Internet options while in Ukraine

Internet cafes are readily available in all but the most remote villages and they are cheap to use. Internet connection is another story totally...WiFi is not available for general use, I know of a couple of major International firms that have it in their Kyiv offices, but none of the internet cafes. Dialup COULD be an option depending on the phone lines and how the phones are wired where you are staying...some of the phone lines are not stable enough for connection, many phones are direct wired to the wall so no cable port. My personal experience...did not take laptop in 2001, wished I had...took it in 2002 and 2003, glad I did. My opinions: Advantages to having a laptop on the trip: * Entertainment: absolutely * Backup: probably useless since you won't have a printer you are taking along and the internet cafe probably won't have acrobat reader and will seldom allow you to download & install anything. * Journal writing: yes * Life Book creation/ maintenance: yes * A place to store our digital photos: essential. I took over 500 digital photos during my last trip and would have been lost without being able to store them on my laptop * Staying in touch: can't just hit the send button, but very helpful to download & save your mail at the internet cafe, then read and reply at your leisure, then save replies to disk and upload again at the internet cafe * Work: not really going to be much help since you won't have direct connectivity. Disadvantages to having a laptop on the adoption adventure: * I would literally have to carry it with me everywhere I go. I would not want to leave it in a hotel, apartment, or other place. I left my laptop in my private hotel in Belgorod-Dvnestrovsky and my hotel in Kerch with no problems. Make sure it is insured and backed up before your trip * I would only want to use it in private. nah...many people use their laptops even on the buses and trains * I would have added stress worrying about it. definitely, but I found it worth it * The equipment could be damaged or destroyed by a cheap power converter. NO...laptops come with a power converter that works for most countries, definitely Ukraine & US. All you need is an adapter to change how the A/C adaptor is plugged into the wall. * I may not have an Internet connection as readily available as I think? very unlikely you will have any internet connection

Hi, I am a PAP who also frequently travels to Ukraine on business. Stick with internet cafes. Internet access via wi-fi is very limited and should not be counted on. Connecting via a cell phone is probably going to be prohibitively expensive even if you were to borrow or perhaps purchase a local cell phone. I would say count on using the cafes, but remember they are working with slow connections and out of date equipment and they may not always be able to do things you need done (e.g. they may or may not have a fast enough connection to download your work or upload a video of your child). Example: I needed to burn a CD last week and it took me a while to find a cafe that could burn one because the first cafe's CD burner was broken. If you bring your computer, you should be able to leave it in your apartment or hotel rather than bringing it with you most places. Your apartment or hotel is probably a safer place now than 10 or 11 years ago. Street crime and thefts from hotels are really rare now. However, in the train station and just about anywhere outside Kyiv, you will stick out like a sore thumb and might attract pick-pockets (particularly in the train station). Wear a secure money belt and do not leave any valuable cameras dangilng from your neck when exiting and entering trains. If you do get robbed, file an official report, make sure you are the complainant who signs and offer a reward of 100 - 200 dollars. Most of your things will probably be refound -- crimes against foreigners are treated like a very big deal and the train station police will look very bad if they don't catch the criminal. Good luck and enjoy yourself! MM

I just got back last week from the Ukraine and like everyone has stated before - Internet Cafes are everywhere and they are very cheap. The only problem, besides the very slow dial connection speeds and the outdated equipment is that it was almost impossible to upload pictures from my camera. Luckily, my interpreter loaned me her laptop so that I could upload pictures to send home. It was nice having a laptop at the apartment for convenience and I felt pretty safe that nothing would happen to it while there. I had to buy a internet card (about $5.50 american) Which gave you like 24 hours of online time. That card lasted me the entire trip (about 3 weeks) - I was able to use a local number so there was no additional fees. As for entertainment purposes - yes, there is so much down time and you can only read so much and go for so many walks. I brought with me a mini-dvd player and ended up watching a lot of movies. (94 episodes of Sex in the City and about 20 movies.... yes, there is that much down time). The minor inconvenience of having to bring all that stuff will you is way less then the aggravation of going stir crazy trying to pass the time. Best of luck to you. -Eric