Post: #26

I would say don't rush it and judge after only a few hours. Cheer up!

Post: #27

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Post: #28

(05-20-2015 04:36 AM)The Ligurian Wrote:  Regarding Minsk.

Something to bare in mind is that Minsk is much more expensive than Kiev in pretty much every single way. Drinks in bars, in clubs, apartments, food in shops, basic needs like shaving foam etc. It's more expensive than the UK for many things. In the UK I can hit the Pound Shop for essentials or cheaper supermarkets for cheap good quality food but those options don't exist in Belarus. The only true bargain in Belarus is transport which is subsidised but it's only on a par with Ukraine. Belarus second tier is on about a par with Kiev in terms of prices. Second tier Ukraine is much cheaper than anywhere in Belarus. I rate Belarus highly but you need to be aware that you can burn a hole in your wallet if you're going out a lot in Minsk and living the kind of lifestyle you are used to back home. Add onto that visa costs and that Minsk is not served by budget airlines and you see that you need a strong motivation to choose it above Ukraine.

Hello Lagurian,

Right now Kiev is cheaper after the fall of Hryvnia and the onset of war but last time I was there (2 years ago) it seemed similar to Minsk. If you leave the touristy central area of course Kiev is cheaper but to me Minsk seemed cheap. For $79/night I got a newly renovated western style studio right across from Grand Café (that is the fanciest and probably most famous café for millionaires in Minsk) but the point is that logistics were perfect.

I was able to eat large café style meals for around $6, was able to get into fancy clubs with cover charge <$10, and enjoyed gym service for $5 / day. Taxi prices across town (over 6km) were around 100,000 BYR~$7. Again not expensive. Now, you are right on other things. I went shopping one day (as my wardrobe was lacking)and for imported goods you will pay through the roof, Ralf Lauren polo shirts were about 40% more expensive than in US. Unsurprisingly I was the only person in the store.

Speaking of transportation I took the buses and never paid for the tickets. They are so crammed with people that even if there was kontrol one could probably get off at closest stop before the ticket lady came by. Overall Minsk to me is tops so far. The only negative is that it is very cold and dark there (not many sunny days). I still could imagine living there though with few multinationals, strict government control of private enterprises and not that many NGO's not sure what type of work to do there.

Post: #29

So far in Moscow Tuesday night ended up being a bust as well though I had a great date with a girl I met off of tourbar.com. She gave me a walking tour of the city and we made out on one of the romantic bridges overlooking the river. I think this city does not sleep only on weekends. Weekdays it is truly a business capital of Russia.

After I finished my date I met up with another forum member at tiki-bar which is a Latin Themed dance club but alas it was dead. Finally managed to go to Coyote Ugly bar last night here in Moscow as that seemed to be the only happening place around 4am by red square and I still had some energy. Great thing about Moscow is that there are a ton of unlicensed taxi drivers all over the city and if you speak good Russian and you know the mannerisms you can get locals prices. No need to go for official yellow cabs. For example to go for 6km I got one guy to finally go down to 280R for me (which is just above $5). I felt sad for him so tipped an extra 20R (~40cents) as he was racing us through the city as if he was michael Schumacher.

At Coyote saw some crazy stuff including a western guy get his shirt ripped off by one of the dancers, get soaked with alcohol, and ice water and then a couple minutes later drag one of the floor girls into a bathroom stall. I wonder what happened there?

Saw another drunk Russian guy pull on a dancers hair (seemingly for no reason) and get into a physical fight with her. Thankfully the bouncer rushed over and kicked the guy out. This place had a very slutty vibe to it. Ratio was very bad (about 4guys to 1girl). I approached several girls on the dance floor but didn't get anywhere. I also saw some good looking, foreign guys make approaches and also get rejected. I feel like the girls come here to "dance their sluttiness away" though the bathroom pull by a tourist indicates to me that if one has very high energy game (Slubu are you reading this? ) they could easily do a SNL on a more packed night. Here's photo from this place

Anyone have any experience with this place? Just curious if it is even crazier on weekend?

Post: #30

Goto Crazy daisy bar just north of city ( in Moscow)look up on google very good bar ....dancing ...it's not a strip bar...open late.

Daisybar.ru