• Magnificent Petra

    Magnificent Petra

    At long last, I made it to Petra. Petra is a place that’s intrigued me since before I even knew its name – since I first saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a […]

  • Into the Lion's Den

    Into the Lion’s Den

    How many of you have heard the name “Transdniestr?” Not too many, I’m guessing. Transdniester – also known as Pridnestrovie in Russian – is a small rogue nation occupying a narrow strip of land along […]

  • A Different Experience

    A Different Experience

    I’m here. In Tokyo. Finally. During my idle time on the flight over I kept on thinking, “what am I going to write to everyone once I finally get to Japan?” Most of you already […]

  • An Average Night Out

    An Average Night Out

    The following is not actually a single narrative of one continuous evening, but a composite of many. It’s written as a representative summary of my average night out in Kyoto. Nothing is exaggerated. It’s Saturday […]

  • A Different World

    A Different World

    Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce that this post officially marks the first time in almost two years that I’m actually writing about the country I’m in! Welcome, at long last, to Cambodia 😀

  • Mostar

    Mostar

    Although I’d suspect that most people have never even heard the name “Mostar,” a relatively small town in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it turned to be one of the most intriguing places I’ve ever […]

I was last seen 5 months ago in Los Angeles, .

Beach Birthday Bash

 Public, Ukraine  11 Responses »
Oct 252010
 
Costume party…at the beach!Costume party…at the beach!

Many of Kiev’s cleanest, most popular beaches lie along the coasts of Trukhaniv Island – right next to Hydropark, home of the strange Terminator 2 gym we visited just a couple days earlier. With only one afternoon left in the Ukrainian capital, it seemed like the perfect spot for a quick swim before catching a train onward to Lviv, Krakow, and ultimately, Oslo.

Upon arriving on the island (via metro), Peder and I spent the first few minutes strolling the tiled pedestrian promenade a few hundred meters from the sand – it was lined with carnival games, food stalls, and of course dozens and dozens of kebab shops. And while it did seem like a potentially fun hangout, with so little time remaining we decided we’d best spend as much of it as possible down by the water.
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The Bling Shop

 Public, Ukraine  2 Responses »
Oct 232010
 
Bling Shop!Bling Shop!

Sunday was our last day in Kiev, so although we didn’t get home from Patipa until around 6am, we had no choice but to wake up and check out by 11. With less than 5 hours of sleep and a long night of partying behind us, we both still felt noticeably buzzed – a fact confirmed by my handy dandy pocket breathalyzer, a great (though not particularly inexpensive) party gag 🙂

We did it. We somehow managed to cram our huge backpacks into these not-<i>nearly</i>-big-enough coin lockers.We did it. We somehow managed to cram our huge backpacks into these not-nearly-big-enough coin lockers.

Since we weren’t even sure when the trains to Lviv departed, our plan was to head to the station, check the schedule, drop our bags at the baggage check, then use any available time to explore – hopefully including a quick stop at the beach. Although Kiev isn’t a coastal city, it does have quite a bit of sandy “coast” along the banks of the Dnieper River.
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Patipa

 Public, Ukraine  8 Responses »
Oct 212010
 
Finishing up one last sip of Nemiroff before heading inside : )Finishing up one last sip of Nemiroff before heading inside : )

Both Peder and I were in pretty sour moods after the whole Party Boat encounter. All week we’d been looking forward to what’s supposed to be a fantastic night out on the river…but two huge guys with serious attitude problems unfortunately pulled the plug barely halfway through.

I think our bunny ears were stolen about 20 times over the course of the night : PI think our bunny ears were stolen about 20 times over the course of the night : P

Still, it was a Saturday – our very last in Eastern Europe – so we couldn’t very well head home this early. We decided to catch a cab back to Patipa, the club we’d originally intended to visit the previous evening (where Peder met the guys who later got us into Tsar).
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Strange Behavior

 Public, Ukraine  7 Responses »
Oct 202010
 
Due to the unfortunate encounter described below, this was the one and only photo we took during our &#8220;party boat experience.&#8221; Sadly, I didn&#8217;t get any photos of either Jaws or his English-speaking accomplice.Due to the unfortunate encounter described below, this was the one and only photo we took during our “party boat experience.” Sadly, I didn’t get any photos of either Jaws or his English-speaking accomplice.

Saturday night out in Kiev was…surprising.

As you already well know, Peder and I have thus far been extremely impressed with the general friendliness of the Ukrainians – particularly those we’ve met here in Kiev. Sure, there have been the annoying run-ins with the police, and the stone faces in Odesa; but I think both of those are somewhat unique situations. Setting them aside, nearly everyone we’ve met (especially while going out at night) has been friendly and amicable.

It was therefore a pretty big shock when, for the first time, we were nearly attacked – just for talking to a group of girls. “They must’ve been someone’s girlfriends,” you’re probably thinking. Nope. Just a group of girls who some Ukrainian guys spontaneously decided they wanted all to themselves. They simply didn’t like the idea of two foreigners getting in their way, and that was apparently enough.

Wait, actually, let me start from the beginning. Continue reading »

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