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	Create New Topic   My Posts   My forum buddies   Invite friends   Private messages Russian brides > Main Forum > Travel to Kikolaev Author Post cabmaverick Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/29/2006 10:42:38 PM   Hi guys and girls, This is the first time i have written in the Forum. I would appreciate some advice on travel to Nikolaev,Ukraine. My lady and i have been corresponding since January,and i would like to go to see her this Summer. If any of you guys have been to Nikolaev,and could give me some tips on Travel and air fare,i would much appreciate it.I live in California,U.S.A. Thanks again in advance,cabmaverick Deano Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/30/2006 1:05:30 PM   Cab I was there in March. Not as difficult to get to as you might think. You should fly into Odessa (ODS is code of airport)and from there take a car (Taxi) to Nikolaev. The ride is about 2 hours and the going rate is $70 one way. The driver will be there waiting for you right when you walk out of passport control. I used City-of-brides.com for the taxi service and apartment rental. Both apartments they list were for $35 a night. You will see them on their website. The one with the green sofa is the one I stayed in. Beautiful apartment and nice comfortable bed. Only problem is no phone. But if you have a GSM phone and it is unlocked (IF a USA phone) then you can just buy a Ukrainian simm card and you will be all set. Nikolaev is a small city but nice. I found the girls there are not spoiled like the big city girls. More serious about marriage and willing to live abroad. Good luck! cabmaverick Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/30/2006 11:11:19 PM   Thank's for the tips Deano,I will check out the web site. danny3777 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/1/2006 11:18:55 AM   Cab, Everything, well most things, are cheaper in Nik than in Odessa, it might be cheaper if she negotiates a Nik taxi that brings her to meet you at ODS and then you'll have some company on the return. cabmaverick Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/4/2006 11:10:51 AM   Great idea Martin,thanks for the tip. Elaine33 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/16/2006 1:37:24 PM   Or you can take a bus "Odessa-Nikolaev", it costs only $5. I live very close to Nikolaev: in Kherson (one hour by bus or by car). Nikolaev is rather inexpensive city in comparison with Odessa and especially with Kiev. chrisc4 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/18/2006 1:26:19 AM   cabmaverick, I will be in Nikolaev this weekend taking a look around the place, let meknow if there is anything inparticular you want to know about the place, I know of drivers that can pick you up at the airport for in Odessa for $60, Deano, I see city of brides say $45 a night for the apartment, not $35, but $35 seams too cheap unless you was there for a long time ? buffed Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/18/2006 9:21:47 AM   Shame on you Forum members! What?.....are you trying to get a poor newbie killed?!!:) Take Elaine33's advice and use the mini-bus for $5 I think it tops out at about 45 miles an hour which is a good thing......much better than taking a Ukrainian Taxi (usually driven by a guy named "Genna").....on a trip this far you have about a 1% chance of getting in an accident and about a quarter percent chance of being killed or seriously injured. Ukrainian/Russian drivers have the heaviest "lead foot on the gas pedal" and poor driving skills combined with ZERO common sense. If you are lucky enough to get the one in four or five cars that actually have a functional passenger seat-belt, "Genna" will throw a sh#t-fit when you make an attempt to fasten it which he will interpret as you saing "he's a bad driver". Get a Flat near the "Walking Street" Be sure to hit the Dixie BBQ, also take a date to the giant pool. cabmaverick Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/18/2006 10:05:57 PM   Thanks Elaine33 for the advice, will i have trubble if i speak English? and can i arrange one or buy a ticket in advance? Chrisc4,if you could let me know the hot spots and things to do with a date, i would appreciate it. Buffed, You had me laughing, and a little scared with that senario,i have been to mexico so i think i can hanndle any taxi cab ride LOL. I will try the Dixie BB-Q ,and where is the giant pool. Thank you all for the help, i have been looking at the Forum for about 5 months and asside from the few disbelievers it is a great help for the newbies and all that are hopefull to find that special girl. chrisc4 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/19/2006 1:53:47 AM   Buffed , what a load of bull shit ! for one the mini buses go as fast if not faster than lot of the taxi's and unless you speaks some russian its not going to be easy, to start with he has to get from the airport to the bus station ! and proberbly has quite alot of luggagge with him, I would not even consider it myself, maybe you like to make these guys worry ? looking for a bus in a city you dont know and dont understand the laungage with all your luggage is not wise, you could get yourself into problems not just in Ukraine but anywhere in the world, and walking into the arrivals hall at Odessa with lots of drivers hassling you for a lift is not too plelsent when you dont know where you realy want to be heading, Far better to have someone waiting for you to take you straight to the the hotel or apartment , cabmaverick, I will let you knowabout Nikolaev when I get back or send us a e-mail cabmaverick Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/7/2006 7:16:28 PM   Chrisc4, just wondering if you are back from Nikolaev yet and how was you're trip? I have booked my trip for Sept. 7th. to the 21st. and can't wait. If you have any tips or advice for while i am there i would greatly apprecieate it,Thanks tal55 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/7/2006 8:21:48 PM   I just had a disapponting trip to Odessa,Nikolaev, and Kherson, if anyone is interested. Maybe I'll post my trip synopsis as a main entry if anyone is