Seoul to Irkutsk: A One-Way Ticket to Russia
For this trip, my schedule after the 17th isn't fixed, so I don't have a return ticket. I tried to guess my itinerary as best as I could to buy one, but since I have no idea where I'll end up, I decided to figure it out after my girlfriend arrives in Moscow. To explain why I'm stressing over this: I wanted to travel with my girlfriend, who works for an airline, as much as possible. But with airline employee tickets, it's always uncertain when and what seats will be available. So she's only attempting to come to Moscow; it's not a sure thing. If she can't make it, my travel buddy Seungjun and I will head to St. Petersburg. If she does, we'll stay longer in Moscow. We'll face this kind of crossroads twice: once in Moscow, and again somewhere unknown where we'll be staying from June 2nd to the 4th. A reckless plan only an unemployed person with too much free time could pull off.
But right as I was about to leave, another problem popped up. Checking various blogs and forums, I found out that you can be denied entry to Russia if you don't have a return ticket. Online travel communities in particular were full of scary posts warning that you'll be blocked at the border without one. But they were all basically saying "It happened in a country I visited, so Russia will probably be the same," with zero accountability. Replies like that are so annoying. I read that this actually happens in island nations, and seeing comments from people who supposedly experienced it in Russia made me increasingly anxious as my departure date approached. Still, it didn't make sense to just pick a random destination and buy a ticket just to get in, so I boarded the flight to Russia with only a one-way ticket. After that, my constantly bickering left and right brain finally reached a "whatever happens, happens" consensus: 'Maybe I can just call someone from the embassy when I get to Khabarovsk Airport?' I think this is the first time I've ever boarded a plane already picturing myself getting deported.
Aurora Airlines
Denied entry or not, I sprinted through Incheon Airport and barely made it by the boarding deadline which isn't even the first time this has happened, and my incredibly laid-back, lazy self finally set off for Russia.
To explain a bit about the very unique plane I took to Russia: I booked everything through Aeroflot, but the actual flight was a codeshare operated by Aurora Airlines. I had never heard of this airline in my life, so I expected to have to buy all my food and water like on Cebu Pacific I honestly thought I'd have to pay for the seatbelt on Cebu, but they provided much better service than I anticipated. You don't have to pay extra for meals, and they even printed beautiful nature scenes on the inside of the lunch boxes so you can imagine the outdoors while eating. I also didn't notice any of the unfriendliness that people commonly complain about when flying Aeroflot. Of course, when they said "Welcome aboard," only one corner of their mouth went up. I guess Russian pride doesn't allow them to raise both corners of their mouth. I tried both the fish and the meat meals, and they were both decent. However, there is one quirk that acts as a huge downside for someone who loves drinking like me: they don't serve a single drop of alcohol, neither wine nor beer. And naturally, you absolutely cannot drink any alcohol you brought on board yourself.
Arriving in Khabarovsk
As I arrived in Khabarovsk, the moment of truth finally came. Would my trip end right here, leaving me to turn back with only two blog posts to show for it, or would I fight my way through and claim victory? It was a do-or-die moment. Standing at the Khabarovsk Airport immigration counter—the most bare-bones setup I've seen since Bali—I went through immigration pretending I wasn't nervous or anxious at all. Repeating 'I'm fine. Nothing is going to happen' in my head, I forced a smile, handed my passport to the officer, and said "Hello~" in a very bright voice. Completely ignoring my efforts, the officer just gave me two unsmiling glares, pointed at a document, said "Here, here" to get my signature, and that was it. I actually had to ask, "Done?" I mean, I just entered your country, shouldn't you at least ask why I'm here? There wasn't even the annoying arrival card to fill out that you have to do in almost every other country though you do receive an immigration card, nor was there a customs declaration form to make you wrestle with your conscience. If you have something to declare, you just walk through the "Goods to Declare" gate, but it's such a meaningless gate that I wonder how many people have actually walked through it since the fall of the Soviet Union. Plus, while most countries limit alcohol imports to 1 liter, Russia officially allows 2 liters—double the usual amount. Truly the land of strong vodka.
After passing through the simple immigration process where nobody stops you (they just don't smile), I had to transfer to a domestic flight to reach my first destination, Irkutsk. Looking at the airport layout after passing the gates, I saw that international and domestic flights were handled in completely separate buildings. To be fair, if they tried to handle both in an airport as small as the Sokcho bus terminal, the airport staff would probably riot before the passengers did. Naturally, as two blind men in Russia for the first time with absolutely zero ability to decipher Cyrillic, Seungjun, who is always quick to act, asked an information desk worker for directions.
"Go straight 200m, turn right, turn left."
We received directions with absolutely no smiles and zero unnecessary pleasantries.The amazing part is that following them exactly actually led us to the domestic terminal.
The domestic airport I saw was way more interesting than the international one. First of all, when you walk inside, you hear birds chirping as if you're in a forest. Just as I was thinking, 'Ah, they're playing bird sounds over the speakers to soften the stiff atmosphere. Russian people might not smile, but they're super delicate on the inside~', I saw an actual bird right in front of me. A real, flying bird. And it wasn't just one or two that flew in by mistake and were chirping for their lives; there were about ten of them that had straight-up built nests and were living there. What's even more surprising is that the only people wondering why there were birds inside the building and getting scolded by the cleaning lady for throwing bread crumbs were the foreigners. I hadn't even been in Russia for a few hours, and my jaw was already dropping.
After finishing my bird-watching, I sat on a chair waiting for the next flight when two Russian women approached us with smiles. It hadn't been long, but they were the first people in Russia to approach us with a smile. Seungjun and I both smiled back and gave a bright "Hello~", and they smiled even wider and started explaining something incomprehensible to him. Feeling somewhat left out, I peeked from behind at the book they had opened, and it turned out they were cult members, similar to the street preachers back in Korea. It was surprising and funny that these kinds of people existed in Russia too, but out of all the people there, they just had to pick him. This guy really is a superstar abroad. A superstar easy target.
Tips for Using Khabarovsk Domestic Terminal
If you want to catch some Wi-Fi, grab a seat near the door of the business lounge on the 2nd floor of the domestic terminal. You'll be able to connect to a password-free Wi-Fi network used by the business lounge. The Wi-Fi name starts with 'b'.
Also, the seats on the 2nd floor are much softer and more comfortable than the ones on the 1st floor. If you're at the Irkutsk airport, head up to the 2nd floor immediately.
Additional Pre-Departure Expenses
- Gifts (Sheet masks) 18,190 KRW
- Tripod 15,250 KRW (Used 20,000 KRW in reward points)
- Insurance 69,970 KRW
- Camera app for time-lapse 15,000 KRW
Total 118,410 KRW
Expenses (Per Person)
- Cola at Khabarovsk Airport 80 RUB
- Accommodation 750 RUB
- Danish beer 150 RUB
Total 980 RUB
Total Trip Expenses 525,936 KRW + 980 RUB