Way to Russia Talk Lounge

taijibasset

Thanks for the help that you have given me with visa questions. I figured I'd contribute what I learned in my (almost) four weeks traveling along the trans-siberian route. Mostly this relates to accommodation and cafes that Natasha (girlfriend) and I found in the cities we visited.

Novosibirsk:
Hotel Novosibirsk. Way overpriced for what we got. 2500R for a double room. The view of the trainstation and sunset was fabulous, but hardly worth 2500R. Why did we go there? We just arrived to Russia and wanted to ensure we got a registration stamp in the passport. Turns out that ...

Hotel Centralnaya (3 ul Lenina, near Lenin Square) charged 1000R for a double and also registered. The staff were friendly. The room, though slightly smaller than H. Novosibirsk was, in our opinion, nicer. We had one that faced a cafe, so you had loud music blaring until about 10 or 10:30pm. Definitely recommend this one. Note: toilettes and shower were on the hall.

Cafe: Forgot the name, something like Coffee World on Voksalnaya magistral, served real coffee!!! A great change from the instant stuff in Kyrgyzstan. Prices were from 20 - 65R for Starbucks like coffee, espressos, lattes, etc. Blinchiki for breakfast were tasty, but hardly filling for 40R a plate. Pastry cakes were very tasty and cost about 50R or so.

Tyungur:
Guest Home. Near magazine. Food was tastey and filling but the price tag of 85R (lunch), 50R (breakfast), and 60R (dinner) was hard to swallow (see separate post on SibAlp, a Novosibirsk tour firm, to find out why). Smetana and raspberry jam were fabulous, as was the Altai-style, deep fried leposhka. Beds were 100R/person per night.

Biysk:
Hotel Centralnaya. 600R for a double. Contained a refrigerator and TV, though we needed neither. The room was clean with an attached bath. No hotwater. Gave us both headaches when we tried to clean the grime of 6 days walking in the Altai off.

Abakan:
Hotel Abakan. 262R for a double with the shower and bath on the hall. Showers cost an extra 15R. The room was clean and comfortable. For two of the four days we were there, the hot water was not available. No TV, no refrigerator.

Cafe Nostalgie: Recommended by Lonely Planet as good value for money. Natasha and I found the food well prepared and tasty, but portions were small. For example, 1.2R gets you one half a slice of packaged bread you buy in the store. I thought the food was OK, but certainly not warranting the recommendation given by L.P.

Pizza ??: It's attached to Hotel Abakan. Pizza was OK, but it was not fresh. We ordered three pieces; two were luke warm and another still cold. The crust was soggy, due to being microwaved, and thin. Each slice cost about 20R or 30R. Not bad, but it doesn't compare with even a Red Baron pizza you can buy at a super market in the States.

Samsa place: Don't know the name, but it's to the left of Hotel Abakan as you walk out the door, on the same block. Hardly high class, it's a fast food place that served samsa for about 11.5R. Tasty.

Irkutsk:
Uchebni Center Profsolyusov (263 ul Baikalskaya, near SibExpo center). 590R for double with shower and toilette in room. The toilette ran incessantly, so we had to turn off the water valve at night so we could sleep. Institutional, as described by Lonely Planet. Apt description. Room had TV.

Pizza Dominia: ul Lenina, near Web Ugol and across from the Lenin statue. Blini were like pancakes and cost 35R (for 4). It's open 24 hours and serves pizza (imagine that).
Why here for blini? We went to a "real" cafe and asked for blinchki. They replied we have one portion. We said fine, we'll take two. After some run around and use of the dictionary, we learned they really mean they had only one serving of blini. Why have it on the menu? When asked about where we could get some in the morning, the hostess directed us to the 24hr pizza place.

Ulan Ude:
Hotel Baikal. 600R for a _single_ bed with en suite toilette and shower. Again, an incessantly running toilette and the luxury of being close to the train station so that the loud speakers were audible through the night. I think the doubles were 850R, but they didn't have any. Room had TV and refrigerator.

Hotel Berguzin. 660R for a double with balcony but no TV or refrigerator. Close to the main pedestrian mall, the fabulous cake shop and the Mongolian embassy. The toilette actually stops after the tank has refilled. Talk about luxury!

Cafe Baku. It's just across from the big Lenin head. We had Lyoola kebab and Piti, both national dishes from Azerbaijan. The kebab was great. The Piti, a soup with lots of fat, beans, and meat, was OK. I'd recommend it for the kebabs which cost about 70R.

Hope this helps some one. If it's a repeat of info already posted, it can't hurt to read it again.

Chris

P.S. What is the deal with pelmeni being on the menu but never being available at the cafe? I think we've been to about six different cafes on our way from Novosibirsk to Ulan Bator and each time we ask, "U nac nyet."

Hewlett38