Moscow turned out to be more of a surprise than I thought it would. After a week in St. Petersburg I got this notion of modern Russia as quiet, kind of slow paced, and generally nice. It's not that Moscow isn't nice, it's just much bigger, with lots of people, cars, noise, happenings and it's just so different from St. Petersburg.
Everyone was warning us about traffic, and I thought it would be just like traffic in, say, Los Angeles. Not really. One can seriously spend 2 hours trying to get somewhere while that same route would only take 10 minutes without traffic. I'm surprised that people aren't using alternate routes - perhaps there aren't any.
Curt is getting annoyed with how expensive everything is here. Me too. I'm just in denial - there's no point in thinking about it and spoiling the vacation. But indeed everything we have to pay for regularly is over the top - taxi rates, restaurant food, internet access at the hotel. However, if we weren't lazy tourists, we could use the subway (which is cheap and fast), eat simpler food - either by buying groceries or off the street prepared foods, and walking across the street to a cafe where WiFi is about $20 a month vs. $40 a day in the hotel. Just like anywhere else, tourists are paying much more than locals - think Hawaii.
I'm cheaper than Curt - I refused to pay $40 for Internet access and be hooked on my Outlook emails. Yesterday we found out that there's a PC in the hotel's atrium which provides free Internet access - and here's the new post. :) I wonder if Curt will be spending the next few days here or keep paying the insane rates.
Last night Olga and I went to drop off a present to her relatives who live in the outskirts of Moscow. I bet it would take us 90 minutes to get there by car, but the subway ride was only about 30. That was awesome. Plus you get to walk from the station to whereever you're headed.
We've been walking a lot here. It's fun and I really enjoy it. I've never been excited about hiking - it's too boring, while these urban hikes give you a lot of things to see, many options to sit down and have a cup of coffee or a glass of beer, and if you feel tired you can always take the Metro (subway) back. When we come back I want to set up these hikes with Curt, Allora and Olga - in the city - and see if it will be as good as here now.
One thing that is consistent between St. Petersburg and Moscow is how calm people are. Nobody is running, although Olga seems to think it's just our perception because we're vacationing. I like it here just the same. Generally I didn't think I would like it as much - we kind of went here thinking it would be good to just visit the place like we would go see Rome or Paris, but perhaps it helps to speak the language and be amused at how much things changed over the course of the past 15 years.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
More On Stealing, Prices, Money, and Culture
Dear Blog,
Stealing from tourists is just another form of corruption, and it's just as dispicable as any other form of corruption.
I have been suprised at the lack of theft on this trip but thought I should point out a few places where we've seen it:
1) In Italy, the only person who scammed anything was a toll collector on the highway. She did not give me back the change I was due. This is a play on the normal third world issue of giving you back some of the change, then pausing to see if you walk away or drive off. Then giving you the rest if you ask. If a clerk did this all year long it would add quite a bit to his salary. In Rome last time we were there it was as common as sunshine.
2) In Moscow, the internet is $40 per day. That's insane. They blame it on the vendor but I did my duty and argued with them. Most hotels will give you the service for free if you're mean enough (it should be free anyway everywhere because it is so cheap), but no here.
3) Last night at a restaurant, someone charged our card, took the money out of the register and pocketed it, gave us the slip to sign, then voided the transaction. If this was an owner, thn it's clear that they're avoiding taxes. (Which is why at mexican and asian restaurants in the seattle area, they don't take credit cards, so that they don't report the income. THis is of course stealing from the rest of us who have to pay those taxes.)
4) Price gouging is seen as acceptable here. There is usually an uplift for souveniers and trinkets but it's completely out of control. Sometimes you don't mind. Allora bought a few things yesterday and the guy was so entertaining that we paid for the entertainment not the goods. He made it worth it. That's a good trade.
5) We made the mistake of not negotiating with the luggage guy for the train. He tried to charge us 150 to carry our bags. Olga and I would have just screwdd the guy. I mean what else was he going to do. I think max wanted to avoid a confrontation, so we paid him like 70, which was still five times waht it was worth. This used to be common in the US, but most of the jobs are regulated now.
I think max sees this as a national affront. I see it as human nature. These people are scumbags and if you travel around the world you just have to be aware thtat they're scumbags. Max says he's been living in the US too long so that he has forgotten how to worry about that kind of thing all the time, but it used to be just how everything worked.
