Odessa Local Custom Tips by om_212 Top 5 Page for this destination

when traveling by train, be prepared that your travel companions might be too excited to meet you. for some of them, you will be the first foreigner they have ever met on the train, or even in their life. Most likely they would not speak your language, but they will try to impress you with Ukrainian hospitality. Th Ukrainian hospitality might translate into ask you to share a dinner with them and in some cases, offer you a drink "za znayomstvo" ('nice to meet you' drink). The drink can range from a beer to numerous shots of vodka. Usually a polite ‘thank you’ and ‘no’ (dyakuyu, ya ne pyu - ukr.) will do, but if your travel companion keeps insisting, say that you take medication that do not go with alcohol (ya pryimayu liky - ukr.) In rare instances, which will hopefully never happens, your companion might keep bugging you. in that case, ask a conductor to move you to another compartment.