I don't pay them to consider them my friends and after some 17 trips to FSU I became bored by the monotony of it all. you keep going, when you've travelled enough through FSU you'll get there one day! :)
Where did the idea come from of paying them? vivid imagination you have ;-) I actually like the FSU but never done a romance tour, more than half my visits are business trips but a fair few are just short weekend breaks or trips to visit friends. I have probably done 17 trips this year, not sure its 2am and waiting for the printer to finish, before heading to my own bed for the first time in weeks.
17 trips is a fair few, you must really like FSU women to make that many, have you ever lived long term with a Ukrainian? or Russian? It can be an interesting experience especially at first, I did 10+ years. Not sure half the guys on here have really understood the differences and challenges it can pose, but hey a pretty picture can easily stray the mind.
Muzzy, Secr3t, I am quite aware of what professional photography equipment costs. Just having fun.
Kharkov is a big place and very modern relatively speaking. I am amazed at the number of ladies 'available' from there that are listed on over a dozen sites. And to think that most of them do not have an email address - that is nonsense. Most have an .ru address and many have a gmail or yahoo address. Don't doubt it.
Ralph, as you say, none of the Kharkov ladies have their own email addresses ... or at least not that they will divulge to an internet dater. Kharkov is a smart modern city, and I am sure that most ladies these days probably have their own email addresses. It just does not suit the agencies or scamming ladies for us to have that information.
However, the agencies in Kharkov are as greedy as they can be and the ladies are as ingenuine as they come. This is why that city is off the radar for me. I have been to maybe a dozen different cities in Ukraine and of all of them, Kharkov will be one I wont return to due to the disgusting and exhorbitant scamming agencies.
Anyone who deals with those agencies are just fools being parted from their money!
It is my experience that mobil phones are more prevalent that land lines and as common as in any western country. "Internet Cafes" are like video rental shops use to be in America, a budding industry that will flurish until computers are considered a necessity and the norm, just as it has become in the west. If a woman has any interest in communicating further than next door to her home, she has or will attain both, regardless of her motivations and sincerity. If she will not make any effort on her own to establish personal communication, then she is only an asset of the agency. If you cannot establish communication and suspect the agency blocking you, spend the money send flowers with your contact information in a note. If you still don't make contact, forget it, it won't ever happen.
Ivor the mistake came because I did not check that the requirement to register when staying in private accommodation (i.e. apartments) for tourists was dropped, but since I don't travel on a tourist visa that often, more often than not I travel on business visa's the requirement is still there in some FSU countries (as mentioned previously I do occasional work as a commercial photographer). I apologise for the misleading comment when I should have checked first. As for actually paying the UAH33 I haven't done it in a while as usually I stay in hotels, unless travelling to Moscow, Chisinau or Kiev where I have apartments. My earlier post a few days ago where I apologised for the misleading comment seemed to not appear, despite it telling me my post was waiting moderation...
The only reason Ukraine and Russia were specifically mentioned was because that is where the majority of the guys on here will travel too. But since having come back from Kazakhstan recently, also having travelled to Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Moldova numerous times I am very much aware that the FSU does encompass more than Russia and Ukraine.
But Secr3t, UAH33 is/was very specific, they don't have UAH's in Russia, Belarus, Moldova etc. Had you said X amount of Rubles, or whatever, that would have been understandable but you specifically said UAH, you didn't even convert it to USD or whatever, which gives the impression that you are being scammed in Ukraine for a supposed registration fee!
3 of my trips to FSU have been on business also but don't need a visa, nor registration, to enter Latvia!
I have visited Ukraine numerous times, too many to remember in the last 10 years, the UAH33 was from my specific previous experience in Ukraine, as stated previously I stay in hotels more these days purely because I am often there just for a few days or on business and it is more convenient for me. The thread was specifically was directed at Ukraine, but if you want the fee in Chisinau (roughly $4) or Russia I can give it too you if you really want.
Ask someone in Latvia if they really consider themselves FSU, same goes with Romania, depending on who you are talking too of course you would probably get a pretty strong debate arguing against classing them as FSU whether it is technically accurate or not :-)
Did I say they were? No I didn't, Yes Baltic states were but nationalist pride there means that a lot of people never considered themselves as being part of the soviet union, hence the statement ask a Latvian if they would consider themselves as FSU, you are likely to get a pretty strong argument against it, whether they were or not.
Since you want to be pedantic FSU would consist of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Since Soviet troops occupied Romania between 44 and 56 there was a fair debate to whether they should have been classed as Soviet Union during that time.
Ivor since you want to turn every statement into argument or just pick holes in simple remarks or ignore the context of what was said, I will leave you too it.
You're embarrassing yourself, you said ask someone in Latvia then you changed it to ask a Latvian, in the FSU Russians occupied all of the countries so if I asked someone in Latvia I could well be speaking with a Russian!
Do you even appreciate that Austria became so close to becoming under Russian 'rule'? The Russians took control of those other countries but they were so confident that the Austrians would say "yes" they put it to the public vote, by a narrow margin the Austrians voted "no".
But you probably don't appreciate, best to stick to what you know and on your side of the world!
