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 zatic Germany. June 06 2012 17:07. Posts 11729 | Profile Blog # |
Hey Ukraine TL members,
I'll leave for Ukraine in 2 days to watch the Germany group games. I'll be visiting Lwiw, Kyiv, and Kharkiv. I have a number of questions and I am glad for any tips you can give beyond those too.
Food
What local food can you recommend that I should try? If possible, any good recommendation to go eat out in Lwiw, Kyiv, Kharkiv?
Nightlife
Where to go in Lwiw, Kyiv, Kharkiv?
Games end around midnight. I don't know how long bars etc will be open. Where should we go after the games?
How about dress code? Where can you go where people don't mind fans showing up in fan gear?
Money
Is it customary to tip people? How much in restaurants, bars, taxis?
Communication
Is there (free) wireless available at cafes or restaurants?
Are internet cafes easy to find?
Can I get a cheap Ukrainian pre paid sim card for my cell phone?
Language
Any tips how to get around if you can't read or speak Ukrainian or Russian? I expect most people won't speak English?
Other
I heard drinking in public is banned. Is it enforced?
Any more suggestions, tips, recommendations? Dos and Don'ts? |
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| glad Ukraine. June 06 2012 17:37. Posts 100 | Profile Blog # |
Is there (free) wireless available at cafes or restaurants? - Yes
Are internet cafes easy to find? - Not so.
Can I get a cheap Ukrainian pre paid sim card for my cell phone? Yes
Any tips how to get around if you can't read or speak Ukrainian or Russian? I expect most people won't speak English? - This is not a problem to find english speaking ppl in Kiev. And goverment are preparing for foreigners. To make there visit more comfortable for them.
I heard drinking in public is banned. Is it enforced? - Not at all.
Where can you go where people don't mind fans showing up in fan gear? - You will be welcome even naked during Euro 12.
Is it customary to tip people? How much in restaurants, bars, taxis? - In (good) restaurants yes. In bars and taxis not necessarily.
GL HF at Ukraine !Last edit: 2012-06-06 17:53:00 |
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| arbiter_md Moldova. June 06 2012 18:01. Posts 800 | Profile # |
| Can you recommend something specific related to sim card? Assuming you want to be able to talk up to 5 minutes with outside world? |
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| Corsica Ukraine. June 06 2012 21:17. Posts 1768 | Profile # |
Hi Zatic!
Local food: You should definetly try "Borsch" Борщ a red soup very traditional to ukraine with "Pampushki" Пампушки a garlic bread that acomponies this dish very well. "Bliny" Блины another dish basicaly a pancake that is eaten with everything from honey to red caviar  From restaurants I would definitely recommend "Kozachok" "Cossack" (here is address in Kiev : Kirovohrads'ka St, 118, Kyiv, Kyiv city, Ukraine 02000) , you can check some pictures here (http://www.2k.ua/restaurants/catalog/kozachok_bukovel/)
NightLife: In ukraine there are a lot of clubs from cheap ones to premium, most of the good ones located near Khreshatik (middle of city) Here the ones i like. Vodka-Bar, BarSky, Patipa, if you go to those ones you wont regret (girlswise, musicwise, foodwise etc ) Last one i would suggest is Dynamo its expensive but worth it ( http://dlux.com.ua/en/ ), also check this resource
Money: I would suggest you always tip waiters others wont be offended but waiters get so pissed off, some people might accept euro or dollars (those who work in service industry, just be cautious of exchange rate) , if you want to change money to Hryvnas keep your id with you, you need it to get the exchange completed. Tip rate most of the time not included : but standard is 10-15%. Even if you didnt like the service its customary to tip about 5% rather than nothing its considered very rude in Ukraine.
Communication: Usually yes, wifi in most good places. We mostly dont have such thing as Internet cafes more like PC bangs Yes the phone communication is very cheap in Ukraine for local calls, but if you want to call to Europe i would better suggest using skype. You can by sim card and then buy another card for 20, 40 etc hryvnas enter code and volia
Language: ahhh tough cookie  yeah many people dont know english, but be weary of people who appear to know english and know "secret way" they might fraud you. Most young people (students) know english and they are pretty friendly to foreingers so if you ask them they can help you. Additionally i think there are volunteers that help foreigners (they mostly located on the streets and hotels and other public points) in special uniforms. There are a stands with a lot of informations for tourists near sightseeing points so you can read them to get more info.
