Cell phone

[HoundDaddyLee]

The key to the travel insurance is the medical evacuation coverage. If you have a serious accident or major medical crisis, you will want to be care for some place other than Ukraine. Just my opinion, but the healthcare there is not up to western medical standards. Again just my opinion. To my the $47 I spent on it is peanuts compared to the nightmare that could happen without it.


HDL

[ML]

HDL, the medical insurance may or may not reimburse you for evacuation.  Most likely they won't because of so many tricky clauses found in insurance policies.

But regardless . . . you will have to pay up front for the evacuation.

Doesn't matter what the insurance company tells you about this.

That won't mean 'jack' to whomever is evacuating or treating you.    Show me the money!!!

[alex330]

Years ago - when on holiday in Florida - DisneyWorld - then wifey complained about acute headaches and the Hospital insisted I had to pay the bill and reclaim when back in UK ...

Of course they asked you to pay the invoice but here in Florida they cannot force you to pay a medical bill. There are very strict laws protecting consumers here.


You can agree to pay $5 per month if you want and pay it off in 200 years. Nothing they can do about it. That's the reason so many illegals flood the emergency rooms versus going to doctors.

[Larry1]

A few years ago I read a news story about a western couple who was vacationing in Russia. One of them suffered a serious health crisis and had to be admitted to the hospital. They had to pay by credit card. It was a large amount of money, at least $40,000.

I tried to find the story but a quick search did not turn it up. I don't remember whether they had travel medical insurance.

[Anotherkiwi]

HDL, the medical insurance may or may not reimburse you for evacuation.  Most likely they won't because of so many tricky clauses found in insurance policies.

But regardless . . . you will have to pay up front for the evacuation.

Doesn't matter what the insurance company tells you about this.

That won't mean 'jack' to whomever is evacuating or treating you.    Show me the money!!!

Don't state this as a fact just because you think it is so.  My mother had to be evacuated from Iceland after breaking her ankle as she stepped off the gangway when disembarking from the plane to start her holiday.    She spent less than 24 hours receiving initial treatment in Reykjavik, before being flown back to her home in London (on a commercial flight rather than an air ambulance).  Her travel insurance company covered all the costs of treatment, ground transport and rearranging her flights.  All she had to pay was the excess on the policy when the company sent her the bill after she returned home and completed the paperwork for the claim.

[jone]

Hope your mom is doing better now, AK.

[Faux Pas]

Don't state this as a fact just because you think it is so.  My mother had to be evacuated from Iceland after breaking her ankle as she stepped off the gangway when disembarking from the plane to start her holiday.    She spent less than 24 hours receiving initial treatment in Reykjavik, before being flown back to her home in London (on a commercial flight rather than an air ambulance).  Her travel insurance company covered all the costs of treatment, ground transport and rearranging her flights.  All she had to pay was the excess on the policy when the company sent her the bill after she returned home and completed the paperwork for the claim.

So, what's in the AK genes that gets such remarkable results from the insurance companies specifically the travel insurance companies. Are you possibly an insurance peddler AK?

[Anotherkiwi]

Hope your mom is doing better now, AK.

This was about 1989 or so - yep, she's recovered! 

Note to add: she's just told me it was actually a bad sprain, not a break.

[Anotherkiwi]

So, what's in the AK genes that gets such remarkable results from the insurance companies specifically the travel insurance companies. Are you possibly an insurance peddler AK?

As she was living in London at the time, and I was in Auckland, I don't think my existence would even have registered with the insurance company, let alone my profession.

I've never had a medical claim on my travel insurance; only for theft (from my hotel room in China) and the replacement of the wallet and money which I dropped in Odessa.  I've mentioned these in earlier posts on this subject.  However, I certainly don't begrudge the cost of any travel policies - like any other insurance, it's always "in case" something happens.

[2tallbill]

I called Cigna and they said they will cover any emergency care as In Network but I have to pay and then file claim. No. I am not rich in case the bill is large and I can't fork over for care up front. So, I bought a policy yesterday for $52 from Tin Leg. $500K for emergency & primary medical and $500K for evacuation. No deductible. This is for a month. www.squaremouth.com is where I found the policy.

