Tag Archive for 'ukraine'

Schoolmates reunion in Moscow

LeninMavzoley-225x169I just came back from a two day trip to Moscow where I was meeting some of my old friends by high school. I say “some” because most of my friends didn’t make it even though many were going to. At the time I went to the school I lived with my parents in Chukotka, Russia. It is a region in far east Russia, very close to Alaska. Sara Palin could probably see my town from her backyard :)

We met during the first day and then I went to my friend’s house for the night. He lives with his wife and a 2 y.o. son in a 2-bedroom apartment on the 9th floor of a high rise building in the northern Moscow suburbs. My friend is currently unemployed but soon after he got laid off he started a small motor oil distribution business which fairly quickly picked up and currently pays his bills. My friend’s wife doesn’t work.
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A week in Crimea, Ukraine – Part 2

Vorontsovsky-Palance-225x169Today is our last day in Crimea. Overall we spent more than a week and went to several places around Alupka, the town we stay at. The place we went the most times to is Vorontsovsky Palace and park around it which is just 10 minutes by foot from our house. We would usually stroll around the park enjoying the views. On one of the days we took a tour of the palace (40 grivnas per person) but it turned out a complete waste of time and money. It took the guide about 30 minutes to walk us through all the rooms and spit out enormous amount of dry facts about the place none of which we remembered by the time the tour was over.

The one fact about the palace that I did memorize is that it literally has two faces. The Northern side is built in western style while the Southern side (pictured above) carries distinct Eastern elements like “There is no Conqueror, except Allah.” engraved above the entrance. This fact symbolizes multicultural nature of Russian Empire of 19th century.
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Taking a week off in… Crimea, Ukraine

mountain-221x170I am taking time off my daily routine and the place is nothing else but my home country, Ukraine. We left on July 7 and after arriving in Kharkiv spent there one week at my in-laws home. The city hasn’t changed much since my last trip 3 years ago so I will skip that part of our trip. I am in Alupka, Crimea right now. The city is located on the south end of the peninsula and is surrounded by mountains on one side and the Black Sea on the other.

The climate is sub-tropical. During the 6 days we have stayed so far we had sunny weather with around 30’C temperature and just an occasional short rain in the morning or afternoon. The sea warms up to 26’C during the day. The heavenly climate and gorgeous landscape has been the reason why Crimea attracts crowds of tourists from Russian and Ukraine and was the place for summer homes of some high ranking Soviet officials before the regime collapsed.
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My trip to Ukraine – visiting Zaporozhye

This will be the last post from my Ukraine series. Overall I spent in Ukraine around 5 weeks and visited 4 cities. The last place we went to was Zaparozhye, a city with population of around 1 million people stretching for several miles along Dniepr - the longest river in Ukraine. During our visit we stayed at my cousin who lives and works in the city.

Dnepro GES damZaporozhye is famous for its power plant - DneproGES. It is a huge dam connecting two parts of the city and supplying electricity to the numerous plants nesting along the river bank. It was built in 1932 and is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Ukraine.

We took a walk across it and I should say it was quite a nervous adventure. The bridge above the dam swings with each passing truck and you literally have to hold the railings to be able to stay straight.

Dnepro GES signSomewhere in the middle my cousin commented that the bridge is long overdue for repairs and then I really regretted I allowed him to get me out over there. I truly felt relieved when we were finally over on the other side. By the way, the dam was named after Lenin and still holds that title (you can read it on the sign, in Russian of course).

The entertainment industry in Zaporozhye is not nearly as developed as in Kiev. There is just one bowling club in the city. ;-) We did find what to do however.

Kozak Sitch fenceWe went to the historical museum which is located on the Khortisa island just down the river from the dam. There is a popular belief that in the XIV-XV centuries Khortitsa served as a camp for kozaks, free people who fled from landlords and made a military camp on the island. The museum guide however rebuffed the idea and claimed that archaeological surveys prove that there has never been a camp on the island itself, although there were quite a few kozak camps in other places along the river.

Kozak Sitch inside modelIn 18th century Russian queen Ekaterina II abolished kozaks military organization - the Sitch. Part of the kozaks who fled Russian troops settled on the banks of Dnepr river founding the city of Zaporozhye.

