X Park “Ukraine”
After a long 16 hour journey I arrived to Kyiv, I just wanted to relax, eat local food and explore the city. What fascinated me is that people move around this huge city using electric scooters, yet I am somehow against it “how can we burn calories if we don’t walk on foot”. If you’re a dumpling lover, you’ll enjoy Ukraine as they have different kinds with variety of flavors.
A country with many experiences
Interesting thing I did was going to a park called X Park where I rode a Motocross Pit Bike for the first time in life, and that was so cool which I always wanted to try especially riding in nature. Let’s say that falling off a Motocross isn’t the fun part but that’s how you learn. Also for the very first time I tried line wakeboarding and I am so glad that I stood up on the board during my first try, yet the hardest part was turning around which took long time to figure it out. On the other hand, I tried wakeboarding from the boat and it was harder to stand on the board but once you get it, it’s so enjoyable. Also I drove a vehicle called SHERP for the very first time which is similar to what I drive now “Jeep Wrangler” though a bit bigger and can drive over anything. One of my favorite stays in Kyiv is the tree house, it was very special because the people who lived there were extremely nice people, the area is beautiful where you get to wake up listening to the birds, enjoy an amazing yoga session in the early morning and you are two steps away to go enjoy the Sunrise at the beach. Lately, I have been enjoying eating plant based food and I can assure you that the chef there knows how to cook. It’s interesting that for the food and yoga session there is no payment required, yet if you like it then you can contribute by putting your money in this secret jar where no one actually see how much you put, and I really thought this actually is a good way to build trust.
One interesting community that I met was a group of people who built a an entire outdoor gym out of scrap. They gathered on the beach to build this amazing gym that had everything in it more than 50 years ago. It was fun to exercise with them using all their unique equipment that serves as a constant reminder “one man’s waste is another man’s treasure” and what we as humans can achieve if we think outside the box.
Mixed feelings at the end of the trip
Finally, I wanted to end my trip with this unique Ukrainian bath ritual. The idea of the bath is that you will go through different phases which will give you mixed emotions in each phase (it is believed that going through these phases shows you your vision of the future). One of the phases aim to raise your body temperature inside what they call an oven, the bath master uses these long leaves to push the hot air inside your body, and it gets more intense to the extent that he will hit you with these long leaves pushing the hot air more to go in your body which is repeated over and over. Then you leave the oven room to take a normal shower with normal water temperature then you get back to the oven but this round is even more intense. I have to say it can be confusing and as I said you will be experiencing mixed emotions. After that you will go into a very cold water that sends your body into a shock from extreme hot to cold. Then you go into a jacuzzi with normal water temperature which is supposed to be the close to the temperature back when we wear in our mother’s stomachs of 36 degrees, so our bodies are related to this as we have experienced it before when we were born. During this final phase your body had already given up and you are extremely relaxed that it is supposed to give your own vision. I am not going to lie I had my vision but I already know what it is, which is kept as a prayer between me and God, but all in all it was very interesting experience.