1. Why Ukraine ? I actually wanted to fly to Georgia ... but from India although it's nearer it's difficult to get to so Plan 2 one other place I had been thinking about was Ukraine as I have never been there and in the last 2 years the rules have changed so I don't need a visa. So I checked Air-Arabia and the fare was a reasonable $300 from India. So fly on Thursday July 9th
- (2 nd time with this airline and 2nd time they broke my bag seems like they have a systematic problem ..would you fly them ?)
.. I have this Idea I will teach English there... but just found the economy collapsed
- maybe volunteer at some popfestivals something good will happen surely ..that's the adventure of travel
- Sorry been too busy to update the page for a while
- And there are weird internet censorship happening ...I don't know why as I really support Ukrainians right to have their own culture
| Ukraine Travel Blogs|
- Before this see the West India Travel Index
- I spent a couple of weeks in Kiev going to CS meetings etc. I was slow; I thought I had jet lag, or something, but I was actually mildly sick with typhoid
- PC531 Kiev 9-16/7/09 - Very Impressive City
- PC532 Kyiv Meeups etc 17-23/7/09 - In Kiev Been to many meetings/volunteer day etc
- Rather than go to the obvious tourist cities like everyone else I decided to investigate the industrial East.
- PC533 Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk 24-29/7/09
- Photos Donetsk pear_garden 28/7/09
- PC534 Mariupol - a steeltown on the Azov Sea 29-4/8/09
- Suddenly fever came up and I couldn't do anything for 1 week
- PC535 Being Ill : Typhoid 5-10/8/09 OK after 5 days of anti-biotics I am feeling almost normal
- PC536 Week of Train Blackholes 10-17/8/09 .. travelling in Ukraine is difficult, without speaking Russian, but I have some strange kind of mild typhoid sickness for 1 month now
- PC537 Western Ukraine 18-20/8/09
- 538t Procrastinating in Lviv 20-7/9/09
- 539t Krakow Pisses on Lviv 7-9/9/09 Wow it's 10 times the city
- 540t Zakopane 10-12/9/09
- 541t Krakow Again 13-16/9/09
- After this came back to the UK 542t UK09 INDEX 24/9/09
Opinion and Essays
2. Intercultural issues - still soviet thinking |
- I got into a debate about whether "The Ukraine" is grammatically correct in English debaters want to ban the use as they argue it makes Ukraine look like a Soviet state, yet strangely they demonstrate their own thinking is Soviet style. more
| 3. More Opinions|
- The rude Babushkas - It's strange how they can be business people renting rooms out - yet be so rude to their customers.
- The Gulag mentality - when you read Solzhenitsen you read how the gulag prisoners have all kind of tricks to : get to the canteen first or to get an extra slice of bread.
Sometimes I see people adopt similar strategies in everyday life - using their shopping bag to claim a bus seat etc. Claiming an extra unpaid for seat on the train etc.. Or encroaching on my space.
- Wow again - I expected it to be like Europe, like Nichky Novgorod in Russia, but this is even better ..is not only better than them but Kiev is actually above all the other cities I know in Europe in character and appearance
| Not an Interesting Country to visit|
- The value in travelling in the Ukraine is not the "sights" as really there aren't many, other countries have much more to see.. like castles are much better in Czech Republic or beaches better in Spain... but it is interesting to see the culture and thinking particularly the scars of Soviet thinking
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1. Wow seems so civilised after India, this is how proper countries are
- Everything that was wrong with India is right here..
- everywhere is clean
- not ugly - buildings look elegant and dignified
- quiet - yes the traffc moves without honking, people walk without shouting .. like the main station is quiet
- no hassling rickshaws - people are quite comfortable with walking 2 Km
- everything is just so proper and organised
- Most people seem above the basic poverty level ... Not the obvious equality like India
- 100 other things : Proper big supermarkets with a huge choice at reasonable prices, beer on street cafes for less than a dollar, but no obvious drunk problem
etc.etc.
- I haven't figured out what is wrong with Ukraine yet .. I expect too much centralisation and that the economy might be built on false mafia money 20% of buildings are banks but I suspect that there is not enough real business to support this.
- Here is a different planet. I was very irritated with India and thought somehow I was being too negative and unjust, but no compare Ukraine with India and India does look awful
: A whole different planet
- you notice the many miniskirted women on the street, but the things is instead of being hidden away in the home in purdah or cooking they are out in public. In fact whereasit was 80% men on the street it's way more than 50% women here .. I guess the women are apparent cos they are doing the front jobs like shops and restaurants whereas men are more likely on construction sites etc...
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Ukraine Background |
- UK Govt Info
- Ukraine CS Group
... - GOOD tips from Ukraine CS Group
- Peace Corps tourist pages good info
- www.infoukes.com large site done by Canadians
- www.onlyinukraine.blogspot.com not updated since 2007
- www.tryukraine.com
- www.ukraine.com) Up-to-date news from foreign news sources, eye-catching and
quirky feature articles from around the
- www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en
- poezda.net Great Site for checking Ukraine trains - use the advanced search
- Apartment etc - delim.com.ua - (roommates)
toprealty.org.ua (flats itself w/o agencies)
- Jobs - http://kievjob.info/ good in English
- www.tryukraine.com/work.shtml
- www.cicerone.com.ua Kyiv language school.
- www.go2kiev.com/view/jobs.html Jobs and work
permit info in English.
- http://job.ukr.net Click on ????? ????????
(Vacancy Search) and type �English� next to ????????
????? (Key Words).
- www.kievjob.info Jobs advertised in English.
