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Travel guide to
St Petersburg,
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Things to know when visiting Minsk
Visa and Passport For citizens from most countries a visa is always necessary to enter Belarus. Read more under visas. You should always bring the passport with you during your stay in Belarus.
Currency Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR), 2139 BYR per dollar, 2719 BYR per Euro (2006-09-27).
Money exchange Dollar and Euro and Russian rubles are the most suitable currencies to change in Minsk. Change your Belarusian roubles before leaving Belarus as it may be hard to change them in some places outside Belarus.
Cash machines There are lots of cash machines in Minsk so using Mastercard/Maestro, Visa and some other major cards is not a problem in Minsk.
Student cards If studying in Belarus and having a Belarusian student card you are entitled to discounts on public transport in Minsk.
Under 18 Under ages are not allowed to be alone in the streets of Minsk after 23.00.
Alcohol policy One most be 18 year to buy alcohol in Belarus or to visit night clubs. Alcohol is now allowed to be consumed in the streets. Spirits and beer is sold until 23.00 in the shops, after 23.00 shops are only entitled to sell wine and champagne.
Timezone Minsk time is GMT +2. When London is 12.00, Minsk is 14.00.
Water Avoid drinking the tap water in Minsk.
Electricity European standard, 230 volt.
GSM 900/1800 is used in St Petersburg, the same as in the rest of Europe. It may be quite expensive both to call and to pick up calls if not using a Russian subscription. So if staying for a longer time in St Petersburg it may be better to consider buying a prepaid phone-card from a Russian operator. SMS is cheap to send and free to receive if not having a Russian subscription. 3G isn't planned in Russia until 2006.
Using GSM phones in Belarus
GSM 900/1800 is used in Minsk, the same as in the rest of Europe. It may be quite expensive both to call and to pick up calls if not using a Belarusian subscription. So if staying for a longer time in Minsk it may be better to sign up for a prepaid phone-card from a Belarusian operator. That the card is pre-paid doesn't mean it's not possible to overdraw the account as there may take up to a few hours for the calls to be registered. 3G isn't launced yet, but fast mobile Internet connections are possible with EDGE.
Internet: Pre-paid card for a fixed amount of horus may be both from several kiosks, CD shops, Photos stores. Some of the Internet cafes in Minsk are M@xi (Ulitsa Gaja 4, tel: 268-69-65), Ploshadka HP (Ulitsa Nemiga 8, Metro: Nemiga) and Ploshadka Samsung (Prospekt Nesavismosti 58/4, Metro: Ploshad Yakuba Kolasa). There is also possible to use Internet at the train station. Cell-phone operator Velcom offers GPRS data to good prices.
Post: Letters from St Petersburg to Europe is delivered in one to two weeks, letters for U.S. and other destinations more far away may take more time.
Language In hotels and better restaurants it’s quite often possible to use English. Also the most restaurants have menus in English, even if the employees not always know it. Russian is the language everybody is speaking but traffic signs as well as signs in the subway are in Belarusian. It’s a god idea to learn the cyrrilic alphabet, which is quite easy to learn.
What is going on in Minsk?:
There are some good sources worth to know about to get information about what is going on in Minsk. Daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda has information about what appears on cinema, theater and more. Especially the saturday edition is interestting as one may find the whole weeks cinema program. Where Minsk is a Russian and English language information magazine giving information on night clubs, restaurants and more in Minsk. Get it for free from hotels or some restaurants. TV channel Pervy Muzikalny is one of the most important media for announcing night clubs, events, concerts and restaurants. Cell phone operator Velcom has a SMS service through which one it's possible to get information about what is shoing in theateres, cinema, adresses to night clubs and much more.
Photographing Films and development is easy to find in Belarus both for standard 135-film, 120 film, and digital. APS films and development are not very common in Belarus.
Important phone-numbers: Fire-brigade 01, Police 02, Ambulance 03, Gas-alarm 04.
Big Mac Menu, 2,5 USD, main course with beverage from 3,5 USD, Coca-Cola 0,5 litre 0,5 USD, bar of chocolate 100 gram 0,5 USD, cinema ticket 2-12 USD, beer in pubs and nightclubs 0,5-4 USD, vodka in the shops 1 litre from 4 USD, box of Marlboro 0,8 USD, journey by metro, tram, or bus 0,3 USD.
Prices Big Mac menu, 3 USD, main course with beverage from 4,5 USD, Coca-Cola 0,5l 5 USD, Bela-Cola (Belarusian Cola) 0,5l 3 USD, chocolate 100g 0,5 USD, cinema-ticket 1-5 USD, beer in pubs and night clubs 1-6 USD, vodka in shops butik 1l from 5 USD, box of Marlboro 1 USD, journey by metro, tram or buss 0,3 USD.
MINSK TRAVEL GUIDE - BELARUS
Copyright © 2006, D.Alin
www.minsktravelguide.com
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