My plan was to go there early May but couldn't find a suitable tour to join. So we ended up going there early June, late spring that feels like summer cause the daylight was 18-19 hours! You would have thought that it is a good thing to have a long daylight hour for tourists since we have ample time to take pictures with natural light. I thought so too until I experienced it myself.
Don't know why but somehow the sun was not really "cooperative" during our visit, we always ended up at the wrong side of the sun. The pictures also turned out to be so unnaturally dark or bright depending on the sun position. I guess my digital camera simply can't handle the sun well :(
The surreal thing about 19 daylight hours for Muslim is we need to do our morning prayer at 4 am, evening prayer at 11 pm and late evening prayer at 1 am. Imagine if Ramadhan falls during summer like this year, Muslims in Russia need to fast from 4 am to 11 pm!
Now I count my blessings everyday that I'm living in a balanced "daylight-night time" country. It doesn't matter that we don't enjoy four seasons. "Rain or shine" season is good enough for me. At least I have a good excuse to visit other countries - to experience winter, autumn and spring :)
During our visit, the Red Square was transformed into a sports arena to celebrate Children's Day so we didn't get to enjoy the majestic size of it when it is empty. It was very festive though seeing Moscovites enjoying the sun.
The iconic Saint Basil's Cathedral seemed to look better in pictures and magazines than in real life. I was quite surprised that the outer layer of the building was just a normal paint. I initially thought that it must be mosaic at least.
Kremlin was huge and quite impressive. Fortunately it was not as scary as it was portrayed in American movies ;p Probably because the sun was shining so everything looked nice. We had a good exercise walking from one end to the other and a surprise short downpour while we were there. The only time it rained while we were in Russia.
Arbat Street was a disappointment to me. There are nothing much there except souvenirs. Not many street performance either but if you like Hard Rock Café stuff, the shop is located here. We met a Malaysian family while walking around the area. The husband is working for the Malaysian Embassy.
The Russian Circus was amazing. I love all the acrobatic stuff. I think it is one of the best shows that I've seen overseas. The Folklore Dance was a good show too but I personally think that it was a tad bit too long. If they cut it a bit by 20 minutes it will be just right. The good news is they have free Wi-Fi at the concert hall, so if you are bored you can surf the net with your smartphone!
The palaces in Saint Petersburg are simply awesome. There are around 300 palaces in this city which are mostly now converted to commercial use. We visited the main ones; Peterhof Grand Palace, Catherine Palace and The State Hermitage Museum which was formerly the Winter Palace of the Tsars. When you walked through the halls of the palaces you can imagine their grand lifestyle and glorious parties. Gold inspired decorations seemed to be the trend back then. The State Hermitage Museum housed so many national treasures that it was claimed that you need 5 years to view all of them!
The Amber Room at Catherine Palace is pretty impressive. We are not allowed to take picture in this room but I was being a bit naughty, I managed to snap two pictures with my phone. Sorry, I can't help myself! The room's walls were fully covered with US$13 (or was it 11?) million worth of ambers. Totally magnificent!
The Christian Orthodox churches here are richly decorated too. During Soviet time they fell to disarray but after the fall of Soviet Union, they were restored to its former glory.
When you look at the churches and the palaces, the only word that came to mind was "opulence". It is totally understandable when the people then revolt if they have to suffer to support the palaces and the churches opulent lifestyle. Our guide told us that it was reported that the girl who made the intricate beading and embroidery work for the high priest gown commissioned by the tsarina turned blind since she worked under the candlelight for years.
The Russian currency is ruble or rouble (RUB). US$1 equals to roughly RUB30. At some hotels, you can find currency exchange ATM. Just put in the USD in the machine and it will give you RUB. Please note though that the machine will just round up the RUB so if you need to change a lot, it is better for you to go to a proper currency exchange counter.
I personally think that Saint Petersburg is a better looking city than Moscow. It somehow feels like Paris :) I also like the fact that the city management ensures the beauty of the city by insisting that the building under construction is totally covered by canvas with picture of the finished building itself!
During this tour we took a short ride in Moscow Metro trains. We stopped at a few underground stations to admire its beautiful decorations. We also took a fast train from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. Four hours of a pleasant journey. Unfortunately it was not really a scenic one.
Njoy!
Note: I just realised that today (15 June) marked my three years early retirement anniversary! How time flies when you are having fun :)
