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Author Topic: My Experience in Kharkov - March 19 - 30, 2009  (Read 9883 times)

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Offline Jimm

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My Experience in Kharkov - March 19 - 30, 2009
« on: April 24, 2009, 08:16:58 PM »
Hi Everyone, I thought I would try to describe my trip to Kharkov as best I can! It was my first trip to Ukraine and I didn't know what to expect. I have been to Russia (St. Pete) several times and expected Kharkov to be about the same. I will post this in several parts over the next few days, also I will post some photo's in the photo section for your viewing pleasure. :)

My Journey to Kharkov, Ukraine first started while I was corresponding with a woman from the small town of Glukhov, Ukraine. We sent emails to each other for a time, and as we got to know each other she sent me her mobile phone number and asked me to call her. I would call her several times a week over the next couple of months. We agreed that we would like to meet each other in the city of Sumy, which is a couple hours taxi drive from her town and a couple of hours from Kharkov, as Kharkov had the only airport nearby. So, I purchased air fare to Kharkov for our meeting. I call this woman to tell her that I have ticket in hand and will see her soon. Unexpectedly and to my dismay, she no longer wants to meet with me or even talk to me anymore! Now I am stuck with my ticket to Kharkov, as there was no refund in the fine print. So I decide to go to Kharkov and make the best of it and hope to enjoy myself while I am there. I knew nothing about Kharkov or  Ukraine or its people except what I may have read on the internet. I decided I wanted to stay in an apartment instead of a hotel room. I looked on internet and found many agency's that rented apartments. I settled on Ukraineapartments.com, they had nice website with many photo's of apartments. Before you take this the wrong way, I am not advertising any website or buisness, I am telling you my story of what happened to me and the agency's that I used! Now, my experience with Ukraineapartments was not the best, and here is what happened to me. After looking at the many apartments that they offered online, I choose a $30 per night apartment that looked good for me as I was travelling on a budget. I try to book this apartment, and they write to me that it is already taken. OK, I try to book another $30 apartment and receive the same reply. I write to them that i will try another agency to find apartment. They reply with other options about apartments they have and how they may bargain with owners of apartments for better price than is posted on website. They also send photo's of several beautiful apartments, of which I choose a very nice one which rents for $100 per night and I make offer to them for $60 per night. Now this is twice as much as I had wanted to spend, but to stay in apartment this nice, I thought would be worth the extra money. They get back to me via email and tell me the apartment is mine. I am overjoyed, a large 3 bedroom apt. with large screen T.V. and component stereo system with large speakers, 2 full modern bathrooms and more. I also place order to have their driver pick me up at airport for ride directly to apartment. I send them my deposit that they required and I figure all is well. < To Be Continued >

Offline Jimm

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Re: My Experience in Kharkov - March 19 - 30, 2009
« Reply #1 on: April 25, 2009, 10:35:45 PM »
      It now is several days before my flight to Kharkov, and I decide that i would like to hire a freelance interpreter/guide for my stay in Kharkov. I google search for interpreters, the one I choose is 'mila-interpreter.com'. I wrote to her and asked her if she was available during my stay in Kharkov and she replyed she was. I called and spoke to Mila about my visit and I had very good feeling about making the right choice with Mila. Mila offered to get me an apartment and also to pick me up at airport, but I explain to her that I already have this taken care of. OK, now my flight arrives to Kharkov airport, no problems at customs in airport. I am waiting in the main hall at airport for my driver to pick me up. Humm, no driver for me! What now! I try my cellphone that Verizon gave me to use in Ukraine, of course it does not work. I am sitting in chair trying to figure out phone when Police man walks over to me. What luck, he speaks english. He ask's me if I have any american quarters with the different state emblems on them, as he says he collects them. No problem, I have a couple and give them to him, as I know i cant spend them in Ukraine anyway. He seems happy and ask me if I need any help. I give him phone number I have from apartment agency, he uses his personal phone to make the call for me and finds out a man is waiting for me at apartment I rented. Policeman asks me if I want taxi, I give him Mila's phone number but he says he is having problems dialing this number, just then two taxi drivers walk up to us. Policeman say to choose which driver I want. I tell him, I can not make choice, as I do not want to upset other driver. Just then, both drivers get into argument and almost fight each other to give me a ride. Policeman sends them away and says to me "I help you, you help me!" He finds another taxi driver, as we walk out the door, policeman again says "I help you, you help me!" I know he wants money/bribe, I reach into pocket and pull out two bills each say 100 grivna on them. He seemed satisfied, and I was relieved I didn't go to gulag on trumped up charge. Taxi driver was nice young man, but he did not speak english, only couple words. I gave him $30 U.S. for taxi ride which he accepted. I am now at apartment and man is here with key and to show me apartment and collect rest of money i owe for apartment. He does not speak english so well and is very difficult for me to understand him. After I pay for my entire stay, he tells me they must move me from this apartment after 2 days, to another apartment for reasons I did not understand. But, I will bet, that they found someone else who paid full price for this apartment, so they decide to move me, even after we have agreement on paper. After 2 days, he come to move me to other apartment. Guess what, he doesn't have a car. We must walk with my heavy luggage six streets to other apartment and it is cold outside. I am dissapointed that I must leave this beautiful apartment to begin with and now having to walk and carry my bags is making me not think to many happy thoughts about Ukraineapartments. We arrive to other apartment, not so nice look on outside of apartment building, but after five flights of stairs to apartment, it has nice look, is cozy one bedroom, kitchen, livingroom, very new bathroom and nice balcony over looking the street. This apartment was much closer to city center, which was convenient. Another good feature was free wi-fi for my laptop. Something else interesting, I use laptop and find ukraineapartment website and see this apartment rents for $60 per night. I would not have paid this price for apartment to begin with, but now, I am. Funny how this worked out. OK, I will end my talk about this apartment agency, you decide if you want the same experience that I received or maybe you will decide on another choice to rent apartments. In retrospect, I really wish I would have found Mila's website before I found ukraineapartments website!  < To Be Continued >

Offline Jimm

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Re: My Experience in Kharkov - March 19 - 30, 2009
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2009, 08:21:50 AM »
Now I will talk about my experience with Mila, my freelance

interpreter. I call Mila and we agree to meet near a Metro station

in the city center. I arrive first and wait a short while for Mila

to appear. Many people are walking here and there, but then I see

this stunning young woman looking at me and I can not take my eyes

off of her. It was Mila and she recognize me from photo I sent to

her on internet. We greet each other and walk to nearby cafe for

talk and something to eat. I must say, I was apprehensive about

eating the food in the Ukraine, but every place Mila took me to eat

was fantastic and the food was so good. Mila's ability with english

language is exemplary, and as an interpreter, guide, personal

assistant, and friend, she has my utmost and heartfelt gratitude

and thanks for all she has done for me! I can not recommend Mila

enough, for anyone that has a need for any of the services Mila has

to offer. Mila introduced me to several women that she knows

personally, they were all very nice, which made it all the more

difficult to make a choice of whom I wanted to get to know!
 
I am sure, if I would have let Mila get me an apartment and pick

me up at the airport, I would not have had all the trouble I had with

other apartment agency or the police at the airport because other

agency driver did not show up to pick me up! Next time I go to

Kharkov, Mila will be the one I call!  < To Be Continued... >

 

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