interested. This was my third trip to Ukraine. Olga Moderator send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/7/2006 8:51:46 PM   please post share your experience if it is related to the forum' subject Adman Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/8/2006 1:12:54 AM   Tal55 I would be very interested in your Ukraine trip. It good to know whats happenning out there Sorry to hear your trip was disappointing, but it would still be very helpful imformation about the pitfalls to watch out for and there seems to be plenty of those. ilababy Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/8/2006 1:37:13 PM   happy tal55 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/8/2006 7:07:22 PM   k, well I'll, since it's more applicable to this subject than an individual post. Note first of all that I have nothing against fiance.com, and am only telling at as I've experienced it. I apologize for the lengh also, cause it know it's gonna be long! :) First, concerning correspondence. Some of you have probably already experienced the "drop out rate" if you've been a member here or on any email/agency/translation site. You will make friends, but many will disappear, due to local boyfriends, marriages, etc. If the dropout rate is low, there might be a chance the local agency is writing the emails to you instead of the girl. :) It happens. Anyway, I booked a "personal tour" with ASL (A Special Lady--not an endorsement), had two correspondents(actually more, but I'm only counting two) at fiance.com that said they would meet me if I went to their town, about 10 at anastasiaweb who said they'd see me, and a lot of first contacts possibilities from Onlywe. So, out of a confirmed dozen who said they would meet me, how many actually did when I showed up in their town? Really only one, for the entire trip. And that was a gal from the "fishing site" Anastasia web. Surprising. It was frankly amazing how many contact addresses given to me by the girls themselves were either non-existent, existed but the girl did not live there, or just that the girl refused to see me. Remember, these are not first contacts, but confirmed correspondents who said they would see me. So, guys if even one out of three of your correspondents meet you, don't feel bad. You are doing very well! The first contact rates were appalling. I think ony one worked out. All the other girls were either married, etc, or were just not interested. Ok, enough on that. What about the trip? I flew 7000 miles from Arizona, finally arriving in Odessa. The local agency was good as their word and met me at the customs door admidst the onslaught of cabbies. Whew! :) I stayed two nights in Odessa at a downtown apartment at $100 per night. Yeh, expensive. I had 4 confirmed meetings(supposedly) and several other possible correspondent contacts. Of course, none of the correspondent contacts would see me, and half the agency confirmed meetings dropped out. So, two dates in two days. Maybe two hours duration each. What a waist. And, the girls were not in any way interested. They were really just curious to see a foreigner. In fact, in personal conversation with the owner of the local agency, she told me that many of her girls had recently dropped out. Why? There were simply too many good husband prospects right there in Odessa. The millionaire Ukrainian men and other rich European foreigners flock to Odessa for a good time of beach, weather and gambling. Girls actually told her there was no reason to seek a foreign husband via an agency with all the excellent prospects right there in Odessa! As evidence she quoted apartments selling in Odessa for millions of dollars (equivalencey) apiece. My advice? Don't waist your time in Odessa. Maybe see some of the sites, but unless you're rich, move on quickly to greener pastures. Note that I suspect the same is also true to a certain extent for Kiev, but I haven't been there in about a year and a half. I went next to Nikolaev. An $80 cab right for me. (Probably the agency was taking a cut.) But, I thought the personal safety with a agency cab was probably better. Anyway, I spent the next four days in Nikolaev, having some dates, though not many. As mentioned, the correspondent dropout rate was appalling. I actually sat down in the agency office and scoured through their books, and got a few dates that way. In fact, my favorite for the trip was a girl picked out "on the fly" in the office. Oh, the apartment? Well, it was in the tour price, but I later rented it for $70 per day. Expensive, yes, but it was right in the middle of down town, and in the same high rise where the mayor lived! I later traveled on to Kherson and stayed one night there in a hotel. I paid in Grivnas, so don't remember the equivalent amount, but I think it was also around $70. I then travelled back to Nikolaev and finished my stay there, finally taking a cab back to Odessa on the morninng of my flight. An Odessa to Nikolaev drive takes about 2 hours. Nice scenery, actually. Let's see. I noticed that about one third of all women cancelled their meetings with me. Why? I don't know, different reasons. So, about one third of the time I cooled my heels watching pedestrians instead of meeting them. :) Note though that Ukrainian women really like to dress their best. They are rarely overweight, wear tight pants and or dresses, often sport bare waists and sometimes wear see through blouses. There are usually social areas of town(usually downtown) where people congregate to play chess, shop, sit at outside cafes, and just enjoy life. The down side is that many of those women enjoying life are smoking. Yes, I would estimate that perhaps 50% of the female population 20-30 smoke. Note also that I would say possibly as many as one third of girls who say they do not smoke on their web page actually do. But, if you ask them face to face, they are usually honest and will admit it. However, interestingly, they often smoke in secrete, especially from family members such as mothers! The amount of smokers in Ukraine reminds me of a 1940's movie. :) So, if you are a smoker, these smokers would be available, as well as many nonsmokers, so this is actually an advantage. But, for