Here we go !!!!
KL. 10th October 2009
Bathurst.
I have never missed a Bathurst weekend since I was about 10 years old and Kim and I made a pact not to miss it this year. We went in search of bars with big screens to watch the big event but to no avail. After scanning the TV in the hotel with no luck, we decided to turn the laptop on and watch it on line. We caught the last hour or so & we had to remember to move the mouse so the screen wouldn’t lock, but we watched Bathurst!
Kim & I watching Bathurst
Wewe, Segar and me in the RCKL lobby lounge
Frank suggested we go for a fish spa at the Pavilion across the road from the hotel. What the hell is a fish spa you ask? Well you put your feet in a fish pond and the little suckers literally eat all the dead and yucky skin from your feet & legs. It feels like little electrical pulses all over your legs. The hard part is putting your feet in and keeping them in as they tickle as they cleans. I hate anyone or anything touching my feet so for me it was a challenge to put the twinkle toes in and keep them there. One of the problems was that Frank and I were the only ones at the spa at the time so thousands of the little blighters came from everywhere to attach themselves onto us. It was amazing to watch. Once we had about 20 minutes of the little fish’s company, Frank suggested we try the tank that had the bigger fish. There weren’t as many of these as the littlies but they still came to eat & eat they did. The sensation was one of scratching rather than little pulses. I think Frank and I had the cleanest feet in KL that day & I would certainly recommend it to anyone to
Melb – KL.
Kim, Frank & I boarded the flight & who should we sitting with...... James from Sales.... you just cant get away from them! Good luck in Switzerland James & let me know when you want to come to Ukraine.
Kim, Frank & I boarded the flight & who should we sitting with...... James from Sales.... you just cant get away from them! Good luck in Switzerland James & let me know when you want to come to Ukraine.
KL. 10th October 2009
Bathurst.
I have never missed a Bathurst weekend since I was about 10 years old and Kim and I made a pact not to miss it this year. We went in search of bars with big screens to watch the big event but to no avail. After scanning the TV in the hotel with no luck, we decided to turn the laptop on and watch it on line. We caught the last hour or so & we had to remember to move the mouse so the screen wouldn’t lock, but we watched Bathurst!
Kim & I watching Bathurst
I always feel like I'm back home when I hit KL. So many good memories & it was good to catch up with Wewe and Segar from the Ritz Carlton KL. We sat in the Lobby lounge and reminisced of old times with Sue & I texting Wewe for a Chardonnay and Black Russian on our way home from work about 10 minutes out, so it would be there sitting for us when we lobbed in the LL.
Wewe, Segar and me in the RCKL lobby loungeFrank suggested we go for a fish spa at the Pavilion across the road from the hotel. What the hell is a fish spa you ask? Well you put your feet in a fish pond and the little suckers literally eat all the dead and yucky skin from your feet & legs. It feels like little electrical pulses all over your legs. The hard part is putting your feet in and keeping them in as they tickle as they cleans. I hate anyone or anything touching my feet so for me it was a challenge to put the twinkle toes in and keep them there. One of the problems was that Frank and I were the only ones at the spa at the time so thousands of the little blighters came from everywhere to attach themselves onto us. It was amazing to watch. Once we had about 20 minutes of the little fish’s company, Frank suggested we try the tank that had the bigger fish. There weren’t as many of these as the littlies but they still came to eat & eat they did. The sensation was one of scratching rather than little pulses. I think Frank and I had the cleanest feet in KL that day & I would certainly recommend it to anyone to
Trip to Ukraine. Arrival 15th October 2009
KL to Amsterdam was uneventful but I’m sure I walked about five km in Amsterdam airport to get to my next flight to Vienna. The flight into Vienna was delayed due to bad weather & as I looked out the window as we descended, I’m sure I spotted snow, sleet or something similar. Great! I’ve gone from 30degrees in KL to freezing in Europe! As we were late, passengers going to Kharkov and a couple of other places, were told to meet with ground staff so we could be driven round to passport control, processed and then driven back to our waiting onward flight. Sure enough as we stepped out of the plane, it started to snow!!!!! Having come from KL, I didn’t have much in the way of heavy jackets ( being air freighted to Kharkov ), so there I was on the tarmac freezing my bits off!
As it was, I was the only one from the Vienna flight that was going to Kharkov and so when I got to the waiting jet, 40 angry passengers and air crew were staring at me madly for holding them up!
Kharkov airport was interesting to say the least. Glen B, you wouldn’t land your plane on this “runway”. They are in the process of building a new airport but the existing “terminal” I would call a building with a couple of boxes for passport control, luggage gets dumped on the floor (no carousel) and certainly no duty free sales. I didn’t even see a money exchange! Thankfully, Anya had organised a pick up for me from the airport and took me to my apartment (3rd floor of 5),where I went through the ins and outs of the apartment with the landlord. Nice apartment, fully renovated and everything is new. Yes folks.... the heating works but you cant drink the tap water. My view overlooks the courtyard, so I don’t get a lot of traffic noise. Over 500 channels of satellite TV, but most of them in German, Russian, Iranian, Polish, Ukrainian, Tibetan, Arabic, even the Asian channels are translated into local language... everything but English! Guess I will be reading and studying a lot. Pictures to follow.
KL to Amsterdam was uneventful but I’m sure I walked about five km in Amsterdam airport to get to my next flight to Vienna. The flight into Vienna was delayed due to bad weather & as I looked out the window as we descended, I’m sure I spotted snow, sleet or something similar. Great! I’ve gone from 30degrees in KL to freezing in Europe! As we were late, passengers going to Kharkov and a couple of other places, were told to meet with ground staff so we could be driven round to passport control, processed and then driven back to our waiting onward flight. Sure enough as we stepped out of the plane, it started to snow!!!!! Having come from KL, I didn’t have much in the way of heavy jackets ( being air freighted to Kharkov ), so there I was on the tarmac freezing my bits off!
