A brief encounter with Kiev

I finally (and quite tearfully) left England today. Despite being excited about coming away again, the thought of going it alone coupled with the fact I feel like I've forgotten lots of Russian since December meant that I was a nervous wreck when my dad dropped me off at Luton this morning.

When I was waiting to board, I realised that I was most probably going to be the only British person travelling, which added to the nerves. After wearing a coat for a lady who was worried her hand luggage was too heavy (you just can't say no to Russians/Ukrainians), I boarded the flight and managed to sleep through the majority of it.

Zhulany Airport is ridiculously small, and there were lots of really tiny planes which I don't think I'd want to risk going on, but the fact it's tiny meant getting my luggage and getting a taxi to my hotel was a doddle. My hotel has old ladies on every floor who give you your key and clean the corridor lots, which seems quite normal, as there are grandmas at desks EVERYWHERE.

I've not really done much apart from get my bus ticket for tomorrow, and go on the metro to Ocean Plaza for a browse. I got quite excited when I saw Marks and Sparks. There was a huge tank of fish there, like the ones that used to be in the Victoria Centre (you'll know what I mean if you're from Nottingham). The area around this gigantic tank was by far the busiest part of the centre, with people taking pictures and generally seeming a little too fascinated by it all.

Before coming back to the hotel I went and bought some of my favourites from the supermarket...

сушки - little biscuit-y things.

The nicest milkshake ever. 

Smelly crisps.

Generally, people in Kiev seem a lot more cheerful than people in Russia. It's obvious by my accent I'm a foreigner, but everyone has been friendly and bothered to understand me. Nobody's tried speaking English to me, apart from the guy who I bought a sim card from, who picked up something vaguely stick shaped and told me it was his 'magic stick' (no, I'm not sure either). 

I'm beyond tired, and I've got a 6 hour coach journey to look forward to tomorrow. I've really pushed the boat out though, and booked a ticket on the VIP bus, so hopefully it won't be too traumatic! I think it's time for a nap.