Green lane vs Red lane via Moscow customs to Trans-Sib R'wy

[John Schillinger]

Dear Seelangers:
	A Trans-Sib R'wy question--does anyone have current info on this ?:

	My wife and I nearly always have come through Sheremetyevo via the 
Green customs lane.  However, this time we're taking the Trans-Sib, and 
Bryn Thomas's  Trans-Sib handbook (2003 edition) warns that we should 
go through the Red lane.

	In a section titled "Customs-form scam,"  he writes that
			        "Travelers continuing via the Trans-Siberian into Mongolia 
or China ... must get both the entry and
			exit pages of their Customs Declaration Form (CDF) stamped on 
arrival.  Nobody will stamp
			`your CDF in the 'green' customs channel on arrival.  You must take 
the 'red' channel if there is one,
			demand that someone confirm your hard currency (no matter how little 
your have...) and insist upon
			a stamp.  Ignore anyone who says not to bother...."
	He notes further that:
				"If you fail to get the form stamped you run the risk of being 
fleeced by bent customs officials at your
			exit point.  ...This has happened to so many people that it has 
become the stuff of Trans-Siberian legend."

  	In this age of ATMs that dole out extra money in the various cities 
we'll be in, is this warning now out of date?  Or does one
	need to go through the Red lane and keep a set of receipts for all ATM 
transactions the way we used to do with travelers'
	cheque bank receipts in the 70s?

	Thanks in advance for any insights or experience!

John Schillinger
Emeritus Prof. of Russian
American University
Home address:

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