To get our visas for Russia, all Hanna and I did was go to this website and fill in the visa application form found under 'lomakkeet'. Then we put the form, a passport photo and a document proving that we have travel insurance (it said for whom the insurace was for, how long it was valid for and what it covered) in an envelope together with our passports and sent it to Imatra hoping very hard that we might see our passports again.
Five business days later, hallelujah, our passports came back to us with the approved visas inside! ...and a bill of 52,50e for one visa (37e for the visa itself and the rest was for service- and travel costs).
Tadaa, that's how easy it was!
-Sophia
Sep 22, 2010
Sep 8, 2010
The Trans-Manchurian
On a happier note....
We've got our train tickets from Moscow to Beijing!
So, once again, getting train tickets for dummies:
-go to Helsinki Central Railwaystation.
-Give them your information (name etc. passport might be required, but they didn't ask to see ours)
-tell them what train you want to get on
-pay 40 euros (cards ok)
After this they send a fax to Russia requesting to book places for you on the train.
Then you'll receive a mail telling you if you got the tickets booked or not.
We got ours!
So, the 8.10 our train, Vostok, to Beijing leaves from Moscow Iaroslavskaja at 23: 55.
Earlier that day we have to go buy our booked train-tickets from another train-station for approx. 640 euros each. (2nd class)
If everything goes well, and the train tickets are indeed booked and ours, then will arrive in Beijing a week later, the 15.10 at 05:32 in the morning.
//H
Oh, and here's the exact timetable and some info about our train:
(it's all very according to minute, I wonder if the train really is that punctual?)
info from here
Train ¹ 20 Moscow Iaroslavskaia - Pekin
Click here to see on which days the trains depart
We've got our train tickets from Moscow to Beijing!
So, once again, getting train tickets for dummies:
-go to Helsinki Central Railwaystation.
-Give them your information (name etc. passport might be required, but they didn't ask to see ours)
-tell them what train you want to get on
-pay 40 euros (cards ok)
After this they send a fax to Russia requesting to book places for you on the train.
Then you'll receive a mail telling you if you got the tickets booked or not.
We got ours!
So, the 8.10 our train, Vostok, to Beijing leaves from Moscow Iaroslavskaja at 23: 55.
Earlier that day we have to go buy our booked train-tickets from another train-station for approx. 640 euros each. (2nd class)
If everything goes well, and the train tickets are indeed booked and ours, then will arrive in Beijing a week later, the 15.10 at 05:32 in the morning.
//H
Oh, and here's the exact timetable and some info about our train:
(it's all very according to minute, I wonder if the train really is that punctual?)
info from here
The Vostok (translated as the East) train began service from Moscow to Beijing in 2001. It is a Trans-Manchurian train and therefore does not pass through Mongolia (which means that a Mongolian visa is not required). Many people from Russia and China use this train to transport their wares between the 2 countries - so, you´ll see many people with large bags on the train. The train is quite modern with comfortable 1st and 2nd class compartments and a good restaurant. Wheels are changed on the boarder Russia-China. It takes about few hours.
Train ¹ 20 Moscow Iaroslavskaia - Pekin
Click here to see on which days the trains depart
|
Electronics
At the moment I'm sitting at Sophia's, eating lunch, and it just hit me.... we are leaving in a couple of WEEKS and we still haven't figured out what to do with stuff like cell phones, computers, cameras, ipods....
correction: I still haven't figured out what to do. Sadly, I think the task was left over to me, and honestly... I have no idea what to do!
What we want:
loads and loads of music,
a possibility to listen to music,
a season of some TV series,
a couple movies (all for boring and long train/bus rides)
lots of downloaded LP books about the countries we are about to visit,
a couple phrase books in chinese, russian, thai and so on,
skype/cell phone so that we can talk with the peeps back home once a month or so,
a camera that can handle all the bumpy roads and rainy weathers,
and a lot of memory cards,
a possibility to upload pictures to a hard drive of some kind,
....and so on. You get the picture.
So... what to do?
Mini laptop? A cheap cell phone? An expensive camera? An expensive ipod? Just lots of travel and phrase books?
I have no idea. And I should know. We are leaving soon. All too soon.
And we still haven't got our visas for Russia.