Today the city government with support from private businesses is building a reduced size model of a camp on the island which among other things will have VIP accommodations for important guests. Part of the financing comes from entertainment industry. I was told they use the camp to film some scenes from a future movie about Ukrainian kozaks.

Recycling bottles in UkraineNow this is a bonus shot from the city of Zaporozhye. I captured the scene close to my cousin’s apartment. This may mean nothing to you but the image does revive some memories from my childhood. The lady by the wall (click on the image to enlarge) collects empty bottles for recycling. My dad not once used to send me to such a place to exchange for money the empty bottles we collected over the week. I didn’t mind much since the profit was usually all mine to keep. ;-)

As I already mentioned, this will be the last post from my Ukraine series however I will be happy to answer any of your questions in the comments. Ukraine is an interesting country which offers genuine history and amazing traditions. I hope this series of posts conveys this idea despite some dark bits here and there.

Calling to Russia and Ukraine – money saving tips

Old PhoneI have recently received an email from one of my readers asking how to call Ukraine without spending a lot of green. Since both my and my wife’s parents live in Ukraine (as well as many relatives) the topic of international phone calls to Ukraine has never been off the table and we have probably tried every possible way to save on international calling. Here are a few tips that will help you call Ukraine (and other ex-Soviet countries) without braking the bank.

Check what your current provider charges

If you are using one of VOIP providers the chances are they already have very competitive rates. SunRocket, when it was still alive, even offered $3.00 monthly credit towards international calling. My current provider Packet8 charges $0.13 to call a land line and $0.16 to call a mobile phone in Ukraine, which is a very good rate. For those of you still stuck with AT&T and the likes - read on.

For occasional calls use calling cards

If your provider doesn’t offer good rates and you need to call Ukraine just occasionally then check out this table (also in Russian). These guys are doing a good job maintaining it current. You can buy all these cards online. After you pay, you will receive instructions by email on how to call. I haven’t used calling cards for long time and can’t recommend any particular one. My own experience with those that I used was OK however I heard stories from people who claimed they were cheated (the card had less minutes than advertised).

Have broadband internet - give Skype a try

Skype has pretty decent rates if wearing a headset while talking is not an issue for you. They charge $0.134 to call a land line and $0.186 to call a mobile number in Ukraine. Rates to Russia are $0.048 to a land line, $0.071 to a mobile phone, and $0.021 if you call Moscow or St.Petersburg. There is a small connection charge of $0.039.

You will need to sign up to Skype Out if you don’t have it yet. Once you do so you will be able to call regular phone numbers just as you call other Skype clients. In addition I found Skype Out very useful when calling the US from Ukraine (more about it here).

Calling often - change your long distance provider

If your demands are more than a couple of calls a month and your current provider don’t over good rates then it will be cheaper and more convenient to change long distance provider. You usually can keep your service provider and just change the company servicing long distance calls. I can recommend WDT as one such company offering decent service and competitive rates to Ukraine, Russia and other ex-Soviet countries. I have been their client for several years and many my friends are using them as well.

WDT charges $0.139 to call both land line and a mobile number in Ukraine. For Russia the price is $0.059 for a land line and $0.119 for mobile phones. The rate is just $0.025 per minute when you call Moscow or St.Petersburg. These rates don’t have any connection charges or other tricks. If you want though you can sign up to a “Value Plan” where you prepay for certain number of minutes a month at a lower rate.

Time difference and voice quality

And the last but not the least, when you call Ukraine or Russian, beware of the time difference. When it is morning here in the US, it is late afternoon over there. Midnight here would be early morning of the next day in Ukraine. I have noticed that voice quality varies slightly depending on when you call. This is especially noticeable when calling small towns where they have outdated equipment and century old phone lines. The rule of thumb is try to avoid busy hours when phone service is overloaded. This is usually weekends at night Ukrainian time (Saturday and Sunday morning here).

That is all I have. Do you happen to call Ukraine? What service provider do you use? Please leave your tips in the comments.

The photo courtesy of Rissmu @ stock.xchng




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