Kyiv

[Mickey Mouse]

Sounds like I arrived at the same time as Uke Boy and I had to get in line 3 times because of that chaos. Yes, The Mouse is in town and my mongering could be in check because I do have a companion, but we will see what happens.
I have an apartment near Bessarabs'ka (sp) and my first impressions (comparisons with BA) will be posted soon.
Thanx for the help Cruiser,
MM

[Uke Boy]

Ludovico,

You asked about in-calls. Yes, they do exist and they are very similar to privats elsewhere. As a matter of fact, recently someone has come in here and apparently set up a series of such upscale for Kiev privats that have Jacuzzis and saunas along with a number of ladies. The prices for these privats are also higher than then usual crap places that used to be used for such meetings.

Most of these privats are now advertising on such sites as uaescort.com and kiev-x.com as individuals. The pictures you see are mostly fakes, you need to go there and see the ladies, some lovely, some "goblins" as they are called here. They also can come to you and you can make the choice in your hallway or on the street.

The real problem is that at least 90% of the ladies will not speak English. For now the biggest barrier in this area is the language issue.

Locals do use this option but as always, the main point for them is to negotiate the lowest possible price, something not possible for you if you cannot speak the language. And the locals like the ladies lovely as everyone else.

[Uke Boy]

I had the Borispol experience again a few days ago. Our plane came in along with one from Tripoli and another from Egypt, along with a Prague flight. The bad news was that the Tripoli flight came in first and so the passport control folks were on their total document inspection. That meant that every Libyan got at least a five minute inspection, and some were taken to another room for additional talks. That meant even more delays for all the rest of us.

Then came the all too frequent Ukrainian surprise. The "immigration forms" that were given to us in the plane, the ones used for the last few years, are no longer valid and everyone who filled one out on the plane had to go back and get new ones to fill out all over again and then stand in the queue again or jump to the front.

Are the new forms any different? No, they ask for all the same information all over again. This time, however, instead of a form with lots of ads and very readable, this one is on very flimsy paper old Soviet style toilet paper, microscopic in its typeface and I would guess many will lose it while they are in Ukraine. All that means is that on leaving, you will have fun arguing with a passport control agent on the way out that you came in legally and were registered! Isn't this a fun place?

For those of you who think that the possible upcoming visa-free travel will be an easy process, I suggest you think again. If there is a way to bureaucratically screw up something potentially good, they will find a way.

By the way, even a VIP passenger would have been hard pressed to get ahead of the queue in this situation.

Customs was another problem since they were also on a full search regime. Everything had to be x-rayed but after that you could still head for the green line.

I still got out in 20 minutes from start to finish but then I also did what most locals do, which is to jump the queues as much as possible.

[Cruiser D]

Hey where has everyone been? No one is in Kiev?

[Bez Bezarra]

Hey Gandalf!
How's Minsk?

[GandJim]

Finally, on the question of language and race. I'm a fluent english speaker, and speak EXTREMELY rudimentary russian. Lets just say that it's unlikely that I'd be able to even understand a restaurant menu properly. How much of a problem is that going to be? Or should I brush up on my russian before I go over (figure I still have 2-3 months to pickup a little!). Also, I'm asian (chinese by blood to be exact). Is that going to be a problem there? Discrimination, etc etc?

I'm Asian too, speak just three words in Russian (Привет, спасибо, пожалуйста ) and never had a problem in Kiev. For restaurant, the ones in the center have English menu, ... or just go to McDonald

[Delgado]

Juschtschenko announcement in german bundestag yesterday: "we think it is in the interest of ukraine to introduce a visa-free regulation for citizens of the european union in a few weeks. we want our country to be on the list of states, where there is democracy and where humanitarian standards are preserved."

[Ludovico]

Has anyone got any experience of arriving at borispol around midnight? I bet you could get through the airport pretty quick at that time of night .

Duke Uke'em, you mentioned in one of your posts about in-calls. Does that work the same as the privats in Prague, Warsaw and Moscow etc, where you enter the flat and get to pick from a bunch of girls working that particular shift? Is there a local paper or website where you can find the addresses? This just seems like an option which isn't explored very much on here!

The fact is there must be other options that the locals use, as they can't afford to pay the same prices as the foreigners. I mean do they save all the pretty girls for us, and collect all the dogs for the local boys? If I was a local I wouldn't put up with that . Also I guess the mafia must be pretty heavily involved in this sector, or do they just concentrate on shipping girls abroad?

