Kiev (Київ - Kyiv) is capital and largest city of Ukraine with over 2.5 million inhabitants. The city is located in north central Ukraine on the Dnipro river.

Understand

National Opera House

Mihajlivsky Sobor

Kyiv is one of the oldest cities in this part of Europe, its history dating back to the 5th century. Between the 10th and 12th century it reached its golden age as the capital of the first Ukrainian state known today as Kyivian Ruthenia (or Rus-Ukraine). By the end of the 12th century when this state was destoryed by ancestors of Russia and Mongols, Kyiv became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1654 Kyiv became a Muscovite (Russian) protectorate and in 1775 was compeletly annexed by Russia. The city remained under Russian rule, with brief periods of independance in between 1918 and 1920. During the two centuries Kyiv expirianced growing russification and Russian immigration. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyiv became the capital of independent Ukraine and is now quickly learning the role of a large European capital.

According to the last census (2001) Kyiv has a population of 2,600,000. about 85% declare themeselves as Ukrainians, 12% as Russians, there are also Armenian, Azeri, Belarusian, Jewish, Georgian, Polish, Romanian and Tatar minorities. Today the population has likely increased as has the percentage declaring Ukrainian nationality. About 40% of the population has secondary education.

The avarge temprature during summer is 24°C, during winter -4°C.

Kiev is the transliteration of the Russian pronunciation of the town. The correct transliteration for the town from Ukrainian, used also in English language publications is Kyiv.

For historic reasons still very few Ukrainians speak English. The only foreign languages most people speak is Russian, however due to long Russian rule over the country as well as recent blunt attempts to interfere with Ukraines politics some residents might be offended if you speak Russian to them. If you happen to speak Russian the local will of course recognize you're a westerner and help you, never the less be sure to address people only in formal salutations, apologize for not speaking their language and try to express that you mean no ill by speaking Russian.

If you don't have the time to learn a lot of phrases before going here, try at least to learn to pronounce the Cyrillic letters, so that you can phonetically read signs. Reading them loud might help you recognize short words, street and metro station names, etc.

Get in

By plane

The Boryspil International Airport (KBP) (Міжнародний аеропорт "Бориспіль") is about 40 minutes from the city center. The citys second airport Zhulyany (IEV) (аеропорт "Жуляни"), used mostly for domestic flights, is located 20 minutes from city center.

Ukraine has two major international airlines - Ukraine International Airlines (Міжнародні Авіалінії України - Mizhnarodni Avialiniyi Ukrayiny) and Aerosvit (АероСвіт). These airlines have daily flights to major European cities. Aeroflot, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Czech Airlines, Delta, KLM, Lufthansa, Malev and other airlines have scheduled flights to Borispol airport. As of March 2006 there is no european budget airlines flying to Kiev. Aerosvit and Delta (starting June 2006) are the only airlines with non-stop service to North America.

The simplest way to get to the city center is by Taxi. Going rate is $30, but they will try for more like $60 and you should be able to negotiate down to $40 or less. Most people will helpfully show you the way to the taxis if you speak English.

There is a regular bus service between airport and Kiev city center (ploshcha Peremohy (площа Перемоги) and Central Railway station (bus schedule)). Buses depart frequently and its costs much less than a taxi. On average it lakes 60-70 minutes to get to city center by bus.

By train

Central railway station Kyiv-Pasazhyrsky (Київ-Пасажирськи) located close to city centre. Metro "Vokzalna" (метро "Вокзальна").

It has daily trains to all major cities and towns in Ukraine. International trains to Austria, Belarus, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia.

