Duration : 1st – 9th July

Flights: 

Delhi to Moscow (Aeroflot) – 36K (It was expensive, during normal time it can be booked for around 24K round trip)

I visited Moscow & Petersburg (4 days each).

From Moscow to Petersburg I took a free train. (During the world cup they were providing free trains). Normally it costs around 1K. Book through their official Website “rzd.ru”

From Petersburg to Moscow, I took the bullet train (SAPSAN). Cost was 3800 INR. (Book in advance through rzd, you will get cheaper tickets). The journey was about 3:45 hrs.

Hostel :
Hostel Movies & Hostel Lime in Moscow (1200 & 600 INR respectively per night, I think they will be cheaper during normal times)

Hostel Neva BnB in St Petersburg (800 per night). This hostel was very good and also was very close to the metro station.

Local Transport: 

Metro is very cheap. In Moscow it is 55RUB & St Petersburg 45RUB.

Take TROIKA card in Moscow (Per journey 35RUB) & Take PODOROZNIK card in St Petersburg (Per journey 35 RUB).

Both these cards can be used in sorts of ground transports.

As English language is rarely spoken there it is advisable to get these cards as you don’t have to go to the ticket counters anymore.

Uber is another cheaper option if you are travelling in a group.

Sightseeing:

Moscow:

1. Red square, Kremlin (The armoury & the cathedral square). Buy the tickets online, otherwise you have to stand in long queue.
2. St. Basil’s cathedral
3. Gorky Park
4. Cold war bunker
5. Sparrow Hills, Luzhniki Stadium
6. Space Museum near VDNKh metro Station
7. Arbat Street
8.  Izmailovo market for Shopping of Souvenirs. (You can apply your bargaining skills there)
9.  Some of the metro stations are itself like museums. They are very beautiful.

Moscow Bell (Kremlin)

St Basil's Cathedral (Red Square)

      

Saint Petersburg:

1. Palace Square (Winter Palace): Tip: Entrance to the Winter Palace is free on the 1st Thursday of every month. But there will be a long queue. Otherwise book your tickets online. Keep at least one day for visiting the winter palace, it is huge.
2. Boat cruise through the opening bridges in the Neva River. (The cruise starts from around 12 a.m – Tickets 1000 RUB). It is the best way to enjoy the white nights in summer. Must do.
3. St Isaac Cathedral. (Go to the top to get a panoramic view. But you have to get extra tickets for that)
4.  Peter & Paul Fortress
5.  Church of the Saviour on the spilled blood. (Very beautiful inside)
6.  Peterhof palace & gardens (Must visit). Go by Metro & Bus, while coming back take the Hydrofoil (Ticket was around 900 RUB). Spend the entire day there.
7.  Kazan Cathedral.

Palace Square

    

Sim card: 

I took megafon in the airport itself (500 RUB, 20 GB). In metro stations it is cheaper. 20 GB was more than enough for 10 days, as you will get wi fi almost everywhere.

Currency : Got the exchange rate of 1 RUB for 1.2 INR. Don’t carry too much cash. Use your debit cards in ATM. It is cheaper than currency conversion.

Most useful tip: Learn a little bit Russian before you go, at least the normal phrases. Learn to read the Cyrillic alphabets (It will make your life simpler.). Interact with the locals as much as possible. They are super helpful. If you speak a little bit Russian, they will treat you like stars.

Print out the Moscow and Petersburg metro map or install Yandex Metro app.

Cherry on the cake:
It was a visa free entry during Football world cups.

The most useful blog I came acrosshttps://russiable.com

SPACIBA & DASVIDANIYA

Duration: 26th Oct – 8th Nov, 2018

It feels nice if you can travel an expensive country in a super tight budget. I spent around 1 - 1.1 L for the entire tour, which includes Visa cost, Flight Cost, Insurance everything.

I visited Singapore & Malaysia during transit. I choose the flights in such a way that I get a full day layover at the respective places. The transit visa was free for both the countries, as I had Australian visa.

In Australia I visited Sydney (4 days), Gold Coast (3 days), and Melbourne (5 days).

In Melbourne I did couch surfing all the way which meant I did not spend a penny for accommodation. (Obviously I gifted my hosts with something or took them out for dinner)

I met one of the most helpful persons in my life during the trip, who picked me up from the airport at 4 am in the morning. One night I missed the last train and he rescued me at around 1 in the night. He hosted me for 2 days.

Places visited in Sydney

• Taronga Zoo
• Bondi Beach 
• Took the Bondi to Coogee walk
• Palm Beach
• Opera House- Harbour Bridge (Circular Quay)
• Darling Harbour
• China Town
• Blue Mountains.

Harbor Bridge

Opera House

Bondi Beach

Gold Coast

Sea world theme park (which I felt was waste of 90 dollars, it was all hype), Whale Watching, Beach Hoping. I was staying at Surfer’s Paradise which is the heart of Gold Coast.

