Post first drafted on 12th Aug
Hubby is in Russia now holidaying. So envious that he could go while I’m stuck here in my yet again another how many times long-period solo month handling the shit at home. Now I want to go for another solo holiday. 😀
When he was preparing for his trip, I also had to do preparation on my side.
Insurance
I never travel without insurance. The man never buys insurance whenever he travels, always say there's no need to. Of course I want my family members to 平安的去平安的回 everytime we travel. I'm not worried about me losing more money buying insurance and have nothing to claim. Aiyoh! Better no need to claim anything lor!
What more now that he's going to a country that is sanctioned by Singapore and many other countries, it won't be so easy to find an insurance company willing to offer travel insurance to Russia. Searched and searched, I considered if I should purchase insurance from Russia or China (since they allow online purchase) but what if I need to claim anything? It'll be so difficult. Choy!
Messaged dearie W to check with her where she buys her travel insurance from coz she has travelled to Russia before. Checked the insurance company and unfortunately they don’t cover Russia and some other countries.
Finally found one, reconfirmed with them that the country is covered.
@ 6th Aug 2.34am : chatted with MSIG and I thought I read somewhere Russia is included but I decided to make an extra step in asking them. Look at their reply, can they stop sending template replies? Or am I not comprehending this correctly? Asked twice and they kept giving me the same reply. Fed up and I decided not to buy from them.
Ooh….this covers against acts of terrorism. Aiyoh! 观音菩萨 please por-pi por-pi
I simply forgot FWD existed. Haha! I bought from them donkey years before $197.15 but coz of some promo only paid $118.29. So yup! I went with FWD who didn’t give me a template reply to my question, to reassure me. 好吧！Quickly buy his insurance as he is travelling the next day evening to PKX and then for his connection to Russia after that.
Reasons why not easy to find companies able to support travel insurance to Russia
Anyway, now I mainly buy our travel insurance from ETIQA.
Seems like since last year all of us had been travelling more often than usual, this year alone hubby has made 4 trips in a span of 6 months. Che-che and lil’ one made a trip in June and che-che is making a solo trip in September. I made a trip in June. Maybe year-end we’ll do one short trip somewhere coz che-che is left a few days of annual leave. So with all these trips, should I have gotten a family yearly insurance in the beginning? Maybe I should purchase a family yearly insurance from next year onwards?
Register e-MFA
Had to insist that the man registers for e-MFA coz' I can't do this on his behalf. In order to ensure that it's done because he claimed that he will do it BUT I DON'T trust him that he will do it. Made him log into Singpass and registered for him.
Advisory from MFA
01 Apr 2024
MFA TRAVEL ADVISORY: SITUATION IN UKRAINE AND RUSSIA 1 APRIL 2024
In view of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the current security situation in Russia, Singaporeans should defer all non-essential travel to Russia, and defer all travel to Ukraine.
Surprisingly there are some Singaporeans who also don't heed government advisory. 😆The moderator in Singapore Hikers FB group that I'm in says that there's a group of hikers in Russia at that time.
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Was in between doing some houseworks when I suddenly craved for chocolates and since he's in Russia, I had to join him 😆. Took the chocolates he bought in May
I'm thinking all chocolates will taste like chocolates, what can go wrong right?
Decided to eat hazelnut chocolate. Yucks! Not nice.
The box says hazelnut, the foil packaging says cranberry but it's hazelnut inside. Ha!
Aiyoh! Old stock huh?
Though I love dark chocolate, this is really 不好吃 👎
I messaged him after that and told him not to buy any chocolates home. But he can buy other unique snacks and my fridge magnets.
Out of boredom, I went to our display unit and took picture of this матрёшка Matryoshka dolls we have for more than 10 years. Will he buy something similar when he's there? I hope not, coz all I wanted were fridge magnets
Can't wait to see the photos he took. Sigh..... will I have the chance to go there? Russia is really beautiful. I've been to a Russian church in Darmstadt, deliberately made a stop there while I was otw to Heidelberg from Frankfurt. So charmed by the church, then SQ hasn't started any flights to Moscow. I've always loved countries for their folk costumes, songs and dances, Russia is one of them. Have you seen the dance where the ladies seem to be gliding across the floor? The male cossack dance. The famed Kalinka and some other popular Russian folk songs.
