Once we got to Ukraine, we�ve had no problem � don�t need to register anywhere, unlike Russia and Bulgaria. And, even more important, when we took the train from Moscow to Kiev, we never even saw the Russian customs people. We left Moscow on the 4th by train for Kiev. We had expected to be awoken by the border guards for Russia around 1:30 a.m. but no one even knocked on our door until around 7:30 in the morning and then it was someone from the Ukrainian border signing us up for their national insurance. While she was filling out the proper documents and collecting our money, someone else stopped by and looked at our passports and visas (and took them down the hall to the office of the provodnick). They never asked us any questions other than to confirm we were from the USA and we were coming to Kiev as tourists. Evidently the provodnick had told Russian Customs we were British (and I guess they don�t need visas) because later she came by and said she was sorry, she had thought we were British. Maybe that�s why we had such an easy time with the border crossing. I was a little nervous as we approached the Russian-Ukrainian border crossing because we couldn�t find our paperwork for the computer. We had kept our sales receipts and declaration form but then, when we started searching for them, we couldn�t find them! Never did find the documents - we think maybe we mailed it home accidentally - but we were never asked about anything � money or possessions � and never had to even fill out any forms. But, turned out to be a non-issue. Ditto about cash. In Moscow, 1e went to the effort of buying American Express travelers checks (and paid the fee for this) only to have to change them back to cash when we got to Kiev (and could only find one bank to do this). But, we were glad we didn�t have any border hassles. We did see the person we had to buy �emergency insurance� from on the train � she was in uniform and there is no choice � you have to buy it. She boarded the train with the Ukrainian border guards and went into each train compartment so there�s no way you can slip through. Cost us 250 rubles each for 30 days (about $18 for the two of us). If you don�t stay as long, you probably have to pay less. Actually, now that I think about it, we only bought it for two weeks and we�re going on our third week now � but we�re only staying three days longer than the insurance is for � and our visa is for a month.
Later, when we left Ukraine we were asked by the customs guard for a declaration form and when we told him we didn�t have one he demanded to know why we didn�t have a declaration form. When we told him we�d come through by train in the middle of the night and showed him the tiny piece of paper we were given (that said we were supposed to fill it out personally and it had been filled out by someone else and given to us) he scowled and waved us through. Evidently the night train scenario isn�t too uncommon. It could have been ugly but turned out fine.
On our train from Moscow to Kiev, we shared our compartment with two individuals (they were not together) both from Kiev, so they didn�t have to even get the insurance. They were both very nice and helpful. The man evidently is a gymnastics coach and used to perform professionally. He evidently was a top performer in the USSR. He told us his daughter was meeting him at the station in Kiev and offered us a ride to our hotel but then dashed off and we never saw him again. As he left the train he said he would be waiting for us out on the street. By the time we got off the train and headed for the station we couldn�t figure out which way he meant. So we waited out in front of the train station for almost an hour but he never showed up. We probably misunderstood where he would be waiting for us. So we never saw him again.
Unfortunately, at this point things became a little more frustrating. I was tired and wanted to get to our hotel. We were barraged by offers for taxis. Scott searched all over the station for our acquaintance without luck. I went to ask a bus driver which bus to take to get to the street our hotel was on and as I was walking back a man offered to take us there for ten dollars less than the other taxi drivers (he said). I believed him and told Scott I�d rather take a car so we loaded into his car and headed out. The entire ride the guy told us this was a bad hotel and not in a good area. He also pointed out the sights to see and handed us a packet of post cards to see other sights. We arrived at the hotel but couldn�t even see the front door or name of the place and by then I was growing convinced this wasn�t where we wanted to be. So, Scott got out to check while I waited with our luggage in the cab. The cab driver began to get impatient and kept saying this was a dirty hotel and a terrible location. But, Scott didn�t come back (and he had the exact amount of money we owed the driver). So, I told the driver to unload our stuff and to go � and I had to pay him with my rubles. He gave me change back but later I realized he cheated me in the exchange so that the taxi ride was very expensive. And two days later we discovered there was a metro stop just a block away from the hotel and it went directly to the train station so I paid 350 rubles (more than $11) for a short taxi ride when it would have cost us the equivalent of 20 kopecks (five cents) for both of us to ride the metro. We also discovered this hotel was in a perfect place and was very clean and the people were very nice.
Other than the taxi driver, though, everything went fine. I think I learned my lesson about not trusting anyone who is just out to make money from me.