a nonsmoker like myself seeking a nonsmoker wife I essentially eliminate half the viable female population of Ukraine. But, will they quit for you? Maybe. I asked one girl who had recently started smoking if she would quit if things work out and she directly said "NO". Well, at least she's honest! :) And, I'd like to point out Olga Moderator send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/8/2006 8:10:55 PM   interesting experience, I invite sucecssfull travelers to tell us how they prepared meetings. danny3777 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/8/2006 8:26:34 PM   55, Ok drop outs will be, a lot of the time, due to ladies writing to multiple men, 95% of men drop out on ladies so I'd guess it's about the same proportion of ladies to men. Just as a matter of interest, and taking into consideration the reputation anastasiaweb has, how many of those false addresses were from anastasia and indeed how many were from fiance.com? I had 4 hours of the Odessa cabbies one day between flight connections, indeed every time I stepped outside the terminal for a cigarette, it's OK though, they understand 'f*ck off' ..... eventually :) M Adman Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/9/2006 6:28:17 AM   Tal You said this was your third trip. Are you saying it is getting harder to find serious women. I would not surprised. I'd say from communicating with women on these foreign bride sites, that nowadays they have plenty of choice. Particularly the very attractive women without children. You are right about the smokers. My girlfriend and her mother both secretly smoke without her father knowing. tal55 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 6/9/2006 1:32:46 PM   Hey, thanks for the interest in my trip in perceptions. Sorry my letter got cut off at the end. I knew it was probably too long! :) Martin_UK, yes, indeed the drop out rate is normal. It can be actually difficult keeping a girl that you like writing to you. If you can keep a girl interested in you more than 4 months you are doing good! :) Actually, the confirmed false addresses from correspondents came from Anastasia web, and not fiance.com. However, not one fiance contact would see me. So, I guess one can draw his own conclusions. You are right about the Odessa cabbies. They mob you as you step out of customs. :) Best to be safe and arrange a reliable cabbie ahead of time. Adman, yes, I would say that in general it's getting harder to find a wife in Eastern Europe, especially in the major cities such as Odessa, Kiev, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. But, I have never been to Moscow myself. This was actually my third trip to Ukraine, I've also been to St. Petersburg once. Yes, I'd have to agree that the women there have more choice now, especially in cities that literally draw in millionaires, like Odessa. And, that's an astute observation about the attractive women without children. Like most of you guys, I've scoured thousands of adds on dozens of sites. It is very hard to find significantly attractive wome age range 26 to 31, say, without children. Simply put, I think the most beautiful ones get married by the time they're 25. If you do find the rare significantly above average looking girl in the late twenties, there's usually a reason why she hasn't gotten married--ie career, etc. I anyone is interested, I'll finish with the last of my previous letter. :) Hope it helps!! ------ And, I'd like to point out another problem. Ukrainian women in general do not like large families. It is ingrained in their culture. If you want two or more children in your marriage, you had better broach the subject by the second date, or you might get a surprise later on. I'd say half of the girls I met wanted only one child. When pressed if they would consider two, some replied flat out that they would absolutely under no conditions have a second child, others implied that it might be possible, but they were against it. If you're a guy who want's three kids in your family, you will have to look around a lot, or somehow do a lot of persuasion. Now, you probably want to ask, "Are Eastern European girls that much nicer than American girls?" Well, yes, I would say they are nicer in general. But, I have met a lot of stink-pots too! :) Greedy girls, social scammers, insulting girls, time waisters, etc. But, in general, yes, they probably are nicer than American girls. On a scale of 1 to 10, I might rate American girls a 4, and Ukrainian girls a 6. I know, the whole question is vague. Just don't expect "miracle personality" girls. They are just basicly nice girls in general, but still have many of the characteristics of girls you will find right here. :) No surprise! :) If 6 to 8 years ago I knew what I know now, I would have simply started taking Russian classes, become fluent, and traveled to Ukraine by myself. Get a downtown apartment, go to the clubs, introduce myself at the social gathering places. I have no doubt that you could find a girl of your dreams doing it that way. If you think the girls on the web sites are attractive, you see girls on the streets two notches higher on average. But, don't think you can hire an interpreter to go up to the girls and introduce you! They won't do it! I don't really know why. But, basically if you see a beauty waiting for a friend to show up, you will have to introduce yourself! :) Note also that there is crime in Ukraine. Be careful. I remember walking past a cellular phone store below my apartment, and out front was a guard standing with a burp gun! No, not a pistol! This was a shoulder slung oozie style automatic weapon. I asked my interpreter, and they said the store had been robbed three times in a row! She also said most businesses hired some kind of guards. Well, I guess that's about enough. This was my fourth trip to Eastern Europe, and might be my last. I don't know. But, it isn't as easy snagging a gal as some might imply. Do your homework, and you might be successful. Good luck! Your Reply: Your name:   New Registration Password:   Forgot password?   refresh Code:   Russian brides > Main Forum > Travel to Kikolaev
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