Russia World Cup 2018: Hotels
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked, large-scale military invasion of Ukraine, its neighbour to the southwest, marking an escalation to a conflict that began in 2014 with the Russian annexation of Crimea and the Donbass. Stop The War!
Well I was woken by the sound of six minutes injury time and two Brazilian goals.
I went to my accommodation before the match to attempt to check in and drop my bag off. The code I had been given, no longer worked. Never mind. I waited for someone to come out. The next code worked. I was greeted with a smile as the receptionist recognised me, but she then informed me I was not staying there!
The hostel system is a mess. They use one name and address to lure you in and then they seem to use different locations. Only you do not know that!
I had time to find my new home for the night. I was greeted by a young man in perfect English. I had already noted the size of the door frames - as bigger than normal. When he stood up I realised they needed to make them bigger. I found out later that he was 7 feet tall.
He checked my details on the computer, and then asked if I had registered.
This is something I have been waiting for... I had read some months ago that Russia had decided that all foreign visitors must register the address at which they are staying within 24 hours of arrival in a city.
The message I read was hilarious. It gave Moscow as an example, explaining that the office to register was an hour out of the way. The staff would not speak English and you would be expected to queue for at least an hour. Hotels would register for you. I emailed a couple of places I would be staying and they confirmed they would not be registering me!
My receptionist politely informed me that he knew the system was crazy, but that it was the law, and to save any problems it would be best to complete the registration. I left him just after noon, came back at 10 at night. He was still working on it, but he completed it by the time I left at 5am the next morning.
Saransk to Kazan
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