All *coherent & informative* feedback received April 2005 or thereafter. YES, I PARTICULARLY VALUE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK - AS LONG AS IT IS AT THE VERY LEAST SHOWS ENOUGH RESPECT FOR GRAMMAR TO KEEP IT READABLE. Will someone tell me why complaints tend to be incoherent? If you don't see your ravings here it is not because I practice censorship but because I didn't find our submission comprehensible. Potential clients please relax as 90% of what I hear about my humble services to humanity is very positive. See my message board for recent and unprocessed postings.

Belated Review of Pasha's services IP: 4.139.60.25 Posted on 12/14/2005 at 08:38:07 PM by Marc of August 04 I feel somewhat guilty writing this so long after I used his services. I actually sent a review to Pasha's inbox in Oct. of 04 but I do not know if he got it up on the review section. Irregardless, all notices on this board are apparently from the year 2005, I believe I read on this site that the old testimonials were lost in some sort of crash. Pasha can correct me on that if I am wrong. I visited Moscow in August of 2004 for two weeks. I was lucky to come across Pasha's site because it was linked to the Moscow Times site. He answered general inquiries by email before the trip, and he picked me up at the airport. This was invaluable after a long flight and also because of the sinister, shady taxi driver's who prowl the airports looking for vulnerable tourists to drive in to town and then demand exorbitant sums from in order to open their cab trunks to get the luggage out. Pasha set me up with a great room in Asya's apartment- great price, great location, great people to stay with. (I wonder if Asya still has people stay at her place- the location and price was too good to be true.) Pasha also helped me with a few general things- he arranged to have my laundry done once, he let me use his computer to compose and send emails, (all with his supervision of course.) He even took me for a general tour of the city in his car. At the time Pasha charged me $20 hour for his time, concentration and services. I think that is very reasonable because I know getting things done is sometimes a pain in the ass in Moscow. I think the important thing to remember about Pasha is that he is a small business owner who expects to be paid for his time. He wants to provide a service to you and he wants to make a reasonable fee for doing it. He told me he has met many budget travelers with vaque interests who waste his time- God knows I have met many myself. If you respect his time and person he will respect you also. You should be direct about what you want, and he will inevitably complete the task efficiently and respectfully. Again, do not waste this guys time. Tell him what you want and be prepared to pay a small, reasonable fee. Everything will go smoothly from there, and even at times you two may share a laugh or appreciate some true insights from one another. As for Olesya- she is generally the more friendly and anodyne of the pair. She has all of Pasha's intelligence, competence and efficiency without all the eccentric rough edges. (I say that with the utmost respect and admiration for Pasha.) Olesya hooked me up with an aquaintance of hers in St. Petersburg who met me at the train station and drove me to a pleasant, reasonably priced homestay. Both Pasha and Olesya are smart small business owners with a lot of knowledge and resources of the budget travel business. When I return to Moscow next year I will definately contact Pasha and Olesya because they are smart and resourceful contact/guides in a city/culture that is not always welcoming or accomodating to foreign travelers. I look forward to experiencing once again Pasha's wily street smarts and eccentric personality, I know it will make my next trip as easy and accomodating as the last. Pasha- This new name and email are different from my old and real name and email. I use this new email for all web post sites to avoid spam. My real name has the first three letters of his new email address. Send any inquiries to this new email or my old one from Aug. of 2004. And feel free to post this review of your services anywhere else on your site. Did you ever post the first one I sent you back in Oct. of 04?

Mark Fissel, history professor, USA, and Jodi Fissel, history teacher. From my message board

Posted on October 13, 2005 at 03:15:54 PM by M. Fissel  [  mfissel AT aug DOT edu]

In late May-early June 2005 we contracted with Uncle Pasha to drive us through various parts of the Golden Ring (in the end we visited Murom, Vladimir, Suzdal, Yuryev-Polskoy, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky and Sergiev Posad). Yes, Uncle Pasha is a bit eccentric. Yes, he can be grouchy. That is why he provides disclaimers to that effect. However such cavils are greatly overshadowed by the many insights that Pasha shares with the first-time visitor to Russia. He has a knack for discovering locations that one would NEVER find on one's own (Soviet-style cafeteria, small country stores, an outlet for official Russian military and police clothing, etc.). He makes it possible to communicate with interesting Russians that one could not normally chat with due to the language barrier. Had we not hooked up with Pasha, our journey through Russia would have been much different, and rather two-dimensional. I would recommend him especially to journalists, academics, and the enterprsing independent traveller. I was sufficiently pleased with Pasha's performance that I even purchased the rat package. Feel free to contact me if you wish a reference regarding Pasha's services.

