We Are Going To Russia!

Five more weeks to Russia, you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya I know. Damn random, right, hahahahaha. Whenever someone asks us about our next travel destination, and we tell him/her we are going to Russia, his/her initial reaction is to ALWAYS look taken aback and ask "RUSSIA?! Asal Russia eh???"

It's hilarious. Wish I could take a video of every reaction and turn it into a montage haha.

Anyway, Saliheen proposed Kyoto and Osaka at first actually, but I wanted anywhere else but Japan (I didn't want to return so soon, no matter how much love we have for the country) so he gave me two choices; either London or Russia. 

My first reaction was....................... "RUSSIA?! Asal Russia eh???" HAHAHAHAHA

Initially aku macam 50/50 because I did some rough research and discovered it might be leceh in terms of visa application and transportation. But Saliheen was all #gojerjanganscared so I said ok jom let's go, you terjun botol I pun terjun botol. Hehehe. Anyway, I know my husband, he is a conservative low risk-taker so if he says it will be ok, that means it will be ok. Also... bila lagi kita nak jejak Russia kan?!?! This will probably be our one and only opportunity, kalau tiada aral melintang, insya Allah. Kalau dah ada anak or dah tua kerepot, takde kuasa nak leceh leceh pergi negeri gitu.

Ok, updates on our errands/planning for this upcoming trip:

What we've done so far: 

1. We've booked our flights and accommodation in Moscow and St Petersburg!

2. We've applied for our visas (already been approved by the Russian Embassy YAY) 

3. We've more or less settled our travel itinerary.

What we're doing by next month:

1. Confirm our online booking for airport transfers.

2. Book a Metro guided tour!!! (I am excited for this because their metro stations are gorgeous in pictures)

3. Apply for travel insurance and register travel details on Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Honestly kan, I don't really know what we're getting ourselves into tau because: 1. We don't understand their language and their Cyrillic writing system; 2. We're a little fuzzy on their history and politics (we only know general info on their Tsars and Rasputin (haha), their notorious communist past, and their involvement in world wars - they're the bad-asses that Nazis couldn't defeat!); and 3. We don't even know what they offer in terms of food and entertainment.

Basically we don't know know much about Russia la kan. Except that they drink a lot of vodka and are either spies or part of the Russian mob ha ha ha ha ha #ohtakeh

But that's the purpose of travel, amirite? To learn more about the country and immerse ourselves in its culture. Plus I think I'm slowly warming up to the idea of exploring Moscow and St Petersburg because the more I read about them and the more I do my research, the more I realize that Russia is not as rundown or backward or old-fashioned as the movies or media (especially American) make it out to be; they place great emphasis on history, art and literature, they have working Wi-fi in the central areas and their metro system is sophisticated and efficient. Sounds like any other modern city to me!

I'll still reserve my comments until after I've travelled in the country la but at least I'm more confident now about visiting Russia. Woohoo! Five more weeks to the land of ushanka and matryoshka!