Meeting in Mogilev, Belarus with Lena and Khashyar in September - Russian Ukrainian Belarus Travel Music Woman Dating News

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Meeting in Mogilev, Belarus with Lena and Khashyar in September
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Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Everyone,

Lena and I really look forward to our trip to Mogilev in about 3 weeks

Time is moving by quickly.

So far, rking (Bob) and Castlestormer (Steve) are going to meet us there.

Lena and I actually arrive in Minsk very late in the evening on September 2nd, and I believe that Bob is going to meet us in Mogilev on September 4th.

Steve is arriving in Poland on September 3rd, and we hope that Steve can arrive in Mogilev in time so that Steve, Bob and the rest of us can all meet at the same time.

We would like to go to Lena's family's dacha (country house) on the weekend of the 4th-5th, or the 11th-12th.... Lena's family always has fun there, and there is a nice banya there was well

So, I hope that Bob and Steve both will be able to make it to the dacha...

Lena's mom is insisting that bob and Steve stay with them in their house, so a hotel is out of the question in Lena's family's mind

Lena's parents are preparing their house, buying a new couch, etc

But, they really would like Bob and Steve to stay at their house (which will have the advantage of home-cooked meals, and good fun socializing)...

I just mailed in my visa application (with the invitation) last Friday, so I should receive it by the beginning of next week.

Khashyar

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Everyone,

Lena and I have been VERY busy getting ready to leave for our trip on Sept. 1, as well as tying up loose ends here before we leave.

I am especially looking forward to flying since it looks as if two airplanes flying out of Moscow were just highjacked and crashed

(Lena and I will be flying from Los Angeles to Moscow, and then to Minsk).

Bob is going to be in Mogilev around the 4th until about the 12th or so.

Steve mentioned that he may arrive about the 6th.

And Kevin is going to be in Mogilev some time in September... (It sould be a fun time)

We have bought SO many things for Lena's family... Seriously, we will need at least two suitcases just for gifts.

Lena and I are both looking forward to our trip, but I am trying to work as hard on my documentary about the Dalai Lama before I leave, and Lena also has MANY things to do before we leave.

I will write some messages from Belarus, and will also try to post some photos that we take there

(since Lena's parents have a computer, and we are bringing them a digital camera)...

Khashyar

Posted by: Castlestormer

Quote:

Originally posted by Khashyar
Steve mentioned that he may arrive about the 6th.

Yes, I arrive Warsaw on the 3rd, and then on to Minsk on the 5th. I'll take the train to Mogilev on the 6th. How shall I get in touch with you Khashyar? Do you want me to post here, or would you rather email me Lena's parent's phone number so I can call when I hit town? (never mind...I have it. it was on the visa application)

How will you recognize me? Since I come from Dallas, I dress in usual Texas cowboy attire, but I really like to travel comfortable. So here is the outfit I'll have on when I get off the train. I shouldn't be too hard to spot.

Do Svidanya Tovarish,
Steve

Posted by: AngryFisherman

Hey Steve, I guess I saw you in NYC back in '02 then! You seemed to be quite popular with the ladies ...

Want to wish all you guys good luck on your trip! Looking forward to reading about it

All the best,
FisherMan

Posted by: rtking

Nifty Steve! I'll arrive in Mogilev on the 4th of September, so maybe I'll meet you at the train station with Khashyar and Lena. Just look for a 5'10" Asian guy... I'm probably the only one in the country at the time!

Bob

Posted by: Eryk

Quote:

Originally posted by rtking
Nifty Steve! I'll arrive in Mogilev on the 4th of September, so maybe I'll meet you at the train station with Khashyar and Lena. Just look for a 5'10" Asian guy... I'm probably the only one in the country at the time!

Nah ....go to Kamarovsky Rinak, enter by the main door. Fourth aisle from the left ...about 20m from the front. He runs the 'spices' stall, he's asian and at least 6' tall

Eryk

PS: Weather is turning 'wet' here in Minsk over the last few days ...be prepared

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Steve... I will look for the hat

Lena's parents told Lena that it has been sunny over the past week or so in Mogilev (four hours by train from Minsk), but perhaps the weather has changed. Lena's mom did say that it becoming a bit cooler, and that we might need jackets or sweaters some of the time.

Bob called me during a layover in his flight, and he should be in Kiev by now.

Lena and I leave in four days (on Sept. 1), and we are looking forward to it (and still getting ready).

Khashyar

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Everyone,

A member of our forum wrote me a private message and asked about our schedule during the trip because (as I understand) he might want to travel and meet us.

We don't have a set schedule yet for the trip, but we will be spending most of our time in Mogilev, some in Lena's parent's dacha (country house), and a few days in Minsk (about 4 hours by train from Mogilev).