They better not be lost in the mail.
correction: I still haven't figured out what to do. Sadly, I think the task was left over to me, and honestly... I have no idea what to do!
What we want:
loads and loads of music,
a possibility to listen to music,
a season of some TV series,
a couple movies (all for boring and long train/bus rides)
lots of downloaded LP books about the countries we are about to visit,
a couple phrase books in chinese, russian, thai and so on,
skype/cell phone so that we can talk with the peeps back home once a month or so,
a camera that can handle all the bumpy roads and rainy weathers,
and a lot of memory cards,
a possibility to upload pictures to a hard drive of some kind,
....and so on. You get the picture.
So... what to do?
Mini laptop? A cheap cell phone? An expensive camera? An expensive ipod? Just lots of travel and phrase books?
I have no idea. And I should know. We are leaving soon. All too soon.
And we still haven't got our visas for Russia.
They better not be lost in the mail.
Sep 2, 2010
China Visa
Since the first stage of our trip is the Trans Manchurian train that will take us from Moscow to Beijing, we figured getting Visas for China and Russia was something we ought to do well in advance.
We started with the Chinese one, since we got a lot of contradictory information about how to get it, and we where told it's not too easy, so we figured we might need a lot of time to get it.
However, getting it was as easy and simple as could be.
This is what we did:
Yes, I know. This is "China Visa Instructions for Dummies". It's not that I'm underestimating your smarts, but this is what I would have needed before getting the visa. So, I hope this helps someone at least!
*This is what we wrote:
(chose a couple cities that might be along the way, and Googled a hostel and some famous sights)
We started with the Chinese one, since we got a lot of contradictory information about how to get it, and we where told it's not too easy, so we figured we might need a lot of time to get it.
However, getting it was as easy and simple as could be.
This is what we did:
- Go HERE and click on the first document (the one highest on the list) and complete the form, either on the computer or by hand using CAPITAL LETTERS! (If filling by hand, then click on the second form, not the interactive one)
- Go to the police station (or Pasila or Helsinki train station for example) and have a new passport picture taken. Costs 7 euros in most pictures booths, and you get 4 pictures. Save the rest for the other visas! Oh, and the machine usually only takes cards (any card) or bills.
- Take the completed form, your passport (with at least 6 months validity) and one new passport picture,and head for the embassy, which is located HERE. Notice that it closes already 11.30, and you're headed for the "Consulate Office"(there's a sign), so no need to go knocking on the main gate of the embassy. Don't worry about the early closing time, there was never much of a line when we where there.
- The Chinese Embassy page says that you need to bring plane tickets or a travel itinerary with you to get a visa. We first had a woman at the desk telling us that we need to bring plane tickets or TRAIN TICKETS (good to know that train tickets are OK!) to get a visa. Luckily the actual visa guy then came back from his break, and he didn't need/want/care for any tickets. We had, however, written a fake travel itinerary on computer, in case that would be needed. They took it, but didn't mention it, so we don't know if it made any difference. I'll add our travel Itinerary at the end of this post.* So I'm afraid the rules get a bit a fuzzy here.... might be a good idea to quickly write a travel itinerary, fake or not, and then hope to get a visa, as we successfully did. I'd say this is at least worth a try. But if you wanna be sure to get a visa, then buy train tickets in advance, and hand them in when applying for your visa. (If you don't want to do this, but don't want to risk not getting a visa, you can always buy full flex plane tickets, that you can return and get all your money back, after getting the visa. We did not have to take such drastic action though)
- Go back to the Embassy a week later (or a little less, they give you a paper that says when), remember to bring the little colourful paper(receipt?), which they gave you last time, along, and be prepared to pay 60 euros (they take cards, Visa Electron at least) and then get your passport with a brand new visa for China in it - score!
Yes, I know. This is "China Visa Instructions for Dummies". It's not that I'm underestimating your smarts, but this is what I would have needed before getting the visa. So, I hope this helps someone at least!