- www.rabota-ukraine.com.ua Type �English� next to
???????? ????? (Key Words)
| Kiev : Background |
- Kiev CS Group
http://www.kievukraine.info/internet_cafes.htm
Official Tourist Info http://www.kievukraine.info
- The Day magazine
- EVENTS - http://www.kiev-life.com/ useless
- Check the Kiev Post available in big hotel etc
- http://www.whatson-kiev.com - the magazine seem good
- kyiv.inyourpocket.com - good guide magazine
Time out , skeptics humanists
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It seemed hotels very expensive-
- but I just found the Youth Hostels - list of Official Urkaine Hostels
- many Kiev hostels seem expensive and not so good
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Festivals
_ Best list of festivals festyvali.org.ua
3. July 12-18 ?????? Sheshory
International Ethnic music and Landart festival
http://www.sheshory.org/english/
22nd July http://www.skygravity.org/
- LIQUID BEACH FESTIVAL 2009
25.07.09 - 21.08.09 - http://www.lbf09.ru/
27th June http://www.krainamriy.com/rozdil50.html
- globalgathering
- http://www.tarasbulba-fest.kiev.ua/
http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1354&post=3080289
| English teaching
- I see a teacher charges 150 uah / hour + travel time =15 Euro I have always charge about 20 Euro
| UK to Asia 180 quid
Wow I see that Airasia.com really does have some good fares if you book in advance like UK to KL for 130
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Background Info
The guidebook does the normal thing of hyping things up in the introduction, but in the actual text things seem more boring.|
- I had been hoping to discover an interesting town in the East, but I didn't. There are some interesting castles and forts but all are in the central or west areas :
north west central
The jewel of central Ukraine lies at the southern border of Podillya: Kamyanets-Podilsky, a
granite �island� in the sky surrounded by the natural moat of the Smotrych River. Watched over
by its famous fortress, Kamyanets-Podilsky is an incredible sight that, remarkably, continues to see relatively few tourists.
- has $8 hostel ....
Museum of Strategic Missile Troops - too isolated
- Czerwonogrod (Map p113 ) �It�s simply�wow! 100 years ago the guidebooks called it the most
beautiful manor in Poland. For me it�s the most beautiful place in the whole country.� From
the 14th to 17th century; near Nyrkiv, 50km north of Chernivtsi.
- Sydoriv castle (Map p100 ) �It looks like an ocean liner sailing through a sea of maize and other
vegetables.� Built in the 17th century; near Husyatyn, 60km northwest of Kamyanets-Podilsky.
- Kudryntsi castle (Map p100 ) �The landscapes are unbelievable, the ruins are very scenic and
vivid, and tourists are rare birds here.� Early 17th century; 22km west of Kamyanets-Podilsky. Khotyn Fortress
- Nevytske castle (Map p137 ) �Legend has it this very picturesque castle served as a shelter for
Uzhhorod�s girls � nevesta is the local word for �girl�. Built in the 16th century; 12km north of
Uzhhorod.
- Hubkiv castle (Map p113 ; Rivne oblast). �It rises 32m over an area known as �Switzerland on the
Sluch River�. The views these castle ruins command are simply breathtaking. The fresh air that
wafts forth from the surrounding forests inebriates the visitor like a good wine, and heals as
well as any medicine.� From the 15th to 16th century.
For separate video tours of more Ukrainian castles, log on to www.youtube/user/doktoruri.
Right on the westerly Dnister
- River, Khotyn Fortress ( p155 ) was already one of
Ukraine�s most impressive castles even before
being renovated as a backdrop for the recent
blockbuster film Taras Bulba.
- Fierce Cossacks once fortified themselves on
the fourth sensation, Khortytsya Island ( p232 ) in the
Dnipro River. not that great
-Yaremcha - NG touristy
-Zaporizhzhya - no good
-Introducing Zhytomyr
US Peace Corps volunteers who end up stationed in this city 100km west of Kyiv can�t stop raving about the place and it�s easy to see why. The Teteriv River cuts a deep slice through the city�s leafy southern edge, making zhytomyr something of an adventure-sports Mecca. On summery weekends, bungee jumpers fly off the Berdychivsky bridge, while a huge forest just across it provides quality terrain for mountain biking and hiking. That said, outside of Zhytomyr�s famous space museum there�s not too much to divert more sedentary types. A half-day is sufficient to cover the main sights.
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- EAST
- KHARKIV ?????? / pop 1.45 million
You might find a few babushkas renting out
rooms (from 20uah) or apartments (from
50uah) at the train station, but they mostly hang out in front of the Law School (Yuridicheskaya
Akademiya; vul Pushkinska), 25m north of
Pushkinska metro. As always, check the loca-
tion vigilantly so you don�t end up in Russia.
- DNIPROPETROVSK
???????????????
%056 (7-digit Nos), 0562 (6-digit Nos) /
pop 1.08 million ex missile factory now oligargh city
- DONETSK ???????
%062 (7-digit Nos), 0622 (6-digit Nos) / pop 1.03
million nothing to see except salt mine concert hall
- South - not much
- odessa not great apts 60reva, caverns maybe worth a look
- Ist ??? on bulgarian border has $7 hotel
- Carpal Mountains
- IVANO-FRANKIVSK
?????-
??????????
%(8-)0342 (6-digit Nos), (8-)03422 (5-digit Nos) /
pop 204,000
- Carpathian-dwelling Hutsuls ethnic group different dialect
- HIKING HOVERLA free camping 4 hours from Lviv
-Rakhiv romanian border $10 guesthouses
CRIMEA
-Simferopol - not much
-Yalta=Margate Yalta in August is complete madness and probably best avoided.
-Eastern Crimea - SUDAK ????? amazing Genoese Citadel
- Crimea- Khersones ( p200 ), which boasts the ruins of an
ancient Greek city, a cathedral, and a famous bell
forged from a Crimean War cannon
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