We definitely will be spending most of our time in Mogilev (a small city of about 400,000 people). But, again, Minsk isn't that far away, and there are plenty of interesting things to do especially when you know someone in a city.

Khashyar

Posted by: Jutman

Hi

If you all got a day extra, you all will be welcome in Denmark, since its close to Belarus and Poland.

Me and Natalie will happ to show you Copenhagen !!

Posted by: rtking

Brian! I wish I had thought about calling you! I was in Amersterdam for about 3 hours waiting for my connecting flight to Kiev. Oh well... I think the next time I travel, I'm going to try to take more time to stop in different places. (I want to see Denmark, Germany, Austria, Italy... aw heck, I want to see all of Europe!

)

OK... I've arranged through Kiev Connections to meet 5 girls. The first I will meet tonight. (Sunday night) I'll probably keep a travelogue (like Stoichman's) and will post it when I get back to LA and have a chance to go through it.

My Russian language skills are terrible! I am trying to communicate, but I'm not finding much success. Of course, Ukrainian is a little different than Russian, so I'm running into that problem also. (e.g. "Hryvna" is the Ukrainian money. It's pronounced "Groovna" in Ukraine, but spelled like "Hroovna" in Russian.) The exchange rate is approximately 5.32 Hryvna to 1 US Dollar. So far today, I've spent 50 Hryvna for breakfast, 22 for a cab ride to the city center, 15 for a cab ride back, and 2 for a bottle of mineral water. So far that's 89 Hryvna or about $18 US Dollars... most of which was breakfast! Not bad at all! :-)

I'll be leaving Kiev around September 3rd and hope to be in Mogilev by September 4th... as long as the train schedule permits it! If not, I may postpone and arrive September 6th. I'll have the hotel check the train schedule for me and I'll post back here soon.

Looking forward to catching-up with everyone in Mogilev! It'll be a PARTY!

Poka!

Bob

Posted by: BradIL

I hope someone takes LOTS of photos for posting when you get back. Eager to see them already.

---Brad///

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Bob...

I'm glad that you arrived safely, and that you found your apartment without any problems...

And I hope that the meetings in Kiev go well...

Maybe it would be interesting for others if you open up a new thread in the travel section about your experience in Kiev

Yes, take lots of pictures...

Brian... unfortunately, I have a single entry Belarusian visa, so I can't leave Belarus during my 3 weeks there...

I would have loved to have met you in person, though.

Lena and I are leaving in 3 days, and we have lots to do before we go.

It would be great, Bob, if we saw you in Mogilev on the 4th.... We'll meet you at the train station..

Khashyar

Posted by: rtking

Hi Khashyar,

I'll have to let you know when I might arrive in Mogilev. I'll send you an email, PM you here and I will also post on this thread.

The train schedule currently shows that the train will leave in the evening on Friday. I might need to postpone until Monday depending on how things go. And/or I might fly into Belarus from Kiev if the airfare isn't too horrible. I'll have to let you know in a couple of days, OK?

Here is the train schedule I got from toukraine.com's website:

THE TRAINS SCHEDULE ON KIEV STATION

[Print]
Rout � and train type Departure time Arrival time Periodicity of trains Departure time (return) Arrival time
Minsk 86 �Nemyga� sp. 18-06 06-03 daily 21-07 08-51
Mogilev -Podolskiy 625 pas. 22-25 06-23 1,3,5 days 21-15 05-29

Posted by: rtking

Well, I double checked my passport today and the agency that did my visa only got me a SINGLE ENTRY into the Ukraine! Boneheads! So now I'm DOOMED!

I've got to look for:

1) A flight from Minsk to Amsterdam on KLM (to change my itinerary yet again at a change fee of $300)

2) A flight from Minsk to Amsterday on ANY carrier and just meet-up with KLM in Amsterdam

3) I just stay in Ukraine and not make it to Belarus.

Bummer for me...

Bob

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Bob, when you get back, please post a negative review of this visa service so no one else uses them...

Sorry you are feeling some stress about this...

Since Ukraine does not require an invitation for Americans, I believe that you can get a transit visa in Minsk pretty easily to get back to Ukraine.

But, although you may not want to risk this, I don't believe that there are any border checks between Ukraine and Belarus.

You can also speak with the American Embassy (just call them and explain your circumstance), and also ask the owner of the Kiev Agency you are working with. I think that they can give you the phone number or address of the Ukrainian Government Office in Kiev that you would need to speak with to ask about a transit visa on the way back.

Lena just mentioned to me that she is dissappointed

But, I hope that things will work out and you can meet us...

