Jaunted - Tag: Russia Travel

'An Idiot Abroad' Boards the Trans-Siberian Express

cmb — 2012-01-30T14:05:35-05:00

On this week's episode of An Idiot Abroad, Karl Pilkington crosses another journey off the Bucket List: traveling across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Express.

When Karl arrived in Moscow to board the infamous train, a cranky taxi driver briefed him on the trip, explaining that Karl was about to spend a week, "in a smelly carriage with Russians who will not wash for a week but they will drink." But, at first that was not Karl's experience at all. He checked into a first class private room on the train and was actually—for maybe the first time on the series—happy. But, that happiness was short-lived after he was moved to a third class bunk where he said he "felt like Anne Frank."

From Alaska to Siberia on Vladivostok Air, All of Which Sounds Dubious

kjb — 2011-12-02T09:51:42-05:00

We’re always intrigued by some of the air carriers based in Russia, so when we heard about Vladivostok Air bringing some flights to Alaska we just had to share. The airline is the new face of Russian aviation—at least according to their website—but they’ve actually been around for quite some time, doing their thing since the 1930s in one form or another.

Vladivostok Air is now planning weekly flights for a couple of months beginning next summer between Anchorage and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Sure it’s not Moscow or St. Petersburg, but a trip there will definitely get your friends to haul out the atlas and try to figure out where the heck the Kamchatka Peninsula is. Oh, and it’s pretty much Siberia, so there’s always that perk.

European Capitals, Moscow Top New 'Most Expensive World Cities' List

Omri — 2011-07-11T14:40:53-05:00

Proponents of the "social media can actually change things" school of thought recently got a boost from a weird fiasco in Israel. The price of cottage cheese—of all things—had increased dramatically over a couple of months, and had reached the point where it was double or triple the cost of cottage cheese in surrounding areas. Someone decided to launch a boycott, and from there things took off. Facebook pages were opened, Twitter hashtags were launched, and results were had. People are now debating whether the "successful Facebook rebellion heralds a new era."

Maybe, maybe not. What really struck us was how the dustup over Israeli cottage cheese prices lined up with this new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit. The organization just published their latest Worldwide Cost of Living survey, and it turns out that the global economy is much weirder that even seasoned travelers can imagine.

Bread in Moscow is three times more expensive than it is in London, but cigarettes in Moscow are more than five times cheaper than in the British capital. So if you're worried about your inability to buy bread in Russia, at least you can smoke nervously about it.

Moscow: Bombing Kills More Than 30 at Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport

flyingwithfish — 2011-01-24T12:11:48-05:00

Steven Frischling—airline geek, professional photographer and travel security blogger of Flying With Fish—steps in to give us an update on the emergency situation currently playing out in Moscow:

Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport (DME), 26 miles southeast of Moscow and a favorite of low-cost carriers, was torn apart by a bomb blast earlier today at 4:37pm MSK, in the international arrivals lounge area.

The explosion is believed to be set off by at least one suicide bomber, although police postulate that the blast area is potentially from more than one bomb. The blast killed a confirmed 31 people, with more than 130 others injured.

Despite the fact that the explosion quickly filled the airport's single terminal with smoke, causing the airport's evacuation, Domodedovo has now miraculously reopened for flights just a few hours after the deadly terrorist attack. Russian news outlet RT.com reports that flights for this evening are departing on time.

It's Okay; The Russians are Stranded at Their Airports Too

JetSetCD — 2010-12-27T17:43:14-05:00

We're not alone in our weather delay misery this week! Yay? Now that Northern Europe and the UK are mostly shoveled clear for air travel to resume somewhat normal levels, the US East Coast falls to Mother Nature, as does Russia. According to RIA Novosti it's freezing rain causing the problem, however, and although the airports aren't completely shut-down, they're operating slower than a Zaporozhets and causing dangerous levels of frustration:

World Cup 2018 Goes to Russia, 2022 to Qatar (Where It's Illegal to be Drunk)

JetSetCD — 2010-12-02T11:20:42-05:00

Just moments ago, two huge announcements hit the world, news that brings major repercussions for tourism, development, media and (of course) money. FIFA revealed the winner countries who will get to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. Russia will host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. Yo, Qatar Airways and Aeroflot, you can start sketching some new World Cup airplane livery now.

Russia beat out England, Spain-Portugal and Holland-Belgium to win for 2018, while Qatar took top spot for 2022 over the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

Moscow: $560 Total to Moscow from New York on Transaero's New US Routes

JetSetCD — 2010-10-12T09:21:14-05:00

Raise your hand if you can name any Russian airlines. Wait, you didn't know there was more than Aeroflot? Well there is, and one of them has their sights firmly set on more direct routes between Moscow and the United States. We're talking about Transaero, an airline that's been around since 1990 and will now begin flying to both New York and Miami later this month.

With only 50 planes, Transaero is far from being mistaken as a huge airline, but they are pretty major over in Russia and are favorites for holiday travel, with routes like Moscow to Sharm el Sheikh and Moscow to London. The new Miami service is unique as it will make Transaero the first airline ever to have non-stop flights between Moscow and Miami.