UKRAINE 28th June

UKRAINE 28th June -- 22nd July 2002

UKRAINE 28 JUNE – 22 JULY 2002-09-05 The Border crossing was extremely long, as both Belarus and the Ukraine required a lot of paperwork and many questions, but everyone was friendly. At the Ukraine customs post, Simon even managed to take a picture of their drugs sniffer dog sitting and posing on his motorbike top box. Ukraine made us pay $4.00 per bike for insurance for four weeks, extortionate I know!. Our aim was to reach Kiev the same day. But we left the border at 8:00 pm with advice from the police and customs not to open camp. So we opened the bikes up to make good distance in the limited daylight left available. The first village we came to had a strong, military ambiance about it, which was evident from the moment we drove in. The first thing we noticed was the large number of war monuments erected at every main road junction, including symbolic relics from WW 2 to the cold war, which consisted of everything from tanks and Cruise Missiles to Russian jet-fighters. Had this been Murmansk we would have been petrified, but we were now growing in confidence, to the point where we were now waving at both the police and the armed soldiers. Our warm gestures were not always acknowledged in the same spirit, and sometimes not at all. 80 miles from the border and 70 miles from Kiev we decided to find accommodation. Malin is a village just a few miles south of Chernobyl, the location of the nuclear reactor disaster, which devastated so much of the countryside as well as the population. We located a small hotel but we could see by the amount of people gathering around us that bike security was going to be a problem. We were told by the hotel staff that somebody would watch the bikes on the street all night, but the locals did not think that such a thing would happen. They recommended to us a few other places but all of them were in Kiev. It was 10 pm, it was dark and we were both very tired. The hotel manager appeared in the doorway and, on seeing our dilemma, she quickly offered a solution. ‘Why don’t you park the bikes in the lobby ‘ she said. And so we did. Hurrah! we had a roof over our heads, the bikes were secured and all for a total cost of $10.00. Exhausted, we sat down to a cold beer and conversation with a number of inquisitive locals. The next day Simon suggested we ride to Kiev via Chernobyl, but I was a little hesitant about this. We decided to compromise. We would drive towards Chernobyl, but take a picture at the first road sign and then continue south east to Kiev. I could not believe that the first road sign we saw was only 9 km from Chernobyl itself and situated next to the exclusion barrier manned by both army and police. The Police asked us if we had passes to proceed and because we didn’t they turned us away. We took a picture next to the sign and were then approached by an elderly couple. They asked us about our motorbikes and seemed very keen to know more about our trip. During this exchange we noticed that the lady had large swellings on both her arms and legs and clearly she was in pain as each movement of her body caused her face to grimace. The harsh reality of the Chernobyl disaster was clearly and forcibly there for us to see. We asked them about life after the disaster, and they told us they were offered the chance to relocate but these are our homes, they said, and, irrespective of the contamination, they wanted to stay. Amazingly they told us that they still rear there own livestock and grow their own vegetables, life just has to go on. It has to gone, they explained, because they know nothing else. We chatted for a further half an hour before departing for Kiev. KIEV Once in Kiev we went straight to the BMW dealership. We were already expected, thanks to Natasha from BMW in St.Petersburg. On arrival we were greeted by Alexander Timofeev, the General Director, with coffee and a big plate of cherries. What a perfect way to relax after a long days ride. After one hour Alexander took us to our accommodation situated six miles south of the city. We had a relaxing afternoon in a $46.00 per night room and at 7:30 we were collected once again by Alexander in his 5 series BMW. He kindly drove us for around the city for an hour, showing us all the historic and interesting sights of the Ukraine capital. It was heaven sitting in a lovely car, listening to Robbie Williams, and without any doubt it was the best city tour I’ve ever had. And that’s not all. Alexander took us to his favourite restaurant and treated us to lovely meal it was certainly a night to remember, and one of the highlights of the trip. The next morning we did not moan when the time came to get up. We were going to the Black Sea. Sun, sand, and relaxation. Our 500km ride was not too bad as