Hire an interpreter

[~Johnny~ 27]

I think it's pretty common to sponsor the whole family when you go the PI route. You might not realize it at first...

Yep,, really common for the poor unsuspecting Kano to support the whole family back in PI while the family sits around all day doing nothing but drinking, eating pork, watching TV, and complaining about no work. The number one business there is Western Union and money transfer.

It's the first country I been to where I had to physically grab a beggar's hands and say..NO, NO TOUCH...from my wallet when I pulled it out to give him a tip for putting my bag in the taxi trunk. He almost got a five finger tip when he grabbed my bag by the taxi as I was about to put it in the trunk, then he put it in the trunk. My girl, (at the time) said he wants a tip now. I said for what??? "he put your bag in trunk" Ohhhh KKKkkk .... So I was gonna give him a dollar..He was trying to reach in my wallet and take more money. And soon as I pulled my wallet out, I had hands popping in my face from everywhere wanting a tip. They were all saying "tip plz, tip plz" very unsettling experience.

Edited March 3, 2011 by ~Johnny~

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

He's looking in the wrong country. China is where he should import from. Plus the food is better.

I read this post and instantly that old Patti Page song came to mind...; "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?"

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Yep,, really common for the poor unsuspecting Kano to support the whole family back in PI while the family sits around all day doing nothing but drinking, eating pork, watching TV, and complaining about no work. The number one business there is Western Union and money transfer.

It's the first country I been to where I had to physically grab a beggar's hands and say..NO, NO TOUCH...from my wallet when I pulled it out to give him a tip for putting my bag in the taxi trunk. He almost got a five finger tip when he grabbed my bag by the taxi as I was about to put it in the trunk, then he put it in the trunk. My girl, (at the time) said he wants a tip now. I said for what??? "he put your bag in trunk" Ohhhh KKKkkk .... So I was gonna give him a dollar..He was trying to reach in my wallet and take more money. And soon as I pulled my wallet out, I had hands popping in my face from everywhere wanting a tip. They were all saying "tip plz, tip plz" very unsettling experience.

Not the same situation in Ukraine. The airport is full of unlicensed taxi drivers that want to give you a ride. You can actually get some good deals from them, negotiate first. They will not beg, they WILL accept tips but most do not "expect" them. Outside of Kiev and Odessa, tipping is fairly unusual in Ukraine. Do not exchange money in the airport. The drivers will accept US $$$ no problem. Remember most of the drivers at the airport were PAID to bring someone there. Most of them have to get back to Kiev for another ride and do not have all day to hang out, but they don't want to drive back downtown "empty", so they are trying to pick up a customer. Figure that in your negotiations. There is also a bus at the airport that will take you to the train station downtown, last time I took it the bus cost about $5. A driver is usually $20-25 going there, you can get one going back for $15 usually. It is a fairly long ride to Borispol from downtown.

There are some beggars. These amount to gypsy girls asking for you to put money in their cup or very old women sitting with a cup in their hand. Occasionally a handicapped person. Alla will give some money to handicapped people or old women, she even takes some leftover food when we go out for walks and gives it to the old women. If they look healthy she tells them to "get a job and get off the street!" They will not touch you. You may also get approached by gypsies selling flowers, most of which they stole from cemetaries. I do not buy flowers from them if they come to me. The old women selling flowers on the street are OK, they set up a little table and it seems a legit business. There are lots of street vendors.

In Independence Square there are dozens and dozens of them. Find one of them selling the old Soviet medals and buy up a bunch of them. They can be sold on EBay for a lot more than you pay for them. It is possible your girl may object to you doing this with any "war medals", Alla does. But there were tons of different civilian medals given out and those bring some money also. You can also get good deals on the Russian fur hats, they are awesome! (you may not have as much need for these in New Orleans as we do in Vermont )

[baron555 934]

Gifts yes. Regular sending of money, no. Alla will collect gifts all year, particularly at after Christmas sales to bring to her friends in Ukraine

Ditto here....all those free clothes she finds on clearance sales...but never any money.

[Captain Hammer 113]

WRT buying medals and taking them back to the US, just know that if you're caught with authentic medals, especially military medals, they could be confiscated and you could be subject to paying fines or (unlikely) jail time. In any case you'll probably miss your flight. And if it matters to you, you're also participating in pillaging a country's history. I know, lots of other people are doing it and you're a drop in the bucket, but still. The fur hats are cool though. I would wear one if I didn't look so much like a dork in them.

