This week I’m “liveblogging” my trip to Ukraine. Unlike traditional reports, these posts will be shorter and more frequent.
I made the mistake of taking the bus company (Prosto Bus Plus) at its word. The joke is on me as my bus ride from Kyiv to Warsaw is not shaping up to be what I thought…especially since we keep pulling into fix-it shops…
Bus Trip From Kyiv To Warsaw Is Off To A Flying Start
One reason I chose to take a “Prosto Bus” to Warsaw versus the train to Chisinau was that the bus advertised:
- generous legroom
- Wi-Fi
- onboard restroom
- 220-volt power ports
- hot drinks
I wasn’t convinced that legroom would actually be generous or that the wi-fi would be functional, but I did expect there would be power plugs and a restroom onboard.
So at 2:20 pm I traveled to the Kyiv Central Bus Station ahead of my 3:00 pm departure to Warsaw and arrived at the station around 2:35 pm. There were no departure boards and my ticket did not list a departure berth, but with the help of some kind young people, I found my bus.
A driver was checking names off a manifest and my name was on it. He checked my passport, though when he saw it was a US passport he waived me onboard without even looking at it.
The bus, by the way, advertised all the amenities I mentioned above on the outside of the bus as well:
But stepping onboard, any guesses as to what I found?
- tight legroom
- no Wi-Fi
- no onboard restroom
- no 220-volt power ports
- no hot drinks
Bellissimo.
The only power onboard was a 5-volt USB-A charger in the overhead console that did not have enough juice to actually charge anything.
And can anyone tell me what this lovely splotch is on my curtain?
Thankfully, I came prepared with a power bank that could charge my laptop and my mobile phone (multiple times).
I had an assigned seat, but no one paid any attention to seat assignments – it was a free-for-all onboard.
I found a seat in the rear of the bus and the seat next to me remained open, which turned out to be a huge blessing. Legroom was brutal.
At 3:07 pm we pulled out of the station and began our long journey.
But less than 30 minutes later, we pulled over to the side of the highway. The driver and his relief (there were two drivers that took turns driving) spent the next 2o minutes jumping and kicking on one of the wheels.
I’m not sure what they were doing, but eventually, we took off again.
20 minutes later we pulled up to a fix-it shop (service garage) and stopped for a moment. I figured it was a flat tire, but the shop was closed and we took off again.
We drove for another hour and eventually stopped at another repair shop…only it was closed too. So we continued.
I have no idea what is wrong with our bus, but we are moving toward Poland…
Perhaps a good time to pipe in and say that I’ve enjoyed and appreciated this series of posts.
I’ve never commented here before but I gotta say…you travel to a literal war zone and your commentary is that the luxury bus wasn’t *luxury* enough…this is a parody, right?
I’m not really upset – this is part of the travel adventure – but I hope you won’t excuse the literal bait and switch because it is a “war zone.”
Do you mean it was out of order or there was seats where the water closet was supposed to be?
There simply wasn’t a bathroom onboard.
American tourist leaves war zone, complains about leg room and power outlets on bus. Oh, and about a splotch on a curtain. Maybe you’re not cut out for disaster tourism, Matthew.
He’s calling them as he sees them.
Slavs take their public transportation very seriously even during war time. My father-in-law’s tram in Odessa continues to run and the trains are also well maintained. It’s a pleasure to get around there for the most part although there sometimes are issues as Matt points out.
That being said: war is awful and my wife was in tears as she served wounded veterans at church for the war anniversary. We appreciate his visit and helping to improve morale.
Oh, grow up.
Just because the country is at war doesn’t mean that every single city is automatically an ‘active war zone’. If you read any of the previous posts, you’d know that by now.
Also, it’s not like the Russians destroyed all the good buses and this is what’s left. See those bright green Flixbus coaches? Those do actually offer decent legroom, power ports and on-board restrooms, so you can’t really use the war as a valid argument. Sure, last-minutes equipment swaps do happen, but the operator should be transparent about that, especially for 15-hour journeys.
How can you be so clueless and dumb?
The splotch might be what’s left of the last American tourist to visit a war zone.
Are you considering legal action?
The trolls here are ridiculous. Just because there’s a war going on doesn’t excuse false advertising. The bathroom didn’t magically disappear because of Putin.
Somebody considering this bus might now google the company, see this review, and know what the situation *really* is. I don’t understand why Matt’s contribution is a bad thing.
Really? You defend this nonsense spoiled American complaining about things in a fricken war zone?
I would invite you to read the whole series.
Any Bus company from Poland with real luxury Features on their buses will not risk driving to Kyiv.
Keep up the stories and updates. I find them fascinating. Bravo to you being there. Let’s hope some normalcy happens soon for all the folks that have suffered this past last year.
Once again Secretary Pete has failed us in providing reasonable and reliable transport. Completely “intolerable.”
I mean Kyle got his 140+ comments so mission accomplished.
yeah, its sad that the ultimate troll on this board is actually paid to post on weekends
Secretary Pete has nothing to do with this one silly. He’s not transportation secretary of the world.
You must be fun at parties.
While I vehemently disagree with your politics, I have to admit this was funny. Thanks for the giggles on a Monday morning.
Hah, @Stuart, you beat me to it!
How is it that your where you should be all the time? You must have a fear of missing out on something, anything. A war zone? Really, who cares anymore where you’re off to.
Says the person who left two comments.
I suppose I owe you an “oops”, seeing as I recommended you take the bus…
Tsk tsk. I recommended the train :))) buses are usually pretty awful for long haul imo.
And meanmosh you’ve written some lovely train reviews!
Thank you…I do in fact enjoy train travel, though as you’ve likely gathered if you’re a reader of my site, I’m a full-on transportation geek and thought it would be fun to encourage Matt to experience a multi-modal adventure…
I remember my first and only trip on a Greyhound bus 20 years ago. No thank you!!!
Janet Yellen was just in Kiev and met with Zelensky. Perhaps some of the additional $1.2 Billion in US taxpayer money she promised can be used to purchase new buses? Ah never mind, it’s all being sent to the secret bank accounts in Switzerland.
The Polaris blanket is a nice touch for the lack of amenities.
Yes indeed. I love that blanket. Has traveled around the world me. It’s an old “Polaris First” blanket (white instead of gray) that was given to me when first class was phased out.