I can get it for cheaper

J & N at the entrance to the Ice Caves & Underground lake

Katia - the landlady at our homestay in Perm - is a 33 year old English teacher. She lives with her mother and works at a college where students are trained as firefighters and teachers for students with special needs. Apparently everyone has to take English. She is also a entrepreneur of the first order. When we arrived she informed us that “I can get if for cheaper” and we should have waited until we arrived to book our tour to Perm 36.

“What about dinner?” she asked, “I can make it for cheaper than a restaurant.” So for 1000 rubles we booked a supper at her place after our Perm tour, mostly because we did not get back until 8 pm, which seemed late to be wandering the streets of Perm. It was a very good dinner of baked salmon and potatoes, and I think our rubles also paid for the breakfast eggs and juice that we got the next day!

“What about a tour to the Kongor Ice Caves?” she asked, “I can get it for cheaper than that tour company. But don’t tell anyone, they would ask Why is that Katia we sent to school to be a teacher working as a tour guide?” Hmmm? Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained is our new motto, so we arranged to go to the Ice Caves with her after she finished work the next day.
We spent the morning wandering around downtown Perm - interesting but not a beautiful city by any means, while John watched Russian TV. Katia’s mother was at home and she fed John lunch, while we were out, they got along very using sign language and the international language of food. At 3 pm we were picked up by a “private driver”. We paid him 3000 rubles for the trip and noticed that he handed 300 back to Katia. Another Hmmmm?

At the Ice Caves we were joined by Katia’s brother and his girlfriend, I half expected to be told we were paying for their entry fee too and was all ready to stand my ground, but that didn’t happen. Our cave guide was a young women who greeted Katia in English -- there followed some rapid Russian, and even though it soon became apparent that the Cave Guide spoke English as well or better than Katia, Katia translated the tour. I suppose we could have busted them both by speaking to the guide directly but, what the heck, we let them play it out.

The caves themselves were interesting, and we saw both the ice rivers and the underground lakes, it was better than the ones we visited in France a few years ago. At the end of the tour we did talk to the Cave Guide in English and she asked if we were in Perm for business. No, we said, we’re on vacation. “Vacation!” said the young women, in complete surprise, “Vacation in Russia? Why?”. “So we could meet you,” I replied.

We asked Katia to arrange a taxi to the train station for us the next morning. When we left the elevator a young man appeared on the stairs, said “Privet” to Katia and walked over to his car. We realized it was another “private driver” and obediently paid him the 350 rubles. I wonder if Katia got her 10%?