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	Create New Topic   My Posts   My forum buddies   Invite friends   Private messages Russian brides > Main Forum > Ex-pat in China, taking a break in Ukraine & meeting a girl Author Post Esvees Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/4/2012 5:44:59 AM   Hey all, Basically looking for some advice, largely so as not to do anything stupid. I'm European, but I've worked for years as an ex-pat in Shanghai. I've dated and had several Chinese girlfriends over the years, but despite speaking the language, I've never met one I'd want to really build a life with for various reasons. Speaking frankly, a lot of Chinese girls are as plain as they come and dress like 5-year olds. A large part of those that are good-looking and take care of themselves think they are the best thing since breathing and are spoilt to shit. Having navigated through all that, I've been lucky and met a few that weren't stuck-up bitches, but even with them, I found the cultural differences and expectations just don't match up long-term. Then a few months ago, I started corresponding with a very pretty girl from the Ukraine (not really through a dating site, as we could exchange e-mails from the start) and we've been writing back & forth since. She's from some small place in Eastern Ukraine called Kemmina. All seemed pretty normal at first, but she took a liking to me after some time. After a few months, she really wanted to meet, but can't really afford the ticket to China (I guess that's legit) So eventually, I figured, why don't I just take a holiday to the Ukraine (I could really use a break) and she can meet me in Kiev. I suggested Kiev, but she mentioned even for going there money is a bit tight (are wages really that low?) Anyway, it's not much to get there & back, so I figure why not. She seems on the level, even sent me a passport scan when I asked for it. Photo's don't seem staged at all, just her around her home and with her family. I figure she also has an actual personality, compared to a lot of Shanghainese women that are ignorant shop-o-matics. To anyone with experience, does this all sound plausible or should the alarm bells be ringing? I figure she wouldn't suggest and risk going to China where she'd be screwed without help. And she's not from Kiev either, so I'd find it hard to think it's a scam. Still, thoughts? kiwinorth Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/4/2012 11:29:17 AM   Kemmina, are you sure thats the name, whats the nearest reasonable town city nearest to this place? anyway their wages are bad. sometimes i wondered how some of the girls i met got around, or how they covered their phone costs on their sometimes two phones which were a constant annoyance. to be honest Esvees, good scammers will hook new people hook line and sinker and others. its a time thing that gives you the edge on some of these types, little tail-tail signs in their writings. its a bit of a shame she cannot meet you at the airport. i always pushed this,, i dont speak russian and never planned to do so, so such made life easier(more so for russia), and was a great ice breaker, them helping in a sense. but hey, its very possible she cannot do this financially. lonelyranger1701 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/4/2012 12:24:04 PM   All of the girls would love a trip to Kiev, it could be the highlight of their year. The capitol city of any FSU country will always be high priced! bowhunter Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/4/2012 7:50:26 PM   could be legit but you will never know unless you go and see for yourself. Price for a train ticket is relatively low bus is even cheaper and faster. Armin(Bonddd) Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/5/2012 5:31:10 AM   Hi, I've never heard of such a city, it must be a village or a village loke town or you misspelled it. People in such little places can sometimes find it difficult to buy twoway tickets to Kiev. So everything is quite reasonable I think durak Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/5/2012 6:29:13 PM   Esvess, Could it be Kreminna (Кремінна in Ukrainian)? This is a small town near Rubezhnoye, which itself is a pretty small town, but is on the rail line -- there are trains between Rubezhnoye and Kiev. The train is really slow, as bowhunter suggests bus may be a better option. As to the situation, I agree with the other guys -- it is not unreasonable, and anyway the amount of money you would risk for her transportation wouldn't be much. Esvees Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/7/2012 9:25:57 AM   Thanks for all the advice guys. Yeah, neither of us is entirely sure of the Roman letter spelling for Kemmina, but it's in the Luhansk Oblast. It's apparently a really small town there. I guess Luhansk city itself has a bit of a rep as scam central, but she's not from there. Looking at the map, that does look like a hell of a long way from Kiev. Does $100 sound reasonable for going from there to Kiev? (and maybe coming back; or I think she may have to fly as she doesn't get that much time off.) We're sharing an appartment in Kiev and she wants to meet me at the airport, which I guess in itself is a pretty good sign she's