Upcoming Kharkov trip

[BillyB]

Then catch the UIA flight from Kiev to Kharkov.

Before you make the trip, CALL to make sure Kharkov airport is open. Theguide unfortunately didn't make his trip to Maripol. What happened to him can happen to others. I did a Google search for Kharkov airport and it would be wise for everybody heading to Ukraine in the near future to pay attention to airports they will fly through and arrive at.


Website below shows Kharkiv arrivals, departures and their status. I noticed six scheduled arrivals to the airport and only one status is listed and the flight has been cancelled and it happened to be coming from Moscow.


http://hrk.aero/en/


Have a back up plan. If you land in Kiev, can your lady get there if you can't get to Kharkiv by train or taxi? If so, keep options to get an apartment or stay in a hotel in Kiev.

[JayH]

Have a back up plan. If you land in Kiev, can your lady get there if you can't get to Kharkiv by train or taxi? If so, keep options to get an apartment or stay in a hotel in Kiev.

What about Kiev, then ground transport or train after that?  Seems less difficult, slightly more time but less worry.

ps-- even if flight only got you to Kiev at this time--then other ways are possible to get to Kharkov.

It was all suggested earlier !

[BillyB]

After re-reading Sleepcat's first post, he's to meet several women and is depending on Mila to assist. If he has a plan to stay in Kiev in the event of a Kharkov airport closure, he's going to need a spend some money to bring all those ladies to Kiev and for their accommodations or completely have a different group of women lined up for backup.

[northkape]

I would,, as always, suggest renting a car,,,
At the moment there are cars available at all times,,,
and prices are negotiable also, because of the present situation..

Road from Borispol to Kharkov has road signs in English also,
And more than 50% of the road is four lane,, mostly in good condition.
Non stop driving is 5-6 hours,, I will probably drive there again, later this week.

Kharkov is a "BIG" city and covering a large area,,,
Having a car available, when being there, is very convenient...

I can only imagine,, how crippled I would be in the search for my woman,,
without the freedom and flexibility of a car.....
For quickly moving between prospects, located in different parts of Ukraine.
And what an incredible amount of time, I would have wasted in the process.

Of course, at my age, searching for my "special" woman, is much more difficult,,
as they are relatively few and far between,,
Being 25 years younger, fit, strong and beautiful, with a personality I feel comfortable with.
And also needing to have a single kid close to the age of my twin boys......
 

[sleepycat]

1) All flights for the departing trip confirmed -                          TICK
2) Last minute check to see if Kharkov airport still open -          TICK
3) Check Aussie government website re travel warnings to UA - TICK

Looks like I'm all ready to go tomorrow. More good news just got my refund back from Aeroflot for the cancelled ticket. I am very surprised it only took 5 days from the time of request for the money to go back on my credit card. Still I don't think I will ever fly with Aeroflot again, their website layout is crap compared to the likes of Emirates, Singapore Airlines etc.

I'm looking forwards to catching up and talking with Mila again. For someone from the FSU, she totally understands western humour.

Will update once I'm on the other side.

[sleepycat]

Touched down in Kiev this afternoon and then another flight to Kharkov. I'm totally buggered after a 30+ hour trip.
Just some brief observations so far...
* The customs officers at passport control at Borispol Airport are now wearing army fatigues, rather than their normal uniform.
* Policemen at Borispol Airport wearing flak jackets. But there doesn't appear to be extra security at the airport.
* There are still flights going from Kiev to Donetsk.

[sleepycat]

Today is my first full day in Kharkov...

Walked through Freedom Square in the afternoon.
The pro-Russian protest element there consisted of about a handful of pensioners and one orange/black flag planted in the ground next to the Lenin statue. There were several bored looking policemen in the background about 100 metres away.
In front of that large government building at the other end of Freedom Square, I saw a couple of riot police hiding behind trees trying to keep a low profile. The broken windows at the front of that building still not repaired.

