luzhok

Improved signage.... in English?

When I rode back in '05 there were plenty of signs and it was quite easy to navigate just by using the colors and number of stops. However, I can decipher enough of those squiggly characters to make out where I need to be. If I had no clue how to read the letters, I may have had a little more difficulty. Have they cleared that up?

The information sign/kiosk that they have on each platform has the map and info in both Russian and English. It also has a small call box (like at Sonic) that you can use to ask a question of someone on the other end. Lesya tried it out just to see how it worked and the person she spoke to was fluent in Russian (of course!) but was also able to speak to her in basic English.

All Most of the cars now have metro maps in Russian and English in them.

The graphical display in the cars which shows the progress of the train along the line helps with the problem I always had of sitting there and suddenly realizing, "Oh Sh*t!! I've been so busy looking at the women that I forgot to count -- was this the 3rd or 4th stop???"

Another item I forgot to include in the original report---

BANKOMAT/ATMs --- Of course they are everywhere. Use the usual basic security precautions --- better to use ones that are inside of/or attached to actual bank buildings, or in major shopping centers, or in major hotels. Avoid ones that are just randomly located along the street. Take the time to look at ANY Bankomat before you use it to see if there are any "additional devices" that have been added. I personally would recommend avoiding Gazprombank ATMs -- they limit you to only being able to withdraw 5,000 rubles at a time. By contrast, the MasterBank ATMs in the Okhotny Ryad mall or the Gum will allow you to withdraw up to 50,000 rubles at a time. Depending on your particular bank and the particular ATM, doing one large withdrawal will often save you money on fees rather than doing many small withdrawals. Remember that many ATMs in Russia do not automatically return your card to you like most US ATMs do--- you have to actually press a button to have the card returned. It's easy to forget and then ..... bye bye card!

OMG! On my last day my banking card was eaten by the ATM machine the way you described it. It was Saturday and nobody could help me. I called the US and cancelled it.

Did anyone go through 221(g) AP in Moscow Embassy? How long did it take? Thank you.

It's been 4 weeks already since we submitted additional documents.

I came back from Moscow (SVO) on Aug 15. There was no any hand bag searching at all. Only one scanning for luggage and carry on!

I had quite a story with that list. I learned about the interview date via e-mail cause I asked them. Then I started to wait for the case number to show on the list. After two weeks I called them and found out that our interview date had changed and nobody bothered to notify me or my fiance even though I was communicating with the embassy constantly about my case. I was horrified as we almost bought airline tickets for the first date they scheduled.

Normally, they told me, it takes two weeks to post.

It's unfortunate that when you need "them" to be slower they act fast. Received NOA and a letter from NVC two days from each other. And, from NVC letter I found out that the case would be sent to US embassy in the wrong country. I called NVC immediately to stop the case. Guess what, it was gone already. NVC had the case for a day or two only!!!

I got through on NVC level but got stuck with AP on the embassy level. That's why I'm here with you guys

I had experience of switching consulates. You need to ask the consulate where you want to have interview to request the file from the original consulate. For me it took over a month communicating with both consulates before the file arrived to the right consulate. Pain in the neck.

Did anyone go through 221(g) AP in Moscow Embassy? How long did it take? Thank you.