[Roger Mellie]

http://travel-2-ukraine.com/visa-support/default.htm

They do invites for $30., or $50 for a double entry

[Armorer]

Well I have been away and had trouble getting onto the forum. First thanks for the info on realistate. Was just wondering on finding a falt somewhere for my stay. Not so sure of the Area. Yeah I wish I had bought one when I first started going to Ukraine. Still I am looking for a nice place for me, just to hang a hat when I visit. Then maybe rent or share with friends who visit. Thats about it.
As for the VIP service. I use it to enter Ukraine, for one reason. I want to get to my flat and do not want the have to wait long lines, or have much trouble. Seems to me to be quicker. On exit it depends on how I feel if I want to sit around and enjoy the lazy life in VIP. ITs nice. Just depends on if you really want to spend the money to be lazy, or not. Me On entry always lazy flying from here in the states, I just want to get to the flat, find a nice girl to ease the tensions from the long flight, and relax.
Well thanks for the tips on places and prices. I'll check back n soon I hope.

[Bez Bezarra]

Pay $80 to skip the line?
That seems like a waste of money.
Depending on how many other flights land at the same time as yours,
you may wait 5 minutes or 45 minutes, especially if everyone in front
of you looks arab or Indian, since their papers are usually all fucked up
and they take 10 minutes each to process. Nothing like having a US passport to get stamped in in 30 seconds!

Either way, having a good contact to meet you means they'll sit and
wait for you in the airport lobby no matter how long it takes.
Just try to get as close to the exit door on the airport shuttle bus as you can,
and then bum-rush everyone else to the immmigration door. Trust me, all the Ukraininas do that, especially the babushkas. They'll shove you right into
the wall if you don't walk fast enough!

Again, establishing a good contact in Kiev means all your travel needs are no longer a concern. So forget the bus or train to Odesa. Round trip jet from the Kiev city airport is only about $100, and gets you there in about an hour. And you get the fun of flying on a russian 32 seat mini-jet. And you get to watch the drunk baggage handlers drinking their vodka breakfast at 7 am too. Then wonder if they also did the plane's maintenance? Have some fun!

[William3]

Globe Trots,

Some questions about your travelplans in Ukraine.

a) could you buy your own tickets speaking limited russian?
I speak enough Russian/Ukrain to help myself BUT I am not fluently enough to answer the questions the salespeople in the railwaystations ask me when I try to buy a ticket.

So my advice is: either buy the tickets in a travelagency, sometimes you can pay with creditcard or, even better, find a taxidriver who speaks english, let him drive you to the ticketshop at the railwaystation and let him help you.

But, be aware, the number of cabdrivers who speak decent english is limited so you have to try hard to find one.

Moving around in Kiev and Odessa without speaking russian is not difficult.
In most restaurants in the centre menu's in english are available and the staff speaks enough english. At the street, the older people don't speak english, abou 10% of the younger do so, if you need help and want to ask, ask a younger person.
Going by train from Kiev to Odessa is very charming but extremely tiring.

You will be exhausted when you arrive in Odessa IF you can find the righte train.. Next to that, most likely nobody will speak english. Better going by plane, not too expensive. Direct flights OR, going by bus. Busses in Oekraine are faster then trains and, it is much easier to find the right bus.

But again, you need help to buy your ticket. By the way, trains and busses are very cheap. Don't forget to bring your passport with you when you buy a ticket for thr bus or train. You need to show it; your name will be printed at the ticket. This is a relique from the old ages. Enjoy Kiev, beatifull town.

[Uke Boy]

Ludovico,

I have never done the VIP Service and no one else I know has ever done this. From what I have heard, you avoid standing in the queue for immigration control. You are brought to the border guard ahead of all the others waiting but you still have to present your documents for inspection, the same processing is then performed. You still have to pick up your baggage and you still have to go through customs but, here too, with your escort you will jump any possible queues there as well.

If you have a visa and you are not carrying anything illegal, Borispol is relatively painless. With carry on luggage I have managed to get through sometimes in no more than 10 minutes With checked luggage it is a matter of waiting for the retrieval and that is mostly luck. However, once you have the luggage, the green corridor is also a matter of minutes.

I would rather pay 400 grivnas for an hour or two with a local lady than for something that may save me 15 minutes at most. If your documents are not in order or if you have something not allowed by customs and it is found, this service won't help you avoid the subsequent problems.

[Her555]

Thanks ukebay,

As alyes yoer info. Is good and to the point.

If I will have new info from Kiev I will post.

[Ludovico]

I was just wondering if anybody has tried the VIP service at Borispol. Is it worth paying the 400 grivnas for this service? Does it get you through the airport quicker and more efficiently?