Given that I have a less than perfect record of meeting travel connections, it could be said that the planned route from Helsinki to Moscow was overly ambitious. An early morning train to St Petersburg followed by an internal flights to Moscow sounds simple enough but the critical part would be the transfer from the rail terminal to the airport on the other side of St Petersburg in under an hour. All complicated by the fact that it's not possible to exchange currency before you arrive in Russia.

Relishing a challenge I set about doing some research before I left home. Although there is a metro system in St Petersburg it only goes half way to the airport. Through an Internet message board I made contact with a local guide and arrange for a driver to meet me at the station and take me to the airport for $25 US dollars.

After an encouraging start, my alarm going off at 6am as planned - rudely awaking the other 12 travellers in the dormitory, problems started. The train was held up about just before the border by about 40 girls, all part of the Finnish national basketball team, who took ages to board the train and decide who they wanted to sit next to. The train eventually pulled in to St Petersburg 25 minutes late and I made sure I was first off to meet my driver. Although he looked nothing like the description given to me in advance he had a card with my name on it so away we went in his 1970's era Lada.

St Petersburg is a large city of about 5 million people and the airport must have been at least 25Km away, much of it through built up areas. The driver, whose name I don't know as he didn't speak English, seemed more anxious that I was of being late and did his best to carve up his fellow countrymen. We eventually arrived at the wrong terminal where he jumped out and ran over to ask directions to the domestic terminal - another 5 Km away.

Our parting was brief. I handed him his money while simultaneously pulling the bags out of the car, shook hands and thanked him. He said his only word of the day, "Goodbye" in English, which he was probably rehearsing for the entire journey. Once in the airport the anticipated difficulties caused by Russian signs and surly desk staff led to more hold ups, so much so that I eventually had to take a full backpack on as hand luggage and was last to board the plane.

I had arranged to join a backpackers tour bus for 10 days, the only non-independent part of the whole trip. I began to regret this when it became apparent that no one was at the airport to meet me on my arrival in Moscow. A few phone calls revealed that the driver had gone to the wrong airport. I passed the time chatting to an American traveller returning from Siberia who was also suffering from a no-show. I gave him a lift into Moscow when my driver eventually showed up and he spent the journey giving me the low-down on Russian life and breaurocracy, including the occasional need to bribe the police. I thought this was just travellers talk but later that evening when we returned from a trip into the centre, a police car with armed officers pulled up to us and asked to see out documents. I didn't have my passport with me as the hotel keeps them for a few hours on arrival to register your details - the policeman must have been delighted. After a few minutes of mumbling to his colleague and shaking his head we realised that this was going to drag on forever, after all, he probably had nothing better to do. On prompting from my friend I subtly passed him a 100 Ruple note and he smiled and waved us on.

The first day in Moscow was spent with the rest of the group on a guided walk around the centre. Moscow has started to transform itself since the collapse of the USSR - churches demolished by Stalin have been rebuilt to the original specifications. In contrast to this move towards a classic Russian cityscape there is the inevitable influx of Western advertising boards and neon lights.

The Moscow underground system was a surprise. Like many Soviet built projects it was based on an existing Western model, in this case the London underground, and proudly proclaimed to be its superior. In this case there's no overstatement. The Moscow subway is extremely efficient with trains arriving to the countdown of a digital clock on the platform. Most impressive of all is the design of the stations themselves, everyone slightly different, decorated with mosaics, chandeliers and murals.

After seeing all the classic Moscow sights such as the Kremlin, Red Square and Gorky Park there was time to visit a lesser know attraction. On the outskirts of Moscow there is an area dedicated to the glories and achievements of the Soviet Union. Over a mile square filled with huge monuments and pavilions, any one of which would could be a major tourist attraction in another country. But despite the gilded statues, dramatic fountains and classical columns the fact that each is crammed into an area resembling a theme park makes it all look out of place. Now, after the fall of the Soviet Union there is less funding to maintain such self-congratulatory posturing and many of the buildings have been taken over by market sellers and traders.

The tour was designed to sample both the big city grandeur and out of the way rural Russian lifestyle. After leaving Moscow we arrived at Kostroma, a town sited on the banks of the river Volga. The main attraction of the town was its proximity to an orthodox Russian monastery where services have restarted after years of Soviet oppression.

Even more rural was Oxotina, the next destination further up river. A holiday retreat for city dwelling Russians it resembled a rundown, deserted Butlins holiday camp. Accommodation was extremely basic as was the catering. Thankfully a single small shop on the grounds sold good beer and Vodka and everybody soon got into enjoying the lakeside bar-b-que and volleyball games. It was here that we had the chance to experience the Banya, Russian style saunas which involve beating away the dirt from each others bodies with birch twigs. Not quiet as brutal as it sounds.

St Petersburg was a welcome relief after the extremely bumpy eight hour drive from Oxotina. More European in design than Moscow it seems to have more attractions in a smaller space. Unfortunately, some of the grand buildings were being refurbished in preparations for the 300 year anniversary in 2003.

One that wasn't was the Winter Palace with it's Hermitage Gallery. Built to house the private art collection of Catherine the Great, who populated it with gifts from visiting dignitaries, the building is a work of art in its own right. The interior is designed in a variety of styles to match the collection with remarkable attention to detail. Even Stalin couldn't bring himself to remove this extravagant example of private indulgence and instead claimed it for the people renaming it the State Hermitage.

No trip to Russia is complete without Vodka. Early on in the trip we were inducted into the protocol and technique of Russian Vodka drinking by our tour driver Igor. When ordering a bottle from a waitress in a restaurant he would have her present it to him like a fine wine before opening. There would then follow a complicated series of salutes - to family, friends, those departed etc, before downing the shot in one go. It is acceptable to take sips of a soft drink between glasses but considered an insult to dilute the Vodka.

In recent year the adoption of beer in Russia has been on the increase, particularly with the younger generation. There isn't the same type of stigma about drinking in public as there is back home and it is quite normal to see people, as many women as men, walking down the street drinking from a bottle of beer.

The last night in Russia was one of those slightly surreal experiences that seem to define a country. A few of us from the tour went to see a Russian Country & Western band playing Hillbilly music. I'm not sure whether the crowd new what to expect but they soon got into the spirit of things - the hoedowns on the dance floor were a sight to be seen. The singer, who gave a pretty good attempt at an American drawl, later came over to talk to us after I had mentioned to him that one of our group is in an Australian Hillbilly band.

The evening captured the modern Russia for me with its fast track return to the capitalist world. The old Soviet desire for self-sufficiency at all costs led to a nation accustomed to poor quality goods and irregular supply. Now that free trade with Western countries increase the temptation is too much for the average Russian and many appear to have lost sight of some of the qualities of their own country. I think it will take a few years before the balance swings back and they become more discerning.