This article is about my journey and virgin
experience of watching a World Cup in a foreign country. Helming from
Singapore, this is how my experience went.
PART II: Heading to
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
The World Cup atmosphere can be felt way back in Changi
Airport, Singapore on the 21st July 2018. There was a small display
of football jerseys at one of the terminals and World Cup promotions could be
seen everywhere we went. That day, I took an Emirates flight with my parents to
Moscow with a transfer at Dubai International Airport. After checking-in our
luggage, we went for our last Singaporean meal before our flight; a nasi lemak
meal (coconut rice with fried chicken and anchovies) with a dollop of spicy
chilli sauce and bandung (rose) drink.
Flight to Moscow
Our flight to Dubai was for 8 hours and from Dubai to Moscow’s
Domodeva Airport, another 7 hours. We left Singapore at 10.30am and reached
Moscow at 11.30pm (Moscow time, which is 5 hours behind Singapore). As we
approached closer to Moscow, the World Cup atmosphere seemingly intensifies. The
flight from Dubai was filled with World Cup fans helming from Peru, Argentina,
Colombia, Egypt, Nigeria and even non-participatory countries such as Lebanon.
There was a massive exchange of friendly greetings at the transit lounge back
in Dubai and it served as a precursor of what to expect in Moscow itself.
Touch Down
The immigration process at Domodedovo Airport was a lengthy
and tiring one. Even after landing so late in the evening, with the volume of
passengers coming in, we had to queue for a quite a while. While we were queuing,
officers would pick off random people and bring them to a separate holding area
to be questioned. Once I got to the counter, I was asked several questions and
my photo was taken. It immediately become apparent that knowing Russian will go
a long way to surviving and communicating in Russia as the officer does not
speak English! Thankfully, immigration went smoothly.
The baggage claim area was slightly chaotic as well. Perhaps
with Changi Airport’s high standards, everywhere else may seem as such. We
could not find our luggage and waited for half an hour at the baggage claim
area before realising that someone else had taken our luggage and placed it at
a corner together with several other luggage.
SIM Card
Afterwards, we went out and immediately tried to obtain a
SIM card. The nearest booth was from Megafon, one of the largest telecom
companies in Russia. It was recommended that we purchase our SIM card in Russia
itself as it is really very cheap. In the end, we got a SIM card with 10GB of
data for 1000 roubles or SG$20 (not really the best price, but it was the best
at the airport). The process is easy enough. Just provide your passport and the
money in hand and within minutes, you will have your SIM card.
Yandex Taxi
Afterwards, we used the local Yandex app, a ride-hailing app
similar to Uber, in order to get a ride back to our hotel, Hotel Voyage Park.
Yandex is honestly a lot better than Uber as it is a lot cheaper and for the
taxi drivers they are able to check if there are traffic jam according to the route.
I managed to converse a little in Russian with the cab driver and by around
1.45am, we reached our hotel for a belated sleep in.
Road Trip to Nizhny Novgorod
I will fast forward a few days to the 24th of
July 2018. I failed to mention in my earlier post that my parents had decided
to come to Russia with me to watch the World Cup too and we had bought earlier match
tickets also at Nizhny Novgorod, the England vs Panama match. Due to the late
nature of us booking the tickets, we could only get category 1 tickets at USD210
each and we could not book a free train ride to Nizhny Novgorod. In fact, it
was impossible to even get a normal available train there. In the end, I
suggested for us to take Yandex taxi to Nizhny Novgorod. It would cost us 10 000
roubles which is about the same price as 3 train tickets to Nizhny Novgorod.
The only difference is the time it would take for us to get there, 5 hours
instead of 3.
I slept most of the journey as we started our journey
relatively early at 9.30am. When I was awake, I talked to my Yandex driver,
Ayub. Apparently, he is from Tajikistan and had come to Moscow to take his
Masters a few years ago. He also speaks Russian and German fluently. The
Russian countryside was also really beautiful. Once a while, we will pass a
village with beautiful wooden huts and cathedrals.
At around 2.30pm, we reached Nizhny Novgorod. The city in my
opinion is rustic and laidback compared to Moscow. There are several
construction projects around but overall, the city is old and quaint. We did
not manage to explore the city as we headed straight to the Nizhny Novgorod stadium.
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
Roads around the stadium has been closed. Certain vehicles
with special passes are permitted through and they are given to reputable
drivers or tour buses in order to shuttle people around the cordoned off area.
For example, the bridge nearest to the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin linking to the
stadium was cordoned off. We dropped off a few blocks away from the stadium and
walked towards it.
Finding our way is really not a problem. There were FIFA volunteers
and guides every few metres who could speak sufficient amount of English. The
younger generation mostly took English as a second language in school. However,
due to a lack of practice, some of their English may have attrited which is why
there are some communication barriers for non-Russian speakers in the streets. Some
of the volunteers were dancing and when you pass them, they will high five you.
A friend of mine joked that it is mandatory to return it.
The FIFA atmosphere immediately reached a new level as we
got closer to the stadium. People drabbed in all kinds of flag, mostly the Panama
flag, were heading towards the stadium. Music were played and there were several
performances by street musicians around. Russian cheerleaders were a hit among
football fans as everyone wants a picture with them. Some singing can be heard
among larger groups. We went to the Decathlon outlet near the stadium and got
some drinks and clothes. I even got myself a Russian scarf.
Entering the Stadium
We then made our way to the entrance nearby. At the entrance,
there was a security check. Our bags and bodies were scanned, and any unwanted
items were taken by the security and that included food items and drinks and
flags that are political or too large. Once past security, a festival-like
environment greeted us. There were FIFA souvenir shops selling World Cup goods,
carnival booths with football-themed games and food and drink booths selling
mainly hot dogs and beers.
At around 3.30pm, we went to our seat, which had a really
good view of the pitch. Soon, the match will start, and the cheers grew louder.
