Having recovered from the football (see previous entry) thawed out and checked our toes are intact, we smarten up for the night out. Like Moscow, Kiev has a more rigid attitude to dress codes than London and it’s safer to err on the side of formality.

We meet our playboy friend Roland (see previous entry) in the lobby bar and head to the Arena complex – a concert venue, casino, bar and club in one. After a few drinks and some food we move on to The River Palace. We bypass the band playing reasonable cover versions in the bar and head in to the club. A plethora of model-beautiful women are already filling the room, although the atmosphere is slightly strange. We just can’t put our fingers on quite <why>.

In front of us, a man dances alone – about as well as Dynamo play football. Apparently he’s a very important banker so presumably doesn’t have to worry about how he appears. We don’t have that luxury, so are sporting a more formal look.

I briefly think that this has paid off when several of the women approach in turn and tell me how “good-looking” I am, before asking whether I’d like to buy them a drink. By the fourth time this has happened in twenty minutes the demands for ‘business’ are getting a bit less thinly-veiled. We realise that Roland’s idea of a good night out and ours are rather different. We drink up and head out into the cold night.

<Next Instalment:A trip into Chernobyl’s nuclear wasteland. Brought to you by Clerk & Teller and Black Tomato>

C&T recommends:

• Drink: Arena’s home-brewed Pilsner
• Songs in our head: The Last of the International Playboys – Morrissey
• Link: kievukraine.info/nightclubs.htm
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F6WodCvkq4
• Reading: What’s On Magazine (www.whatson-kiev.com)