Ukraine: basic tips and overview
Ukraine was one of those countries I didn’t know anything about and surprised me a lot as I got on the field to explore: beautiful cities, the people I met, meet with friends, the architecture, the food, the drinks and even beach. On this post, I intend to transmit an overview of what I saw in the country and some basic tips. On next posts, I’ll describe the cities I visited: Kiev, Lviv and Odessa.
I’m not going to talk about the conflicts currently going on, as I’m not there now and I can’t talk properly. I don’t pretend anyway to belitttle the effects of the conflict. However, it doesn’t mean that the whole Ukraine is under this situation and that’s what I want to transmit. Media usually tend to exaggerate and distort the facts, right? For many Ukrainians, especially in the western part of the country, life keeps going on, while the conflicts have been concontrated in Crimean Region.
It’s the biggest country within Europe, sharing borders with Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovak, Poland, Belarus and Russia. It was part of the former Soviet Union from 1922 to 1991. Its capital is Kiev (Kyiv), known as the greenest capital in Europe and, by the way, the city has an expressive green landscape along its downtown. And the currency is the hryvnia.
Ukraine is not a shadow of Russia, as it seems since the Soviet times and taking the recent political conflicts in Crimea, although Russian influence is evident in the country. As I mentioned on the post Understanding a little of the Russian Mindset, my first real contact with Russian culture I had in Ukraine.
Ukrainian and Russian languages are different, and Ukrainian citizens usually speak both. At least in the main cities, many young people speak English. Although there’s a considerable language barrier, it’s not that much like in Russia. Even in the cases I experienced language barrier, it was mostly with persons from Russian families, who concentrate on the Eastern side of Ukraine. Regardless if they were born in Ukraine, they grow up speaking Russian, study in Russian schools, read and watch TV in Russian; well, live like they were in Russia. In Lviv, it’s possible to see people speaking Ukrainian, Russian, English and Polish (not an easy language to learn, right?).
Ukrainians, based on my impressions, are apparently cold in the beginning, open up gradually and reveal to be friendly, happy and partygoers— it’s the most common way in Eastern Europe (different for a Brazilian/South American). And for the Ukrainian girls, only compliments! Likewise in Russia, I saw beautiful girls everywhere! As I could see, Ukrainian women like to be independent, value their autonomy, don’t like possessive guys annoying them on what to do/dress, etc. If they’re interested in a guy, just tell over his face straight to the point, no dramas and bullshit games, and that’s how I like.
The cost of living is also cheap, which makes Ukraine a good option to travel on budget. There’s a good public transportation, a good network of roads (at least the main roads are OK) and railways along its territory. Moreover, I could see a reasonable level of organization regarding the infrastructure and cultural life.
While travelling within Ukrainian cities, the mashrutka are the cheapest options of public transporation, normally crowded and more informal. You can also get metro in the main cities, as well as tramvaj. I was on a summer, when temperatures are between and average of +20ºC and 30ºC. On the winters, the temperatures fall down to -20ºC and -30ºC, just to let you know, if you’re not familiar with winters like me.
Travel by train in Ukraine is very recommended, especially in the longer trips from one city to another, as it’s possible to sleep comfortably in the cabines, there are even pillow and blanket. The trains are well equiped, cheap and very used by Ukrainians, which means a great opportunity to get in touch with local culture.
Caution and recommendations
The only negative aspect I saw in Ukraine was the police, very corrupt and always trying to earn bribes as always as they can. If you arrive/leave the country by road or railway, be careful with policemen trying to play games like “you need visa”, “your document looks like fake”, etc. Such aspect reflects the main problem in the country, corruption.
As I come from a country where corruption is also endemic (Brazil), for me, it’s like obvious of how to be careful with my belongings and to escape from bribes being malicious. As a friend remembered me, foreigners not so familiar with corruption, like Japanese, tend to be naive and taken as easy target by corrupt policemen and all kinds of crooks, scammers, etc. In such cases, you need to explain (for example, to a Japanese) that if you let your mobile/tablet/camera while taking the food at a restaurant, it’s going to be stolen. Do you get the point?
Below, some tips on how to deal with these situations in Ukraine:
- Keep your passport at a safe place and have the phone number of your country’s embassy. On the streets, carry only copies of your passport, which are valid as a document, in case of policemen ask for document. If they insist on the original document, insist with them to call the embassy of your country for some minutes that they get tired and go to ask for bribes to others. Play this game and show Ukrainian numbers helped me to escape from pay bribes while crossing the border with Romania in Chernvitsi.
- Don’t show up signs to be a foreigner in front of the cops, like speak a foreigner language in front of them. In the case of those who don’t look like Ukrainian — asians, blacks, for example— it’s evident they’re foreigners. The policemen always stop asking for document playing games like “there’s a problem with your passport/document/visa, etc.”, “we need to go to police station”, “are you sure?” with the mere intention to take money from you.
- When get a cab, combine the price of the ride before with the driver. In case of language barrier, negotiate writing the numbers on a paper.
- Be careful with your belongings everywhere you go: in the trains, in the buses, at a restaurant, at public spaces. Nobody is going to show a gun over your face (like in Brazilian big cities), but if you waver, you’re going to be stolen.
- Ignore persons offering you stuffs or promising something “too good to be true”, it means scams and thievery. Foreigners are always taken as targets.
- In the eastern side of Ukraine, more Russified, people tend to be more rude, tough and agressive, that typical Russian way. Meanwhile, in the west, people are calmer and friendlier.
- Other point to pay attention is that’s illegal in Ukraine consume alcoholic drinks in public spaces. You may see locals drinking on the streets, but if the cops see you, they can take you to the police station and surely they’re going to ask for bribes.
Hope I gave you relevant tips about the Ukraine. I still want to visit this country again! Next posts are coming!
For travel tips and questions, you can reach me on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.