Other: There is big chance you can be victim of fraud, dont use taxi that just stand near the road (especially near middle) they have ridiculously high tarrifs like 5 or 6 times more than normal taxi. Better call taxi and name your address. Also its quite dangerous in Ukraine during the night, there are mobsters that go around robbing people who walk alone like hyenas
Lastly I would suggest to check places like : Andriivskiy spusk for souvenir shopping there are a lot of artisans who make them with their own hands ( http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=andreevsky+spusk&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8) and also check a lot of churches near that place, and most famous kiev pechersk lavra (http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=kiev+pechersk+lavra&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8).
To finish off check this resource for any other things you need : http://kievapts.com/kiev_nightlife.php
Hope that helped if you have any more questions post here ill help |
| | Idra is the most overrated pro i swear - someone in chat, after aLive 4-0. Foreign team: Empire Korean team: Startale |
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| greggy United Kingdom. June 06 2012 21:46. Posts 890 | Profile # |
If there's one tip that I can give it'll be NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER, USE AN UNLICENSED TAXI. NEVER. If a guy comes up to you and asks to take you anywhere - "Net, spasibo" and move on. Most places have taxi booths where an employee can call a taxi for you. Also ask the driver for a card and always ask for a receipt.
In general, try and be very careful with money and passports. I'd imagine pickpocketing would be rather commonplace, especially at the stadiums, etc. so try to keep as little cash on you as possible at all times. I guess it's obvious enough but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
just my 0.02c.Last edit: 2012-06-06 21:49:50 |
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| Corsica Ukraine. June 06 2012 22:15. Posts 1768 | Profile # |
On June 06 2012 21:46 greggy wrote:
If there's one tip that I can give it'll be NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER, USE AN UNLICENSED TAXI. NEVER. If a guy comes up to you and asks to take you anywhere - "Net, spasibo" and move on. Most places have taxi booths where an employee can call a taxi for you. Also ask the driver for a card and always ask for a receipt.
In general, try and be very careful with money and passports. I'd imagine pickpocketing would be rather commonplace, especially at the stadiums, etc. so try to keep as little cash on you as possible at all times. I guess it's obvious enough but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
just my 0.02c.
Yes this guy speaks the truth and especially be weary of pickpocketing in the subways, when you go there just put all your staff in your bag and keep close eye on it. |
| | Idra is the most overrated pro i swear - someone in chat, after aLive 4-0. Foreign team: Empire Korean team: Startale |
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| Kurumi Poland. June 07 2012 00:41. Posts 5141 | Profile Blog # |
Don't get too drunk, lost, careful around women, don't look like owner of two companies, refuse random offers, if you find someone cool ask him about the city; where you can go and shouldn't go; take two cars to get through Poland; beware of greedy militia. Have fun.
I would eat some barszcz, man.
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| | I work alone. // Visit TL Mafia subforum! |
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| Silvanel Poland. June 07 2012 01:29. Posts 1776 | Profile Blog # |
On June 07 2012 00:41 Kurumi wrote:
; take two cars to get through Poland;
Lol talking about sterotypes |
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| Corsica Ukraine. June 07 2012 03:46. Posts 1768 | Profile # |
On June 07 2012 01:29 Silvanel wrote:Lol talking about sterotypes
Huh? never heard that one before. Care to explain? |
| | Idra is the most overrated pro i swear - someone in chat, after aLive 4-0. Foreign team: Empire Korean team: Startale |
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| Kurumi Poland. June 07 2012 03:49. Posts 5141 | Profile Blog # |
On June 07 2012 03:46 Corsica wrote:
Show nested quote +On June 07 2012 01:29 Silvanel wrote:
On June 07 2012 00:41 Kurumi wrote:
; take two cars to get through Poland;
Lol talking about sterotypes
Huh? never heard that one before. Care to explain?
There was a joke during cold war/shortly after creating a democratic government that Poles are thieves.
So that's how people joked about us!