Railway timetable in English

Average travel time by train to some European cities: Berlin - 24 hours, Moscow - 14 hours, Vienna - 33 hours, Warsaw - 18 hours

Average traveltime by train to some Ukrainian cities: Lviv - 10 hours, Kharkiv - 8 hours, Simferopol - 18 hours

Trains can be booked in advance to Kiev from European cities such as Krakow from http://bahn.de/

By car

The main route into Ukraine from the West is via Poland - the only 24 hour customs post is in Lvivska Oblast at a place called Kruskavetz , which as a 'place' is essentially just the customs post - and it's not marked on most maps either. The nearest significant town on the Polish side is Przemysl, and it's straightford to find by following route # 4 (which passes through Przemysl). When you arrive, the road is fairly narrow (no motorway/autobahn this) with a queue of trucks and vans parked to the right of the road. Don't park behind the goods vehicles, slip up the side of them and then feed into the customs area when the guy flags you forward (for courteous Europeans, you're not jumping the queue - commercial traffic goes through a different process). If you're in an EU registered car then make for the EU-passports, passport control section. Thence to Ukrainian passport control and then Ukrainian customs and then you're through. It used to be a nightmare, with apocryphal tales of 5-6+ hours at the border, but the Ukrainians have made great advances in effeciency (really!) and it took me about an hour the last time I came through (September 2005).

Once through, just follow the main road towards Lviv (Львів) on the E40 - this is the route right across Ukraine to Kyiv (and thence on to the East). Stick to this - the main towns on the way are Lviv, Rivne (Рівне), Zhytomyr (Житомир). Watch out about 15-20 km inside Ukraine, I think the village is called Mostyska (Мостиська) as they have gone crazy about traffic calming measures here (speed bumps or sleeping policemen). They're like icebergs across the road, and very badly marked. And there are about 4 or 5 sets of them through the village. Other than that, take care on the road, which although the main East/West highway, and the main road route into the EU, still remains in a miserable condition (surface-wise). And you'll soon realise why Ukraine has such poor statistics in relation to driver and perdestrian fatalities and injuries. Drive defensively is the optimum advice re the roads, other road users and the walking, riding public.

By bus

International busses stop at the central station. There are busses coming in from Germany

By boat

Get around

Among places most of us travel, Kiev is rather unique in that we arrive almost totally illiterate (since the character set is new to most of us) in a place where very little is in English and it is pretty unlikely that people you interact with in the city will speak any English at all. However, it is still quite possible to get around and it is a very intesting city to explore. Absolutely pick up a very portable Ukrainian (or Russian) phrasebook and spend some advance time with it. In addition to being an essential resource in communication and even in figuring out if a place name on a sign is the name you've seen spelled out in latin characers, your feeble attempt at Ukrainian or Russian will amuse most people to the point where they are comfortable engaging in pantomime or trying out the little bit of english they know (which is an order of magnitude more than your knowledge of Ukrainian).

Navigating

Pick up a "Kyiv Tour Guide" map book (Geosvit books - around US$3-4). You can find it at a number of kiosks or at the central post office. If you are spending much time in Kiev, get the matching Ukrainian version. Many of the locals have as much trouble with the version that is transliterated to latin characters as you have with the verison in the cyrillic characters. When asking for directions or setting out in a taxi, it helps to locate the place you want on the English map and then point out the same spot on the Ukrainian version.

By bus

The city is full of short yellow/white shuttle busses called "Marshrutky" (Маршрутки). If you overshoot, you get a nice walk. The fare ranges from 1 to 2 UAH. The shuttle routes are a bit hard to figure out, but they have a list of stops on the window and a Metro logo for the metro stops. The best way to figure out where these go is to ask some of the locals. Also, certain city maps feature the routes of the Marshrutky. The one downside to using Marshutka's however is that they tend to be a little overpacked (understatement) and very hot.

By taxi

Seem to be reliable and handy. Fares vary widely. On the same route, a local paid UAH15 and the driver quoted this author UAH60 and settled for UAH30. You don't necessarily have to use the taxi in a normal sense - it is sometimes even easier to pick up just any car driving on major street. Don't hesitate and just raise a hand at the pedestrian area. Negotiations are quite similar to ones with taxi drivers, although you are more likely to get a "native price" (remeber that petrol prices are on their way up here too).