BTW: I am pretty sure we got carbon monoxide poisoning on the train. I slept for 15 hours the next day, after not being able to think or breathe, and being drowsy. It is an electric train but something wasn't right. I did't feel reasonable until this morning. The train was clean, and neat, and modern and the help was exceptional. The food was stale, the coffee bad, and it was hotter than hell, and I felt like I was sleeping in a claustrophobic pool of sweat all night. I don't recommend it. Flying is hard on you but not that hard.
On pricing and the costs of things in general:
a) The dollar continues to lose it's value worldwide, and as I've said, I am pretty sure this will only escalate. YOu can feel it here.
b) Everything seems to cost 20-25% more here than in the US.
c) The stores have all the same goods, but La Coste and the like are considered more upscale than at home.
d) People shut their cars off at intersectinos to save gas, and will not use air conditioning unless you press them. (In general, it is hot and sweaty here and no one uses air conditioning like we do at home and we're dying because of it. We keep the hotel room at 64 to balance it out a bit, but the rest of the hotel is sweltering, and walking the streets is unbearable at times. We did not dress for this. Men do not wear shorts. If we could I would be more comfortable.)
e) for the four of us at a coffee shop we typically spend 80-$100 for a visit. It's insane.
NOTE: we were in a coffee shop in Moscow the other day (done in a french style: Mon Cafe was the name) and they were filming what Olga called a "Chick Show" that is apparently popular here. I couldn't understand it but apparently it was about relationships and in particular sex. Olga says that the host gives women what I call "Oprah Advice" which is to love yourself first, then your family and spouse. Good advice. (Of course it has boundaries that seem to get thrown out of the window too.) Anyway, I was trying to figure out if there would be a market here for the masculine equivalent..... Not sure. Probably. Would seem odd though. The guys would probably try to do the Man Show equivalent and make it humorous. But it needs to be serious.
f) there is still some soviet era nonsense, using what I call "Human Two Part Keys". The steps you go thru to pay for something often seem designed to make it impossible to buy. But they are really steps that are used when everyone is trying to steal everything in sight. It seems like they are useless now, but the traditinos are ingrained at this piont, even though the need has probably passed.
Other Things:
a) waiters take for freaking EVER to do anything. i mean, it's like France. I've just gotten in the habit of doing things myself whenever possible. Restaurants almost all have some form of entertainment. SOme of it wonderful, some of it gaudy. The guys who play music in the subway are unbelievably good. (The economist in me says that is because talented people are cheap and still evenly distributed across the work force which will not be true in another generation.)
b) there are not a lot of porsche's but lots of other expensive cars. I suppose because they're impractical in the weather here. That, and it would be painfully easy to wreck one.
Curt
Stealing from tourists is just another form of corruption, and it's just as dispicable as any other form of corruption.
I have been suprised at the lack of theft on this trip but thought I should point out a few places where we've seen it:
1) In Italy, the only person who scammed anything was a toll collector on the highway. She did not give me back the change I was due. This is a play on the normal third world issue of giving you back some of the change, then pausing to see if you walk away or drive off. Then giving you the rest if you ask. If a clerk did this all year long it would add quite a bit to his salary. In Rome last time we were there it was as common as sunshine.
2) In Moscow, the internet is $40 per day. That's insane. They blame it on the vendor but I did my duty and argued with them. Most hotels will give you the service for free if you're mean enough (it should be free anyway everywhere because it is so cheap), but no here.
3) Last night at a restaurant, someone charged our card, took the money out of the register and pocketed it, gave us the slip to sign, then voided the transaction. If this was an owner, thn it's clear that they're avoiding taxes. (Which is why at mexican and asian restaurants in the seattle area, they don't take credit cards, so that they don't report the income. THis is of course stealing from the rest of us who have to pay those taxes.)
4) Price gouging is seen as acceptable here. There is usually an uplift for souveniers and trinkets but it's completely out of control. Sometimes you don't mind. Allora bought a few things yesterday and the guy was so entertaining that we paid for the entertainment not the goods. He made it worth it. That's a good trade.
5) We made the mistake of not negotiating with the luggage guy for the train. He tried to charge us 150 to carry our bags. Olga and I would have just screwdd the guy. I mean what else was he going to do. I think max wanted to avoid a confrontation, so we paid him like 70, which was still five times waht it was worth. This used to be common in the US, but most of the jobs are regulated now.