Since you want to avoid what was clearly stated which was "depending on who you are talking too of course" which in no way can be interpreted as a definitive statement that if you ask anyone in Latvia you would get the same response, but that wouldn't suit your argument would it? The only one that embarrassing themselves seems to be you, but I will leave you to your own rope as your doing a pretty good job without anyone else's help. :-)
I am not going to even get into a debate with you over Soviet views and policy towards Austria because it has nothing to do with this thread or any real relevance to this forum and I have no interest in trying to inflate your antagonistic and over inflated ego any more than it is :-)
"If you stay in Ukraine more than 3 days you have to register where your staying take your passport and get a bit of paper stamped, the "fee" can vary depends on the region and if it looks like you have money :-) Hotels do this automatically for you. Its the same in Russia, Moldova and so on, you could of course neglect to register, but if you get caught be prepared to spend the night in a cell and pay a higher fee........"
I highly doubt this statement sans russia. 17 trips to FSU countries this year?? Was there a brain cramp? Just wondering what country you are from where you had to register so much? Must be european country because of the 'short weekend stays'............I did not read any corrections.
Beemer I posted an apology for the incorrect information earlier, Send: 02.10.2010 19:49:09 and a further apology and correction here Send: 03.10.2010 18:21:02
As explained I hadn't realised that requirement had been dropped because I stay in hotels more often that not these days as it is more convenient for me due to the nature of my short stay or last minute plans.
No brain cramp yes I have visited FSU countries 17 times this year, after Tuesday and another short business trip to Moscow again it will be 18 trips this year, some of them have been a single day the longest 15 days, the vast majority of those trips have been for business. Next week i'll go back to Ukraine and visit Kiev, Kharkov and possibly Odessa and will probably stay for 10 days this time not for business and purely pleasure, we will see if its a wasted trip to Kharkov or not since that was the topic of this thread..
I am from the UK but spend hardly any time in the UK.
Even in the days when EU, US etc. nationals needed a visa for Ukraine I NEVER needed to register nor pay for any such registration and that, for me, was some 7 years ago. If there ever was any registration requirement it became dropped atleast 7 years ago!
I myself prefer the privacy of an apartment and the company I use does offer other services such as cooking buying tickets etc. I normally like a place with jacuzzi and internet. in Kiev the going rate is around 70-90 for a 2 room close to the center. the form you fill out at immigration is no longer needed for US citizens. there system is now electronic so unless you need to declare some thing no need to fill out the form any more.
'Kharkov Invitations'. I always had the impression that these invitations were just agencies attempting to get the correspondence started, as I doubt the girl in this situation would have even seen your profile otherwise surely she would have sent an ordinary letter?? But can complaints about this really matter, because there is the option to receive, or stop receiving the invitations, and besides, at least you don't pay anything to read them, unlike on some other sites.
Yorkie wrote: "Anyone who deals with those agencies are just fools being parted from their money!" Yorkie, are you saying that one would be a fool to pay specifically a Kharkov agency, because I have concluded that most agencies, irrespective of where, are not to be easily trusted, if at all? And are the women there really as insincere as you report? I am interested because I was thinking of visiting Kharkov and Poltava. I am quite surprised to see on this thread several negative comments about Kharkov women because I always thought Odesa and Nikolaev were meant to be the two world Capitals for suspicious or dishonest agencies and agency-women. (Perhaps Kherson and Lugansk should get a mention too.) It shouldn't be unexpected though, because an agency's purpose is surely to generate as much business as possible. The answer, if dissatisfied: don't get involved with agency-girls.
Concerning destinations in Ukraine, I wonder if anyone here with good experience of various cities, might, in general, rate agencies and their women from particular cities, who range from the 'most likely to be dishonest' to the 'most likely to be sincere'. For example, I have been to Odesa several times partly because I really like the city, but last time I went, not one of my four correspondents showed. So, based on this and similar previous experiences there, I would rate Odesa as a destination, if using agencies and agency-women, as most probably dishonest. My lesson is learnt: I would never again take time off work, and pay for all the expenses to travel to any city to meet only agency-girls.
It used to be that you had to register at every hotel. But lately it has been much more lax.
When I stayed with a girl I would typically just write her name on the immigration form I was to fill out and if asked I would simple say I didn't know here exact address. If I was staying at a hotel I would just list the hotel and the city.
As recently as last year when I took a side trip to Turkey - I had misplaced my immigration form and was told by passport control that I HAD to have it (on my exit to Turkey) I simply said I didn't have it and with a sigh they simply gave me another.
On this most recent trip I carefully filled out my immigration form - and passport control didn't even look at it or stamp it. (Which is weird as Ukrainian passort control loves to stamp EVERYTHING). Nor did they tear off the entry portion. (Something they had always done in the past).
And again when I left Ukraine The passport control agent briefly opened my immigration form as it was folded, to see what it was, then immediately handed it back to me, as if it was just a mislaid piece of paper stuck in my passport. He then did all the routine functions of scanning my passprt, looking for entry stamp and checking to see if I looked as I was supposed to according to the picture.
But he neve stamped or said boo about the immigration form.
Its my guess that you ONLY need it for corrupt police officers who want to find a reason to draw some cash out of you. Passport control seemed as if it couldn't care less.