Moscow – Cairo – Muscat Tour [March 28 to April 28]
Moscow – Cairo – Muscat Tour [March 28 to April 28]
On 15 Jan 2007, Pongal Day, MWO Tanti knocked my door.
He had a good news. We both are in the Advance Party to Russia Trip.
Thanks Pongal - God. 2006 Pongal I got this house.
This pongal this. [Eppadimma namma englishu?]
On 19 March, I went to Reliance Infocomm, cut off my post paid temporarily.
From 20 March to 28 March, was in New Delhi… doing the special tour works…
28 March 2007 morning we got the GoI letter – which is the authority for everything… from flight ticket [free warrant] to our pay to passport.
We got our official passports. In white color. Civilians have blue.
No visa required for officials in Russia & Muscat. Egypt visa we got for 3 days.
Reached airport on 28 March early morning 01:30 am.
Custom check, immigration done…
Aeroflot SU-530 flight.
Boeing 767 business class with full reclining seats.. gourmet meals… whiskey, juices, ice creams bouncy all white Russian beauties as hostesses…
Started to video tape from here onwards… the customs clerk asks me..
r you a documentarian.. all things you record digitally…what u say?
Business class only 9 people… Economy class house full…
Economy class people are mostly middle class Russians or Sardarjis
6.30 hrs flight over Afghanistan, Iran…
Landed safe on 28 March morning 9.45 am local time. 11.45 am IST.
Miss. Yulia & Andrei came to receive us.
Both are well educated, polish, posh.
Went to Indian Embassy for credentials.
From 29 March to 25 April the day of our return, our routine is:
Get up 6.30 am. Reach "Ballanchine" the Russian Cuisine restaurant.
Tell the Room no. Breakfast Complementary by hotel.
Have the following:
2 glasses of "Kornet" Shampagne / rarely Apple juice
2 or 3 Eggs hard boiled or omelette
4 slices bread laced with Holland cheese and chocolate
1 cake
Some dry fruits, pine apple pieces, tomato slices
1 Apple, 1 Plum [big size]
Little noodles, little oats
Then coffee
After the Breakfast, take the Free Moscow times English news paper..
Read it on the Ilyushin company van [Toyoto] till Zhukovsky – Ramenskoye Airfield.
52 kms, 1.30 hrs drive - Lot of Traffic
Van crosses the Borodinsky & Rostov Bridges, goes along the Muskva River
takes a right turn at SAFISA manor, then catches the Ring Road,
get the World War II Memorial Bridge [side by side see the Russian heavy weight
Railways and their Black – Ship like engines]
See the Gazprom office.. [Russia is the largest exporter of Natural Gas]
See the Red October Chocolate factory
See the Power Station … How Quiet it is, in the midst of the City?
They say during World War 2 the power went off for 3 days.. Metro trains also stopped for 3 days. That's all. other times they are working.. wonder?
These Power Stations also supply the Moscow city with its hot super heated steam which is used for Room Heating.
That's a poor method of maintaining temperature..
Its not accurate..
Sometimes you feel nausea, because of the double glassed Russian windows.
Till Zhukovsky you only see 3 types of trees in Moscow.. the Fir, Birch & Deodhar
Not much flora & fauna….
Even some birds we saw were very tired looking, sad … Russian winter effect?
Sergei Karabanov our male interpreter says the Communism as an Ideology has got its faults and it was mismanaged also. So he says it failed.
He is emphatic about China and its communism.
After Communism what they got?
The Moscow full of Prostitutes, strip dance bars, beggars in metro stations…
Sergei says only 10% of the Russians are Rich the rest are suffering in villages and cities too.
Most of their day to day products are imported…
I see the
common bulbs, tube lights from Philips Holland
chocolates from Ukraine [except a few brands of Russia]
match sticks from china
Blazers, jersyes, jeans from Italy/France/USA
Shoes from Holland
Not even 2% of the any shop's saleable material made in Russia or USSR
With this much imports, how their population can be richer?
Or at least not poorer?
Other thing I noticed was the Russian IST code : No. 007
It's a Bond No. James Bond.
They are good at Spying, Killing… suffering
Russians toil from -50 deg C to + 40 deg C
They have Oil, Gas, Nickel, Titanium and many minerals.
Most of them in Siberia…
More to come… wait…
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