for real. Is it easy to draw cash locally with Visa or Maestro in Kiev? And thanks Martin, will send you a PM as I go. Anyone else in Kiev that would want to share insights over a beer or two? lonelyranger1701 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/7/2012 1:02:14 PM   Could it be the Crimea region in southeastern Ukraine??? lonelyranger1701 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/7/2012 11:55:03 PM   Flights from Kiev to Lugansk were 139USD three years ago. Each way! Try www.eufares.com apal1 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/8/2012 3:15:25 PM   Advice, visit her in the nearest big city. Fly into Lugansk Airport: VSG or fly to Kiev and bus shuttle to Lugansk. Ukraine Airlines is cheap. Get hotel. Pay for her and agency translator to come to city. Book (1) hotel room for them both to stay (double beds). Try to talk to her about getting a translator who will charge by the day $80-100 rather than by the hour $15-20. You will have to pay for the translators meals but discuss that before you come. Yes. Its easy to get money from any ATM in Ukraine, but some banks are blacklisted because they didn't pay their loans back and got kicked out of the system. You'll find that out soon enough. And watch your ATM and keep your hands covering the keypads. Some F*KING crooks got me on that and wiped $1200 out of my ATM card in Odessa this last time. Thankfully Bank of America protects it and I was refunded. Good luck. Esvees Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/9/2012 12:04:06 AM   She's not an agency girl, we talk direct with e-mail accounts, met on a travel website. Her English is pretty good, so don't need a translator. Thanks for the heads up on the ATM though. Esvees Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/11/2012 12:00:24 PM   Well, what happened next is damned odd. I sent her $150, more than enough to get to Kiev and meet up. Then she says there's no train (or ticket) on the 15th so she wants to go a day early. All fine, but then she says she'd need to pay the rent for the appartment all up front. (about $600) When I ask her if she can't just pay 1 day first or wait for me to show up or I can even book her a hotel room online, she just answers the owner of the appartment is gonna be out of town and needs to be payed up front. This all struck me as very inconsistent and suspicious, so I told her this is very weird, said I'm not sending anything else before we meet and I'll only book her a room online and asked her if she's even serious about wanting to meet up. Response is yes she's serious and can't believe I'm counting every cent. I dunno, I could be wrong, but I think I want to walk away from this one. durak Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/11/2012 2:58:07 PM   Sadly, it's not odd at all. It's exactly what scammers do. Consider the $150 as a write-off ... or an investment in your education. The one time I "advanced" to a woman I hadn't met (after lengthy correspondence), I booked her an air ticket, which could only be exchanged/refunded to me, so I was risking only a few bucks. If you like, post which month (was it June 15th)? And one of us on the forum can probably check whether there's really no trains/tickets. If her town is the one I think it is, the trains probably run every day. Also, who booked the apartment? It's easy for you to book by internet, and I see no reason why you could arrange to handle this supposed "extra day." apal1 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/11/2012 3:34:10 PM   Again agree with Durak. I wouldn't be sending someone I never met $750 upfront. Book by credit card on a website and do it yourself... 1000's of available apartments for rent in Kiev. Don't be lazy and get stupid all of a sudden. ;) Although at one time in the past, I have paid for a girl to come visit me, but it was her risk. She spent the money upfront to arrive to meet me, but of course I reimbursed. So its not always guys who have to take the risks sometimes. The $200 taxi ride (back and forth) was serious money to her if I happened not to show up and pay her back. Esvees Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/12/2012 1:05:22 AM   Thanks guys. Train would be on the 15th, arriving on the 16th. I'm guessing going from either Lugansk or Kharkov, yeah, I should just book the whole stay myself. Esvees Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/12/2012 1:10:44 AM   By the way, what are good English language websites for booking an apprtment in Kiev. I usually use expedia.com and it had some, but are there any other good ones? durak Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/12/2012 8:43:59 AM   Esvees, There are dozens -- I hadn't thought of this before, but I don't remember seeing one that wasn't in English! I simply google "kiev apartments". Usually, I don't use the same company twice in a row, because I'm looking for the best combination of availability/features/price/location and find it where I find it. However, if it's JUNE 15 (I still didn't see the month, so I'm guessing), things may be very tight, so act today!!! The Euro cup games will be in Kiev on various dates from 11 June through 1 July -- one of them on 15 June! -- and hotels/apartments are