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Old 18 Aug 2014
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Hi Dom:

Honestly, I don't think this summer is a good time to visit Ukraine, even if you are at the opposite end of the country from where all the troubles are.

I've been to both Ukraine and Romania on my bike. I'll never go back to Ukraine, this due to poor quality roads, corrupt police everywhere, and a general sense of unease that I had all the time I was there. You can be assured that you will be hassled and ripped off by the police and other government officials. It's not a question of 'if', it's a question of 'how often is this going to happen today'. Last time I was there, I was stopped 5 times in one day for document checks, accused of speeding every time, etc. Truly, a massive PITA.

Romania, on the other hand, is a very pleasant place, and it is "100% EU", which gives you some assurance that the worst excesses of corruption, etc. will be held in check.

Geographically, there's not a whole lot of difference between the two countries along the border area... hence I don't see any benefit (only downsides) to entering Ukraine.

Michael
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Old 18 Aug 2014
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Originally Posted by PanEuropean View Post
Hi Dom:


Romania, on the other hand, is a very pleasant place, and it is "100% EU", which gives you some assurance that the worst excesses of corruption, etc. will be held in check.

Geographically, there's not a whole lot of difference between the two countries along the border area... hence I don't see any benefit (only downsides) to entering Ukraine.

Michael
There is plenty of unchecked corruption in the EU. I would imagine that a lot of the people in Romania (as in much of the EU) would find it very difficult to agree with those sentiments. Personally when I get out of the damn place it feels like a breath of fresh air; you can top looking for signs telling you what you are allowed to do

Some of the countryside in Western Ukraine is similar to Romania, but it is a very different place. There is less logging for one thing (because it is not in the EU). And yes the roads are rubbish, but many people just use the road to get from place to place. Not rate a place by the roads.
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Old 18 Aug 2014
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Originally Posted by PanEuropean View Post
You can be assured that you will be hassled and ripped off by the police and other government officials. It's not a question of 'if', it's a question of 'how often is this going to happen today'. Last time I was there, I was stopped 5 times in one day for document checks, accused of speeding every time, etc. Truly, a massive PITA.



Maybe it depends on who you run across...


Been to Ukraine two times in 2011 towards and back from Central Asia and I crossed it West to East and East to West (Uzghorod to Sverdlovsk and back), and I've always found helpful and polite officers (close to Kharkiv they even accepted a picture together, with one of them that was sitting on my Harley I had at that time).


It's not 100% sure you will find corrupted officers, even if it's likely, maybe.
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Old 18 Aug 2014
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This won' help Lonesome George but I think is good to share experiences.
Iive just crossed Romania to Ukraine through Moldova and Transdniestria.

In Moldova border I was ripped of by the military. They asked me 20€ and after a brief discussion I finally gave them 10$; but no problem at all neither in Transdniestria nor Ukraine.

Regards.



Basauritik mundura... motorrez: RUMANÍA, MOLDAVIA y UCRANIA en moto
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Old 20 Aug 2014
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Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts and advice. We decided not to bother with Ukraine. We would only have been there for 48 hours so it didn't seem worth it. Instead we crossed back in to Hungary direct from Romania and are today heading for Budapest.

All I can add is that Romania was fantastic. More details on my blog at The Dom way round

Dom
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