Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
50
Coping with Jet Lag
Jet lag is a pitfall of traveling across time zones. If you're flying north-south and
you feel sluggish when you touch down, your symptoms will be the result of
dehydration and the general stress of air travel. When you travel east-west or
vice-versa, your body becomes confused about what time it is, and everything
from your digestive system to your brain is knocked for a loop. Traveling east is
more difficult on your internal clock than traveling west because most peoples'
bodies are more inclined to stay up late than to fall asleep early.
Here are some tips for combating jet lag:
•
Reset your watch
to your destination time before you board the plane.
•
Drink lots of water
before, during, and after your flight. Avoid alcohol.
•
Exercise and sleep well
for a few days before your trip.
• If you have trouble sleeping on planes,
fly eastward on morning flights.
•
Daylight
is the key to resetting your body clock. At the website for
Outside In
(www.bodyclock.com), you can get a customized plan of when to seek and avoid
light.
exchange booth and ATM are available
after you've cleared Customs; rates are bet-
ter in town. An information desk with
English-speaking personnel is in the main
arrivals hall, along a row of car-rental desks
and airline ticket offices. Package tours
generally include transport to and from
Russia's airports.
If you're on your own, your best bet is
the
Aeroexpress train
to Savyolovsky
Train Station, which runs once an hour
and takes 40 minutes compared to the
1-to-2-hour car ride (
&
800/700-3377;
www.aeroexpress.ru). It costs 250 rubles
for adults. Tickets are available in the air-
port after you emerge from Customs.
Be prepared for the odorous herd of taxi
drivers in the arrivals hall. If you prefer
taxis, better to reserve in advance.
Mos-
cow Taxi
(www.moscow-taxi.com) and
Taxi Blues
(
&
495/925-5115;
www.taxi-
blues.ru) offer good English-speaking serv-
ices. Women travelers, try
Pink Taxi
(
&
495/662-0003;
www.womantaxi.ru)
with exclusively women drivers and pas-
sengers. If you arrive without a ride, push
your way to the official taxi desk near the
exit. Official cabs are either yellow or have
TAXI written in big letters in English and
Russian. Rates are determined by a zone
map, and a ride to the city center runs
about 1,500 rubles. The freelance cabbies
will try to convince you that $100 (or even
100 euros) is your cheapest option.
There is no train service to downtown,
but buses leave from the airport parking
lot and stop at Rechnoi Vokzal metro sta-
tion (bus no. 851) or Planernaya metro
station (bus no. 517). The fare, about 20
rubles, must be paid in rubles to the
driver. Allow yourself at least an hour to
reach downtown in a taxi, and at least 90
minutes by bus or metro.
A few European airlines now arrive at
the bright, renovated
Domodedovo Air-
port
(
&
495/933-6666
or 495/720-
6666; www.domodedovo.ru), 50km (31
miles) south of the center. Domodedovo
has all the same services as Sheremetevo
but in a friendlier setting, and has two
major advantages: It runs a train direct to
Paveletsky station, just south of the city
center, and it has a clear, fair, and comput-
erized taxi service greeting passengers as
they exit. The taxis aren't cheap but make
sense if you are in a small group. Taxis
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