Includes details on shipping vehicle to Russia
Here we go again.
Details, details, details. To get going is all about details. You CAN take it with you, in fact if you forget something you have to deal with it for a long time. We took the van and bike over to Long Beach to put them into a hicube container. Thanks Harry for the ride back. We got there the night before I was led to understand we were to load the container. Waited around for something like three hours the next morning and still no move to load. Then they allowed as there was no container to load. Lots of finger pointing as to why this was so. Shipping Company blamed the Warehouse Company and the Warehouse Company blamed the Shipping Company, you get the picture. As it turned out it was the Shipping Company. So we left the stuff there with the hopes they would load it without mishap. Was told that the door opening was eight feet five inches high and my measurements said at most there was a half-inch to spare. Guess I’ll see what the result is when we unload in Vladivostok.
Finally everything was supposedly loaded and headed to the boat, when US Customs put a hold on the container. Customs would give no date for the inspection to occur; other than it would be less than a month. They totally unloaded the container and did a $785 inspection, plus the hauling and unload and reload charges, all at my expense of course. Total was about $1800, plus the original $4600 shipping. The delay caused the container to miss the boat.
So had to rebook the plane tickets ($400) and as it turns out, change the invite dates for the Russian visas ($250). Apparently your entry date has to be correct. You have to register within seventy-two hours after arrival. Or so I was told. I’m a little skeptical on that one, as Jack was a week late, because he missed his original ferry. He had a one month tourist visa though , so maybe they’re treated different.
As before I’ll try and give some of the details, for those reading this, who might be inclined, to do something equally stupid. Things like shipping charges and gas prices. Boring maybe, but hard to find out any other way.
What I learned from all this is, if I were to do it again, I would explore shipping from outside the US. Ensenada Baja Mexico or Vancouver or some such place. Can’t see how they could possibly have a more expensive or screwed up system. Charged $70 for a ‘clean truck’, really. When I shipped from Cartegena Columbia, it was much simpler, with everything handled before hand and inspection and container loading done at the same time. If at all possible ship from outside the US. A system brought to you by the same people that gave you Ol Lyin George and Microsoft.
Getting a visa of more than a month is hard, for Russia. Looks like I’m going to be a consultant, so I can get a one-year multiple entry business Visa. You can stay in Russia for ninety days in any one hundred-eighty day period. Also a visa, in advance, is needed for Kazakhstan. Only thirty days is possible for a tourist visa. Problem is you need to specify dates in advance. So just had to guess and hope things work out, time wise.