By Metro (subway)

The Metro (subway, Метро in Ukrainian) is very fast and easy once you realize that all three metro lines (red, blue and green) go through city centre. In total there are 45 metro stations in Kiev. If you can corrolate the Cyrillic station names on the wall to the transliterated names on your map book, it is easy to go where you want. Note that the metro stations where you can change lines have two names: one name on each metro line. The subway is 50 Kopeks (8 eurocents/ 10 cents) and you buy tokens just before the turnstyles to enter. You can also obtain a monthly ticket with a magnet tape, which saves even more. Trains run every 30 sec. to 2:30 minutes in business hours and from 10 to 15 minutes from 11 p.m till 1 a.m. at the last station. Even so they are a bit crowded sometimes.

There is a display of transliterated stations on the maps which are sticked above seats and above the doorframes

If you enable "Cell Info Display" on your GSM phone, it will show you the name of the station (in transliterated latin characters... (for UMC and Kyivstar) just like your map) when you are underground in the vicinity of a station.

See

• Chernobyl Museum (музей Чорнобиль) - A fascinating museum but no signage in English. Make advance arrangments for an english speaking guide. Often, the guides are already booked.

• Khreshchatyk (Хрещатик) Street - The main drag of the city center. It is closed to traffic on weekends and full of entertainers and people wandering around. A big happy crowd and very conducive to peoplewatching.

• Pecherska Lavra (Печерська лавра) - The cave monastery. Do not miss the display of micro-miniatures. It sounds lame, but it it fascinating. You can enter the caves in the lower part if you dress correctly (women MUST cover their hair and wear skirts, no shorts. Expensive scarves are for sale there)

• Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life (Музей народної архітектури та побуту - Muzey narodnoyi arkhitetury ta pobutu) - 6 restored rural Ukranian villiages. English-speaking (sort of) guides with expertise on the whole site are available and well worth-it. Ukrainians come on sunny days to relax in the grass. Bus #156 from Respubliksy Stadion Metro station goes there for US$0.30 (pay driver).

• St Sophia's Cathedral (Собор Святої Софії - Sobor Sviatoyi Sofiyi)-

• Motherland Statue and War memorials - Kiev was pretty much destroyed during the invasion in WWII. The memorial near the motherland statue is pretty gripping. Lots of examples of classic Soviet-era memorial statuary as well as some amazing exhibits of military hardware. The Museum to the Great Patriotic War (WWII) located in the base of the statue is a must-see for visitors interested in the impact the German invasion had on the Soviet Union. Well worth the visit even if you don't speak or read any Russian. It's well curated and full of artifacts (including weapons, battle maps, hundreds of original photographs, and a moving installation at the end of the exhibit symbolizing the great losses suffered). There is also a small museum of the Afghan conflict nearby. Try to enter coming from the top part of the Pecherska Lavra. This way you get submerged with old soviet music and dark statues.

• Babi Yar - a ravine which was the site of massacres of Jews, Gypsies, and other civilians by the Nazis during World War II. Approximately 60,000 civiliians were executed at this site during the war (over 34,000 Jews in the first two days alone). Now a memorial to "Soviet citizens" murdered by the Germans, the park can be reached via the metro.

• Zoloti Vorota (Золоті ворота) - Golden Gates

• Maydan Nezalezhnosti (Майдан Незалежності) - Independence Square, locate on the Khreschatyk Street, known throughout the world for political events of great significance that took place there in the recent years after the Ukrainian accession to independence.

• Kiev TV Tower (Телевезійна вежа - Televeziyna vezha) [1] is the tallest lattice tower in the world. It is not accessible for tourists.

