Most people choose to travel to Japan because they don’t have much time when they want to visit nearby countries. Therefore, the number of Koreans who traveled to Japan has been increasing over the years. Last year, 7.54 million visitors went to Japan. However, many people canceled their trips to Japan recently due to the boycott and the decreasing number of planes flying to Japan. Considering these circumstances, a unique trip to Russia might be the solution for many Korean travelers who are looking for other destinations. The CBT reporter, Lee So-yoon, went to Russia. I will introduce my journey.



  The time zone in Vladivostok is one hour ahead of Korea. Therefore, after arriving quite early and going through immigration, I found my luggage and arrived at the airport lobby in Vladivostok. In the lobby, there were booths to buy a sim card. People traveling to Russia usually pay for a portable Wi-Fi egg or buy a sim card. Buying the card is cheaper, but people who want a faster service recommend purchasing the egg.
  Since the train station is near Vladivostok Central Square and the ticket on the Trans-Siberian train was at 7 p.m., I moved to the train station to pick up the ticket. To get to the train station from the airport, people can take the airport railway. The railway opens at about 8 a.m. When people arrive at the train station, they can store luggage in the station if they pay a fee. Outside of the train station, there are many advertising stalls.
  At Vladivostok Central Square, there are three statues. They are statues of the soldiers who worked for the socialist revolution of the 1920s. The square was larger than I imagined.
  The next destination was the Eagle’s Nest Hill. To get there, a bus was needed. Unusually, Russia’s bus entrance was in the back and the exit was at the front. The bus fee was about half of Korea’s typical prices. After taking the bus and arriving at the destination, Eagle’s Nest Hill, people were riding cable cars to get to the top of the hill. It was useful because it was cheap and convenient. From the top, people enjoyed the Zolotoy Bridge, with its beautiful panorama of Vladivostok and the gorgeous sky.
When I entered the Ulitsa Sportivnaya Naberezhnaya, which is a marine park, there was a huge, magnificent fountain. However, it rained that day, so there were few people. If it had been sunny, there would have been many sights to enjoy (like monkeys or people wearing costumes), but there were only a few merchants with tents.






  <Preparation>
  To catch the train, first, I reserved a ticket in Korea. On the train, there were three classes of seats. Among them, the third-class seat was cheaper than any other seats, but it was more uncomfortable. My ticket was booked a month before the trip, but it was still a little late as many of the seats were reserved. There were numbers on each train; the smaller the number, the newer the train. When people reserve a seat, there is an important point to be noted: visitors have to rent bedding on the train.

  <Boarding>
  Passports and train tickets were checked during the trip, and the conductor was also the one who supplied bedding and towels. There were shower facilities on the train, but people had to pay for them, but the bathrooms were free. There were many stations between Vladivostok and Irkutsk. People can buy snacks, smoke, or walk around at these remote stations. On the train, people talked to each other, drank tea, or slept all day. Looking out the window for three days, there were many birch trees, broad grasslands, grazing cows, and a river. Everything was so beautiful. The train has a restaurant and chefs. In the restaurant, the view of the outside was so beautiful because the train was near Lake Baikal on that day, and it was a unique place to enjoy the view.



  To enjoy seeing Lake Baikal, Listvyanka is a good place. Also, visitors can see it from Olkhon Island, which is quite far from Irkutsk. It can be very difficult to find a ticket booth at the Irkutsk Station. Thus, it would be better to purchase a ticket in advance if people plan to ride the train again. To get to Listvyanka, they can take a bus or a minivan after moving to the Irkutsk Central Market by tram.
  Lake Baikal was so big and the waves continuously rose and fell like the sea. However, the water wasn’t salty, but it was very cold and dark due to the bad weather.
  The next day was sunny. In the city, the observatory was a good place to view Lake Baikal. From the hotel, visitors can call a taxi to go to the observatory. In the observatory, Lake Baikal seemed like a sea as the lake was so large. At noon, people can use the chairlift near the lake, and it is comfortable and a little bit exciting.

  Moscow is the capital of Russia and has much wonderful architecture. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior has a golden dome and sculptures in the walls. The sculptures depict historical events. The dome and sculptures make the cathedral look amazing. The Red Square is one of the most famous places in Russia. Around the square, there is St. Basil’s Cathedral, Glavny Universalny Magazin (GUM; a department store in Moscow), and the Kremlin. Many events for tourists are held every season in the square. Gosudarstvennaya Tret’yakovskaya Galeria is an art museum in Moscow. There are so many famous paintings there. A man named Tret’yakovskaya donated a lot of art to the country, collected the artworks and displayed them in his art museum. There are many other Russian artists’ artworks as well, such as the Unequal Marriage, the Black Sea, and the Kramskoy Portrait of an Unknown Woman.

  St. Petersburg is a planned city built by the Great Pyotr and has a splendid and beautiful feel throughout the city. The Neva River spreads throughout the city and is beautiful in every corner of the city.There are many beautiful cathedrals all over the city, such as St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Kazan Cathedral, and the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood. The city is a good place to stay for a week because there are many things to see.

  The trip had many inconveniences, such as language and traffic problems, but it was not hard to communicate with the local people because of body language and Google translator. Also, most Russians were kind, and the scenery was beautiful. Expenses for the entire trip totaled about 2,000,000 won for 15 days. Send the CBT an e-mail if you have any questions about traveling in Russia.

By Lee So-yoon l sy39@cbnu.ac.kr
By Kwon Ji-ye l whodrk@cbnu.ac.kr