the roads were in good condition. At 7 pm we arrived in Odessa. We stopped by the sea port, not feeling too sure whether to stop in the town for the night, or in the campsite somewhere on the road. Within a few minutes we were met by a biker who gave Simon his motorbike club sticker and a business card with his telephone number in case we needed some help. A few minutes after his departure, a second biker pulled alongside us. After saying a friendly hello he said it was too late for us to travel any further and that he was going to show us a nice and cheap place to stay in. He did not take NO for answer! Simon and I exchanged looks….. ‘ Can we trust this guy?’, but as we did not have any other plans and time was pushing on, we decided to follow him. He took us to “ Dom Pavlovych “ a small holiday complex by the sea with small beach chalets. De-luxe chalets with shower and WC cost $20 and normal for 2 pax with use of public showers and WC cost just $9. As our budget is limited we took the second option. The whole complex was secure and clean, with kitchen, bar and even a doctor. Our chalet was on the beach overlooking the sea and after two months and nearly ten thousand miles of hard riding this was to be our well-deserved rest. All we wanted was a quiet few days by the sea, but it soon became apparent this was not to be the case as word spread quickly that two English bikers were in town. Within two hours of our arrival there were at least eight bikers who had come to see us. It was now nearly midnight and we were in the middle of making our excuses so that we could retire for a good night's sleep when a Honda Gold Wing pulled up and, clearly visible from his biking colours, was the name “Goblin”. He greeted us with a big smile and said I have come to show you the city of Odessa. I said it's nearly midnight! He replied that the city looks really pretty at night and would not take no for an answer, so we departed for a late night sight-seeing tour. We didn’t know it then, but this was to be the pace of living for us over the next few weeks. 1.07.2002 ODESSA The locals and holidaymakers showered us with questions. They were just amazed that we had ridden our bikes all the way from the United Kingdom. I was given a small present from a young girl called Kate. It was a ceramic plate with a cross engraved on it for good luck. We really needed a rest so we said we’ll stay for few days. Goblin introduced us his other biker friends Sasha and Irina, who invited us to their home where we had a lovely meal which included caviar and raw fish washed down with lashings of wine and Vodka. Simon has never been a spirit drinker but he was certainly getting accustomed to the local mores very quickly. The next day our new friends took us for a day's ride to Belgorod-Dnestrovskey a medieval fortress situated some 110 kilometres to the west of Odessa. More bikers joined us en route and we were met by yet more bikers as we arrived at our destination. We were allowed to take our bikes inside the castle walls where we took some pictures and were given a guided tour by one of the local bikers who also gave us a couple of good luck presents, which included a medieval arrow head and coin which he had treasured since a boy. We had a brilliant time and the company was equal to it. Surely our good fortune, since leaving Ireland, could not continue in this way. We both agreed that our trip of a lifetime could not possibly be any better than this, even if we had planned every single day ourselves. On the way back we decided on an alternative route which took us through the southern tip of Moldova, which was an unexpected bonus as we managed to add yet another country to our Guinness World Record Count!! We discovered that our biker friends are also the organisers of the motorbike meet in Odessa, which is scheduled to take a place from 15-21/07/02. And this was to be the 3rd annual event. Many bikers were expected to attend, not only from Ukraine, but also from Belarus, Russia, Poland, Sweden and Germany and now England. We had one problem and that was our visa was due to expire on the 15 July and the bike show was from the 15 – 21 July 2002. But we were reassured that this would not be an issue, so it was decided that we would try to extend our stay for three weeks. 