• Andriyivskyi uzviz (Андріївський узвіз)

• The One Street Museum (Музей однієї вулиці - Muzey odieyi vulytsi). (Andriyivskyi uzviz (Андріївський узвіз), 2-B Kiev.) The collection of the One Street Museum is dedicated to the history of the Andriyivskyi uzviz (Andrew's Descent) and its famous residents. Open daily from 12 noon to 6 p.m. (closed Mondays)

Do

Buy a bootlegged CD or DVD on Petrivka (Петрівка) (next to the similar metro station). They are one tenth of the price (and obviously illegal). Watch out with what you buy because the content of the cd is not always what it says it is. The deeper you go in the market, the smaller the offer on discs, but the lower the prices. You can also buy all sorts of books there, with one very good shop for dictionaries.

Learn

• National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» - Natsionalnyi universytet "Kyyevo-Mohylians'ka akademiya") Is the leading university in the Ukraine with regards to political related fields. The university's professors offered support to Yuschenko and various international media outlets during the Orange Revolution that resulted in the election of Viktor Yuschenko in late 2004. [2] (English)
• Kyiv Shevchenko University (Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка - Kyivsky natsionalny universytet imeni Tarasa Shechenka) The university is the largest and one of the more important universities. Its enrollment is over 30,000 [3] (English)

Work

Foreigners can sometimes find work teaching their native language (English, Swedish, whatever). Pay is usually decent enough to live on in Kyiv if you get enough pupils and live by local standards.

Buy

Go to Andriyivskyy Descent (Andriyivskyy uzviz) for a nice collection of things. They sell traditional thing, old communistic goods (real good but also fake mass-produced), folkloric things, ... Every sunday there's a market. The rest of the week there are a few people selling things, but it's usally not worth to go.

Money

The unit of currency is the Hryvnia (UAH) (гривня) and is about 5 UAH to the US Dollar. There are many exchanges that will convert USD or Euro to UAH, just look for signs with exchange rates posted on just about any block. Exchange rates vary a lot and deteriorate fast when you get into less competitive places or outside of standard business hours.

It is often expetced that one carries small change in Kiev. Most retail establishments will scowl at you if you try to pay for a UAH4 purchase with a UAH20 note. They generally keep very little change on hand.

WellsFargo ATM cards do not seem to work in Kiev even on Plus network machines (under investigation). As a backup, it is possible to get dollars from most banks using a cash advance from a Visa or Mastercard. There is a small service charge (3%) to do this in addition to whatever your bank charges. Debet cards such as maestro do work in ATMs.

Currus/Maestro bank cards could be most effective way to get cash in Ukraine. Aval Bank ATMs do not charge additinal transaction cost to cash withdrawl transactions from foreign cards. Your bank may charge you some amount for these transactions (e.g. Commonwealth Bank of Australia charges AUD $5). Most British banks charge about £1.50 for ATM transactions made outside of the UK. Exchange rate in this case is usually better than in currency exchange booths.

For many people in Ukraine word ATM may sound unfamiliar. To Ukrainian ATM is translated as bankomat (банкомат).

Eat

In general, it is very cheap to dine in Kiev by US standards. So long as you stay away from the places that totally pander to tourists, the food is great and cheap. Try the Borscht and the Mlyntzi and then try absolutely everything else. Baked goods are cheap and great too. Even the ice-cream on the street is great. An especially distinctive one is to the right from Khreshchatyk subway exit - blue kiosk with varying lengh of queue.

When you see vendors selling some liquid from big yellow/blue tanks on the street, you can be sure that it is "Kvas," which is a brewed bread drink. Some people like it and others hate it. It tastes a bit like malt, and there is no alcohol. Try "Odyn Malenkyi" (one small) drink.

You should not drink the tap water. It is advisable to buy 5l. bottles in the supermarkets; they usually have English section for "ingredients". You can always order "Bonaqua" (sparkling mineral water), but beer is just about as cheap.

Budget

Fast-food chains: Shvydko (Швидко) (pseudo-national), Kartoplia (Картопля) (main dish: mashed potatoe with 1-3 of 30 different kinds of salads), MacSmak (МакСмак) (pizza)

"Two Geese" serves decent cafeteria-style meals. Look for the signs with two (i think) yellow geese. Sometimes there's a vintage car painted with their logo out front. Fast, decent, easy, all you have to do is point. No language skills needed.

