solo female travel to russia | MOSCOW

In October 2019, I went to Russia for the first time. I had wanted to go to Russia for a very long time, but always thought it was "too hard" because of the visa requirements and never knew whether it would be safe for me to travel alone as a female. After doing some research, I realised the paperwork for the visa was really not that bad, and that Moscow was relatively safe for female travellers (as long as you stayed some what street smart).

So I got on a flight from Romania, and headed to Russia, with Moscow as the first stop. I was amazed by the beauty of the city, from the metro, churches and kindness of the people. As soon as I arrived to my station, I got completely lost and had no idea where my hostel was. I didn't have internet on my phone, so sat on the side of the street with my bags, looking totally confused. A stranger came up to me and asked if I was okay, and I said I was trying to find my hostel. They told me that it was just around the corner (I knew it was close!) and even walked me to the front door of the hostel. As they left, they said "Welcome to Moscow". I was touched by the kindness of this stranger.

The city had so much to explore, but what stuck with me was the random acts of kindness from people. On another occasion, I was trying to find the station to get the metro home, and I walked up to a Russian girl to ask. She said she wasn't sure either, and helped me find it along the street. After some time had passed, we both still could not find it. Then another Russian guy came up to see if we were okay, and helped us find the station. I couldn't believe that both these people stopped what they were doing to help a traveller. We ended up chatting, and decided to go to see some live music and share some beers. We talked about all kinds of things, life in New Zealand compared to Russia, politics, music and interests. It was an amazing night to remember.

I loved my time in Moscow. It is a breathtakingly beautiful city, with so much culture and history. I hope to be back sometime soon.

Видео solo female travel to russia | MOSCOW канала The Leisure Club