[BillyB]

Walked through Freedom Square in the afternoon.
The pro-Russian protest element there consisted of about a handful of pensioners and one orange/black flag planted in the ground next to the Lenin statue. There were several bored looking policemen in the background about 100 metres away.

Talk to some people in the Square and get an idea on their thoughts about what's going on. Avoid the cops and anybody in military fatigues or packing a weapon. Thanks for the updates!

[sleepycat]

25th May 2014 - Election Day in Kharkov...

This afternoon I went for a walk downtown to Freedom Square to observe the protest there. I didn't go to look at the polling stations because I don't know where they are. I have taken a couple of photos from a distance and attached them here.

Dozens and dozens of policemen out and about. Most of them not doing much and some of them not even armed. As you can see from the photos there are some Putin puppets protesting. But the atmosphere is peaceful and people walking near Shevchenko Park and the police basically ignored the Putinists there.

[southernX]

My new flight schedule is Perth -> Singapore (Singapore Airlines), Singapore -> Paris (Air France), Paris -> Kiev (Air France). Then catch the UIA flight from Kiev to Kharkov. Total travelling time from Perth to Kharkov will be quite long, almost a day & a half. 

sleepy, good alternative choice,
you did the extra km past ukraine, but coming back into kiev from charles de gaule , then onto kharkiv, you would have had a smooth run of it

personaly at this time in kharkiv, i would not be hiring a car and driving around myself, too risky imho

we have done in normal visits , but this situation there might look normal , but it still isnt safe, too much potential imo for trouble

dress like a european , short haircut slip on shoes, collared shirt, good trousers , etc keep quiet and low key ,




A bit difficult since I am Asian. Well at least the pro-Russian dicks wont confuse me with being an American/EU fascist!

sleepy, i said ''DRESS ' like a european , not ''LOOK ' like one lol

enjoy your time in kharkiv , visit cafe norma on lennon prospekt,just up from noukova metro entry  great food !!! or teh paris centre near pushkinska

stay safe

SX

[sleepycat]

Going to the supermarket...

Since I arrived in Kharkov 1.5 weeks ago I have been going to the supermarket by myself to top up on supplies. There is a supermarket about 5 minutes walk from my apartment so that's convenient.

First thing I noticed inside the supermarket is generally the product packaging sizes are significantly smaller than in the supermarkets of Aust. Basically designed for people to go to the supermarket every second day rather than once a week.

Since I couldn't read a single word of Russian, I was relying on visual identification when deciding what to buy there. So far I haven't guessed wrong on the items I bought.

Going to the checkout, I have worked out the first question the cashier will ask is if you want a plastic bag. So I'll make the hand gesture of wrapping and the cashier understands without me having to say anything. The supermarket charges for the plastic bag but these bags are big and really durable unlike the flimsy ones they give for free in supermarkets in Aust.

[Anotherkiwi]

...Since I couldn't read a single word of Russian, I was relying on visual identification when deciding what to buy there. So far I haven't guessed wrong on the items I bought.

Sleepycat, this is your second (or third?) trip, and you still can't read any Russian?  I'll forgive you for not knowing any Ukrainian, but the basics of Russian should be easy enough, even for an Australian! 

How long did it take you to pick up the absolute basics of whatever job you do?  It would seriously take less time than that to learn the Russian alphabet, and not much longer to learn a few key words and phrases.  Considering also that you're in Ukraine, learning a few words and phrases in that language should also go down pretty well, especially if you travel to the west of the country.

[southernX]

Sleepycat, this is your second (or third?) trip, and you still can't read any Russian?  I'll forgive you for not knowing any Ukrainian, but the basics of Russian should be easy enough, even for an Australian! 

