In a way, we were lucky that we walked towards Red Square crossing the bridge on the Moskva River near the Petrovskaya Tower 

Approach the Red Square from this side and you take in the attractions one at a time. At first, its the impressive exterior of the Kremlin and the imposing red wall! (see photo). Then, as you come a little closer, you see St Basil's Cathedral in the distance. Walk into the Red Square from the lovely passage between St Basil's Cathedral on your right and Nabatnaya Tower on your left. As you go up the slight slope, you are at the Red Square. And, believe it when I say, you can never be prepared for the sight  once you look all around and take in the vibrant views. The Lenin Mausoleum on the left. On the right, literally and metaphorically, stands the imposing "Gum" with all the top brands in the world that you can think of, Armani, Dior, Llardo, Hermes,Woldord, and many more!

• Don't make the silly mistake that most tourists make of going to Red Square only once during their stay in Moscow. For they are the ones who miss the magic of Red Square.
  
  

• This is a square that changes itself as the day progresses.
  
  

• During the day its a bustling square full thousands of tourists scuttling between the St Basil's Cathedral, Kremlin, Lenin's Mausoleum and the other attractions.
  
  

• Come evening, as the lights come on, the whole ambiance changes, and Red Square transforms into a giant stage with stunning sets on all sides. The crowds are thinning out and you have more breathing space to connect with this historic landmark.
  
  

• As night descends, the party begins. The crowds are at their thinnest at this hour and those still present can enjoy the few hours of quite and peace that Red Square sees. The hustle and bustle seems to have moved to the many streets around the Red Square, where the party is on in full mode in the any pubs, bars, and around the many street performers that don the streets! Two of the must-visit streets are Nikolskaya Street behind Gum and Petrovka Ulitsa - Theatre Square near Bolshoi Theatre. After you're done with your early dinner head out to the many pubs and bars in the area to soak in the atmosphere. Try not to grab your drink in one place. Move around. Explore. Pub crawl. Each place you go to will provide you that extra peep into the place Moscow is!

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Things to know:

• Make sure you visit Red Square at least once during the daytime and once at night.

• In the evening, explore the many streets around the area to see exceptional eateries and even better street performances, be it bands, solo artists, magicians and much more.

Thanks to the app revolution, using cabs now in Russia, especially in the main cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, are a piece of cake, a spicy one at that!

Apparently, Uber does work in Russia. For me, it didn't. Each time I opened my Uber app on my phone, I was told to update my app, and when I tried to, it led me to Yandex taxi app. Don't know if it was a technical glitch or just plain old Russian interference in my being unable to use an American app!

Now, to be able to use the Yandex app, you have to have a local Russia number. Once you've got yourself a local sim card, it's pretty easy to set up and use. And, what they don't tell you is the number of interesting drivers you meet.

First, a comment of a general nature about the Russian cab drivers. They love revving up their engines, speeding, zig zagging through traffic... That's all of them. Post that, they can be divided into two varieties, English-speaking and non-English speaking! The non-English speaking ones will get you to your destination without much ado. However, it's the English-speaking ones who will make your Yandex ride memorable...

Meet "Mo-Ad" (aka Magomed), my Yandex driver in Moscow. He was our first Yandex drive and was supposed to pick us up from our hotel in Yakimanka District, President Hotel. We were running late to reach Red Square to meet a dear friend. Under the impression that the Moscow cab drivers don't speak english, we were under additional stress. And, in comes Yushkov Magomed Saidovich in his Yellow Skoda Octavia OC16877. In his impeccable English, he puts us at ease and confirms that he is going along the fastest route to the Red Square. Laughs gleefully when we compliment his proficiency in English, and tells us, with a smile, that we should not expect every Yandex drive to speak in English.

We have a wide ranging chat about various issues including Mo-Ad giving up his day time job in Moscow to drive a Yandex, mainly because it was easygoing and gave him an option to enjoy his passion, diving! Mo-Ad also tells us about his two brothers who are more in love and more fierce (if it's possible) drivers than him! Leaves us at the Red Square with a lovely tale about "a cool Chechen friend" which is coming up soon in one of my later blog posts... Wait for it, and in the mean time if you bump in to Mo-Ad, say hi from us!

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Keep in mind:

• App based taxi services like Yandex and Gett are much cheaper and easier to use than the taxis on the road. Get a local sim, set up the app and you're good to go.

• An average ride within Moscow or St Petersburg main areas is likely to cost anywhere between Rubels 250-400.

• Moscow is the best place to try out Merc E Class, Audi A6/A7, BMW 5 and more for a slightly higher fare than the average.