Ukraine Photos Part III: Coal Miner's Daughter

As mentioned, I was posted in the charming coal-mining resort villa of Antratsit. You'll know when you've hit wondrous Antratsit, because there's a giant sign that looks like this:


Outside of bustling downtown Antratsit, there are a long string of villages. This was my favorite, as it had the most chickens. Bringing up the question, how do people know whose chickens belong to whom? Or are they all, like, communist about it?


I also have a thing for taking photos of the babushkas:


This photo is just an excuse to tell you that we were in a village called Krasniy Oktyabr, or Red October. There were 140 registered voters, no roads to speak of, and no indoor plumbing. I'm trying to get a photo of the water well, but my Slovak partner seemed to think that he was the star of this particular shot, and wouldn't get out of my way.


We decided to keep on driving to the Russian border, just to see if we could get ourselves detained by any authorities. However, our efforts were for naught, as we discovered that the security at the Ukraine-Russia border was not what we call high-tech:


That's right. If you intend to defect one way or the other, you have in your way: a tire, a stick, and a drunk, sleeping border guard who simply can't be bothered.