10/7/02 Odessa Today we have been invited to take part in a press conference which was originally intended for the motorbike show only, but they kindly invited us to attend because of our Guinness world record challenge. At the conference was a government official who was approached by Goblin and Sasha the motorbike organisers. They explained our visa expiry problem. He looked over at us and smiled and made a quick phone call, which lasted all of thirty seconds and then said to us give me your passports and I will have this sorted by tomorrow afternoon. Fantastic news, it now looks as if we can stay for the bike show. After the conference we were treated to a lovely meal by the sea, where we did more TV interviews which included a TV show called Rock and Roll and National News. We returned to our chalet just in time to watch our selves on Ukraine National News!		16/07/02 Odessa As expected our visa has been extended until 25/07/02 thanks to the government official and our new-found friends Sasha and Irina. By now many bikers have arrived, mostly from Moscow, Belarus and of course from the Ukraine. The place is starting to get busy, and excitement is mounting. So far, I have seen only one other female biker and that was my friend Irina. I’ve noticed that the men here only shake hands with men, because when I stretch my hand out for a shake it always gets kissed. We are very lucky that our accommodation is at the same location as the motorbike show. Simon is getting used to the local vodka. In fact he has very little choice in the matter. Everywhere we go, people invite us to have a little drink. For me, being a woman, it is very easy to say no and I’m left alone. However, for Simon to say no would be taken as an offence. A small drink is always a freshly opened bottle of Vodka, and it is a tradition in the former Soviet Union that once a bottle is open nobody can depart the table until the bottle is finished! Everybody wanted to meet us and everybody had bottles of Vodka. It was an impossible situation and, in the end, it’s pointless to resist so you just have to go with the flow. It got so bad that Simon could not even go for a morning shower with out being forced to drink Vodka, so he resorted to wearing disguises, which included wearing his Tartan hat with bright orange hair! It had them fooled initially, but only for one day! Simon made many friends with numerous chapters of bikers which included The Iron brother’s motorbike club from Belarus, Rolling Anarchy motorbike club from the CIS. The Wolves motorbike club from the eastern Siberian town of Chabarosk,and Moscow’s Internet bikers club. Not for the fist time during our journey, we were adopted by a local family from Odessa who made sure we were well looked after. This included numerous invitations for meals and also providing us with our daily rations of fresh fruit. Max, a young man of sixteen, and the son of Natasha, the mother of the family, could speak perfect English. This proved to be invaluable during our numerous guided tours of the city. Their great hospitality included an invitation to Natasha’s sister's 30th birthday party, which included champagne and caviar! We never imagined that life on the road could be so tough. The following day we had a rest from the socialising. Sasha had organized an afternoon trip to the underground tunnels in Odessa. Sasha advised us to dress warmly as the temperature in the tunnels is 5 degrees C. This would also be a reprieve from the scorching heat which at times approached 40 degrees in the shade. We were told by the guide that during the 2nd World War the tunnels were used by the partisans to resist German occupation and there are at least 3000 km of tunnels. It felt a bit claustrophobic. I don’t know how they could live there. Later that day We had fantastic news from Moscow. Geoff Mead, the reporter for SKYNEWS TV, has offered us a accommodation at his apartment in the heart of the city. Great news for us, as it would be exciting to finally meet Geoff and the location is perfect for sightseeing and it will save us a small fortune on the hotel costs. ODESSA BIKE SHOW The Odessa bike show has now been going for three years. The venue is located by the shores of the Black Sea attracting bikers from all over the former CIS. I would say about 400 bikers attended this years event . On Saturday 20th July, 2002 the main event was a 3-hour bike ride around the beautiful city of Odessa. We had a 30 minute break in the large town square, which overlooked the beautiful harbour where many reporters and TV were waiting. Yet again our journey attracted the attention of the TV and Papers and I even managed to do two TV interviews in Russian. The program of events in the evening included everything from live music to small competitions. Simon and I won the main one, ‘Who travelled further distance to get to Odessa’s bike show?' The 2nd place was taken by a couple from ‘Chabarovsk’ in Siberia, and a club from Poland took the 3rd place. As a prize Simon was given a leather waistcoat. I was so pleased for him as it was one thing everybody was wearing and, of course, he wanted one too. We were both given leather bike hats and I was presented with a crate of beers. Great free drink for us and all our friends for the night. What more could we