I think max sees this as a national affront. I see it as human nature. These people are scumbags and if you travel around the world you just have to be aware thtat they're scumbags. Max says he's been living in the US too long so that he has forgotten how to worry about that kind of thing all the time, but it used to be just how everything worked.
BTW: I am pretty sure we got carbon monoxide poisoning on the train. I slept for 15 hours the next day, after not being able to think or breathe, and being drowsy. It is an electric train but something wasn't right. I did't feel reasonable until this morning. The train was clean, and neat, and modern and the help was exceptional. The food was stale, the coffee bad, and it was hotter than hell, and I felt like I was sleeping in a claustrophobic pool of sweat all night. I don't recommend it. Flying is hard on you but not that hard.
On pricing and the costs of things in general:
a) The dollar continues to lose it's value worldwide, and as I've said, I am pretty sure this will only escalate. YOu can feel it here.
b) Everything seems to cost 20-25% more here than in the US.
c) The stores have all the same goods, but La Coste and the like are considered more upscale than at home.
d) People shut their cars off at intersectinos to save gas, and will not use air conditioning unless you press them. (In general, it is hot and sweaty here and no one uses air conditioning like we do at home and we're dying because of it. We keep the hotel room at 64 to balance it out a bit, but the rest of the hotel is sweltering, and walking the streets is unbearable at times. We did not dress for this. Men do not wear shorts. If we could I would be more comfortable.)
e) for the four of us at a coffee shop we typically spend 80-$100 for a visit. It's insane.
NOTE: we were in a coffee shop in Moscow the other day (done in a french style: Mon Cafe was the name) and they were filming what Olga called a "Chick Show" that is apparently popular here. I couldn't understand it but apparently it was about relationships and in particular sex. Olga says that the host gives women what I call "Oprah Advice" which is to love yourself first, then your family and spouse. Good advice. (Of course it has boundaries that seem to get thrown out of the window too.) Anyway, I was trying to figure out if there would be a market here for the masculine equivalent..... Not sure. Probably. Would seem odd though. The guys would probably try to do the Man Show equivalent and make it humorous. But it needs to be serious.
f) there is still some soviet era nonsense, using what I call "Human Two Part Keys". The steps you go thru to pay for something often seem designed to make it impossible to buy. But they are really steps that are used when everyone is trying to steal everything in sight. It seems like they are useless now, but the traditinos are ingrained at this piont, even though the need has probably passed.
Other Things:
a) waiters take for freaking EVER to do anything. i mean, it's like France. I've just gotten in the habit of doing things myself whenever possible. Restaurants almost all have some form of entertainment. SOme of it wonderful, some of it gaudy. The guys who play music in the subway are unbelievably good. (The economist in me says that is because talented people are cheap and still evenly distributed across the work force which will not be true in another generation.)
b) there are not a lot of porsche's but lots of other expensive cars. I suppose because they're impractical in the weather here. That, and it would be painfully easy to wreck one.
Curt
Mugging For The Camera
Dear Blog,
1) Some people are very sensitive to photographs here. You have to be quick and subtle to get one. Some merchants will let you take pictures, but most will not. In the US, it is a point of honor to be photographed, but here it is seen as suspicious.
2) Russian women mug for the camera. It's hysterical. Every one of them poses, magazine -style for every picture. Pouts, Coquettishness, Drama, Seduction, Glamour. It's obviously the convention but it still seems odd to me for some reason.
3) You cannot take a picture outside of any government installation, or transporation center. You can take a picture of family or friend, but if you want to capture a physical location alone it sort of looks odd to do so. You are always conscious of the fact that people watch you when you take photos.
Curt
1) Some people are very sensitive to photographs here. You have to be quick and subtle to get one. Some merchants will let you take pictures, but most will not. In the US, it is a point of honor to be photographed, but here it is seen as suspicious.
2) Russian women mug for the camera. It's hysterical. Every one of them poses, magazine -style for every picture. Pouts, Coquettishness, Drama, Seduction, Glamour. It's obviously the convention but it still seems odd to me for some reason.
3) You cannot take a picture outside of any government installation, or transporation center. You can take a picture of family or friend, but if you want to capture a physical location alone it sort of looks odd to do so. You are always conscious of the fact that people watch you when you take photos.
Curt
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