Surfers Paradise (Heart of Gold Coast)

 Melbourne

Personally I found Melbourne the most beautiful among the three. The view of the countryside was awesome. Visited the Great Ocean Road, Botanical Garden, Took the free walk tour, State library of Victoria, and watched a match in MCG, Brighton Beach. Spent a whole day in Yarra Valley. The view was spectacular. Hiked to the top of Keppel Falls look out in Yarra valley being completely drenched in rain.

I recommend Yarra Valley and GOR tour to all visiting Melbourne.

I did the Yarra Valley tour in just 15 dollars (Tour operators charge around 80-100 dollars). I created an event in Couchsurfing and joined by one from USA, one Brazil, two German and one from Bangladesh. We hired a car of ourselves. This way the cost of the entire tour came down tremendously. 

Still I felt like I could have cut down my expenses in some parts.

Some Tips:

Get OPAL card in Sydney and don’t forget to tap off the card when you get down from the bus or train. I did not understand the system quite well and forgot to tap off on many times and lost a huge chunk of money over there. So, do your research properly before coming.
On Sundays public transportation is very cheap. Once you travel for around 2.5 AUD the other trips become free. That means for around 125 Rs, you can travel unlimited. For other weekdays the amount is around 14 AUD.

In Melbourne you need the Myki card.

Gold coast there is Gold Coast explore card for 10AUD, which you can use for one day unlimited across all public transportation systems.

SIM card – I took Lebara for 15AUD with 2 GB. (2 GB is enough for 10-12 days for navigation and other important stuffs). You will anyways get free wifi in hostels and in some places.

I use Skype to call India when I am abroad. Just recharge it with around 200 rs and you are good to go. Call rate is around 1.5 Rs per minute.

For currency credit card was accepted everywhere, but I felt like getting cash in India is the cheapest option. You will get the best rates.

Some major Spending:

• Visa : 140 AUD (7350 Rs) (which was online)
• Guwahati to Chennai – 5.2K
• Chennai to Sydney flight (through Singapore) – 7.9K (It was super cheap)
• Melbourne to Hyderabad (through Malaysia) – 15.9K
• Hyd to Guwahati – 4.5K
• Sydney to Gold Cost – 3.1k
• Gold Coast to Melbourne – 4.8K
• Travel Insurance - 800 Rs

I traveled with only Cabin baggage this time (7kg) as the ticket prices were only for cabin luggage and you have to pay extra for checked in baggage.

I spent around 50K before leaving India. And rest 50-60 K in Australia.

Finally I want to conclude with a beautiful line - " Travelling solo does not mean you are alone, you meet some wonderful people along the way ".

Type: e600 (It’s a multiple entry visa)

Mode: Online (No need to visit anywhere, do it from your room)

Charge: 140 AUD (For the 90 days validity one)

Processing time: Mine one took 20 days (May be different for different people)

First of all you have to create an IMMI account (Google it). This will be your gateway for applying the visa.

The entire process is very much straight forward and self-explanatory once you log in to your IMMI account.

You don’t need any air tickets or hotel booking during the application process. It can be done after obtaining the visa. (So, no worry of loosing money in case of visa denial)

Now coming to the most important part of documents what I submitted:

1. Passport Photograph

2. Passport

3. Passport pages with stamps (if you have visited any other country prior to this)

4. Driving License/ PAN card (your wish you can submit)

5. My company employment Letter

6. Identity card of my office

7. NOC from my company on letter head mentioning that I have been granted leave for visiting Australia and I am a permanent employee. The leave dates mentioned there can be arbitrary. Just put a tentative date.

8. Last 3 years IT

9. Salary slips of last 12 months.

   10.  Bank account statement of last one year , FD,RD,  PPF, Mutual Funds, Property papers (whatever you have) 

   11.  Itinerary (It is also an arbitrary one; just mention the city names you want to be against the dates. You can get it online from sites like Thomas cook, Cox & kings etc.)

As, I said I got the visa in 20 days through my mail. For verification my manager got a call from embassy asking about my position and salary. That’s it.

The most important I did not know before applying is that the visa is valid for one year and multiple entry. That means in the next year I can go any number of times provided my total number of days stay in Australia does not exceed 90 days.

Go through the you tube link. You can proceed exactly mentioned in the video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6OzRUT2fw)

It’s not my channel though.

P.S: This was my first visa. Prior to this I travelled to Russia, but that was visa free.

Extra benefit of Australian Visa:  You can visit Singapore (Upto 96 hrs) and Malaysia (Upto 120 hrs) without transit visa with Australian visa. So, plan your flights to have a long lay over at both the airports and visit two more countries on the go.

Cheers.

Happy Travels.