Domashnia kuchnia (Домашня кухня, home kitchen) offers a buffet with typical ukranian food. Some say it's nice, others get sick of it. It's a favorite for ukranian students.

Chelentano (pizza, salads)

Potato House (Картопляна Хата) chain - pseudo Mexican food

For anyone near Kyiv-Mohyla university, there's a small cafetria-style place down a few steps on the ground floor of a building on the main square (near Illins'ka st., i think)

Groceries

There are tiny grocery stores scattered all over the city. There is a number of "MegaMarkets" (МегаМаркет), "Furchets" (Фуршет), "Velyka kyshenya" (Велика кишеня) that are not obvious at first glance, but are very handy. One is on 50 Horkoho (Горького) near the city center. The most convenient for the city center is in the basement of the new Mandarin Plaza - a swanky shopping centre/mall next to Besarabsky Market (rynok) (Бесарабський ринок) - in through the front doors and down the escalator and you're there. Quite expensive but worth a splurge now and then.

Do not forget to buy a few big jugs of bottled water such as Staryi Myrhorod (Старий Миргород) or Truskavetska (Трускавецька). Kyivskij tort (київський торт) is another thing you should eat in Kiev if you love cakes. Dark rye bread, Ryazhenka (Ряженка, ukrainian style yogurt), Kvas (Квас, fermented drink made of bread) could be also be interesting things to taste.

You should try the chocolates while you are there. They are dark and rich and cheap!

Mid-range

Corsair, on Sahaydachnoho (Сагайдачного) ( (about $17/person complete)

O’Panas, Shevchenko Park, 10 Tereshchenkivska, 235-2132. Open daily from 10 a.m. till 1 a.m. Really good Blintzies... try the mushroom ones. ($10-$20/person). If you just want to try the blintzies, you can walk-up to a stand on the side of the restaurant and get them to go.

Tsimmus, 10/5 Sahaydachnoho for Ukrainian-Jewish food just like my Great-Great-Aunt used to make. [That's in the #10 building on the main street, but go around the corner to a side street where the street number would have been 5 had it not been attached to a building that already has an address] (about $20/person complete)

CCCP, over the road from the entrance to the Great Patriotic War memorial. This Soviet-theme restarant has staff dressed in traditional costume and dozens of traditional dishes listed on the English-language menu. Try the Uzvar traditional drink made from smoked fruit. We spent US$10 each for lunch; they also have a US$20 business lunch menu. It would be possible to spend a lot more though. Live traditional music and farm implements decorate the wall.

Splurge

There's a german called Eric that owns a series of clubs, bars and restaurants (Eric's family [4]). They are frequented mainly by expats working in Kiev and very rich Ukranians. The two restaurants are:

• Schnitzel Haus (ul Sakhanskoho 51)
• Tapas Tapas Bar (ul tarasovskaya 10a)

You can eat in the other venues as well, but they're not mainly intended as restaurants

National

There are many restaurants that claim serving authentic Ukranian food, but often they prepare cosak food.

• Irish: there are two irish pubs in Kiev, neither authenticly irish, but OK if you're in need of a Guinness and ex-pat company. One is located near Zoloti Vorota one Volodomyrska (called, eponymously, The Golden Gate Pub). The other is O'Briens, and is on Mykailovska on one of the streets running west off Maidan (the one to the right, with a branch of Raiffeisen Bank on the corner)
• Italian (rather falls into "tourist" category, very classy cuisine). Momento on Zlatoustovskaya (near the Circus)
• Georgian. Mimino on Spasskaya (Podol)
• Vietnamese (several restaurants, owned by a person from Vietnam; cuisine comprises of "hits" rather than complete lucheon sets; considered above-average within local Vietnamese community; extremely expensive)
• Chinese: There is a good one near Metro Universitet. It's called "Jiu Long", which means "Nine Dragons". There is a fast food store upfront, but if you go through the arch, you will see an entire Chinese-style building where the real restaurant is. Quality is good and prices are lower than some other similarly fancy restaurants. If you don't care about price, go to "Lun Van" near Metro Teatralna. The wife of director of Microsoft-Ukraine told me it is expensive but good.
• Japanese: There's one called Hanoi which serves Japanese and Vietnamese food. It is located near Metro Arsenalna. The quality is quite high even for me who lived in San Francisco for 10 years. The prices are also high by my standard.
• Korean (no experience)

