Belarus. Really, it isn't one of the easiest countries to gain access into. At least if you are not part of the ex-Soviet states. For citizens of most countries, one has to fork out about 70 euros to apply for a visa at the Belarusian embassy. I would also like to mention that if you are not paying directly in USD or EUR, then it is advised to call them on the day you would like to make the payment to get the correct exchange rates.
More boring details here: http://japan.mfa.gov.by/ja/visa/en/
For example, I was travelling from Japan so I had at my disposal plenty of yen. I called up the embassy and enquired the rates (did I mention you have to call in the morning?). Electronic bank transfer is another different beast foreigners in Japan needed to tame but that's another story for another time. It may be different and most likely much easier in other countries to do a bank transfer. I had to do it personally at the ATM machine. How 90s is that?
I shall not bore anyone with the next few steps that involve documents and more forms to fill before sending them by mail to the embassy in Tokyo. At least I did not have to ask a favour of a Belarusian citizen to be my guarantor on my trip there. The Belarusian State University did all the heavy lifting.
Right, so the trip to Minsk, the capital city of Belarus from Osaka, Japan. It was a while ago in mid-May where I made the trip on Etihad airlines. I made a six hour stopover in Incheon, Korea where I rendezvous with other students from Japan. We then continued the next leg of the trip to Abu Dhabi, where there wasn't much to see in the airport and luckily our connecting flight to Minsk airport was early in the morning so we did not really experience the desert heat. After about five hours of flying, we reach Minsk and another totally different culture and language.
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| Early morning in Abu Dhabi airport. We can't and didn't have the time to go out from the airport. We might just see more sand and desert anyway. |
It was a balmy Sunday, with some hint of rain as I remembered it. All of use settled down at the hotel and decided to go check out the nearby supermarket and bakery. But first, we needed the accepted medium of exchange of the land. The hotel has a currency exchange so we bought some rubles there. We felt like millionaires after exchanging our euros and yens with the belarusian ruble. 1 euro got about 22, 000 rubles. We exchanged some money to buy some coffee and cakes from the bakery. The supermarket, although quite small, had an amazing selection of beers, bread, and cheese (in comparison to my own personal experience in Asia).
Note that however, since 1 July 2016, they have re-denominated their currency (see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Belarusian_ruble). But I still have in my collection the old notes. Hope they are worth something in the far future!
Minsk is a very clean and modern city with globally recognisable chains and fancy-looking local restaurants. There are wide streets and underground malls. Orthodox and catholic churches pepper the city area and a beautiful riverside garden/walkway where most residents go to spend their evenings.
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| Beautiful red church built in the early 20th century near the parliament building. The glass dome covers an underground mall. |
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| Church of Saint Virgin Mary, a major landmark in Minsk. |
There are a lot of nice restaurants in the old part of the city which I do recommend visiting. They are, in my opinion, not prohibitively expensive. Definitely cheaper than Japan and most of western European restaurants. The food is very good too.
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| Some kind of meat roll. I forgot its name. |
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| Pancakes made from potatoes. |
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| Belarusian vodka. Quite ordinary though. |
