It is always good to get home and it was no exception this time for us. Boza was so excited to see us that he couldn’t stop wiggling his tail for an hour. It wagged so much that I thought it was going to fall off. Everything was good at home and we still had a place to live. That is always a good sign…
I have a soft spot for Russia in my heart and I really think that Moscow will be my home for me for the rest of my life. While I see Sveta and I moving to another country in the far future. We will only be living in a new place as secondary home to our flat in Moscow. A place to spend the Winters if we need to escape the deep cold of Russia…
I myself am still trying to recover from the trip. One of the many things that have changed for me in life since my heart attacks, is travel by long distance flights is hard on me. It use to be a piece of cake. Now the cake falls on me! But loving to travel is in my blood and a little discomfort is just okay with me…
I have to talk about the gypsy taxi situation in Russia with my thinking’s over a cup of coffee today…
If you are up to date on Russia, then you know that an attempt has been made to governmental controlled taxi service in Russia. It is a long story but to make it short – the story has failed…
As you exit the airline terminal with your bags in Moscow you use to be slaughtered with a thousand yelling gypsy taxi drivers demanding that you use them to whisk you away to your dream place in Moscow. Well, they are all still there! Except they do not yell and demand. They whisper and follow you. They even beg you to use them. There also was many new signs in English that said beware of taxi drivers who are not certified. They might rip you off and could be dangerous…:)
I was able to watch the Russian bureaucracy at work over the taxi situation. I sat and waited for Sveta to do some phone calls and such. I was watching a official taxi kiosk at work, as I sat. The woman who was behind the counter either rudely shooed away the people (foreigners) or ignored the people who tried to inquire about a taxi ride. She was very unpleasant and very Russian. Did not speak any language but Russian so “Tuck luff Charley.”
I felt sorry for the foreigners that were being rebuffed by the governmental approved taxi service, that had signs everywhere warning you about them damn gypsies trying to steal your money and then ending up being driven right into the arms of the very scoundrel that system was trying to scandalize…
We always call our taxi and use no one else. We have been using the same taxi service for years. I saw no difference in what you ensued trying to get a taxi and I actually saw more confusion entailed because of the disservice of the official system. But really what do you expect from a government driven program that is to stop corruption, when the government is the real source of the corruption?
So the system in its attempts to modernize and curb corruption. Has gone from a gaggle of gypsies that attack you loudly (as geese do)! To a quiet attack of gypsies (as a fox does) and a system has been incorporated now, that is even more corrupt and messed up than it was before they tried to remedy it…
Words of wisdom: When you get out of the terminal from your flight. Just remember the words, “spasibo – Net” it means “thank you – No” and that will stop most in there tracks. But slip up with one word of English and you will find that all within ear shot will start to try to speak English to catch your attention. Our should I say they will now whisper English…
I just love Russia so much and the gypsy taxi is one reason why…
Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!
PS: The airport has been resigned with signs in English. I found it very easy to get around now. In fact all of Moscow is becoming resigned with English/Russian signage everywhere. Now that is modernization…
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