Oh great, now I have to worry about getting mugged? I am already going to Paris with terrorism possibilities.

The pursuit of a FSUW is not for the timid or the feint of heart. You could get hit by
a mail truck walking to your car tomorrow. This isn't combat, you can do it.

Udachi!

Bill

Movie quotes from the Rock:

John Mason from movie
Your "best"! Losers always whine about their best.
Winners go home and fuck the prom queen. 

Define combat:
Lt. Shephard: An incursion underwater to re-take an impregnable fortress held
by an elite team of U.S. Marines, in possession of eighty-one hostages and fifteen
guided rockets loaded with V.X. poison gas.

Haven't figured out what to do with phone yet. I think I will just get a phone in Kiev when I land over there, for use in Ukraine.

Thanks for all the advice.

I bought or rented them a few times at first before I got my smart phone.
FSUW like to send and receive texts so with a flip phone you might have
to hit 7 three times before you can get an S

My advice is to get a local sim card for your Smart phone

[wallm]

Greetings from KBP. Finally here. Got off my ass to visit. A couple of cuties while i wait for baggage. Hoping to see hundreds over the next week here.

I couldnt find the SIM card ejection too for my Galaxy S7. Hence will have to buy a phone in town tomorrow.

[HoundDaddyLee]

Greetings from KBP. Finally here. Got off my ass to visit. A couple of cuties while i wait for baggage. Hoping to see hundreds over the next week here.

I couldnt find the SIM card ejection too for my Galaxy S7. Hence will have to buy a phone in town tomorrow.

Good luck and have fun! Write a trip report.


HDL

[2tallbill]

Greetings from KBP. Finally here. Got off my ass to visit. A couple of cuties while i wait for baggage. Hoping to see hundreds over the next week here.

I couldnt find the SIM card ejection too for my Galaxy S7. Hence will have to buy a phone in town tomorrow.

Good job getting on a plane. I will be looking for your trip report!

Here is a video of how to replace the sim card or if you walk into any phone store they
would know how as well.


Udachi!

Bill

[wallm]

Bill, why didn't I think of that! I will get a SIM card today.

My very, very first impression of Ukraine is "why can't you people stand orderly in a f**king line and wait your turn?!" It is like a rush to food they hadn't seen in years. WTF?    I also had never seen so many luggage bags wrapped in plastic. It is like a display of cache of heroin that the DEA shows sometimes on TV. And what is with these really old Boeing planes which we may see retired in some Arizona dessert and they make this loud squeaking noise while trying to come to a stop!

No, I am not bitching about Ukraine. It was just a shock to me to see all this for the first time. I am sure when I meet with the ladies I had been skyping with, it will all be alright.

[Bounder]

Bill, why didn't I think of that! I will get a SIM card today.

My very, very first impression of Ukraine is "why can't you people stand orderly in a f**king line and wait your turn?!" It is like a rush to food they hadn't seen in years. WTF?    I also had never seen so many luggage bags wrapped in plastic. It is like a display of cache of heroin that the DEA shows sometimes on TV. And what is with these really old Boeing planes which we may see retired in some Arizona dessert and they make this loud squeaking noise while trying to come to a stop!

No, I am not bitching about Ukraine. It was just a shock to me to see all this for the first time. I am sure when I meet with the ladies I had been skyping with, it will all be alright.

I think you're experiencing culture shock, where everything is complete different from your day-to-day experience.  My advice would be to breath it all in and ENJOY it!  Good luck over there!  I was in Kiev a year and a half ago for the first (and only) time.

[HoundDaddyLee]

Bill, why didn't I think of that! I will get a SIM card today.

My very, very first impression of Ukraine is "why can't you people stand orderly in a f**king line and wait your turn?!" It is like a rush to food they hadn't seen in years. WTF?    I also had never seen so many luggage bags wrapped in plastic. It is like a display of cache of heroin that the DEA shows sometimes on TV. And what is with these really old Boeing planes which we may see retired in some Arizona dessert and they make this loud squeaking noise while trying to come to a stop!

No, I am not bitching about Ukraine. It was just a shock to me to see all this for the first time. I am sure when I meet with the ladies I had been skyping with, it will all be alright.

