Well, folks, I'm off!

[baldhiker]

I'm traveling to Kiev in three weeks to meet my new friend. We straightened out all the trouble from my last thread, and have decided to meet. She's setting up an apartment to rent for four days and will buy train tickets to Lugansk for a couple of days, because she wants to show me where she lives. I've sent her the money for the apartment rental and the tickets, and I know the rule of thumb is "don't send money" but this is actually a test for her. If what she says is all true, then we're on our way. But i'm also setting up a hotel room for myself, just in case.
Anyway, wish me luck, this will be a new experience and I'm anxious to give it a try.

[ECOCKS]

Best of luck to you.

The hotel backup may be overkill since you can get a room most anywhere but you gotta be comfortable and focused on your objectives.

Your impressions of Lugansk would be good to hear (the objective impression of the city rather than the emotional effect of the woman) as I have rarely heard positives out of there and that seems to discourage most guys from having it on their short list.

[baldhiker]

Yep, I'm not planning on anything but a little fun. Either it works or it doesn't, either way I get to see some of the former Soviet Union, which is something I've wanted to do since I was a kid.

[kievstar]

Hotel backup is important.  I remember May 2008 Ukraine had an international banking convention in Kiev and not one hotel room or apartment was available. It is rare but does happen as Kiev does not have a lot of room capacity.  Once Euro 2012 is played looked for realestate in Kiev and Kharkov to tank as people dump apartments.  People are (mainly foreigners) holding on to milk the soccer visitors.

[Jack]

kievstar during some two to three days before the World Cup qualifying games played in Kiev in 2005 and 2006 you could not get a flat within 40 minutes of the center.

Euro 2012 is going to be unreal, in EVERY Ukraine city where they are playing games. I'm thinking about trying to rent several flats in key cities during that time. Not for the bride seekers but for the football nut's.

[Jack]

Hello baldhiker,  I want to wish you the best of luck.    If you are meeting a good lady I am sure you are going to have a good time.    If you happen to meet a woman with let's say not the best intentions,  you run the risk of not having such a good trip to Lugansk.  Either way please let us know how your trip went.

baldhiker I want you to have a good trip in Lugansk. It is a goldmine. Many men who have gone there have been able to meet a lot of beautiful women. If these men are still looking they are not going to tell you about Lugansk, and what a goldmine it is, until they have found what they are looking for.  Makes sense, keep as many guys away as long as they can while they are still looking. This is the attitude many men have who have been to Lugansk, and were not scammed.

But ole, those guys getting scammed, and their are many, well, the stories they tell are not so good and keep's many guys away.  

Today it is very hot in Lugansk, 100 degrees. It is sweltering hot. This past weekend many people were at the lakes, very few people were outside walking in the center or in the parks, people are staying inside where it is cool.  Please dress accordingly.

Let's hope you are meeting a nice woman but if you see things are going south, you need to go to a hotel, let me suggest Hotel Druzhba. {view from balcony first photo below}   It is at best a 3 star hotel but the best in Lugansk.  If you walk to the front desk and ask for a room they will put you on the second floor.  Here is where they put foreigners. One company bought the entire second floor. A hotel inside a hotel.  I know  ?,  but it is Ukraine.   Rooms are identical but $20 a day more.  About $60.     Tell the front desk Nyet!  You would like a room on the 3rd floor, or the 4th floor, 5th floor, but you do not want a room on the 2nd floor.  Now, since you, the  foreigner, has asked for another floor, they will give to you.  The front desk can put you on 3rd floor, or 4th, whatever is available, and you will pay $20 a night less.  Really!  

baldhiker if you go to the Hotel Druzhba you might be interested in seeing one of my favorite sites, located across the street from the hotel, the pot hole in the shape of  Texas. {2nd photo}   If that doesn't get you to missing home nothing will, but if you do begin to feel homesick with that beautiful site right down the street from the Druzhba is the Texas restaurant.

If the lady you go to see does not work out and you might want to go to some club you might try out Cosmos. Quieter than Club Opera, it is a lot easier to meet ladies, especially if you ask for the table at the end of the club, or to the far left of where you enter the club. You will have a table In front of some stairs, stairs leading to the ladies restroom.  Great views. You put two, three foreign guys at this table, say "Howdy" to the ladies who look the nicest to you and watch some of these women begin to giggle.  Before you know they are making more trips to the ladies room, and this time bringing there girlfriends, as they now begin to wave to you when they pass. Most these women have never meet a foreign man.You will probably be the first foreign men they have ever met. Ohh, I see I'm beginning to shake, withdraw symptoms are setting in, got to get my mind off of Cosmos.

Seriously baldhiker if you get to Lugansk, see you are being scammed (it is possible), holler at me. I know a lot of fine ladies in Lugansk I can set you up with quickly.

[Faux Pas]

Jack I tend to enjoy your pictures as much or more than anybody but I have to say if you are seeing Texas in that pothole pic, maybe you should take some time off.  The heat is getting to you

[TwoBitBandit]

Let's hope you are meeting a nice woman but if you see things are going south, you need to go to a hotel, let me suggest Hotel Druzhba.

...and if you stay in any of those old Soviet-era hotels like the Druzhba, don't be surprised if the phone rings about fifteen minutes after you come to your room at night asking if you want a girl in your room.  I don't know how they figure out that you're there: perhaps someone is watching the hotel rooms with binoculars or perhaps the hotel staff tips them off...but they know you're there and they call.   

[Gator]

Jack,

You had a great seat.  See any 'cat'?

[Jack]

FP, your correct. I realized I was not well, maybe I had been away from home to long. 





TwoBit, someone in the hotel is of course working with some people on the outside.

There were at least two set's of eyes, from the outside, on the hotel at night. I suspect they have binoculars.

One set of eyes are facing the front of the hotel, another set of eyes are on the south side of hotel or at least have a total view of the south side.   The people with the binoculars know what each of the room numbers is. They must be keeping notes, what time the lights are turned on for each room, what time the lights are turned off.  15 minutes after the light is turned off the phone will ring.  "Hello, would you like to have company of beautiful girl tonight".     

We no longer stay in hotel's in Lugansk, well most guys don't. If a guy prefers a hotel we'll get him a hotel room but most guys prefer their own flats. Over last few years we have been able to get enough good quality flats in the center, seldom do we have guys in hotels anymore. When we did often I would stay up fairly late most evenings when we first started our tours.  I would always have a nice flat with balcony over looking the front entrance of hotel and like a mother hen I would keep watch for the guys and as they came in for the night one by one, or two together or as a group of three, I would scratch guys name off the list.  Once all, or most, the guys were in I could more easily go to sleep.  Often late at night, maybe 1am, often 2, 3am I would see a car pull up to the front of hotel and see three or four women get out of a car, they would go into the hotel, go to the guys room and the guy would go  eeny, meany, miny,  moe  and chose his companion for the evening. 10 minutes later I would see the other two or three women get back in the car and the car would leave.




Gator, sometimes.