Helen A. + boyfriend. Young British travellers and avid computer card game enthusiasts. May 2005. Copied from my message board.

Our stay in Moscow
Posted on May 15, 2005 at 08:05:27 AM by Helen Adey  [helenadey.home AT btinternet DT com]

After staying at Uncle Pasha's for 3 nights, I thought I would provide any interested travellers with my views and opinions of Uncle Pasha and the loft.

I'll start with the Loft...
Great, can't argue for either price or location. It is absolutely spot on!

Uncle Pasha - (well he'll probably hate me for saying some of this and I was snapped in a t-shirt and shorts this morning which I have a bad feeling will be posted with something insulting) Even though his manners are, like his writing - totally upfront about his way, short/abrupt/verging on rude. I think he secretly has a big heart! We needed a little assistance and unprompted he called on our behalf. If you're straight with him, he'll be straight with you....exactly what you need when travelling a foreign country!

Hence why, Uncle Pasha's is the way forward. Honest and cheap.....
 

Sandra G., a banker, and Donald G., a landscape architect and an owner of a highly regarded antique shop, both from San-Francisco, rented my apartment and hired me for a countryside tour in February 2005.

Dear Pasha,

It's about time I sent you a note to tell you how much Donald and I enjoyed traveling with you while in Moscow...and beyond! Sergiev Posad was definitely a highlight for me. How exciting to have seen it on the Sabbath without a tourist in sight. I don't think we'll ever be able to top that experience!

And we really loved your apartment, too. It's a great location...in such a lovely neighborhood yet close to the principal sights of the city. But what I hadn't expected was the level of comfort. It is light and airy with much more room than we'd have had in a hotel and for a fraction of the cost. We loved the view of the canal and cityscape. We'll definitely stay there whenever in Moscow.

How is Lunch? I didn't think I'd ever fall in love with a rat but I missed him when we left.

The overnight train was just wonderful. Slipping into Peter in the weak pre-dawn light was just mind-blowing...derelict railroad cars on abandoned side tracks, enormous smokestacks and high-tension towers silhouetted against the low clouds...very industrial-revolution iconography.

The trip was way too short and I'm anxious to visit Russia again.

Send me a note and tell me how you're doing.

Regards,

Sandra

PS.  from Donald:
Touring Russia in winter has enormous rewards. Imagine being in a room with twenty Matisses...and you're the only person there!

David Jones, military. Sometime the winter of 2005, note received May 29, 2005, while I was in the city of Murom, Vladimir region (see www.staritsa.info )

Pasha,

OK, I've been back in Texas for about 6 weeks now since I left Moscow. I thought I'd take leave from the daily activities that seem to absorb my time and energy to send you my impressions of my stay:

First, I'd like to thank you for your hospitality. Your information, communication, services, and the apartment were all excellent. The apartment was roomy, centrally located, and comfortable.  I was extremely happy about having high-speed internet. In the evenings, I could stay in touch with family and friends daily. I could also do my banking, in case I needed more funds or to move funds between accounts. I could also plan my activities for the next day.

Second, the prices were extremely fair. I still can't believe you only charged $25 for horseback riding. I particularly liked the ability to pay for everything, well almost everything, in advance.   It meant I could relax and focus on enjoying myelf.

And Third, everything was as you said it would be. There were no unpleasant surprises. I will stay with you the next time I come to Moscow. In fact, I can't imagine staying with anyone else.

 

Best Regards,

 

David Jones

Fort Worth, Texas, USA

 

The old accommodation page

Feedback from people who rented my apartment

Transportation and misc. little support eg. quick practical orientation tours, purchasing tickets, doing errands etc.: www.moscowdrivers.net

A few responses on the Horse riding page www.russian-horse-rides.com

The Guestbook has quite a few comments, and you are encouraged to leave your impressions there. 

In many cases I will not be giving contact details of people who provided feedback to avoid situations when a poor backpacker with no clear purpose to his travels bothers a dozen VIPs with his trivial concerns. I will be happy however to put you you in touch with my former clients that are of your ilk.

Most feedback is positive and, as most positivity, tends to be banal. Please pay special attention to bad rap if you plan to engage me to the full extend of my capacity.

See my new Business Services page www.oldmanfriday.com for testimonials from people who hired me to run errands/sort out situations for them...