Take two because they'll steal you one. |
| | I work alone. // Visit TL Mafia subforum! |
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| Chaosu Poland. June 07 2012 07:04. Posts 302 | Profile # |
| I'll add one question. I'll be hithchiking to Dnepropetrovsk during EURO and in case I need it I may be using trains or buses. The problem is I can't find much info. I managed to google some schedules and I know there are some trains on that route but I have no idea what may be the prices and what are travel conditions like. Can I use studens discount? (no EURO<26 or ISIC or whatever card, just my univeristy-id). Can I buy standing ticket and travel without seated place? Are there seats available for longer journeys or I may be forced to pay for sleeping car? And maybe any word/site with hostels/cheapest stay? Or maybe a place to take a showe? Thanks in advance for any help. Last edit: 2012-06-07 07:19:08 |
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| Corsica Ukraine. June 07 2012 16:56. Posts 1768 | Profile # |
On June 07 2012 07:04 Chaosu wrote:
I'll add one question. I'll be hithchiking to Dnepropetrovsk during EURO and in case I need it I may be using trains or buses. The problem is I can't find much info. I managed to google some schedules and I know there are some trains on that route but I have no idea what may be the prices and what are travel conditions like. Can I use studens discount? (no EURO<26 or ISIC or whatever card, just my univeristy-id). Can I buy standing ticket and travel without seated place? Are there seats available for longer journeys or I may be forced to pay for sleeping car? And maybe any word/site with hostels/cheapest stay? Or maybe a place to take a showe? Thanks in advance for any help.
To get to Dnepropetrovsk i think it would be better to go to Lviv first and then you can take rail-train to dnipropetrovsk that will cost up to around 50 euro, but only problem it will take about 20 hours to get there. Alternatively you can get to Kiev from Poland i suppose, and then take express to Dnepropetrovsk (takes about 7-8 hours) but its very comfortable train and very fast. You might wanna check this site out its Ukrainian rail way company national : http://www.uz.gov.ua/en/
Hope that helped |
| | Idra is the most overrated pro i swear - someone in chat, after aLive 4-0. Foreign team: Empire Korean team: Startale |
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| Reasonable Ukraine. June 07 2012 17:05. Posts 1331 | Profile # |
Alright, so here are some insights.
First, you must try borsch. In fact, try it the first day you're in Ukraine, because chances are you will love it and eat it every day of your stay in the country. Get it in a decent restaurant, it's worth the money. Almost every restaurant serves borsch, but expect wait/lines, because there are a lot of people who know what borsch is.
Be super careful with women because STDs in Ukraine are so dire, your dick will rot off before you get to the doctor. And don't listen to advises of locals because they probably have some shit and would consider it entertaining to see you get it as well. There are stamps of viruses that even doctors don't know about.
Also, shit, Ukraine isn't Western Europe. Take necessities with you, specifically medical kit. Consider medicine for food poisoning, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and anything you think you may need. You, of course, can buy all that in Ukraine, but it is all counterfeit and often times doesn't work.
What my comrades above say is generally true, but don't count on anyone speaking English. Government servants, specifically policemen, are dumb as a bag of nails and can't speak English for shit, they work for $100 a month, if they could learn the language they wouldn't work there. I believe that they are instructed not to beat bribes out of foreigners, but they don't follow instructions much either. If you are traveling alone, find a group of people that speak English and stick to them! Although, I don't see why anyone would travel alone to such event.
Obviously, don't take gadgets, jewelry, laptops, etc. Only take your mobile phone and when you sleep put it under your pillow. You won't get brain cancer over a couple of days, but you will save yourself A LOT of trouble.
With all being said, enjoy your trip to Ukraine!
P.S. don't forget about borsch. |
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| Chaosu Poland. June 08 2012 05:02. Posts 302 | Profile # |
On June 07 2012 16:56 Corsica wrote:+ Show Spoiler +
On June 07 2012 07:04 Chaosu wrote:
I'll add one question. I'll be hithchiking to Dnepropetrovsk during EURO and in case I need it I may be using trains or buses. The problem is I can't find much info. I managed to google some schedules and I know there are some trains on that route but I have no idea what may be the prices and what are travel conditions like. Can I use studens discount? (no EURO<26 or ISIC or whatever card, just my univeristy-id). Can I buy standing ticket and travel without seated place? Are there seats available for longer journeys or I may be forced to pay for sleeping car? And maybe any word/site with hostels/cheapest stay? Or maybe a place to take a showe? Thanks in advance for any help.
To get to Dnepropetrovsk i think it would be better to go to Lviv first and then you can take rail-train to dnipropetrovsk that will cost up to around 50 euro, but only problem it will take about 20 hours to get there. Alternatively you can get to Kiev from Poland i suppose, and then take express to Dnepropetrovsk (takes about 7-8 hours) but its very comfortable train and very fast. You might wanna check this site out its Ukrainian rail way company national : http://www.uz.gov.ua/en/Hope that helped
Thanks a lot! Looks like English reservation system was launched recently since I haven't seen any before. And when trying Ukrainian one I couldn't even type Lviv since it was using some different kind of ' (L'viv wasn't working)... Still looking for help with places to sleep. One more question to you, what you wrote is 50€ one way, what I found was 100UAH which is much less (third category sleepers). How come you are off so much, is there something I've missed? Can you tell me more about quality of such trains and last but not least, are there any trains/wagons with normal seating places? (assuming I would take a train just between some cities on the Lviv-Dnipropetrovsk, not the whole trip at once. Remember I'm going to be hitchhiking so train will be emergency option (although it looks really cheap). Last edit: 2012-06-08 05:05:30 |
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| zatic Germany. June 08 2012 05:14. Posts 11729 | Profile Blog # |
Thanks a lot everyone! Lots of good advice!