As it was, I was the only one from the Vienna flight that was going to Kharkov and so when I got to the waiting jet, 40 angry passengers and air crew were staring at me madly for holding them up!
Kharkov airport was interesting to say the least. Glen B, you wouldn’t land your plane on this “runway”. They are in the process of building a new airport but the existing “terminal” I would call a building with a couple of boxes for passport control, luggage gets dumped on the floor (no carousel) and certainly no duty free sales. I didn’t even see a money exchange! Thankfully, Anya had organised a pick up for me from the airport and took me to my apartment (3rd floor of 5),where I went through the ins and outs of the apartment with the landlord. Nice apartment, fully renovated and everything is new. Yes folks.... the heating works but you cant drink the tap water. My view overlooks the courtyard, so I don’t get a lot of traffic noise. Over 500 channels of satellite TV, but most of them in German, Russian, Iranian, Polish, Ukrainian, Tibetan, Arabic, even the Asian channels are translated into local language... everything but English! Guess I will be reading and studying a lot. Pictures to follow.
First day of work.16th October
Met all the group except one Polish guy who starts on Monday. During the project meeting, I was given a good overview of the project, asked lots of questions and hopefully now up to speed as to where the project lies. During lunch it was decided to have a team dinner and welcome me into the group. After a wild, wild taxi ride from work, (no seatbelts), we arrived at a German pub and feasted on food and beer and finished off with vodka (......Sweetie Darling Sweetie!!).
17th October 2009.
I found an angel by the name of Ina. Some how connected as a supplier to work, Ina took me round to look for clothes more suitable to the current Ukrainian climate (10-12 degrees). My shipment of clothes has arrived apparently, but not yet processed through customs, so I am a little light on for warmth. Around the Kharkov markets we wander and end up buying a lovely warm coat, suitable for snow, jeans, waterproof boots also suitable for snow and ice (Ina kept showing me lovely fashionable boots with high heels; the language barrier was a little difficult), and warm tops. Feeling a little warmer, we arrange to meet up with Sasha (Russia), and Larisa (Ukraine) for a lovely lunch at Pushka. During lunch discussion, mainly in Russian, with a little English translation, it was discovered that I still had no food in the fridge apart from a bit of bread and some fruit, so Ina took me to a big supermarket where I stocked up on essentials (thank god she was with me because I would have been putting custard on my cereal instead of milk!). With a car load of groceries and clothes, Ina delivered me to my doorstep with a promise to return tomorrow to take myself and Sasha through the sights of downtown Ukraine.
Initial thoughts on Ukraine..... to early yet, needless to say, I am comfortable in the apartment, I like the people I am working with and they understand the problems I will have with the language. Everyone is making me feel comfortable and I don’t have that terrible nervy/sick feeling in my stomach anymore. Good start I would say ☺
PS. Having intermittent troubles calling home from the mobile. Texts seem to be getting through OK, and I got Ian to call me, no problems, bit hit and miss whether I get through to you, but I have been trying. My home phone number is +38 050 700 6670.
Check the area code for Kharkov. It is still cheaper for you to call me on the mobile as it only costs you a local call, just be wary of the time difference of -9 hours or so.
xm
Met all the group except one Polish guy who starts on Monday. During the project meeting, I was given a good overview of the project, asked lots of questions and hopefully now up to speed as to where the project lies. During lunch it was decided to have a team dinner and welcome me into the group. After a wild, wild taxi ride from work, (no seatbelts), we arrived at a German pub and feasted on food and beer and finished off with vodka (......Sweetie Darling Sweetie!!).
17th October 2009.
I found an angel by the name of Ina. Some how connected as a supplier to work, Ina took me round to look for clothes more suitable to the current Ukrainian climate (10-12 degrees). My shipment of clothes has arrived apparently, but not yet processed through customs, so I am a little light on for warmth. Around the Kharkov markets we wander and end up buying a lovely warm coat, suitable for snow, jeans, waterproof boots also suitable for snow and ice (Ina kept showing me lovely fashionable boots with high heels; the language barrier was a little difficult), and warm tops. Feeling a little warmer, we arrange to meet up with Sasha (Russia), and Larisa (Ukraine) for a lovely lunch at Pushka. During lunch discussion, mainly in Russian, with a little English translation, it was discovered that I still had no food in the fridge apart from a bit of bread and some fruit, so Ina took me to a big supermarket where I stocked up on essentials (thank god she was with me because I would have been putting custard on my cereal instead of milk!). With a car load of groceries and clothes, Ina delivered me to my doorstep with a promise to return tomorrow to take myself and Sasha through the sights of downtown Ukraine.
Initial thoughts on Ukraine..... to early yet, needless to say, I am comfortable in the apartment, I like the people I am working with and they understand the problems I will have with the language. Everyone is making me feel comfortable and I don’t have that terrible nervy/sick feeling in my stomach anymore. Good start I would say ☺
PS. Having intermittent troubles calling home from the mobile. Texts seem to be getting through OK, and I got Ian to call me, no problems, bit hit and miss whether I get through to you, but I have been trying. My home phone number is +38 050 700 6670.
Check the area code for Kharkov. It is still cheaper for you to call me on the mobile as it only costs you a local call, just be wary of the time difference of -9 hours or so.
xm
I lived in Kharkov from 2002 to 2008 Its my favorite city. I know most of the places you have described. Best and quickest travel is to fly into Kyiv and then catch the bus or train to Kharov. If you have the money go by car takes about 4-5 hours. The hardest part was coming back to Melbourne. Culture shock in reverse.
ReplyDeleteAnon. Are u from Ukraine or from Melbourne?
ReplyDelete