Wait until you experience the roads!     Yes, the lack of orderly lines was a little off-putting. I think it is a remnant from Soviet days. The wrapped luggage is always interesting. They are not happy when they fly out of JFK, because wrapping luggage at JFK is not allowed.


As was said above, you are experiencing culture shock. Enjoy it. You are making memories.


Good luck,
HDL

[Hammer2722]

Bill, why didn't I think of that! I will get a SIM card today.

My very, very first impression of Ukraine is "why can't you people stand orderly in a f**king line and wait your turn?!" It is like a rush to food they hadn't seen in years. WTF?    I also had never seen so many luggage bags wrapped in plastic. It is like a display of cache of heroin that the DEA shows sometimes on TV. And what is with these really old Boeing planes which we may see retired in some Arizona dessert and they make this loud squeaking noise while trying to come to a stop!

No, I am not bitching about Ukraine. It was just a shock to me to see all this for the first time. I am sure when I meet with the ladies I had been skyping with, it will all be alright.

You think its bad now? Wait till you are standing in line at the grocery stores and all the Babushkas start to cut in front of you in line.......

[jone]

Wait until you experience the roads!     Yes, the lack of orderly lines was a little off-putting. I think it is a remnant from Soviet days. The wrapped luggage is always interesting. They are not happy when they fly out of JFK, because wrapping luggage at JFK is not allowed.


As was said above, you are experiencing culture shock. Enjoy it. You are making memories.


Good luck,
HDL

Roads?  What roads?  Only thing is that in Kazakhstan, away from the cities, it is like traversing moguls on a ski hill.  Ukraine at least allows you to drive in a semi-straight line.

[JensenHealey907]

I still remember some of the awful roads in Zap. I was amazed I didn't see more cars on the side of the road with broken suspensions.

[wallm]

The roads I have seen haven't been that bad, especially in Kiev. It snowed in Kiev and they haven't cleared the sidewalks and some streets and it is a friggin nightmare to walk around.

Also the Babushkas haven't cut in front of me in grocery stores either. But the clowns in airport do without fail. I have learned to smile and ignore as I keep the ladies I meet on mind. Back home, my reaction would be "yo, how about getting in line, you nitwit?" 

And the US Embassy sent me the following email yesterday and I am staying in an apartment right in the Independence Square here. I see soldiers and police from my window. Great, this is all I need to deal with. 



U.S. Embassy Kyiv, Ukraine

Security Message for U.S. Citizens:  Planned Demonstrations November 15 – 22, 2016

November 14, 2016

November 15 - 22 will mark the third anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity.  Police have received numerous applications to hold protests in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine.  Authorized and unauthorized demonstrations and street closures, as well as other events, are expected.  In Kyiv, police have announced that beginning tomorrow morning, November 15, through November 22, they will close to vehicle traffic Khreschatyk Street between Khmelnytsky and Mykhailivska Streets, as well as part of Institutska Street, over concerns of possible provocations by demonstrators.

Over the course of the week, U.S. citizens are advised to avoid large public gatherings, including demonstrations, marches, and other events.  Even public gatherings intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.  You should exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations.

At all times, the U.S. Embassy recommends

·        U.S. citizens maintain a high level of vigilance and awareness of their surroundings, especially of unattended bags.

·        U.S. citizens are advised to take appropriate steps to enhance personal security and,

·        Monitor local media for updates.

For further security information in Ukraine:

·        See the State Department's travel website for the Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and Ukraine Country Specific Information.

·        Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.

·        Contact the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, located at 4 A.I Sikorsky Street (formerly Tankova) at +380-44-521-5566, or e-mail UkraineEmergencyUSC@state.gov 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. After-hours emergency number for U.S. citizens is +380-44-521-5000.

·        Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, at 1-202-501-4444 from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

·        Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

[jone]

Funny you should mention the 'cutting in line' thing. 

The first time I was in Moscow, a guy went straight to the head of the line.  I was about to say something and a guy standing next to me, who knew I was American, and spoke English said:  "Don't worry about it.  It is not as if we were standing in line for bread."

[BillyB]

Babushkas and young ladies with kids tend to cut in line at times. If the natives aren't complaining, I don't complain. Best observe natives and their culture before getting into fights.