How long did it take you to pick up the absolute basics of whatever job you do?  It would seriously take less time than that to learn the Russian alphabet, and not much longer to learn a few key words and phrases.  Considering also that you're in Ukraine, learning a few words and phrases in that language should also go down pretty well, especially if you travel to the west of the country.

agree with you a/kiwi

sleepy it should be easy enough to learn the basics ,

SX

[sleepycat]

The other day I was flicking through the TV channels and watched a bit of RT as it was one of the few English speaking channels available on the TV in the apartment I am staying at. OMG! before I thought Fox News was bad and says some idiotic things but now I have found another news channel to top the list.

I wonder how many times RT usually need to reshoot a segment as it will be pretty hard for their reporters to keep a straight face when having to spew out that propaganda BS. Do their journalists know that they are committing career suicide when they go to work for RT?

Maybe some of our esteemed RW members on this forum have been watching a bit too much of RT?

[cc3]

Luhansk fiancee won't watch Russian news, but then, she's capable of rational thought.

[Chicagoguy]

RT had a woman announcer quit right when she was broadcasting !  She couldn't take it anymore.

[sleepycat]

I have noticed that several of the police cars seen around Kharkov are Toyota Prius. Pretty strange for a supposedly cash-strapped country.

[Anotherkiwi]

I have noticed that several of the police cars seen around Kharkov are Toyota Prius. Pretty strange for a supposedly cash-strapped country.

Well at least they're not like everywhere I've been in Russia, where most of the police cars are Mercedes-Benz!

[sleepycat]

Currently waiting in the transit lounge of Changi Airport in Singapore so have time to fire off a quick post...

Yesterday I left Kharkov after spending almost three weeks there. Once again a big thank you to Mila and her husband for all the assistance they provided me during my stay.

I don't know about the other parts of Ukraine, but in Kharkov during my stay at no time did I have any concerns about my safety there. At times I was venturing around town by myself and I have no safety concerns.

[BillyB]

I don't know about the other parts of Ukraine, but in Kharkov during my stay at no time did I have any concerns about my safety there. At times I was venturing around town by myself and I have no safety concerns.

Thanks for the updates Sleepycat. Your reports are invaluable to guys who are debating on whether or not to go to east Ukraine. East Ukrainians are not trying to start a civil war. The only problems are in a few regions where the militia are operating.


Did you even see one protest against the current Ukrainian government?

[sleepycat]

Yeah no worries BillyB.
If you can even call this a protest, but everyday there will be about 20 old people standing next to a planted orange/black flag at the Lenin statue in town centre. There are no confrontations and the pedestrians & police nearby ignores them. I have not seen any other incidents of civil unrest while I was in Kharkov.

[Arti99]

To go to Kharkiv by plane the best connections are Kiev and Istanbul.
As for accommodation you can have private apartments in Kharkiv downtown for as low as 10$ per night (!!!!!!)
http://www.apartments.kharkov.ua/1-k-kvartiry/arenda-kvartiry-posutochno-v-harkove-pl-rudneva-25-mini-otel-no1.htm
Or good hotels are from 30USD

Kharkiv downtown is safe at night, so do not worry.

As for dating it's probably one of the best places in Ukraine,  about 20% of girls are interested to date a foreigner - don't think that all girls dream about a western man.

A typical nice Kharkiv girl ready to date a western man is like this http://www.ukreine.com/en/girls/1337/ - don't think that top-models from datings sites will run after you in Kharkiv - it's just dating agencies scams, the most beautiful girls have enough choice between local men

[ML]

In past years there were direct flights between Vienna and Kharkiv . . . but seems they have been discontinued.

[GatoMoon]

A typical nice Kharkiv girl ready to date a western man is like this http://www.ukreine.com/en/girls/1337/ - don't think that top-models from datings sites will run after you in Kharkiv - it's just dating agencies scams, the most beautiful girls have enough choice between local men

Are these ladies looking for a frog?   I'm English

[LAman]

In past years there were direct flights between Vienna and Kharkiv . . . but seems they have been discontinued.

Not sure exactly why but it was a very expensive flight well over $300usd return but direct. One time, as I waited at gate, there was an announcement that if anyone would give up their seat for $250 and take a flight ~3 hours later....... I was tempted.