Drink

There are several nice places in Kiev to get a drink. From small cafes that are only frequented by locals (they look dirty at first sight) to expensive places. Most locals buy some drinks (beer or vodka) at a stall in the street and drink it in a park, leaving their bottle for the homeless to collect. With this they often buy some chips or other salted things (I think it's squid, not sure though tastes like seasalt).

As said in the Food section, Eric owns many venues. The prices are rather high, even for western standards.

• Art club 44 (vul. Khreschatyk 446) it's a club that plays live jazz music every day. It's almost impossible to find if you haven't been there. Don't be afraid to enter the patio and try opening some doors, or follow people.
• Viola's bierstubbe (bulevard Shevchenka 1a) Is also well hidden behind a dark door in a small alley. (rumor is that viola's is closed- 6/9/06)
• Eric's bierstubbe (ul Bolchaya Vasilkovskaya (also known as Chervonoarmiyska) 20)
• Orech (ul bolchaya vasilkovskaya 126)

There's another "brand" of cafes called "babooin". They have 3 places located over Kiev

• Babooin (vul Khmelnitskoho 39) is a nice place where you can read and buy books and some books can be returned for another book after buying. They have a nice collection of english books, making it worthwhile to pass some time. Prices are still cheaper to western prices, but you'll pay more than normal ukranian prices. They serve small meals too.
• Kvartira Babooin (ul Choriva 1/2) (I haven't been able to get there)
• Antersol (vul T. Shevchenko 2)

There are two Belgian beer cafés. One is located on the side of the opera house. The other side is close to the olympic stadium. Prices range between normal western prices and splurge western prices. Service is in perfect english usually and they do serve belgian beer and traditional belgian food.

There are more theme cafés over Kiev, but they are often hard to find. Therefore try meeting english speaking people in the above mentioned cafes.

Clubs

Kiev has a nice club scene. Ranging from very cheap to overly-expensive you can find what you want.

• Down at Nyvky you can find a pretty cheap disco. (no experience though)
• Club 112 is the club that was errected after some drugs and shooting problems in club 111. It's a very expensive club.
• La Fiesta (I forgot the location (though close to a green line metro station) has a nice setting. Tables at good location cost a certain amount, but that amount can be used in drinks. (usually it's not worth it)

Sleep

Budget

For any stay of more than a few days, it is possible to rent apartments in the city center through numerous brokers for rates of US$50-US$80/night (usually in USD Cash). The buildings are not fancy (alarming, actually), but generally have washing machines and cooking facilities. If you manage to avoid the hot-water shutdowns, they are really the way to go. The author had local contacts with ongoing relationships with apartment brokers. The price for a better grade of apartment seems to be closer to US$120/night for a 2-bedroom. You mileage may vary.

Rumor has it that there are less expensive hotels in this range, but those same rumors imply that the quality suffers a lot.

There is also an agency in the train station which rents apartments, hotels and rooms in Kiev at daily rates starting at 15 dollars or on a long term basis. The office is located in the south terminal of the main railway station in office 35 (on the 2nd floor above ticket counters 38-39). You'll be there in a few minutes if you're arriving by train. From the Borispil airport you can take a bus marked "polit" (Ukrainian: політ) which will take you directly to the south terminal of the main train station for 4 dollars. tel. +38(044)465-2808 The website is www.kvartburo.com.ua.

