{"id":1660,"date":"2020-07-28T09:14:53","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T09:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/?page_id=1660"},"modified":"2022-09-20T16:28:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T08:28:50","slug":"magical-in-love-with-russia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/travelogue\/magical-in-love-with-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Magical in Love with Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Obtaining a Russian tourist visa in Malaysia is simple if you join a local group tour to Russia. The visa fee is RM500 per person (as of May 2017). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We flew from Kuala Lumpur to <\/mark>Moscow<\/strong> <\/mark>on Air Astana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t wear warm clothes on Air Astana. After meals, the pilots turned off the air conditioning mid-flight. Many of our group members were sweating before we landed in Almaty.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We spent half a day in Trinity St Sergius Monastery<\/strong> in Sergiev Posad. In normal traffic, the journey takes about 45 minutes. However, we drove nearly two hours that morning to get to Sergiev Posad!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This monastery, founded in 1340, is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is currently home to over 300 monks. Locals come here to collect holy water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Experience the world’s longest escalator in three minutes at Victory Park Metro Station<\/strong>. The Russian metro is commonly referred to as the People’s Palaces. Each station is beautifully decorated with artwork and galleries.
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We then took the Sapsan High-Speed Train to St Petersburg<\/strong>. The trip took four hours, with two brief stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take an earlier train to take in the breathtaking scenery. When it’s dark, there’s nothing to see.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But, if you visit Russia in May, you can expect to experience four seasons in one day! During the early spring in Russia, weather patterns are typically unpredictable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day began with a bright, sunny sky. Then a cold wind with some rain around noon. After lunch, snow flurries with late autumn wind and a little sunshine. We were on our way to Moscow’s Leningradskaya Train Station when a snowstorm hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep a winter jacket and a raincoat or umbrella in your handbag at all times. The weather can catch you off guard!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Petersburg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We went to the Grand Palace of Peterhof<\/strong> (also known as the Summer Palace of Peter the Great).

The palace is enormous and magnificent. The main entrance faces a canal that leads to the Gulf of Finland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the palace, photography is not permitted. Winter coats are required to be checked in at the cloakroom. So, please give yourself plenty of time to store and retrieve your jackets. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To truly appreciate the art collections and magnificent gardens, you should spend at least five hours at the palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In St. Petersburg, a visit to Saint Issac Cathedral<\/strong> is a must. St. Issac’s Cathedral is the city’s largest Russian Orthodox cathedral. It is also the world’s largest Orthodox basilica and the fourth largest cathedral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then go to the State Hermitage Museum & Winter Palace<\/strong>. Catherine the Great founded the Palace in 1754. With fine decorations, the grand entrance is stunning and breathtaking! The massive collection of art and sculptures is overwhelming, impressive, and worth spending hours admiring. To see all of the exhibits and buildings, you must walk 22 kilometres!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the floor plan and select one or two sections to admire.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Neva River Cruise<\/strong> lasted one and a half hours, sailing through the Moika River and then the Neva River. You can see St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and many beautiful bridges from here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cruise ship also passed the Peter and Paul Fortress and the State Hermitage Museum as it entered the Neva River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the best way to discover St. Petersburg, the Venice of the North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The main street in St. Petersburg is Nevsky Prospekt<\/strong>. Peter the Great designed the street that leads to Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kazan Cathedral, the Singer House, the Alexandrinsky Theater, Catherine the Great’s monument, the Elisseeff Emporium, which is a huge 18th-century shopping mall and 19th-century department store, and the Anichkov Bridge with its horse statues are all popular places to visit along this avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo-taking at St Petersburg Pulkovo Airport<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I was unsure whether it was permitted or not in Russia. According to the airport website, amateur photo and video filming is permitted in areas of free access (in public areas) of passenger terminals and waiting halls after passing the preflight inspection before boarding the aircraft. But without a special permit, it is against the law to take pictures of aircraft maintenance, preflight inspection points, customs and border control locations, equipment, and security systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was walking around the terminal taking photos when a lady officer stopped me and politely asked me to delete them. So I gave in and showed her. She let me leave. I then returned to my boarding gate without further incident. So, what made her stop me? Trust me, I had no idea, but I learned my lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almaty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Air Astana offered us a stopover night in Almaty as a bonus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zailiyskiy Alatau is a mountain range in the northwestern Tian Shan, a popular mountain range in China that borders Xinjiang Province. Almaty<\/strong>, Kazakhstan’s southern capital, is located in the northern mountain foothills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get to the top of Kok Tobe Hill<\/strong> for a 360-degree view of Almaty. You can get to the top either via van or cable car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ascension Cathedral<\/strong> is a Russian Orthodox church in Almaty. The church is open to the public and is located within the park of the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen. Mass is still held inside the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Central Mosque<\/strong>, Almaty’s largest mosque, is a short walk away. The mosque is also open to the public. When visiting, dress appropriately. Ladies can get free scarves at the entrance. Please refrain from wearing shoes inside the mosque. Inside, photography is permitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rahat Chocolate<\/strong> is the only chocolate confectionery company in Kazakhstan. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lotte Korea. The shop sells chocolates, sweets, candies, Kazakhstan honey, and biscuits. Moreover, the chocolates and candies are made entirely in Kazakhstan. The chocolate is bittersweet and flavorful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You must not miss the popular Green Bazaar<\/strong> before returning home. This ordinary market, which is now a tourist attraction, sells dried fruits and nuts, fresh meats, clothing, and souvenirs. As a result, you should shop around for the best deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In comparison, I prefer St. Petersburg to Moscow. The majestic fountain system and the splendour garden at the Grand Palace of Peterhof are stunning. Furthermore, the State Hermitage Museum & Winter Palace houses the world’s largest collection of Russian art and sculpture. But, you may feel time is limited. The Neva River Cruise is an excellent way to conclude your visit to St. Petersburg. It will be a trip you remember for a long time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obtaining a Russian tourist visa in Malaysia is simple if you join a local group tour to Russia. The visa fee is RM500 per person (as of May 2017). We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Moscow on Air Astana. Don’t wear warm clothes on Air Astana. After meals, the pilots turned off the air conditioning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":230,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1660","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Obtaining a Russian tourist visa in Malaysia is simple if you join a local group tour to Russia. The visa fee is RM500 per person (as of May 2017). We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Moscow on Air Astana. Don’t wear warm clothes on Air Astana. After meals, the pilots turned off the air conditioning…","coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/author\/admin\/","display_name":"admin"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 6 years ago","modified":"Updated 4 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on July 28, 2020","modified":"Updated on September 20, 2022"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on July 28, 2020 9:14 am","modified":"Updated on September 20, 2022 4:28 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":false,"series_order":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1660"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6652,"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1660\/revisions\/6652"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/howaneltravel.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}