It would have been easier to pick up the phone and ask them lol
Everyone is saying uh ah its so hard to do middle east, but I don’t get it what is the difficult part, the fact that you need to give bribes to policemen and border control, or the heat or something else?
If you go to Russia for example, it is a standart that you give a bribe to the border control straight away, and you get through the border without a problem, if you don’t pay then you will sit on the border for days, until they sort your paperwork out.
I guess it is a bit different then doing continental work, but its not like the job is rocket science.
Riho:
Everyone is saying uh ah its so hard to do middle east, but I don’t get it what is the difficult part, the fact that you need to give bribes to policemen and border control, or the heat or something else?If you go to Russia for example, it is a standart that you give a bribe to the border control straight away, and you get through the border without a problem, if you don’t pay then you will sit on the border for days, until they sort your paperwork out.
I guess it is a bit different then doing continental work, but its not like the job is rocket science.
No one is saying it is hard, but you do need to be able to cope on your own, there are no ATS depots or HATO to cone off a lane. It just takes a different sort of driver to the norm, if you ■■■■ the paperwork up, you may be sat there for weeks, if you have never done it, the borders themselves are confusing. If you don’t mind rebuilding an axle or changing three tyres in 45+ temperatures then go for it, its a piece of ■■■■. 
Riho:
If you go to Russia for example, it is a standart that you give a bribe to the border control straight away, and you get through the border without a problem, if you don’t pay then you will sit on the border for days, until they sort your paperwork out.
See, the real trick is to go to Russia and rarely pay any bribes, as some of the Polish drivers I know do.
I know, it’s easier for us, as we are brothers Slavs while you are just Milkin Cows from the Rotten, overrich West, but still. Everyone can give a bribe. To find common language with the guys - this is where the real skills are.
Harry Monk:
Specifically to Adam, if you ever go for an interview for a job like this, enthusiasm counts for at least as much as experience, and probably far more so.
This is very true. I know my job is nothing near ME, but it’s hard to get any European job now, and judging from amount of PM I get where people ask me if I can get them a job in my place, many would like to have it.
On my interview there was absolutely nothing about my driving CV, it was only about how I like to travel and see new places 
The boss propably never read my CV, as he discovered that I have class 2 only few months later when I showed him my website with pics of the truck I’ve been driving
Riho:
Everyone is saying uh ah its so hard to do middle east, but I don’t get it what is the difficult part, the fact that you need to give bribes to policemen and border control, or the heat or something else?If you go to Russia for example, it is a standart that you give a bribe to the border control straight away, and you get through the border without a problem, if you don’t pay then you will sit on the border for days, until they sort your paperwork out.
I guess it is a bit different then doing continental work, but its not like the job is rocket science.
Maybe russia has change but not once ever did i see a bribe to a custom officer at the border and not once did i see one offered from a british driver and i have been to many border posts into russia with many different brits.
colin.f.whitetrans:
Riho:
Everyone is saying uh ah its so hard to do middle east, but I don’t get it what is the difficult part, the fact that you need to give bribes to policemen and border control, or the heat or something else?If you go to Russia for example, it is a standart that you give a bribe to the border control straight away, and you get through the border without a problem, if you don’t pay then you will sit on the border for days, until they sort your paperwork out.
I guess it is a bit different then doing continental work, but its not like the job is rocket science.
Maybe russia has change but not once ever did i see a bribe to a custom officer at the border and not once did i see one offered from a british driver and i have been to many border posts into russia with many different brits.
I was against the bribes and fines and would argue the toss for longer than was sensible, or until the guns came out, but I still remember that someone told me they got charged for the bullets and petrol in Eastern Europe. Now I don’t believe that for one minute, but if you stood your ground long enough you would be on your way with all your Lei, Lira, Lev, or Krowns intact.
At the end of the standoff, I would probably chuck them a can of coke or a packet of ■■■■, but to me I had beaten the system and the coke was probably dearer than the fine 
Wheel Nut:
colin.f.whitetrans:
Riho:
Everyone is saying uh ah its so hard to do middle east, but I don’t get it what is the difficult part, the fact that you need to give bribes to policemen and border control, or the heat or something else?If you go to Russia for example, it is a standart that you give a bribe to the border control straight away, and you get through the border without a problem, if you don’t pay then you will sit on the border for days, until they sort your paperwork out.
I guess it is a bit different then doing continental work, but its not like the job is rocket science.