By the way, how are the meetings going in Kiev

Please keep us updated, Bob...

Khashyar

Posted by: Eryk

>>Since Ukraine does not require an invitation for Americans, I >>believe that you can get a transit visa in Minsk pretty easily to >>get back to Ukraine.

I doubt a transit visa is any use. They are good for 5 days at most, cannot be extended and are only issued if your pre-booked travel plans require passing through Ukranian territory.

If you leave Ukraine with a single entry visa then it will be cancelled completely on departure and an entirely new visa will be needed to re-enter unless you convince the authorities to alter the visa status first. You can get a 14 day tourist 'permit' (technically it isn't a visa) on arrival at either Odessa, Simferopol or Kyiv airport provided you have documentation confirming 'tourist' intentions. This permit can subsequently be extended for a further 14 days by OViR ...I believe it costs about $30 for such a permit but I'm not absolutely sure.

>>But, although you may not want to risk this, I don't believe >>that there are any border checks between Ukraine and >>Belarus.

Oh yes there are. The Belarus/Russia border is open but the Ukraine one has border controls. I strongly recommend not trying to get through the Gomel region without proper documentation ...at least not unless you want a 'James Bond' experience dodging the Militia and OMON

Eryk

Posted by: Khashyar

Thanks for your ideas, Eryk...

What do you think is the best thing for Bob to do?

I still think that it is worth it if he speaks with the Ukrainian Government "Visa" office in Kiev and see if there is some kind of solution.

Lena was the one who told me that she doesn't remember there being border checks between Ukraine and Belarus, and I personally experienced no border checks between Russia and Belarus. I appreciate your feedback about this.

Let's hope that things work out for Bob and he can make it to Belarus.

Khashyar

Posted by: Eryk

>>What do you think is the best thing for Bob to do?
>>I still think that it is worth it if he speaks with the Ukrainian >>Government "Visa" office in Kiev and see if there is some kind >>of solution.

I agree. Explain the situation to the MFA there and see if they can 'upgrade' the visa to double entry. I know they have discretionary powers to do visa alterations like this but I don't know how keen they are to use them.

>>Lena was the one who told me that she doesn't remember >>there being border checks between Ukraine and Belarus,

Well there are, I was down that way a couple of weeks ago. Also, you're on the border of the Chernobyl 'dead zone' at that point and there is plenty of stuff in there suitable for making 'dirty' bombs. As a consequence there is an elevated chance of a random stop and search of foreigners.

>>and I personally experienced no border checks between >>Russia and Belarus.

Correct, there aren't any. However they will almost alwas check your visas when trying to book a Minsk->Moscow train ticket so if you want to slip into Russia safely you really need to do so by road.

>>Let's hope that things work out for Bob and he can make it to >>Belarus.

Indeed

.....Huge thunderstorm here right now by the way.

Eryk

Posted by: rtking

Hi Eryk and Kashyar!

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I need to still contact the MFA and see if they'll do anything.

As for the transit visa, it takes about 7 days I was told and it is only good for 5 days travel across Ukraine. They want to see an inboud/outbound ticket also (which, I guess, could be the train ticket.)

To be honest... it's looking pretty complicated and I might have to just park myself in Ukraine and not make it up to Belarus. It's sucks because I had planned to go... but with O1 urging me to stay, I'm starting to give-in a bit.

I'll let everyone know what happens with the MFA, but I know that Khashyar and Lena will leave on Wednesday (U.S. time schedule) and I think it's probably best to just say that I won't make it to Mogilev. But if you check your email or send me Lena's parent's telephone number, I can call if anything changes...

Bob

Posted by: Eryk

Frankly, unless MFA are in a REAL good mood tomorrow (yeah, right

) or you are prepared to take risks that I wouldn't then then I'd work on the assumption that Olya (I'm guessing, it could be Oksana I suppose) will have her way

Bluffing your way back in to Ukraine based on the Crimea Tourist concession is doable, but it only takes one immigration officer having a 'bad hair day' to slap the kybosh on your entire trip. In this context I would regard the risk factor as unacceptable.

It is a pity Jill seems to be 'away'. She might know who to bribe just as I would if it was a Belarusian visa causing the problem.

Eryk

Posted by: rtking

Thanks Eryk! I have to agree with you. It's risky, but I'll see what the MFA might do for me. (The ladies at the front desk at my apartment complex tell me that I'm probably not going to find much luck.) I am preparing to stay in Kiev and will probably just extend my stay in my flat.

BTW, great guesses on the name, Eryk! Very close! Her name is Olga (variant of "Olya) and I think she'll be thrilled to learn that I'm staying another 1.5 weeks.

Bob