Travel Tips

To many world-wide travelers seeking adventure, the Russian
Far East is a very desirable place to visit, and of course
if you are going to visit this region, you do not want to miss seeing the famous sea port, Vladivostok.

Vladivostok, meaning the “Lord of the East” in Russian, is
located just across the Sea of Japan but a very distant
6,200 miles east of Moscow.

Interestingly, this beautiful sea port city was so far from
the center of communist rule, when Russia was better known
as the Soviet Union, that it was not until 1954 that a leader of the USSR visited this city.

I am talking about Nikita Khrushchev, a man who became famous, worldwide, for his eccentric statements and actions. He was the first one to call Vladivostok the “Russian San-Francisco” which in many ways is a fairly accurate comparison.

Like San Francisco, the city of Vladivostok is located on a
hilly region surrounded by a bay, in this case the Gold Horn Bay
Visitors who arrive to this city enjoy the spectacular view,
which is surprisingly similar to San Francisco.

Vladivostok is also the home port of the Russian Navy’s pacific fleet, and there are hundreds of military ships and submarines located in the Gold Horn Bay. As a result of this, the city of Vladivostok was a closed region for more than 70 years.

Vladivostok was city for a military installation, and even Russian citizens wanting to visit relatives, were forbidden to travel to this city without special permits and passes. It was not until the year of 1992 that Vladivostok was officially opened for foreign visitors as well as the rest of the Russian population.

Today thousands of tourists from all over the world travel to Vladivostok. Some take the wonderful 7 day journey from Moscow on the Trans Siberian Railway, while others prefer to travel to Japan or China, and finally finishing their adventure by arriving at the Russian “Lord of the East”.
Many travelers make the exciting journey by the ship, going to every worlds’ major sea port including Vladivostok.

Vladivostok attracts many tourists’ attention not only because of its’beautiful location, but also for its’ very rich history:

There are quite a few historical buildings and monuments still standing that hold the memories of many events from the 1860, when this city was founded, to present day.

These historical buildings remember the times when Vladivostok was given a free trade status with the purpose of encouraging foreign trade in 1878.

There are still building standing that, if they could speak, could tell you about the times of the Russian-Japanese war, when a squadron of Japanese warships attacked the city firing over a hundred shots.

Vladivostok’s hills saw the Japanese, British, and American cruisers entered the Golden Horn Bay in 1917, and the supporters of the Bolsheviks conducted a partisan struggle in the city.

From 1917 to 1922 Vladivostok became a cultural bastion.
During the ensuing years, beginning in 1917, Vladivostok became a haven for many Russians trying to escape from the clutches of the new Soviet regime, settling in the port city while retreating to the east together with the White Army.

Among them were many Russians, the creative intelligentsia from Moscow and St Petersburg. They established conservatories, theaters, symphony orchestras and art centers in Vladivostok before escaping to countries such as Australia, China, the USA, and other lands after the Bolsheviks, in 1922, achieved victory in the Far East.

This city can still remember the 1930s when the Stalinist repressions began and the transit camps were constructed housing political prisoners from the Western regions of Russia to Kolyma, and to the new camp in Vladivostok.

This city remembers when it was Russia’s biggest military port during the cold war and the beginningof “Perestroika.”

Now, Vladivostok is filled with businesses from all over the world coming to take advantage of the city’s position as the gate to modern Russia, Japan, China, and Korea.

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Although most trips abroad are trouble free, being prepared will go a long way to avoiding the possibility of serious trouble.

1. Make sure you have a signed, valid passport and visas, if required. Also, before you go, fill in the emergency information page of your passport!

2. Read the Consular Information Sheets (and Public Announcements or Travel Warnings, if applicable) for the countries you plan to visit.

3.Leave copies of your itinerary, passport data page and visas with family or friends at home, so that you can be contacted in case of an emergency. Keep your host program informed of your whereabouts.

4. Make sure you have insurance that will cover your emergency medical needs (including medical evacuation) while you are overseas. Travel insurance may be necessary if your present health insurance does not cover you in foriegn countries.

5. Familiarize yourself with local laws and customs of the countries to which you are traveling. Remember, while in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws!

6. Do not leave your luggage unattended in public areas and never accept packages from strangers.

7. While abroad, avoid using illicit drugs or drinking excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages, and associating with people who do.

8. Do not become a target for thieves by wearing conspicuous clothing and expensive jewelry and do not carry excessive amounts of cash or unnecessary credit cards.

9. Deal only with authorized agents when you exchange money to avoid violating local laws.

10. When overseas, avoid demonstrations and other situations that may become unruly or where anti-American sentiments may be expressed.

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Restaurants and Bars - You do not get water for free, you have to pay for it. If you order water you will get carbonated water. In most restaurants you can request tap water and they may or may not charge you but it is most likely straight from the sink. In some American fast food restaurants, (i.e. McDonalds) you must pay for ketchup as well. Be aware that the menus at most fast food restaurants in Germany are not exactly the same. You may also notice that a sandwich that you recognize from back home may taste a little different or it could be smaller. When you enter a restaurant you will not be seated, just walk right in and pick the table of your choice!- the tip should be much smaller than you would give in the States (this is because the waiters/waitresses get paid more than in the states) A tip of two or three EUR would be considered a good tip for very good service.

Supermarkets - If you shop for groceries in Germany you will notice the supermarkets have all of their large rolling carts outside in a designated area and they are locked to one another. In order to utilize a cart you must place one EUR in the cart itself, you will see the slot on the handle. Upon leaving the supermarket you latch the cart back to the other carts and pull the device out where you placed the coin, now you can retrieve your coin. When you have all of the groceries you want, proceed to the check-out counter. You will have to purchase plastic bags to put the groceries in or you can take one in yourself. If you decide to purchase one they are usually visible at the counter and normally only cost a few cents. If there is a long line do not put all of your groceries in the bag, put them back into the cart and bag them away from the line.

Closing hours - On Sunday everything is closed except for some restaurants, bars, gas stations and shops at the main train station and bigger airports. Some bigger stores are realizing that they can make much more money if they open on Sunday so they are doing just that, but I would not rely on it. During the week shops in bigger cities close at 8 PM at the latest. You may see shops in smaller cities closing even earlier.

Public Phones - Public phones are very rare in Germany. If you find one you will notice that they only take telephone cards. You can buy a telephone card in different shops like “T-Punkt”, “Telekom”, “Post”, and “Vodafone” or you can go to an Internet cafe.

Miscellaneous - “Bad” in front of a towns name does not mean that the people or the city is bad for example, “Bad Homburg”. Bad in front of a towns name normally means that the town is designated as a healthy location normally with very clean air and water.

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