Maybe russia has change but not once ever did i see a bribe to a custom officer at the border and not once did i see one offered from a british driver and i have been to many border posts into russia with many different brits.
I was against the bribes and fines and would argue the toss for longer than was sensible, or until the guns came out, but I still remember that someone told me they got charged for the bullets and petrol in Eastern Europe. Now I don’t believe that for one minute, but if you stood your ground long enough you would be on your way with all your Lei, Lira, Lev, or Krowns intact.
At the end of the standoff, I would probably chuck them a can of coke or a packet of ■■■■, but to me I had beaten the system and the coke was probably dearer than the fine
I was in Durres last year and went with the agent to hand the t-form in and its a safe bet to say that more notes went over the counter clipped to the t-forms than Barclays have in a day.
Anyway I was parked up trying to get a ferry and recieved a parking ticket so instead of finding a bank as i’d used all my local money I offered the bloke a packet of ■■■■, bearing in mind what I had seen the day before in customs he turned around and said You are in Albania now,we are not a corrupt country.
orys:
Riho:
If you go to Russia for example, it is a standart that you give a bribe to the border control straight away, and you get through the border without a problem, if you don’t pay then you will sit on the border for days, until they sort your paperwork out.See, the real trick is to go to Russia and rarely pay any bribes, as some of the Polish drivers I know do.
I know, it’s easier for us, as we are brothers Slavs while you are just Milkin Cows from the Rotten, overrich West, but still. Everyone can give a bribe. To find common language with the guys - this is where the real skills are.
I would like to see how those drivers go and don’t give bribes, maybe it is different if you cross the border in Belarus, but if you cross it from Latvia, Estonia, you will need to pay 95% guarantee.
orys:
Riho:
If you go to Russia for example, it is a standart that you give a bribe to the border control straight away, and you get through the border without a problem, if you don’t pay then you will sit on the border for days, until they sort your paperwork out.See, the real trick is to go to Russia and rarely pay any bribes, as some of the Polish drivers I know do.
I know, it’s easier for us, as we are brothers Slavs while you are just Milkin Cows from the Rotten, overrich West, but still. Everyone can give a bribe. To find common language with the guys - this is where the real skills are.
I completley agree Orys, the ability to find common ground with the people you are dealing with is an undervalued skill.
Its worked for me from the Gatehouse Jail at Jebel Ali to Tescos RDC at Goole…
W
Riho:
I would like to see how those drivers go and don’t give bribes, maybe it is different if you cross the border in Belarus, but if you cross it from Latvia, Estonia, you will need to pay 95% guarantee.
I made note to never believe in any guarantees given by you 
orys:
Riho:
I would like to see how those drivers go and don’t give bribes, maybe it is different if you cross the border in Belarus, but if you cross it from Latvia, Estonia, you will need to pay 95% guarantee.I made note to never believe in any guarantees given by you
I agree orys. I have crossed from latvia, finland kazak and azerbejan into russia and never have been asked for bribes by the guards at the border or the custom officers but it was different on the road when there was always someone with a uniform looking for his dinner money! The worst culprips i seen for bribing were the turkish drivers in dutch trucks but thats just a personal observation. Caught speeding or overtaking then you must face the music but that is the same in any country i believe.
Most money i ever seen changing hands was at the azerbejan side of the border coming from dagestan republic.
orys:
Riho:
I would like to see how those drivers go and don’t give bribes, maybe it is different if you cross the border in Belarus, but if you cross it from Latvia, Estonia, you will need to pay 95% guarantee.I made note to never believe in any guarantees given by you
Well you can put any nots that you like, but if my dad wouldnt do Riga - Moscow, St. Petersburg journeys every other week, then I wouldnt be so sure about what I am saying.
Riho:
Well you can put any nots that you like, but if my dad wouldnt do Riga - Moscow, St. Petersburg journeys every other week, then I wouldnt be so sure about what I am saying.
You know, if your dad is regular there, and they know that he is willing to bribe them, no wonder that they got used to it They would be stupid not to if he is stupid enough to pay them
But that does not mean that everyone has to pay, that’s only mean that your dad is paying almost every time (propably because he made mistake once and now as they know him it’s too late).
Propably your dad sees many people who pay as well - that still does not mean, that everyone is paying.
And also I think I should explain it to you. “My dad…” is not alpha and omega and your dad’s experience do not give you absolute knowledge on the subject.
Example?