21st Aug (Thu)
Everytime hubby returns home from any trip, we will look forward to him bringing back stuffs. Hubby is unlike us, he doesn’t go crazy shopping for souvenirs or snacks like we girls do 🤣. So whatever few items he buys back is highly treasured 🤣.
Teasing lil’ one with her gift 🎁 from China. Coz she likes this laundry pod
Bought some snacks and a pack of instant noodles that che-che likes, the individually wrapped braised eggs which is yummy. Not going to post those pics (I didn’t even bother to take pictures).
What I was most interested in are the souvenirs from Russia coz like how many people can go to Russia?
This is nice. He hardly likes chocolates and even though I already told him not to buy any chocolates back, he did 🤭. But he said it’s nice so I gotta trust him.
Initially was thinking if I should give mom n bro a packet or some but this is nice. I think we will finish the two big packs ourselves. It tastes just like Almond Roca, which is my fav but I hardly buy them in SIN coz is expensive. For this pack of 62-63 small pieces of chocolate (or if I combine 2 pieces = 1 Roca it’s 31) it only costs S$4. That’s cheap!
Pine nuts. Said is a specialty product from Russia. Logical coz sure have an abundance of pine trees or whatever coniferous trees in that latitude. Whatever it is, I haven’t had pine nuts for a long time, I used to enjoy putting them in my salad. And when was the last time I had salad at home? Haha!
Pine nuts : Yes, pine nuts, particularly Siberian pine nuts, are well-known and historically consumed in Russia, though they are more famous globally as a major Russian export product rather than a domestically famous superfood. Russia is a top producer of pine nuts, which are harvested from Siberian cedar trees and are seen as a national treasure, with regions like Siberia and the Far East being significant for their production and an important source of income for locals.
Chagoff Chaga Mushroom Tea (ЧАГА
БЕРЕЗОВАЯ молотая)
Have absolutely no idea what this is. So you see at least hubby comes back with healthy snacks, unlike the 3 ladies in the family always buy back unhealthy snacks 😂.
Some info from :thewhistlingkettle.com
Some bathing stuffs and 1 sunscreen
Facial wash. Reminds me we have some facial wash he bought from N Korea
My fridge magnets for Moscow and St Petersburg. There are two other places where hubby stayed but no magnets ☹️
Hubby bought this. Said it’s not cheap lor! 87199 rubles = S$1387.17. Got diamonds and rose gold (I love rose gold) and an amber stone. Ok, the amber stone doesn’t look that nice but hubby 有心买给我 so ..
Curiously I asked if Alipay is widely used since Chinese tourists literally filled up the tourist spots. Not really, mainly he paid cash (conversion rate as of today is 1000 Russian ruble = 15.93 SGD)
I need to figure out how to open and close the earring tho!
Good to know : Russia is famous for amber because the Kaliningrad Oblast region, a former German territory transferred to the USSR after World War Il, contains the vast majority of the world's Baltic amber deposits. This region is often called the "Amber Capital of the World" and is the center of the global amber industry, with more than 90% of the world's amber supply coming from its deposits.
Why wear amber : People wear amber for perceived physical benefits, like pain and inflammation relief due to succinic acid, and emotional well-being
through its calming properties and connection to nature. It is also worn for protection against negative energy, as a talisman against the "evil eye," and as a symbolic connection to the earth and ancient energy.
Additionally, amber is valued as a beautiful, warm, and allergy-friendly accessory.
Good to know : Russia is known for its significant deposits of agate, particularly the distinctive Russian Dendritic Agate, which features fern-like patterns. The Ural Mountains are a major source of this stone, and it has also been found in regions like the Magadan Oblast and Chukchi Peninsula.
Agate has a long history of use in Russia, being incorporated into decorative objects and jewelry by artists like Carl Faberge.
Why wear agate : Agate is accepted to promote balance, strength, and emotional healing, recuperating, enhancing thoughts, and encouraging a feeling of stability and harmony.