wish for? It was a perfect ending to a fantastic day. So many people kept stopping us all evening, wanting to have a picture taken with us, have a drink and chat. It was very flattering but absolutely exhausting towards the end, as Simon and I did not have 5 minutes to ourselves. Plus, as Simon can’t speak any Russian, I had questions coming at me from all sides at once. Towards the end of the evening, I was grateful to a good friend who basically put a stop to it and explained to people that we were tired and, like everyone else, we just wanted to enjoy the show. I felt a little guilty about this as, somehow, I felt some obligation to these people to answer their questions. But their questions were always the same : where are we from ( even they knew that), where are we going to, and why. Our friend said he was feeling sorry for me answering the same thing all the time again and again. At one stage he even had a go himself to give me a rest! However, as I said, it was a great show and a very flattering experience for both of us. We felt like super stars. It was so sad to say good bye to all our new friends, and especially my new little friend called Kosta – a 4 year old little diamond of a child, with whom I would swim and built sand-castles. We promised everyone that we will be back in 3 years time for the show one more time. The whole event was fantastic, which was a tribute to the organisers and to our new friends Goblin, Sasha and Irina . 22/7/02 Odessa to Russian border We finally managed to depart from Odessa yesterday. It was very emotional as we had made so many friends and had been treated like celebrities. The highlight of our visit to that beautiful city has to be the great number of friends we made; especially the bikers from all over the Soviet Union who could not have done anything more to make our stay more enjoyable or memorable. Last night we arrived once more in Kiev and stayed at the campsite not far away from city centre. In the morning we had a look around the beautiful town and, embarrassingly, I managed to drop my bike in the town centre. This is now the fourth time I have managed to drop my bike while travelling at zero miles per hour, but I don’t feel too bad as Simon is also on four drops as well. So much for men being better riders! In the afternoon, after taking many souvenir photos and a big Mac, we headed north east towards Moscow. The road from Kiev to the Russian border is something we would rather forget, because for the first time we came across corrupt policemen trying to extort money for crimes we had not committed. They would have speed cameras set at 20 kmph over the speed limit then accuse travellers of speeding when in fact you had not done so. We paid two sets of ten dollars in the space of fifty kilometres but, on the third occasion we were stopped, I'm afraid we just lost it and simply refused to pay. The police asked us to return to Kiev to the Police station a distance of over 150 kilometres, but we refused and Monika kept telling them they where corrupt and that they should be ashamed. After a tense, 30 minute wait, they eventually allowed us to move on towards the border. We assumed the border crossing would be a formality but the customs officers were now getting in on the “Lets rip the tourist off act” by trying to charge us TEN DOLLARS for using the last stretch of road. Monika, who by now was completely enraged, insisted in a raised voice, in Russian, on seeing the documentation which stipulated such a tax. Eventually, after a couple of hours stand off they raised the barrier to let us proceed to the bike registration section of the border-crossing. They were not happy we had not paid their tax and were delighted when they found an error with my bike documentation. Amazingly they discovered that my bike registration had the wrong number. Prior to leaving for the RWT we had new number plates made with the GB Logo. To my utter disbelief, we were now informed that my bike had two numbers transposed. We have travelled nearly 20,000 kilometres and done over 20 border crossings and this was the first time it had been noticed. (Thanks Guy!). A short, middle-aged customs officer now had the bit firmly between his teeth and insisted we could not proceed across the border, I pointed out that the chassis and engine numbers matched the bike documentation, but he would not accept this and so we stood there wondering what we could do to resolve matters. Eventually, there was a shift change and the short customs officer was replaced by a much younger officer who could speak near perfect English. We explained what had happened. With a broad smile, he wished us good luck and, after a nervous two and half hours, we were finally allowed to depart the Ukraine and begin to make our way into Russia.