On the way to Perm we stopped at a service station to get gas and some drinks. We couldn’t understand what they were saying, they couldn’t understand us, and Google Translate wasn’t working. After the clerk came out and pointed at the gas nozzle and then went back in I realized she wanted to ensure which grade of gas I wanted. A gentleman came up and started speaking to me. I told him I didn’t understand. The fuel pump went to zero and then started to work. He grabbed the nozzle and insisted on pumping our gas. Did I mention that you pay first and if you guess wrong you don’t get your money back? I usually do the calculations for Bryon, but this time we guessed 15 liters too much. So the guy finishes filling both our tanks to the brim and then points to the station. Another man and woman start talking fast and pointing to the station. One of the men goes into the station, the others keep pointing to the station. I figured it was because we paid too much. The guy comes out speaks to Bryon, I tell him to go in. The woman says, in broken English, “you walk, you walk”. By this time I have given up on Google Translate. I tell Bryon to go in the station, he finds the receipt. They all smile. He comes back out with 500 rubles. They gave us a refund. That is a first we have heard of this the whole time in Russia. We think the guy that went in was a gas official or worked for the government. Either way they all waved, we said have a good day, in Russian, and they returned with “Good bye, Good Luck!”
Did I mention they had a massive truck, built for the roads of Russia and Mongolia.
And off we went in the little Lancia that keeps on going.
Stephen
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