Mid-range

• ApartmentsApart. +48.22.820.9231 (1-866-387-6429 Toll Free from the USA & Canada). High standard, fully furnished studios, 1, 2 & 3 bedrooms offered. All apartments are located in the Kiev city center. Studios start at $60 per night for 2 people. The multilingual staff in Kiev go out of their way to ensure guests have a great stay.

• The Hotel Libid is a standard European hotel in Kiev at around US$115/night. It is a short Subway or Shuttle ride from the city center.

Splurge

• The Premier Palace Hotel is probably worth US$300/night if any place is, but is any place worth that? Apparently it is the only five-star hotel in town.

• Kiev hotel guide

Contact

By phone

Mobile (cell) phones: GSM 900/1800 is used in Ukraine. This system is compatible with mobile phone networks used in Europe, most of Asia, Australia, New Zealand.

If you have unlocked GSM phone, you can get an ACE & BASE (Kyivstar), Sim-Sim, Jeans (UMC) or MOBI (WellCOM) SIM card for a few dollars at street vendors which will give you a local number and free incoming calls. If you don't have an unlocked phone already, a new one is just over $100. If you expect many incoming calls, that pays for itself in a very short time.

T-mobile customers can get their (3 or 4-band) phones activated for travel, but the rates are unfriendly. If this is you, use SMS when you can.

If you are roaming in Kiev, SMS messages do work well. They are confirmed to work for US and UK T-mobile customers as well as UK Vodaphone customers and local Kyivstar customers.

If you are trying to call the US from your GSM phone, you may find that the access numbers for your calling card are blocked. Plan ahead and sign up with a callback service (such as UWT **warning, lead-time required**) before you start your travels and you can provoke them to call you (at much more favaroable rates) when you need to make a call.

By web

The easiest way to maintain internet connectivity if you use your own laptop is to buy a 7-day unlimited Lucky Internet callback card. They are about UAH36 at the street kiosks. When you dial in, you will be initially firewalled off from everything until you activate by visiting card.lucky.net.

Internet cafes have a good service. They usually have different types of computers with varrying prices. A bit higher than the metrostation on ul Khmelnytskoho (on the left side at a corner) there is one that is very good, open 24 hours non stop. The cheapest computers cover your basic needs, the most expensive ones are usually for hardcore gamers.

Stay safe

The usual "don't be stupid" advice seems to be adequate. Do not drink the water. Kiev is a generally open and friendly city and stays lively until at least 11PM in most districts.

There are occasional (rare) reports of visitors being shaken down by corrupt officials, often customs officials. Naturally, the best protection is to make sure that you stay on the correct side of the law and - if there is any question - keep your cool and do not become argumentative. It seems that the cost of an error is surrendering the object in question and paying a "fine." The officials are skilled at ensuring that people who argue miss their flights. Some thieves like to abuse naive tourists, for example by playing plain clothes cop. They are rarely aggressive and not sure. They will only go to you if you're walking alone and don't look too familiar with the town. A bit of resisting usually shakes them off. (not too much, you never know)

There still is some corruption in Ukraine, some services might openly ask you to bribe them to process your request and denying it might make them refuse to help you.

The people are very tolerant and it is only reasonable to assume that they expect the same in return.

Cope

Kiev was part of the former USSR. Some things work well and other things may be broken. There is no point in stressing about this. Arrive with that realization and be prepared to roll with a few suprises. Also, bring basic things that may keep suprises from developing into serious problems. You should always have a flashlight, a few snack bars, and some toilet paper with you anyway.

Local people, however manage their lives without the above (except for toilet paper), as the "7/11" and kiosks can be found at virtually any public transport station, and 24-hours stores are a normal practice.

Get out

• Lviv
• Odessa
• Chernobyl You can visit the exclusion zone, there are day tours from Kiev