My dad is not a trucker, but he drives a lot for his work. He has his driving license for over 50 years now and did a few milions I would guess. He lives in Poland, a country until recently famous among Britons for being very corrupt. He never paid a single bribe. Neither did I, and I spend my first 5 years of my proffesional driving career driving some scrappy vans around Poland and other EE countries.
Should I claim now that in Poland chances of paying bribe are 0% because my dad never paid any?
My old mate Pete Andrews from Doncaster was a proper Yorkshireman, and he would not pay any bribes or baksheesh, he taught me a lot did Pete, as did many others, if you pay a bribe, it spoils it for all those behind you, remember the queues in Calais as every newly blooded driver ferreted about in their pocket for a 10 Franc note
There is no point to argue with you, because you haven’t been to Russia not once.
And those drivers who haven’t payed bribes haven’t been to Russia often enough, or another thing it is easier not to ask a bribe from a person who doesn’t speak Russian, and a lot of Polish people tend to forget or not know Russian, when someone is asking them something.
Any way you have your opinion about Russia and I have my own.
My dear kid, I never been to Russia, but I am a Slav, I lived in a communist country for most of my life. I am born there, bread there and I got that in my blood. So if you are trying to tell me about how the Slavs feel, think and live, it indeed makes no sense at all.
Moreover, despite I was never really to Russia myself, as I am Polish and Poland is a country which borders Russia and has a huge business ties with it, I can bet with you whatever you want, that I know much more people who go to Russia - truckers, people who go on business, people, who go to visit their families, people who go there on Erasmus exchange and simply people, who spend their holidays hitchhiking around. Bah, I don’t need to look far, my dad made part of his postgraduate studies in Leningrad and been there on several occasions on some conferences!
And I can recall maybe two stories when someone had to pay bribe.
And by saying that Poles can pretend that they don’t understand Russian and that it helps them to evade the bribe proves just that you have ABSOLUTELY no idea what are you talking about
It’s like I was trying to tell you that “I saw many English people who were let go by the Scottish police officers by pretending that they do not understand Scottish accent”
Thank you for amusing me and go hear to some more of your dad’ stories Maybe you will find someone who will believe you that you are expert on Eastern Europe and know more about the climates there than someone who was born under, de facto, Soviet occupation
Thats good that you are a slav, but there is one thing I have spent all my life with russians in Latvia, russian language is in the same level as my native language, and I can say one thing for sure polish way of thinking is far from Russian, and ex Soviet union people thinking.
So at this point mate you made a fool out of yourself, because you tought that you are the smartest one.
So at this point it would be stupid for you to continue to argue with me about things that you know less than I do. And the small part of Russia(Kaliningradskaja oblastj) that borders with Poland dosent give you the whole image of Russia as it is today.
Riho:
Thats good that you are a slav, but there is one thing I have spent all my life with russians in Latvia, russian language is in the same level as my native language, and I can say one thing for sure polish way of thinking is far from Russian, and ex Soviet union people thinking.
Yeah, but despite we think different, we understand them. And do you know why we think different than ex SU people? Because we weren’t in SU. We were, in some way, still able to think independently. So we do understand that way of thinking, but we know the other ways to think as well. We are not as homo sovieticus as you in Baltic states are.
It’s propably why my dad knows how to do not pay bribes, and for your dad it’s something obvious that he has to pay
Sad thing is that you are propably young, a new generation, and for you also there is no choice than to pay a bribe. You consider it as a norm (95%). That’s very bad for the future of your country
So at this point mate you made a fool out of yourself, because you tought that you are the smartest one.
Hmm… It’s not me, who lives in ex-SU country and pays bribes at every corner. So I would be careful about statement who is smart and who is not in your place…
But OK, if you want, keep paying them, but then don’t moan that you have to pay. As it was said, by paying them, you are just making things worse.
So at this point it would be stupid for you to continue to argue with me about things that you know less than I do.
Yes, Today I Learned. I never knew that Latvians are so happy to give up and to do whatever they are told to do by some corrupt uniformed man
Still, that does not proves that your general statement about 95% of drivers needing to pay is true, as many examples I know (and other user of this forum who also traveled in that part of the country) prove otherwise.
And the small part of Russia(Kaliningradskaja oblastj) that borders with Poland dosent give you the whole image of Russia as it is today.
Off course no. But my image of Russia is not drawn from Kaliningrad District.
Sometimes it is easier to pay, not to spend 3 days on the border waiting for them to put a stamp in the paperwork.
And as I said before there is no point to ask for a bribe from an english driver because of the language barier, so they just let them go.
But I really doubt that your friends have not paid on the border.