*This is what we wrote:
(chose a couple cities that might be along the way, and Googled a hostel and some famous sights)
Travel itinerary
China 10.10.14-10.11.15
Sophia ****, Hanna *****, Ruut *****
10.14
Beijing,
Templeside Lianlian Hutong Guest House
Forbidden city, Maosoleum, The Great Wall of China (Jinshanling), The Olympic City
10.25
Xi’an
Han Tang Inn Youth Hostel
The Terracotta Army
11.2
Nanjing,
Sunflower International Youth Hostel
Confucian Temple, Drum Tower, Nanjing Massacre Memorial
11.6
Shanghai,
Beehome International Youth Hostel
Yuyuan Gardens, Shanghai Museum, The Bund
11.12
Nanning,
Nan Ning City Hostel
Guangxi Museum, White Dragon Park
//H
//H
1.9 - Planning
It's September first, and since we are planning on leaving the fourth of October, so pretty much in one month, I think it's time to start sharing the planning of this trip on the blog.
Even thought he journey itself will be long (or so it is planned) our "planning" stage has been a bit longer....
This trip has been planned for nearly 2 years now!
Most of the planning has happened on gmail, where mails with crazy ideas have been sent back and forth between Sophia, Ruut and me.
I wish I could show you all the mails so you could see how the plan we have now has come to be, but there are honestly too many, and reading them would take hours and hours... if not days!
I can, however, mention some of the ideas we had for this trip:
-jump from island to sailboat to island and somehow get from Thailand to India the water way.
-work for half a year at a orphanage in India-take a buss back from India through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, and then Interrail through Europe back to Finland.
-Visit Lhasa, Tibet, and from there take a train through Kazakhstan and Russia back to Finland.
-work at a farm in Cambodia
-work at a school in Northern Thailand
....I'm pretty sure we've had a lot more of semi-crazy ideas, shot down by parents ("Bus through Pakistan??! Think again Miss!") or ourselves ("Hmm... maybe hitching a ride on a sailboat isn't that good an idea... can any of you guys sail?") but these are some of the ones I remember.
So, after all those mails being sent back and forth, we now have a somewhat clear pictures of the countries we're about to visit, even if specific places and cities is still rather unclear...
...but that's okay, this has been a sorta "go with the flow" -kinda trip from the very start, and we don't mind keeping it that way.
To get some idea of what our trip will be like, please read the description under "What's the plan?".
And... well, welcome to join in with ideas and whatnot for the last month of planning and packing before we leave for our adventure!
//H
Even thought he journey itself will be long (or so it is planned) our "planning" stage has been a bit longer....
This trip has been planned for nearly 2 years now!
Most of the planning has happened on gmail, where mails with crazy ideas have been sent back and forth between Sophia, Ruut and me.
I wish I could show you all the mails so you could see how the plan we have now has come to be, but there are honestly too many, and reading them would take hours and hours... if not days!
I can, however, mention some of the ideas we had for this trip:
-jump from island to sailboat to island and somehow get from Thailand to India the water way.
-work for half a year at a orphanage in India-take a buss back from India through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, and then Interrail through Europe back to Finland.
-Visit Lhasa, Tibet, and from there take a train through Kazakhstan and Russia back to Finland.
-work at a farm in Cambodia
-work at a school in Northern Thailand
....I'm pretty sure we've had a lot more of semi-crazy ideas, shot down by parents ("Bus through Pakistan??! Think again Miss!") or ourselves ("Hmm... maybe hitching a ride on a sailboat isn't that good an idea... can any of you guys sail?") but these are some of the ones I remember.
So, after all those mails being sent back and forth, we now have a somewhat clear pictures of the countries we're about to visit, even if specific places and cities is still rather unclear...
...but that's okay, this has been a sorta "go with the flow" -kinda trip from the very start, and we don't mind keeping it that way.
To get some idea of what our trip will be like, please read the description under "What's the plan?".
And... well, welcome to join in with ideas and whatnot for the last month of planning and packing before we leave for our adventure!
//H
My turn to play around with the settings....
...and this is what it landed on when I gave up. I just can't get this blog to look the way I want, since I'm not sure about what I want.
Sigh.
Oh well, will have to play around with this later again, and actually try to make this blog reader-friendly.
But for now, this will have to do, since I'm ready for some serious blogging!
//H
Sigh.
Oh well, will have to play around with this later again, and actually try to make this blog reader-friendly.
But for now, this will have to do, since I'm ready for some serious blogging!
//H
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