but i'll do my best particularly since i've never been mailed by a moderator before.

stayed at the radisson hotel. nice place but not great. bar expensive but good service. sushi restaurant very expensive but great food/poor service.(meal at this restaurant set me back 300 dollars)

tube impossible for non russian speaker as stations are all written in russian language as are road signs. red square huge and very beautiful. kremlin seems a little intimidating to me. taxis a big problem as far as i can see you just flag down a member of the public but prices alright by this method. getting a taxi at the hotel upto 3 times more expensive. streets icy - leather soles on shoes not a great idea.

casino at hotel quite bad and i suspect the girls in the corner are there for a bit more than just music......

entertained clients at the rasputin club. quite an eye - opener!

i liked the moscovites - they seemed honest. a strange thing to say but having travelled a bit i appreciate it.

[ILay]

Hello again HARRYPALMER

c'mon, it was in no way a moderatorial message. Then on duty I usually write something like: moderatorial mode on ...
Just, such trip reports are very interesting to read and quite helpful. I appreciate your prompt reply, really do.

I know, the hotel service is very poor in Russia.
Last time I was staying in an expensive hotel in Moscow (it was the 'Palace on Tverskaya') - awful experience. Paying USD 17 for a cup of coffe is not my idea of a biz trip.
And then a person we were inviting to St.Petersburg ((the place I live) came , he refused to accept the hotel (though our company was paying for it) as the prices for the suite were over 850. He decided to move to Baltiyskaya with the price range USD 150-400. I think in Radisson Slavyanskaya you had to pay USD 350 a day? (less expensive than in the US, but more expensive compared to major European countries IMHO)

Taxis - usually it's better to find the telephone numbers of the taxi companies before you come to Russia. Taking a cab from the hotel is a worse idea. There is no other country in Europe there the prices vary so much if you request the taxi in the hotel (same with the telephone bills).

Rasputin club - never been there. Where is it situated?

Did your Russian hosts provide you with the excursion to the 'drink-and-drunk' places?

Have you got the opportunity to explore the night life?

'rosie-o-gradies'? 'santa-fe'?

Hope you had a nice time in Msk.

[HARRYPALMER]

in the short time that i was there i explored the night life very thoroughly indeed.

i have a matchbook from rasputins but the address is in russian. it's central and its a strip club. this is usually the kind of place we entertain our clients! but if finer women exist anywhere in the world i'll be on the next flight. congratulations.

our clients took us to one of your gorky park restaurants to teach us how to drink vodka. great food and i dig vodka but only when served ice cold.

now my boss wants me to go to latvia.........

[ILay]

It's great to know you felt well there.
I'm visiting Moscow 4-5 times a year, and I have to admit the night life is better there.

latvia- have no idea if the place is interesting (I haven't visit it for years). My wife visited Riga a couple of months ago for business, but she was not very much satisfied with the trip. Night life is nice, the hotels and the bars are quite cheap, but the city is too small to have that crazy atmosphere like Moscow has. Do you think you will have to go there?

[HARRYPALMER]

looks like it as we have a new agent there.