I am currently in Khmelnitsky (about 200km west of Kiev) and have a couple of hours to spare so here are a couple of travel tips for the uninitiated. Despite having visited Ukraine many times, this was my first taste of the railway system. On arrival at Kiev Borispol Airport I discovered that you can buy your train ticket from a booth right there at the airport, and this seemed a good idea considering my past experieve of Eastern European railway stations. However, it turned out the express train I wanted was full, so I had to buy a ticket for a later train costing 23 Euros (yes, they accepted western currency too.)
Then I get to the Train Station in Kiev and am just thinking that maybe I should have another go for the original train rather than accept what I have been told, when hey presto! This guy from nowhere offers to get me a seat on the earlier Express Train. He would basically smuggle me onto the train with the help of his mate who is the wagon steward, all for the bargain price of 150 Hryvnas. I told him to stick around, and went to the cash desk myself to try the official route. Not only did they have a seat on the Express Train, but the ticket only cost me 40 Hryvnas. I took great pleasure in waving it in this punks face afterwards! (Unfortunately my 23 Euros for the later train was wasted.)
So... forget about buying a train ticket at the airport, their info is unreliable and they put 200% mark-up on the price; and dont listen to the punks lurking in the station who tell you that the trains are full and they can help you. I was actually surprised at howe simple the procedure is at the station, most of it appears to be new and fairly modern; I won't be using Autolux buses again in future if I can help it.
I had no idea what to expect in Khmelnitsky, it is a small provincial town, so I have rented an apartment which my very attractive and personable girlfriend is sharing (separate rooms for now, but this is a serious rendezvous hopefully with a future, rather than a weekend romp.) However, there are actually a couple of quite decent looking hotels in town, and the centre is quite pleasant with parks and tree lined avenues. One hour away is Kamnets Podolskaya (hope I got that right) which is an old historic town with a restored fortress overlooking a canyon, with many old churches and a national park; great place for a day out. The 3 star Hotel Gala there looks fine. I decided to depart on the sleeper train to Budapest and fly back from there after a city tour.
Prices in Khmelnitsky: no taxi ride in town is more than 10 Hryvnas (2 dollars.) The best restaurant in town (Italian) was 50 dollars for 2 including decent wine; coffee in a decent central cafe is around 1 dollar. The mini bus to Kamnets Podolskaya (100km) was 2.5 dollars (bring a soft cushion!) But things are already changing here; there is a new development of exclusive apartments nearing completion in the centre, with underground parling, shopping complex etc, starting at around 100,000 dollars.
