Poltava, the Ukraine is your travel destination?

Traveling to Poltava, the Ukraine some time soon and have not purchased a plane ticket yet? Very well, then read on before you buy one.

Roads between Borispol airport and Poltava, the Ukraine are getting better since our government is doing some preparations for the upcoming Euro 2012 soccer tournament, so they repair them. But there are still some 100 kilometers (for my American friends: 62 miles) which are in a terribly bad condition.

There was a guy named Nick who came to Poltava. So, I sent a friend of mine who speaks English to pick him up at Borispol airport and take him back to Poltava by car. During that trip two rear wheels got broken because he jumped into a hole on the road. He had one spare wheel, so he used that, but other wheel .... well, it was bad. He had to drive slowly some 30 kilometers (19 miles) on it to find the place where it could be fixed.The problem is: it was midnight and all places where they fix your wheels were closed.

Anyways, if you still have not booked your plane ticket, please try to buy it that way so that your plane lands Borispol airport in Kiev at around 1 - 2 p.m. I understand it is not always possible, but if there is such a possibility, that will be very much appreciate. When you drive at day time you can see all those wholes and can detour them easily. But when it is dark and it is Ukrainian roads, then it is pretty hard to do. It can be very dangerous to drive Ukrainian roads at night.

Cheerio!

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Published: Wed 29th February 2012

Travelling to Poltava, the Ukraine? Do some preparation first!

Poltava, the Ukraine is not a typical Western city and things here sometimes work in a bit different, sometimes even a bizarre way.

Before you embark on the plane for Poltava, it is important to make sure that you have everything in order. Any person would agree that going to another country without money is a stupid thing, to say the least. Many people don't like the idea of carrying cash with them, especially when being on a trip to a banana republic country like the Ukraine. So, they decide to pay for everything with their credit cards and don't take any cash.

A few of my clients did just that. They did not bring almost any cash (only a few hundred dollars) and was couting on using a credit card. The problem is, they did not know the PIN code number for their cards. When you go to an ATM and insert your credit or debit card, the ATM asks you to enter your PIN code number. A few people from America told me that it was not required to enter the PIN code number in America. I don't know if that is true or not because I have never been to America. But here, in our beautiful country of Ukraine you need to know your card's PIN code, otherwise you won't be able to do much with it.

I called one big hotel here in Poltava to ask if PIN number is needed when paying for stays at their hotel. They told me that some cards require PIN code number and some don't. So, I guess it would be a smart thing to do for anyone travelling to Poltava, the Ukraine, or any other city of our country to ask their bank if there is a PIN number for the card. Maybe this PIN number is not required in your country, but there is a possibility that you may need to know it when people in the Ukraine.

Another handful thing to do is to write down an emergency 24/7 phone number where you can call if things go wrong. Say, you are checking out from a hotel in Poltava, you need to leave quick to take your flight back to your home country, you give your credit card, they try it out and it does nothing. Are you in trouble now? So, if you know your bank's phone number, you can give them a call and ask them to sort out the problem. Very handful and I saw it work. Otherwise they won't let you go until you pay and you will miss your flight. So, do some preparations before you embark on a journey to Poltava, the Ukraine, ok?

Good boys and girls! :-)

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Published: Wed 29th February 2012