Top 5 reasons to make
Russia your first post-Covid destination!

1. Grand AF: 

If opulent is the mother of grand, then Russia can easily be called the grand-mother of opulent! The cathedrals, squares, forts, palaces, museums, markets, hotels, roads... scream out grandeur you would've never seen before. If you thought Europe was grand, well wait till you see the grand ol' Russia!

2. Unmatched VFM: 

Presently with 1 Euro giving you 71 Russian Rubles, and your 1 INR roughly being around 1 Russian Ruble, it's cheap as hell to visit Russia. Hotels, museums, taxis, trains, restaurants, you'll get maximum bang for your buck, anytime of the day. So look at it as going to a grander Europe by spending less that what you'd spend in say Thailand. Surely, that's a good deal...

3. Mind-blowing History:

When it comes to history, well it doesn't get bigger than this region. From the early Slavs to the Byzantine empire to the Tzars to the Bolsheviks to Stalin to the break-up of USSR to the post-Soviet Russia and the present day political rockstar, Vladimir Putin. It's all waiting to unfold itself when you land in Russia, and the more you see the more you want to know!

4. More than Vodka, it's adrenaline overflow: 

Buildings, cars, bikes, skies, vodka, luxury boats, you name it and it is on an adrenaline overflow all the time. It's not uncommon to see tyres being burnt on the red-lights in main streets to ensure that they have the right grip when they take off to reach the next red-light. Ducatis, Kawasakis, Lamborginis, Ferraris, CBZs, and more vie for you attention all the time! The only distractions being the amazingly lit up streets, buildings and the LED screens all over the city. All vying to ensure that you're kept wide-eyed all the time.

5. Russians themselves: 

Last, but definitely not the least, the Russians themselves...  An amazing bunch of people. So what if they don't smile when they look at you! Doesn't mean they're dangerous. They go about their task, the same way they would leave you to go about yours. No Western BS of smiling at every passerby and talking in a sing-song tone to everyone. All you need to see the warmth on their faces is to say "spasiba" or "dasvadaniya" ("thank you" and "hello" respectively, in Russian).

Go explore Russia: Why? Woah? Really? Is it safe?

When you tell your friends and family that you're leaving for, or were in, Russia for your holiday, you're going to be bombarded (and I choose this word carefully!) with "Why?" "Woah" "Is it safe?" and much more. Well, I came back from a Russian holiday last month, and already can't wait to go back next year! Here's why...

Before we (my wife, our 11-year-old and yours truly!) headed for Russia earlier last month, whenever I told a friend that I was going where I was going, the reaction was almost always "Russia? Why?". Yes, not, "Russia, Wow!" but "Russia, Why?" Why before, hell, after our return, the reactions have been priceless. From family to friends to colleagues, even my son's Orthodontist...everyone is pretty much bewildered, when we told them that we had gone for a holiday to Russia!

Sharing some of the questions that have been thrown at us since our return, along with my answers:

"Is it safe?" - Yes, absolutely. There are no gun-totting Russian gangsters roaming the streets of Moscow or St Petersburg, or any city for that matter!

"Must be very expensive, no?" - No. It's quite cheap actually, especially when you compare it to Europe. It's like being in a grander Europe and spending almost at Indian prices!

"Just why did you think of going to Russia?" - Because we looked at Russia through the eyes of history, and chose not to believe the Western propaganda!

"People are not really friendly there, are they?" - Well, actually they are quite friendly. That is if you don't expect them to follow the Western way of showing their friendliness! They do it in their own way and are very very warm!

"How do you enjoy in a place where the people don't speak English at all?" - That was true, maybe a decade ago! Today, a large majority of the 25-and belows on the streets of the big cities in Russia are very much speaking in English. The percentage of English-speaking Russians involved in tourism and hospitality is extremely healthy too!