13th Aug (Sun) - Moscow Day 2

We had breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel, having checked that breakfast was provided. It was a splendid selection, there was even a small and exhaustive Japanese section, it seemed like Japanese food was the craze here. Even though fruit juices were provided, there was an option to cut fresh oranges and squeeze them for juice. We called up and was pleasantly surprised to get our checkout time extended to 4pm without requesting.

We went out for a walk late in the morning. There are lots of tram lines criss-crossing in the skyline.

We walked past the yellow Lamborgini and came to this Gourmet supermarket that was closed yesterday night and walked in to buy a chocolate macaroon and a chocolate muffin. The chocolate macaroon cost us 40 rouples but the muffin cost us 146 rouples and turned out to be very very hard.

We caught sight of the Tepemok kiosk and I bought a wild berries pancake. It was good but had a bit too much sauce for me.

We walked in and saw a Japanese restaurant and went in to sample the Japanese food in Moscow. The service was good for us but we did see a couple walk away because nobody would take orders at their table.

We then did a short walking tour of Moscow but the day had turned out more like a eating tour for the day. We then proceeded to rush back to the hotel to pack up for checkout. When we saw the hotel bill, we found that we had been slapped with a bill for breakfast for two. It was 54 CU (equivalent to US$63). We clarified with the lady serving us that we had been specifically told breakfast was complimentary. We also pointed out the lady and the guy who gave us the information at the reception counter. The lady serving us checked with them and very soon they were busy conversing in Russian and even went into the Manager's office while we were left at the counter. The lady serving us came back and told us that they will waive the breakfast bill but instead will add another 10 CU to our hotel accommodation. We were outraged since we had specifically checked at the reception about this.

In fact, at the entrance to the breakfast ballroom (i.e. prior to eating breakfast), when we gave our room number and were told to sign a bill, Ross specifically wrote on the bill "No charge. Included in room rate".

The guy explained that they mis-understood the room number given as 605 (instead of 650) and said that such were human errors where the situation can be compromised. We felt that given that we had provided them accurate information and even provided them our lastname, it was ridiculous for us to pay for a mistake that was made by the hotel. The concierge even claimed that it is not standard practice to ask for both room number and guest name - surely this is a way to avoid errors! He came across as particular arrogant and rude.

After arguing for fifteen minutes, we asked to speak to the manager several times and the manager finally came out to speak to us. Natalia Kirianova, who was the Assistant Front Office Manager (she told us that she was the most senior person on duty given it was a Sunday) said she hears our case but firmly stood by increasing the room rate. It was simply outrageous that we should pay when the mistake was all theirs. It is a matter of principle that we stand by whether breakfast had to be paid or not. She was demanding that we pay 10 CU for breakfast and said that it was a very reasonable rate to pay when we had not been told we should be paying at all! In a fit of anger, to show my displeasure, I threw my SPG(Starwood Privilege Guest) card in the bin.

Outraged, we picked up our things to proceed to another hotel to meet up our Exodus group. The effect was somewhat spoilt by the fact that the plastic bag Ross was holding gave way and some items spilled out. But in any case, we picked up our things and left.

We negotiated for a taxi to bring us to the hotel, it cost us 800 rouples. We arrived at Alfa Hotel and had some problems checking in since they couldn't find our names or the Exodus tour group name. In the end, Ross's name hit jackpot and we managed to sort things out.

The room was quite pleasant, spacious and clean. The only thing was that we didn't have was wireless internet access in the room. We were worried we might not have a fridge, but there was one.

At 6pm, we waited in the lobby for the Exodus group leader to turn up. I had lots of questions on how the group would be like. In fact, both of us are excited about joining a group and meeting new people after being by ourselves for a while. It would be a nice change and would maybe allow us to enjoy the trips a bit more. I was also wondering how the Exodus tour leader will be like. Will she be fluent in multiple languages? Will it be a group of difficult people to get along with? Will there be a lot of experienced travelers?

It was around 620pm before she turned up, along with the whole group. It turned out that they had all been delayed at Heathrow airport because of stricter security measures, under the suspicions of another 9/11 attack. It turned out that it was fortunate that the majority of the group turned up as they did. We were told of the situation, passengers waiting to get on flights were told that the flights were cancelled, even though in the end, they took off. The passengers were also not allowed hand-carry luggage unless they were paper materials and things as such. No electronic items, or even food were allowed. Milk powder was also allowed once the carrier tasted and verified that they were safe.

We were introduced to the group of nine, as well as our Moscow tour guide, Vera. Our Exodus group had Catherine (leader), Steve, Jess, Trevor, Frank, Clare, Eugene, Ross and myself. There was another 3 that were expected to turn up. Catherine is from London and speaks with a British accent, and seemed to be a very easy person to talk to. It seemed like Steve and Jess were the last ones to book the Exodus tour and there seemed to be problems with their train tickets so they would only be with us until end of the Moscow trip. I thought it was a pity since they looked like our age group and it make the group more interesting to have them.

We had a briefing session and the group adjourned to meet later for dinner. We took the Metro out a few stations into the City at My-My (pronounced Moo-Moo) for Russian food. Catherine said there might be occasions where we might need to go back ourselves by Metro. Eugene was a bit over-whelmed about that prospect. It was like buffet style where you point out the food you want, Vera was helping to explain what the different foods were. She spoke good english.

The dinner was pretty good. After dinner, a few of us had drinks together at the pub near the hotel, Jes, Steve, Clare, Trevor and both of us.

After learning that the laundry was not done in bags but hotel style where they charged by the item, we decided to do our laundry. Mine was regularly washed but Ross had lots to do. So we stayed up that night doing laundry and hanging them out in the room.