MONDAY 8th JUNE 2009 (KYIV CITY TOUR)

MONDAY 8th JUNE 2009

Arrangements were made to meet Roman, Svetlana and the gorgeous Lyudmila (Luda) for a personalised tour of Kiev city. How lucky are we. The first thing we visited was a WW2 military museum showcasing everything from armoured tanks, helicopters, rocket launchers and planes. We got to see inside one of the war planes. Paul immediately did the 'boy' thing and sat at the controls.



We were shown monuments, several monasteries, the city centre and amazing architecture dating back centuries. Inside the monasteries I had to cover my head with a veil. The singing brought a tear to my eye it was so beautiful.



Just out of town we visited an 'Ancient Architecture Museum' set on 150 acres. It show-cased life in Ukraine from the beginning of time. A truly fascinating place.

Another monastery, more monuments along the Dnipro River and back to the Hotel.
A fantastic day.
Thanks Luda.


90% of Kiev was bombed during the war but has been rebuilt in authentic style.


If we have interpreted correctly, and we hope we have, tomorrow should see us having a tour of the DNEPR Factory. Woo hoo.

SUNDAY 7th JUNE 2009

Up super early to get to the airport by 6.00am. We flew Aerosvit (Ukrainian Airline) to Kiev in Ukraine. Because the plane flew at low altitude we had magnificent views of all of IRAN. Hundreds of miles of desert mountains and valleys, not a tree in sight. Once over the Black Sea we entered Ukraine territory. It was very flat and obviously the food bowl of the country - mile after mile of croplands.

We were met by Roman ANFEROV and his secretary Svetlana IVANOVA who acted as our translator. Communication was slow to start but got better as time went on. We were taken to the Hotel TOURIST which is our home for the next three days. Roman and Paul spent over two hours talking about the bike, parts needed and our expectations. All seemed in order.

Once on our own we went walking towards and over the Dnipro River and along its banks and back to the Hotel. We were knackered and turned in early.



SATURDAY 6th JUNE 2009



















Paul really enjoyed his trip to Jebel Ali with Peter which is where P&O's towage operation is based. The port currently has around 70 berths and plans are to make this over 200! It is a 'free zoned' area which is very attractive to moving cargo as all expenses and taxes are negated.



We traveled back to down-town Dubai and got to see the city and marina views from the 17th floor of one of the buildings - truly amazing.