[eekee 182]

Pillaging history??? I can understand taking a moral stand against military medals, but there's tons of Lenin pins, etc. Dime a dozen at any flea market and nicely caters to ironic hipster love of Soviet kitsch in the US.

[Captain Hammer 113]

Yeah, I'm talking about military medals, not your typical tourist kitsch.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Yeah, I'm talking about military medals, not your typical tourist kitsch.

My father in law gave me a few of his medals, and some other military stuff like lapel pins from his dress uniform, etc... None of it was WW2 stuff though.

[~Johnny~ 27]

A driver is usually $20-25 going there, you can get one going back for $15 usually. It is a fairly long ride to Borispol from downtown.

Good to know. I'm not getting raped by Kievrent. I have them picking me up for $35 and bringing me to my flat. I probably could have done cheaper but didn't want to fuss much on arrival.

There are some beggars. These amount to gypsy girls asking for you to put money in their cup or very old women sitting with a cup in their hand.

Why do I keep thinking of Cher singing Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves???

Edited March 3, 2011 by ~Johnny~

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

WRT buying medals and taking them back to the US, just know that if you're caught with authentic medals, especially military medals, they could be confiscated and you could be subject to paying fines or (unlikely) jail time. In any case you'll probably miss your flight. And if it matters to you, you're also participating in pillaging a country's history. I know, lots of other people are doing it and you're a drop in the bucket, but still. The fur hats are cool though. I would wear one if I didn't look so much like a dork in them.

I don't buy military medals, as mentioned.

If you think you look like a dork in the very WARM fur hats, I would say it is not cold enough where you live. No one in Vermont thinks they are "dorky" and everyone asks where they can get one. Often these same people have snowshoes on their feet, which would look real dorky except they keep you from sinking up to your crotch in snow.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Pillaging history??? I can understand taking a moral stand against military medals, but there's tons of Lenin pins, etc. Dime a dozen at any flea market and nicely caters to ironic hipster love of Soviet kitsch in the US.

Alla has no objection to the "civilian medals" being sold. She says most of them are BS anyway. They do not bring the money on Ebay that ,ilitary medals do, but as Eekee notes, they are cheap. You can make 10 times your investment on them.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I used to smoke and used to smuggle cigarettes, 10-12 cartons at a shot (for personal use only) I never got caught. When I quit smoking, rather unexpectedly, I still had 6 cartons left and was due to go for another visit later that month for more (the savings on 10 cartons paid for my plane ticket, basically)

Surprisingly I found them hard to sell. I was offering them for $40 per carton whereas locally they go for $60. They were genuine Marlboro. I finally found a guy to buy all that I had at $30 per carton. I was surprised they didn't sell easier. They cost $8 per carton in Ukraine.

Cigarettes as vodka are cheap commodities in Ukraine, just sayin'

And for what it is worth I always "claimed" the cigarettes on my declaration form. They ask the "value" of tobacco products. $80 They probably pass it off as 2 cartons from the duty free shop somewhere.

[slim 1,514]

Pillaging history??? I can understand taking a moral stand against military medals, but there's tons of Lenin pins, etc. Dime a dozen at any flea market and nicely caters to ironic hipster love of Soviet kitsch in the US.

I've seen pins go for $20 or more at gun shows. When I told my wife how much they were she said, "Of course we will be buy many, many, MANY pins when we go back to Russia."

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I've seen pins go for $20 or more at gun shows. When I told my wife how much they were she said, "Of course we will be buy many, many, MANY pins when we go back to Russia."

Check Ebay, they go for even more than at gun shows and they sell. Stuff at gun shows is often on display but does not sell. You can buy cigar boxes full of them for $10 in Ukraine. When you see someone with them all spread out on a table, just ask "how much for that box full?" (they will probably have some full boxes under the table) I bought what was basically a shoe box full for $10 from a street vendor near the Opera in Odessa.

[slim 1,514]

I bought what was basically a shoe box full for $10 from a street vendor near the Opera in Odessa.

I'll be doing the same thing next time I go over.