I'll leave tomorrow morning. I'll not heed advice about not drinking, but I'll try to not get stabbed, robbed, and ridden with STDs. You guys really know how to sell your country ....
Cya in a week. |
| | I know Teamliquid is known as a massive building |
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| greggy United Kingdom. June 08 2012 05:51. Posts 890 | Profile # |
On June 08 2012 05:02 Chaosu wrote:
Show nested quote +On June 07 2012 16:56 Corsica wrote:+ Show Spoiler +
On June 07 2012 07:04 Chaosu wrote:
I'll add one question. I'll be hithchiking to Dnepropetrovsk during EURO and in case I need it I may be using trains or buses. The problem is I can't find much info. I managed to google some schedules and I know there are some trains on that route but I have no idea what may be the prices and what are travel conditions like. Can I use studens discount? (no EURO<26 or ISIC or whatever card, just my univeristy-id). Can I buy standing ticket and travel without seated place? Are there seats available for longer journeys or I may be forced to pay for sleeping car? And maybe any word/site with hostels/cheapest stay? Or maybe a place to take a showe? Thanks in advance for any help.
To get to Dnepropetrovsk i think it would be better to go to Lviv first and then you can take rail-train to dnipropetrovsk that will cost up to around 50 euro, but only problem it will take about 20 hours to get there. Alternatively you can get to Kiev from Poland i suppose, and then take express to Dnepropetrovsk (takes about 7-8 hours) but its very comfortable train and very fast. You might wanna check this site out its Ukrainian rail way company national : http://www.uz.gov.ua/en/Hope that helped
Thanks a lot! Looks like English reservation system was launched recently since I haven't seen any before. And when trying Ukrainian one I couldn't even type Lviv since it was using some different kind of ' (L'viv wasn't working)... Still looking for help with places to sleep. One more question to you, what you wrote is 50€ one way, what I found was 100UAH which is much less (third category sleepers). How come you are off so much, is there something I've missed? Can you tell me more about quality of such trains and last but not least, are there any trains/wagons with normal seating places? (assuming I would take a train just between some cities on the Lviv-Dnipropetrovsk, not the whole trip at once. Remember I'm going to be hitchhiking so train will be emergency option (although it looks really cheap).
Generally speaking if a journey is >8-10 hours or overnight the ticket is a sleeper class but it's quite literally just a board with a mattress. Which is what you can expect for 10E. Because of the distances trains with conventional seats are quite uncommon over such large distances.
In all fairness it's probably the best way to travel too since you just get on and don't have to bother (unless you want to see the country I guess). IIRC there aren't any extra charges but I may be wrong.
I do have to say that hitchhiking across Ukraine, especially if you are alone and don't know the language, is a pretty bad idea. I wouldn't suggest it.Last edit: 2012-06-08 05:55:11 |
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| zatic Germany. June 08 2012 05:54. Posts 11729 | Profile Blog # |
Oh btw I booked first class overnight train from Kyiv to Kharkiv. They told me that a limo service that will pick us up anywhere in the city to get us to the train station is included in the 900uah.
This seems ridiculous to me. Are they for real? |
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| greggy United Kingdom. June 08 2012 05:56. Posts 890 | Profile # |
On June 08 2012 05:54 zatic wrote:
Oh btw I booked first class overnight train from Kyiv to Kharkiv. They told me that a limo service that will pick us up anywhere in the city to get us to the train station is included in the 900uah.
This seems ridiculous to me. Are they for real?
Probably not a stretch limo but more along the lines of a decent taxi seems reasonable enough. You're paying 100E, which is quite a lot in Ukraine after all. |
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| GreEny K Germany. June 08 2012 07:26. Posts 7264 | Profile # |
1) Find White-ra
2) Salute White-ra
3) Depart
:D |
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| Itachii Poland. June 08 2012 07:39. Posts 12441 | Profile Blog # | |
| | La parole nous a été donnée pour déguiser notre pensée |
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