expected to be saturated. I don't suppose it's an option to reschedule a few weeks later? I made a "policy decision" to steer clear of Kiev in June, in order to avoid the expected mob scene. Anyway, I suspect that your correspondent is crook, so I hope you don't spend too much on this trip -- except to consider it as vacation. Good luck! apal1 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/12/2012 11:34:09 AM   Expedia is getting good. I like such a big travel agency, because if there are ANY issues, they will refund you. Unlike local scam apartments sites. Remember my very first visit to Ukraine in 2006. I rented an apartment in Odessa. The photos were great, the real apartment was not. It looked classy in the photos, and tacky in real life. The owner tried to kick me out of the apartment two days before I was scheduled to leave, because someone else was trying to stay there for a week and I was already in there. They called maybe 5 times a day, threatening to put all my clothes out in front if I didnt agree. Then I told them, if they didn't put me into a much more expensive apartment, than I'd call the police and they could explain the situation of kicking out a foreign visitor who had paid in full. They backed down. If you book on Expedia you have a lot more rights than most. Just make sure you read the fine print and there is no "Non-refundable" print. I did that on my package to Rome and didn't see it. So I wasted some money. I can rebook again when we go, but I can't transfer the money to another hotel. ;0 I always book my hotels in Ukraine through Expedia now. You can also rent apartments through them too. It's good insurance against scams. beemer18 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/12/2012 12:30:28 PM   I am apal-lled!! You actually think the police would do anything? In all your experiences you should know they a not your friend, oh, maybe if you greased their hands!! I would never book a hotel in FSU....always apts, where you actually can have 'company' and a kitchen, I like to cook....but then again, some do throw 'cashe' around like it is nothing.... Esvees, the most probable route for the girl would be north through Kharkov then swing west to Kiev, may have to change train there. Who decided who was going to book apt? Sounds like girl was taking care of it. I think best would have been a city closer to her city..Lugansk or even Kharkov, though as durak mentioned many euro games going on in june and july. I have a good site that shows you cities and routes and distances in FSU: http://www.della-ua.com/distance/?cities=0,208 (this is for Kreminna-Kiev) kiwinorth Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 5/12/2012 9:39:41 PM   Esvees, i reckon dont hesitate,, you are not blind to anything and know worst scenario, so what ever happens learn from it and enjoy the place, its amazing the little mistakes we make on first trips there, which can be a bit painful like booking and sorting to dealing with things,, but hey its the first hit that fixes you for any future stuff mind wise. this here has little to do with your senario but i learnt not to trust credit cards there. i found myself in a awkward situation with a girl who missed her train back to lugansk, i was off in other direction by train in a few hours to catch flight home. with her very distressed (how they turn into a teary child like persons in little desasters) we taxied to a big hotel top of Sevastopol main street looking over the park up to museum,, my apartment was very close to it and needed to hand over keys also. i through the gold card on desk at hotel and said i wanted a room for her for two days plus credit the room with so many hryvna. they wouldnt except it and said i had to stay in this room for them to except it under a credit card?????? so ok" off to money machine,, yeah good stuff, they(tried a few) wouldnt give out funds, time was getting really not on my side.. i took a long shot,, had to hand over my keys at apartment and travel friend waiting for me there also. great i got funds off my friend(" friend" we dont call girls "mates" here for some reason?) and apartment owner was a good guy, which gave to big smiles on her beautifal face again. but it could have got really tricky for her if that card was her life line. things like that are always thrown in to test our capability's,,, i always figured a card was a sure thing for established places. then to twist it all around another time i stopped to see friends in Switzerland on the way home from next trip. we were at some mountain top restaurant out in the country side of Zurich,,, friends refused to get me to money machine and after diner we found ourselves with no money. ok heres my card, mate said no and asked watress for something. the waitress gave mate a blank paid,, he wrote on it his name address and amount we owed, he told me they will invoice him in the mail with a cheeky smile on this face,, its normal stuff here he said? no ID was shown????? and no they didnt know him i believe Your Reply: Your name:   New Registration Password:   Forgot password?   refresh Code:   Russian brides > Main Forum > Ex-pat in China, taking a break in Ukraine & meeting a girl
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