Introduction: A Surreal Trip To Mother Russia 🇷🇺
- Konrad Tillman
- Aug 19
- 4 min read
Intro
Hello from Los Angeles, as I have just arrived back from Asia and Russia. Over the past 3 weeks, I have embarked on a whirlwind adventure to one of the least documented countries on the planet, from a Western blogger at the moment: Russia. While I am excited to kick things off on this review trip, I wanted to share an intro post of what to expect from this.
For reference, I am holding off on the Bolivia trip for now.
Why I Took This Trip To Russia
When I told people that I would be heading to Russia for a couple of weeks in August, all they asked was “why”. Fair enough, the West portrays a certain image of Russia, one that I’ll let you decide is true or not through my upcoming posts. However, after traveling to most of the level 4s, I often become aware that places may not be as they are made out to be online.
Anyways, here are the reasons why I decided to visit Russia:
Finishing up in-person school, I realized that I had the month of August off completely. It’s not all the time I get a full month off, so I decided to use this time to head to Russia.
Originally, my plan had been to go in September, but seeing as I could just cut out the northern part of the routing to Africa from Bali, I said, “Why not?”.
Another reason for visiting, although it ended in heartbreak, was to meet a good friend of mine who had just recently moved back to Moscow. It had been a while since we had seen each other, but uh, yeah…
Lastly, I was taking an independent study online titled “Leadership through travel”. I figured that this would be the perfect way forward for me.
Outside of those reasons, Russia has always been on my bucket list, and high up. My mum loved it (she witnessed in person the stock market crash in Mockba in 2007 as she was closing a deal), my grandmother loved it, and my sister has been dying to go. Guess it’s part of my family genetics…
What To Expect
Getting To Russia
American Airlines Flagship Lounge LAX
Japan Airlines A350-1000 Review
Lounge Review HND Domestic
Japan Airlines 767 Domestic J HND-ITM
Getting from ITM-KIX
Japan Airlines 787 Business Class KIX-BKK
Getting pulled over at immigration in Bangkok: war speech about Cambodia (Done)
A long sleep in Bangkok
Moscow 1 Series
Intro To Russia: Sensational
Taking Out Cash for Russia
Review: China Eastern A320Neo BKK-PKX Y
Lounge in Beijing
I think they tried to pocket an upgrade in Beijing
China Eastern A330-300 Economy PKX-SVO
Immigration as an American at SVO
Getting to the city from SVO
Garda: my new favorite restaurant in Moscow
Night one in Moscow
Mansillion Hotel Moscow
Exploring around Moscow, Red Square, St Peter's Basilica, and more
Night out in Moscow (day 2)
Hoter Arkavel Review
Russian hospitality: amazing
How good is Russian Vodka?
Saint Petersburg
Review: Rossiya Sukhoi Moscow-STP (Done)
Review: Radisson Blu Sonya
The beauty of the architecture in STP
Eating at a local KFC (Rostics)
Enjoying a day out in STP
Visiting the railway museum in STP
Using Yandex in Russia
Local bar hopping in STP
Review: Grand Express Train Business Class STP-Moscow
Moscow 2
Spending another day in Moscow
Morning walk to the floating bridge
A 6 am pint with a woman from Spain…
Kazan
Review: Aeroflot A321 Economy Moscow to Kazan
Review of the airport hotel in Kazan featuring a Yak-42D
Spending a day exploring Kazan
Delicious pizza in Kazan
Krasnojarsk
Why I went to Siberia (to review the A350 in Business)
Review: Aeroflot A320 Economy Kazan-Moscow
Review: Aeroflot A321 Economy Moscow-Krasnojarsk
Spending a night out in Krasnojarsk (wild, undercover operatives)
Visiting a local Burger King in Russia
Review: Ibis Hotel Krasnojarsk
Review: Airport Lounge Krasnojarsk
Review: Aeroflot A350 Business Class Krasnojarsk-Moscow
The Way Back (Moscow 3)
Review: Arbat House Moscow
Review: Grand de Paris
Last day in Moscow: exploring Patriarchs Pond and more
Final night out in Moscow
Review: Hotel de Paris Moscow
Review: Airport Lounge Moscow
Review: Eithad 787-9 Business Class Moscow-Abu Dhabi
Review: Etihad Business Class Lounge Abu Dhabi
Review: Eithad 777-300ER Business Class Abu Dhabi-Bangkok
A day in Bangkok (buying a suitcase)
Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge BKK
Review: Cathay Pacific A321Neo Bangkok-Hong Kong
Review: Airport Hotel Hong Kong
Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong
Review: United Polaris 787-9 Hong Kong-Los Angeles
Review: United Polaris Lounge LAX (Done)
Spending a day in Los Angeles
Review: United 737 Economy LAX-DEN
Review: United 737 Max 9 Domestic First DEN-EWR
All of that was done in 18 days, but I have the most amazing pictures to share!
There’s A Catch
While I am especially excited to review this remarkable trip to Russia, there is something coming up after that which is going to make this even more special. About 8 months ago, I had the privilege to visit Ukraine and spend some time in Kyiv. While I won’t go into the war specifically (as I am not a journalist), I will be sharing my day-to-day interaction with everyone in Russia and Ukraine. Let’s just say, it’s quite striking. I wish I could share more surrounding certain parts, but I would realistically like to go back and visit both places…
Final Thoughts
This is going to be, frankly, one of the best series I have published on this blog. From having empty cabin shots of almost every single flight, to over 3000 pictures taken in Russia, I am unbelievably excited to share. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and one that I will cherish for eternity. Stay tuned, with the Flagship Lounge Review coming up soon at LAX
